Best Santa Cookies Recipes

SANTA CLAUS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-in. Santa-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets., Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in milk, vanilla and salt. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Pipe onto cookies and decorate as desired.

SANTA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extracts; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Divide dough into 3 portions; wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled and firm enough to handle.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray baking sheets and 5-inch Santa face cookie cutter with cooking spray; set aside. Roll out 1 portion of dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface with floured rolling pin. Cut out cookies with prepared cutter. Transfer with metal spatula to baking sheet, placing 1 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough portions, spraying cutter with additional cooking spray as needed.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are browned lightly. Cool on baking sheet 1 minute before removing cookies and placing on wire racks to cool completely.
• Use red icing to fill in the hat, leaving the tip of the hat blank. Use white icing to fill in the tip of the hat, the brim of the hat, the beard and to make 2 dots in the center of the face for the eyes. Place a red candy centered between the eyes at the top of the beard for the nose and a mini morsel on each white dot to make eyes. Top beard with Reddi-wip® just before serving.

SANTA'S SURPRISE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Roll dough into 1-1/4-in. balls. Press a candy bar into each; reshape balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 325° for 10-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate candies and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.

EASY SANTA COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Beat butter, granulated sugar and lemon peel in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in egg and milk. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press bottom of drinking glass on each until about 1/4 inch and 3 inches in diameter. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Spread frosting on cookie (frost and decorate each cookie before starting another). Sprinkle red sugar over top third of cookie for hat. Press on miniature marshmallow for tassel. Press 2 currants for eyes and 1 cinnamon candy for nose into center third of cookie. Sprinkle coconut over bottom third for beard.

SANTA SNICKER SURPRISE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat until smooth & creamy.
• 2. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
• 3. In a separate bowl, sift flour, and combine with baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients slowly to the peanut butter mixture. Beat until thoroughly combined.
• 4. Cover dough and chill 3-4 hours or overnight.
• 5. Unwrap miniature snicker candy. Set aside. Use one tablespoon of dough and form in a ball. (Each ball should be about 1.5 inches in diameter) Flatten the ball, place a candy in the center and wrap dough around it, pinching as necessary. Be sure the candy is completely covered. Roll back into a ball. Repeat with each piece of candy and dough ball. Place dough balls with candy on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Space cookies about 3 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. If you want crunchier cookies, bake about 5 min more. Allow cookies to cool about 5 minutes before removing from pan.
• 6. Allow cookies to cool. When all cookies are baked and cooled, place them close together on waxed paper or parchment paper on a large work surface. Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar. Melt chocolate with 1/2 tsp shortening for about a minute in microwave. Stir, add additional time if needed to thoroughly melt. Immediately drizzle chocolate over cookies. ( I use a spoon and move quickly back and forth over the cookies to create smaller drizzle marks.). Let chocolate set before storing.

SANTA CLAUS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth., Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place on wire racks. For Santa's hat, sprinkle red sugar on top part of chocolate. Press one vanilla chip off-center on hat for pompom; let stand until set., Dip other end of each cookie into melted chocolate for beard, leaving center of cookie uncovered. Place on wire racks. With a dab of melted chocolate, attach semisweet chips for eyes and a Red Hot for nose. Place on waxed paper until set.

SANTA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream first four ingredients until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; shape into disks. Wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm enough to roll, 1-2 hours. , Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/2-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until firm, 8-10 minutes (do not overbake). Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely., For frosting, beat canned frosting, butter and confectioners' sugar until well-blended. Cut a hole in the tip of a pastry bag or corner of a food-safe plastic bag; insert #16 star tip and fill with frosting. Placing hearts point side up, use a small amount of frosting to attach brown M&M's for eyes and red M&M's for noses. Use remaining frosting to pipe hats, beards and mustaches. Sprinkle hats with red sugar; add jimmies for mouths.

SANTA'S SURPRISE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 300°F. 2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. 3. In a large bowl, mix together butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. 4. Add eggs and vanilla and combine thoroughly. 5. Then mix in flour mixture. 6. Cover and chill dough 2-3 hours. 7. To form cookie, scoop a tablespoon of chilled dough and flatten. 8. Place a miniature Snickers in the center and form the dough into a ball around the Snickers. 9. Place on a greased cookie sheet. 10. Bake for 10-20 minutes. 11. Cool cookies on a rack. 12. Optional: Decorate cookies with powdered sugar or drizzled melted chocolate or both.

EASY SANTA COOKIES

Steps:

• Freeze cookie dough at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 350degreesF. Cut chilled dough into 1/4-inch slices. (Return dough to freezer if it becomes too soft to cut.) On ungreased cookie sheet, place slices 3 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 5 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter and enough milk until smooth and desired spreading consistency. In small bowl, place half of frosting. Add red food color; stir until blended.
• Frost cooled cookies with red and white frosting. Use small amount of frosting to attach chocolate chips for eyes and cinnamon candy for nose. Gently press coconut into white frosting for beard. Press marshmallow into red frosting for tassel on cap. Let stand until frosting is set. Store between sheets of waxed paper in tightly covered container.

SANTA SLICE-AND-BAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• For the cookie dough: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the bowl at least once, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and 1 egg and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and continue to beat for 30 seconds.
• Remove 1/3 cup of the dough to a small bowl. Add about 1/4 teaspoon black food coloring and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Add about 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring to the dough remaining in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl at least once. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place the red dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll it into a 7-inch log with a 2-inch diameter. Wrap with plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Place the black dough on a lightly floured clean work surface and roll or flatten it into a 7-by-2-inch rectangle, 1/4-inch thick. Wrap with plastic wrap and place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl for the egg wash.
• Remove both doughs from the refrigerator. Slice the red log in half lengthwise. Lightly brush the flat end of one half with egg wash. Place the black dough onto it to adhere. Lightly brush the flat end of the other red half with egg wash and place it on top of the black dough. (If the dough softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.) Wrap the log with plastic wrap and lightly roll it back and forth to round out the sides. Refrigerate the log for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Trim about 1/4 inch from each end of the log to reveal an even and flat Santa. Cut the log into 24 equal slices that are about 1/4-inch thick. Make sure to clean the knife after each slice for a clean cut so the colors won't bleed on each other. (If the log softens and becomes difficult to work with, simply place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.)
• Arrange 12 cookies evenly on each prepared baking sheet. Bake until the edges are lightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.
• For the royal icing: Add the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 1 tablespoon water to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high for 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. If the icing is too thick, add 1 more teaspoon of water and beat until combined. Transfer to a small pastry bag fitted with a small round tip (size 4).
• Pipe a white collar on the top half of the cookie. Sprinkle it with white sprinkles. Pipe buttons on the red coat and the black belt. Pipe a square buckle in the middle of the black belt.

SANTA HEART-SHAPED COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• In large bowl, stir cookie mix, flour, melted butter and egg until soft dough forms. On floured surface, roll dough 1/4-inch thick. Cut with floured 3-inch heart shaped cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheets, place cutouts 2 inches apart.
• Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• In small bowl, stir food color into 1/2 cup of frosting to create desired color. Place 1/3 cup untinted frosting into small resealable food storage plastic bag; partially seal bag. Cut off tiny bottom corner of bag; set aside.
• Turn cookies so pointed ends are up. Working with one cookie at a time, spread 2 teaspoons of remaining untinted frosting on lower third of cookie for beard. Spread generous teaspoon red frosting on upper 1/3 of cookie for hat. Squeeze bag of frosting to pipe dots to attach eyes and nose. Pipe to finish hat, pom pom; decorate with additional decorations as desired. (Use photo as guide.)
• Decorate each cookie before starting another so frosting does not set. Let stand until frosting is set, about 1 hour. Store in airtight container at room temperature with waxed paper between layers.

SANTA'S SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in 2 eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed. Gradually mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 3 1/2-inch cutter; transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Brush egg white over cookies; top with nonpareils. Bake until edges turn golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

SANTA AND ELF CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well., Divide dough into thirds. Shape each into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes or until easy to handle., For Santas: On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 portion of dough into a 10-in. circle. Turn a pie plate upside down over circle and cut around the edge with a knife; reserve scraps. Cut into 8 wedges., Place wedges 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Fold the tip of each wedge down. Tuck a scrap piece of dough (about a 1/2-in. ball) under the upper part of fold., For elves: Roll another portion of dough into a 10-in. circle. Cut in half; cut 1 half into 4 wedges and the other half into 8 wedges. Repeat forming Santas with the large wedges. Transfer small wedges to a baking sheet; fold tips down, forming hats., Roll the remaining portion of dough into a 10-in. circle. Cut into 16 wedges. Transfer to baking sheets; fold tips down., Bake at 350° for 10-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely., To decorate: In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and cream of tartar; add water. Beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form., Tint icing with colors of your choice. (Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture.) Working with one cookie at a time, decorate with icing, attach a marshmallow to the tip of hat and finish with sprinkles and dragees as desired. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

SANTA SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Cover and refrigerate dough at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured cloth-covered surface, roll 1/4 of dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut dough with Santa cookie cutter; place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely. Frost cookies with red icing; sprinkle with red sugar crystals. Decorate as desired using white and blue icing. Add gum drop for belt buckle and cinnamon candy for nose.

SANTA COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in vanilla and egg. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda and salt.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. For each cookie, flatten ball into about 1 1/2-inch round with fingers; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Lightly press 2 chocolate chips into upper third of each dough round for eyes.
• Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately press 1 cinnamon candy onto each cookie for nose. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool 15 minutes.
• Place frosting in small resealable food-storage plastic bag. Seal bag; cut off small corner of bag. Squeeze bag to pipe frosting along bottom edge of cookie and above cinnamon candy for beard. Lightly sprinkle coconut over frosting; gently press into frosting.
• Cut fruit snack into 2-inch-long pieces. Cut each piece diagonally in half to make 2 triangles. With small amount of frosting, attach fruit snack triangle on each cookie for hat. Fold top corner of each triangle over; pipe frosting "tassle" on pointed end of each "hat."

SANTA HATS MERINGUE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200°F.
• With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Beating all the while, add the cream of tartar and vanilla extract, then slowly add the 1/2 cup of sugar. Continue to beat until the peaks stiffen.
• Spoon the meringue into a quart-size plastic bag. Snip off a corner and pipe 2 dozen 1 1/2-inch-tall Santa hat triangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (you should have about 1/4 of the meringue left).
• Sprinkle the triangles with the red sugar, then use the remaining meringue to give each one a pom-pom and trim.
• Bake the hats until they're hard but not browned, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and leave the hats in it for an hour to crisp before removing.

SANTA'S SURPRISE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. If you want to make your own cookie dough for this recipe that works well too, it will just add to your prep-time.
• 2. Cut your cookie dough off and flatten it out in your hands take a snickers mini and place in the middle of the flattened cookie dough. Form the cookie dough into a ball around the candy bar and place on non-stick cookie sheet. Bake the cookies as directed and enjoy! Depending on how much cookie dough you use and/or, buy/make will depend on the servings you get out of it. Great to leave out on Christmas Eve as well!

SANTA CLAUS COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. Mix granulated sugar, shortening, milk, lemon peel and egg.
• 2. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• 3. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• 4. Shape dough into 1-1/4 inch balls.
• 5. Place about 2-inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten each to about 2-1/2 inch in diameter, with greased bottom of a beverage glass dipped in sugar.
• 6. Bake until edges are light brown, 8 to 10 minutes; then let cookies cool completely before frosting them.
• 7. Spread cookie with small amount of Creamy Frosting.
• 8. Sprinkle top third of cookie with red sugar (to make Santa's cap).
• 9. Press on miniature marshmallow for tassel of cap.
• 10. Press 2 chocolate chips for the eyes, and 1 red cinnamon candy for the nose.
• 11. Sprinkle bottom third with either flaked or shredded coconut, for the beard.
• 12. Frost and decorate each cookie before starting another.
• 13. Creamy Frosting: Mix 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 4-6 tablespoons milk; mix until desired consistency. (I actually used: 3 cups plus 6 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 6 tablespoons plus a 1/2 tablespoon of milk, and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.)
• 14. Note: I baked my cookies on Pampered Chef Stoneware, and baked the first 2-3 batches for 10 minutes, and the last 2 batches for 9 minutes, as the cookies were starting to brown up a bit more.

SANTA'S ELF COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with blade attachment, pulse 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar and almond paste until well mixed and texture resembles finely ground cornmeal. In a large bowl, cream butter and remaining 1-1/4 cups confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Add almond paste mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut out using a floured 3-1/2-in. elf cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until light golden brown and firm, 7-8 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool., For icing, in a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, water, meringue powder and cream of tartar; beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes. Divide icing into thirds. Tint 1 portion of icing with red food coloring; tint second portion with desired food coloring for face. Leave remaining portion white. Place icings into piping bags fitted with fine round tips. Pipe icing onto cookies to create clothing, hat and face. While icing is still wet, place black sprinkles to create eyes. Let icing dry completely. If desired, dip a small brush into pink luster dust; tap off excess and dab onto cookies to create pink cheeks. Using leaf tip #67, pipe frosting to create ears. Using a small round tip, pipe icing to create nose. Using edible pen or round tip, draw mouth. Place chocolate frosting into a piping bag fitted with #14 star tip; pipe along top of face and rim of hat to create hair. Store in an airtight container.

SANTA STAR COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. , Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle, about 2 hours., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 4-in. star-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are firm, 7-8 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool., In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, water, meringue powder and cream of tartar; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes. Tint 9 Tbsp. red and 2 Tbsp. tablespoons black. Leave remaining icing white. Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture., Place red icing in a pastry bag. With a #3 round pastry tip, pipe Santa's hats and suits. Once the red icing is dry, use black icing with a #1 round tip for eyes, mittens, belts and boots. With white frosting and a #2 round tip, add the trim for hats and suits. Use the same tip for mustaches and beards. If desired, use sprinkles for belt buckles and mouth.