Best Cut Out Christmas Cookies

With this Christmas cookie recipe, nothing can go wrong: The butter cookies to cut out are an absolute classic and guaranteed to succeed!

Are you looking for a good, easy Christmas cookie recipe for cutting out? Here it is! With our cookie dough for butter cookies, this Christmas baking classic is sure to succeed - perfect for baking with kids or last-minute baking.

Taste and Occasion

Easy Christmas cookies are highly underrated, in my opinion. Sure, I also want to bake a few new creations each year. A cookie plate without butter cookies to cut out is still missing something… In many families, there are tried and true Christmas cookie recipes. This cookie dough from shortbread is our classic from grandma. And has been used, with minor variations, for decades for all sorts of varieties.

No wonder: the easy basic Christmas cookie recipe always works. The result is wonderfully crumbly. The taste is amazingly buttery. And last but not least, the Christmas cookies look easy and varied - for example, by decorating them sometimes with icing and colorful sprinkles, sometimes brushed with egg yolk or even just dusted with powdered sugar.

Ingredients

If you want to bake quick Christmas cookies, you can't get around a good basic dough. You can make this one with cold butter or as a stirred shortbread with softened butter. The dough is the perfect base for cookie baking with kids. With the little ones, make sure that only one part is used at a time. The rest of the shortbread dough stays in the fridge for now.

How to make the Cut Out Christmas Cookies

Let's start! First, Put the flour and sugar in a bowl. Now, add the butter in small pieces and the egg and knead into a shortcrust dough. Form dough into a large ball and refrigerate wrapped in foil for at least half an hour. It's time to preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Divide dough ball in half (return one half to the refrigerator) and roll out on a baking mat or lightly floured work surface. Cut out cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Then, do the same with the second portion of dough. Knead dough scraps together again and again and chill briefly. Brush the cookies with whisked egg yolk and bake for about 10-12 minutes (depending on thickness). In the end, let cool, remove from baking sheet and decorate as desired with icing, decorative sprinkles, etc.

Top Tip

I usually make double the amount - so the butter cookies last a little longer 😉 . Below, you'll find a few tips to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the basic cookie recipe.

The cookie dough does not become smooth but crumbly!

Often it helps to either knead further or to work in by hand. Attention: Kneading too long is also not good! If the dough seems too dry overall, you can add a tablespoon of ice water.

The cookie dough crumbles when rolled out!

Immediately after chilling, the dough ball is still very hard. Allow it to come to room temperature briefly and then knead it again briefly. If the dough is crumbly when rolled out, there may have been too little fat in the dough or too much flour on the countertop. It is better to use a silicone baking mat or roll out the dough between two layers of foil.

The cookie dough is too soft!

Recipe Recommendation

Quick Three-Ingredients Biscuits

For these biscuits, without eggs, you only need 3 standard ingredients. The butter biscuits to cut out are made extremely quickly and are delicious, both pure and refined.

Check out this recipe!

Leave it in the fridge for longer and/or add a bit extra flour by the tablespoon.

Bake cookie cutters for how long and at how many degrees?

I recommend 350°F/175°C and about 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness. If you want to bake several baking sheets at the same time, you can also use 320°F/160°C

How long will the butter cookies keep?

If well cooled in a sealable tin and stored in a dry place, about 8 weeks. With glaze a little shorter.

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Best Cut Out Christmas Cookies

A basic cookie dough recipe for the whole family, these shortbread cookie cutters are a Christmas baking classic for a good reason!

Prep Time15 mins

Baking Time11 mins

Cooling Time30 mins

Servings: 35 cookies

Calories: 63kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 250 grams (2 cups) wheat flour
• 90 grams (½ cup) sugar
• 125 grams (⅔ cup) butter
• 1 egg, medium

Instructions

• Put the flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter in small pieces and the egg and knead into a shortcrust dough. Form dough into a large ball and refrigerate wrapped in foil for at least half an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Divide dough ball in half (return one half to the refrigerator) and roll out on a baking mat or lightly floured work surface. Cut out cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Do the same with the second portion of dough. Knead dough scraps together again and again and chill briefly.
• Brush the cookies with whisked egg yolk (see notes). Bake for about 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness. Let cool, remove from baking sheet and decorate as desired with icing, decorative sprinkles, etc. (see notes).

Notes

• The Christmas cookies taste delicious on their own. If you want to decorate them additionally, there are many possibilities: 1. Brush with beaten egg yolk before baking and decorate as desired with (bake-safe) sugar sprinkles. 2. After baking, let cool and brush with icing and sprinkle with sugar decorations 3. Alternatively, carefully melt white or dark chocolate glaze and use for coating. Instead of covering the cookies entirely with it, you can also spread fine chocolate lines on them.

 

You want to replace ingredients? Here you find tips for baking ingredient substitutions!

Variations

In addition to this cookie dough for cutting out, I make vanilla crescents and cinnamon stars every year. And if it has to go particularly fast, there are the 3-ingredient biscuits. The gingerbread men are also great. Feel free to tell me in a comment what your absolute must-haves are during the Christmas season!

Nutrition