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Easy Soft Christmas Cookie Recipes: The Essential Guide

If you're looking for easy soft Christmas cookie recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth and give to friends and family this year - Look no further! In this huge list of cookie recipes, you'll find delicious classic Christmas cookies, festive cookies, shortbread, cutouts, no bake, cookie bars, and even delicious cookies from around the world. So grab your mixing bowl and your favorite cookie cutters and let's get baking!

This collection of soft cookies is all easy to make and they freeze well so you can make them ahead of time and save yourself time during the holiday season. 

A collection of images for easy short christmas cookie recipes that are festive.

Ultimate Guide to Popular Easy Soft Christmas Cookie Recipes

During the holiday season, a holiday tradition is to make an assorted cookie platter to give to loved ones.  Baking cookies during this time is not only a yummy treat to share with loved ones but also a joyful holiday tradition.

You'll find some of the most popular Christmas cookies in this list such as Peanut Butter Blossoms, Chocolate Chip Cookies, soft sugar cookies, and shortbread cookies. There's a wide variety of the best Christmas cookies to make in this collection; you are sure to create a delightful assortment of Christmas goodies that everyone can enjoy.

Cookie Baking Success Tips

These cookie baking tips will improve your cookie baking technique and ensure to create the softest, most flavorful, and beautiful cookies to give out this year. 

Room temperature ingredients - Use room temperature ingredients unless the recipe calls for melted or chilled. Most recipes call for room temperature ingredients for a good reason. Using room temperature butter will allow it to cream to the perfect consistency for cookie baking and using room temperature eggs make it super easy to blend the egg into the cookie dough without overbeating.

Measure the flour - If the cookie recipe is grams, then use a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients and if it's in cups then use a spoon to stir your flour to fluff it up and scoop it out using the spoon into a measuring cup. Use the handle of the spoon or a knife to level off the excess flour from the top of the measuring cup.  This will reduce up to 50% extra flour that you don't need in your recipe! 

Chill the dough - If the recipe you are following says to chill the dough - chill it! There are a few reasons behind this: either the chilled dough will result in a more puffy cookie or it is to allow the flavors to meld together and create a deeper flavor. 

Line the cookie sheets - Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper but don't grease them.  Using parchment will not only make clean up easy but it will also reduce the amount of spread that your cookies will have. 

One cookie sheet at a time - This is a big one! Bake one cookie sheet at a time to get evenly browned cookies. Overloading your oven can create hot spots which result in burnt edges on some of your cookie batch. Allow the cookie sheet to cool between baking. 

Use a cooling rack - As a cookie sits on the pan it was baked on, it continues to bake as it cools. Once the cookies have firmed up enough to move (about 5 minutes), it's a good idea to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Keep these tips in mind, and you'll be on your way to baking easy soft Christmas cookies that will come together easily and be delicious. Happy baking!

Classic Christmas Cookie Recipes

Everyone enjoys a good classic cookie recipe during the holidays and you can't go wrong with these! 

When it comes to classic cookie recipes for the holidays, you can't go wrong with these soft and delicious options. Classic Christmas cookies look beautiful on cookie platters for gift giving or to set out during a Christmas party.  

There's something warm and comforting about a classic cookie for Christmas and your cookie tray wouldn't be complete without it. 

Festive Christmas Cookie Recipes

One of the most enjoyable parts of holiday baking is creating festive and easy Christmas cookies. Getting creative with Christmas and winter-themed treats is a fun way to get kids involved in cookie baking and a great way to start a new holiday tradition.

In this list of festive cookie recipes, you'll find colorful and flavorful, soft Christmas cookies that impress your family and friends. Have fun experimenting with colors, flavors, and textures, you may just find some new favorite cookies to make during the Christmas season. 

Christmas Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are a holiday favorite that only take a few ingredients and they're easily made. 

Here are a few tips for creating the perfect shortbread cookies:

  • For the best taste and texture, use good quality butter and flour.
  • Have fun with extracts: almond, orange, lemon, and classic vanilla all taste wonderful in a shortbread cookie..
  • Keep an eye on the oven. Don't over bake the cookies, they should have a light brown exterios and a chewy soft center. Overbaking will lead to them being dry and crumbly. 

Christmas Cut Out Cookies

Grab your favorite cookie cutters and rolling pin and let's get baking.  Cutout cookies are a classic Christmas cookie because they are fun to make and it's a chance to get creative. The whole family can get involved and share their creativity. 

Here are a few tips for making cutout cookies:

  • To prevent the cookie dough from sticking to the rolling pin, place a sheet of parchment paper between it and the dough for easy rolling. 
  • Chill the dough if directed in the recipe to make it more pliable and easy to move after using cookie cutters.
  • Dip your favorite cookie cutters in flour before cutting into the dough.  This will help prevent the cutters from sticking to shapes.
  • Allow the cookies to cool completely before frosting. This way the royal icing or buttercream frosting will not melt down in the cookies.
  • Store the cookies with parchment paper between each layer to prevent the cookies from sticking together if they have been decorated. 

No Bake Cookies for Christmas

It doesn't get easier than no bake cookies, and here's a list of cookies that are super easy to make and have lots of flavor. With this variety of no-bake Christmas cookies, you can create delicious, easy, and soft treats that your family and friends will love during the festive season. 

Christmas Cookie Bars

Bar cookies are a fantastic option for easy Christmas treats as you don't have to scoop, cut, or shape them. Simply press the dough into the prepared baking dish and bake.

Having a cookie bar recipe on your list of cookies for the Christmas time of year is a good idea and the cut squares add a little variety to cookie platters. 

Christmas Cookies From Around the World

Christmas cookies are a beloved holiday treat enjoyed by people all around the world. Every country has its own unique take on these sweet treats including different flavors, shapes, and traditions.

Some examples are Lebkuchen cookies from Germany, Vanillekipferl and Linzer cookies from Austria, Pepparkakor from Sweden, and other cookie recipes from around the world.

These cookies are flavorful and delicious so make sure to add some of these delicious Christmas cookie recipes to your holiday baking list! 

Christmas Drop Cookies

Drop cookies are a classic holiday treat that is easy to make and perfect for Christmas.  They require no rolling, shaping, or cutting. Simply drop by the tablespoons two inches apart onto the cookie sheet and bake! 

Tip: Use a cookie scoop to get uniform-sized cookies and take the guess work out of portioning your dough. 

The Best Cookie Baking Tools and Supplies

Having the proper tools and supplies on hand is important to have when baking cookies, especially when making several holiday cookie recipes at a time.  

  • Cookie Scoop - every cookie baker should have this handy little tool. It is perfect for getting the same size cookies every time and it makes scooping the dough easier!
  • Cookie sheet - Using a light-colored baking sheet will slow down the browning process during baking and having more than one on hand will help bake batches quicker. 
  • Parchment paper - Parchment paper helps keep cookies from spreading too much and it also makes clean-up easier. Using a silicone mat instead of parchment paper is also useful but it will need to be used.  
  • Digital kitchen scale: When measuring in grams, this is a very useful kitchen tool. 
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment is very useful when making large batches of cookies. A hand mixer is an essential tool for cookie baking. 
  • Cooling racks: Allows proper airflow to cool your cookies evenly and prevents them from overbaking on the hot cookie sheet
  • Store in an airtight containerAllowing air to hit your cookies in storage will make them go stale and hard.  Store frosted sugar cookies in layers with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.
  • Leavening agents: Use fresh baking powder and baking soda in your cookie recipes.  By using old or expired ingredients it will prevent your cookies from rising or spreading.  It's a good idea to replace these ingredients every 3 months if the container has been opened for the best quality and freshness. 
  • Cookie Cutters: A variety of Christmas cookie cutters are essential when making cut out cookies.

Helpful tip:  If you find your cookies have gotten a little hard, toss a slice of bread in the container and check it in a few hours.  Voila! You'll have soft cookies again. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I make my Christmas cookies stay soft?

To make your Christmas cookies stay soft, you use the correct amount of flour by spooning and measuring it before using it in your dough. Having too much flour will result in dense cookies. Keep an eye on the oven to prevent the cookies from overbaking. When baking cookies, the edges of the cookies should be lightly browned and the centers still soft.  

Keep in mind that cookies will continue to bake as they cool on the cookie sheet.   Another tip for retaining softness is to store the cooled cookies in an airtight container with a piece of bread, which will keep the cookies soft.  A slice of bread added to cookies that have already been stored and no longer soft will help soften them up again.

Which types of cookies are best for cutouts?

Sugar cookies dough and gingerbread dough is best for cutout cookies. These cookies keep their shape as they don't spread too much during baking. 

How can I ensure my cut out cookies maintain their shape?

Chill your dough before rolling and cutting is an important to step to maining the cookie cutter shape will baking.  Chilling the dough slows down how much the ingredients heat up in the oven and will result in a better shape than if the cookies had not been chilled. 

jamie

Saturday 28th of October 2023

I am saving this as my reference in making these delicious recipes. Thank you!

amy liu dong

Saturday 28th of October 2023

I love all these recipes! They are all delicious and I can't wait to make these recipes at home.

Nickki

Saturday 21st of October 2023

This is the ultimate collection of Christmas cookies - there’s truly something for everyone here. They all look so delicious!