Riley Wofford is a recipe developer, food stylist, and writer. Outside of the kitchen, she enjoys drinking gimlets and sour beer, spending time with her foster dogs, and going on road trips.
Here's a crazy idea that just might be brilliant: This year, leave the plate of cookies for Santa in his own image. He'll love sliding down the chimney to see his portrait! (Just don't forget the carrots and celery for the reindeer.) Pair Santa cookies with gingerbread cookies, Christmas pinwheel cookies, and spritz cookies for an epic holiday cookie plate.
These super-cute Santa cookies require a Santa-shaped cookie cutter. You'll want to choose one with a generously sized hat so you can decorate it with red icing and sanding sugar. Then you'll use buttercream, piped in star-shaped dots, to make his fuzzy beard. If you don't have a star-shaped tip, use a zip-top bag with a corner snipped off to do more of a wooly, dotted look. It'll still be sweet.
Here are some tips to make your cookies as perfect as can be:
• Reroll the dough scraps just once—any more than that, the dough will get too tough. You can also bake the extras to practice your decorating skills.
• Make sure the cookies are very well chilled before going into the oven so they hold their shape.
• The red buttercream will be easier to work with and make smooth if you thin it out just a bit more than the white (think halfway between buttercream and royal icing).
- Yields:
- 12
- Prep Time:
- 20 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 c.
(360 g.) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 tsp.
baking powder
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 c.
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 c.
(200 g.) granulated sugar
- 1
large egg
- 1 tbsp.
whole milk
- 1 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 c.
(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 5 c.
(570 g.) powdered sugar
- 1/4 c.
whole milk
- 1/2 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp.
kosher salt
Red food coloring, red sanding sugar, and red and brown mini M&M's, for decorating
Directions
Cookies
- Step 1In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until fluffy and pale in color, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- Step 2Divide dough in half and place one-half between 2 pieces of lightly floured parchment. Roll to a scant 1/4"-thick round. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Step 3Preheat oven to 350° and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 4Cut out shapes of dough with a 4 1/2" Santa-shaped cookie cutter. Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1" apart. Freeze 5 minutes.
- Step 5Bake cookies until edges are lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Frosting & Assembly
- Step 1In a large bowl, using electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. Add milk, vanilla, and salt and beat until well combined.
- Step 2Transfer two-thirds of buttercream to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag fitted with a small star tip. Whisk a few drops of red food coloring into remaining buttercream.
- Step 3Using a small offset spatula, spread red buttercream over tops of cookies to create the hat. Dip into sanding sugar, pressing to smooth and adhere.
- Step 4Using short piping motions, pipe stars of white buttercream onto cookies to create a beard and ball on each cap. Press 1 red M&M into the beard for a nose. Using small amounts of buttercream, secure brown M&M's onto each cookie to create eyes.