These soft Christmas cookies are the PERFECT sweet treat for the holidays. Made from scratch, these royal iced almond sugar cookies are always a huge hit and always tasty.
We make this Christmas cut out cookie recipe with almond extract to get a wonderfully enhanced flavor that elevates your sugar cookies to a new level of awesome.
A soft, crisp edged cookie that's buttery, tender, and lightly sweetened is exactly what makes these cookies great on their own. Adding frosting or icing on top is optional, but it always adds to the fun and gives a nice festive touch.
Why This Recipe Works
- Almond flavor without chunks. While these soft almond sugar cookies don't actually contain sliced almonds, the flavor from the extract is enough to help bring in that aromatic flavor we can't wait to sink our teeth into.
- They won't spread. These cookies are made to be cut and baked, meaning they hold their shape very well. This is especially perfect for those recipes where the cookie cutters have finer details or need straight lines.
- Simple ingredients. The cookies use very basic and simple ingredients to come together, but we do need some meringue powder for the icing (if you choose to make it). This can still be found in cake decorating sections of Walmart or craft stores, so it won't be hard to find.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the Cookies, you will need:
Unsalted butter- You will need butter for added richness and to keep the cookies moist.
Granulated sugar- Adding sugar not only helps the sweetness of the cookies but also helps to give them a better texture too.
Eggs- You will need eggs and an extra egg yolk for the cookies to be well combined.
Vanilla extract- This is a flavor enhancer.
Almond extract- This will give us a richer taste. If you're not a fan of almond extract, you can just use more vanilla.
Baking powder- This is a leavening agent that will help the cookies to puff up as they bake.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer.
All-purpose flour- The structural base of the dough is flour.
For the Royal Icing, you will need:
Meringue powder- This will help the icing to set hard, so you can easily store the cookies away without the icing sticking.
Powdered sugar- For a smooth and sweet consistency.
Warm water- You'll need some warm water to get the icing to the correct consistency.
Vanilla- A flavor enhancer.
Gel food coloring- Use gel food coloring instead of liquid so that it doesn't change the icing consistency and the colors remain vibrant.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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- Plastic Wrap
- Frosting bags
- Cookie Cutters
- Electric Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Sheet
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Rolling Pin
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make soft Christmas cookies with these simple step-by-step instructions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
Mix in the egg and egg yolk.
Once combined, add in the vanilla extract and almond extract.
Add in the baking powder and salt.
Gradually add in the flour in about ¼ cup to ½ cup portions at a time until fully incorporated. Mix until you get a nice dough consistency.
Lay down a piece of plastic wrap and place your dough in the shape of a ball on top of the plastic. Wrap it up well and store in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F right before removing the dough from the fridge.
Once the dough has chilled, place half of it onto a generously floured surface and roll out to be ¼ of an inch thick.
Use Christmas themed cookie cutters to cut the dough into your desired shapes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cut shapes onto the pan.
Bake in the oven for 11-13 minutes or until the bottom edges are lightly golden brown.
Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.
How to Make Royal Icing
Whisk together the meringue powder and powdered sugar in a large grease-free bowl.
With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, add in the water and vanilla.
Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks form. This will take about 5 minutes.
Divide the frosting into bowls for different colors as desired and mix until colors are achieved.
Add the colored icings to frosting bags and snip the corner off. Pipe onto cookies and decorate.
Get the frosting into an even layer. It helps to tap the sides and the bottoms of the cookies to release air bubbles.
Dry the cookies for a few hours until the icing has set, and then stack and store them or serve and enjoy.
🧾 Substitutions
Flavorings. If desired, you can turn these vanilla almond cut out cookies into just almond by omitting the vanilla, or alternatively, you can turn them into vanilla cookies by omitting the almond extract. I do not recommend using extra almond extract in place of the vanilla as that will overpower these cookies and make them REALLY strong in flavor.
Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. If using salted butter reduce the requested salt in the recipe card to ¼ teaspoon instead of ½ teaspoon. I do NOT recommend swapping the butter for margarine as margarine will not hold up well and will cause these cookies to spread and lose shape.
Gluten Free flour. If desired, you can swap out the all purpose flour for Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 baking flour.
Meringue powder. If desired, you can substitute the requested meringue powder for three egg whites.
📖 Variations
These almond extract cookies can be modified to fit different flavors (perfect for switching them up for different holidays or seasons). Use lemon extract, maple extract, or even peppermint extract in place of the almond extract (½ teaspoon).
I included a recipe for royal icing that works great and holds firm for days. If desired, you can use buttercream frosting instead. Even just grabbing a tub of store-bought frosting and spreading it on top of cookies would be great for a sweet topping.
Omitting the icing- if desired, you can simply omit the frosting and icing altogether. Just add coarse sugar or colorful sprinkles on top of the cut out cookie shapes before baking and lightly press down to help them adhere.
🍴 Recipe Tips
They'll soften as they age
These Christmas cut out cookies are great when enjoyed the same day but taste best the following day! This gives the cookies a chance to soften and settle, making the flavors more intense and delicious.
Adjust the dough as needed
If your cookie dough is too wet, you can add in flour, one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. You can also add in a tablespoon of milk if the dough gets too dry.
Grease free bowls
Make sure that all of the bowls and tools used for the icing are completely grease free, or else the icing may never reach the desired consistency. This means using a bowl that has been washed and dried completely.
Running a paper towel around the inside, even while it's clean/dry, can help to pick up any grease that you can't see.
🍪 Baking Times
Because not everyone has the same size and shape of cookie cutters, keep in mind that your cookies may bake at a different time. Smaller shapes cook more quickly, and those with thin pieces may brown faster as well.
Try to organize your baking sheets by cookie size and shape to make the baking process more efficient instead of having some pieces cook faster than others.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
Make the dough as requested and place it in an airtight container, Ziploc bag, or covered bowl for up to 3 days in advance. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. Just thaw in the fridge overnight or place the dough on the counter for a few hours before rolling it out.
💭 FAQs
You can keep the leftover icing stored in airtight containers for 3-5 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
A big reason for this can be because you didn't measure the flour properly. When baking, you want to do the scoop and level form of measuring. This is when you scoop flour into your measuring cup using a spoon and then level off the top with the backside of a knife. Do not tap the sides of the cup or try to pack extra flour into the cup and do not use the measuring cup to scoop straight out of the bag as this can add up to 50% more flour than desired.
The best way to store these cookies after they have been decorated and the icing has been set is to layer them in an airtight container with wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking. Keep stored at room temp for 3-5 days.
More great Christmas recipes to check out soon
- Christmas Tree Fruit Pizza
- Christmas Tree Pretzels
- Easy Christmas Pretzels
- Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
- Elf Sized Cookies
- Cranberry Eggnog Streusel Muffins
📖 Recipe
Soft Christmas Cookies
Equipment
- Plastic Wrap
- Cookie Cutters
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Unsalted butter- room temperature ($1.12)
- 1 cup Granulated sugar ($0.22)
- 1 large Egg ($0.08)
- 1 Egg yolk ($0.08)
- 1½ teaspoon Vanilla extract ($0.03)
- ½ teaspoon Almond extract ($0.01)
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder ($0.04)
- ½ teaspoon Salt ($0.05)
- 3 cups All-purpose flour ($0.24)
Royal Icing
- 4 tablespoon meringue powder ($1.56)
- 4 cups powdered sugar ($0.23)
- 6 tablespoon warm water ($0.00)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla ($0.02)
- gel food coloring
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Mix in the egg and egg yolk.
- Once combined, add in the vanilla extract and almond extract.
- Add in the baking powder and salt.
- Gradually add in the flour in about ¼ cup to ½ cup portions at a time until fully incorporated. Mix until you get a nice dough consistency.
- Lay down a piece of plastic wrap and place your dough in the shape of a ball on top of the plastic. Wrap it up well and store in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F right before removing the dough from the fridge.
- Once the dough has chilled, place half of it onto a generously floured surface and roll out to be ¼ of an inch thick.
- Use Christmas themed cookie cutters to cut the dough into your desired shapes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cut shapes onto the pan.
- Bake in the oven for 11-13 minutes or until the bottom edges are lightly golden brown.
- Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.
Icing
- Whisk together the meringue powder and powdered sugar in a large grease-free bowl.
- With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, add in the water and vanilla.
- Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks form. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Divide the frosting into bowls for different colors as desired and mix until colors are achieved.
- Add the colored icings to frosting bags and snip the corner off. Pipe onto cookies and decorate.
- Get the frosting into an even layer. It helps to tap the sides and the bottoms of the cookies to release air bubbles.
- Dry the cookies for a few hours until the icing has set and then stack and store or serve and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- If your cookie dough is too wet, you can add in flour, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. You can also add in a tablespoon of milk if the dough gets too dry.
- Make sure that all of the bowls and tools used for the icing are completely grease free or else the icing may never reach the desired consistency.
- Baking time will vary. Because not everyone has the same size and shape of cookie cutters, keep in mind that your cookies may bake at a different time. Smaller shapes cook more quickly and those with thin pieces may brown faster as well. Try to organize your baking sheets by cookie size and shape to make the baking process more efficient instead of having some pieces cooking faster than others.
- When baking, you want to do the scoop and level form of measuring. This is when you scoop flour into your measuring cup using a spoon and then level off the top with the backside of a knife. Do not tap the sides of the cup or try to pack extra flour into the cup and do not use the measuring cup to scoop straight out of the bag as this can add up to 50% more flour than desired.
Make Ahead
- You can make the cookie dough in advance. Make the dough as requested and place it in an airtight container, Ziploc bag, or covered bowl for up to 3 days in advance. Alternatively, you can freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. Just thaw in the fridge overnight or place the dough on the counter for a few hours before rolling it out.
Storage
- You can keep the leftover icing stored in airtight containers for 3-5 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
- The best way to store these cookies after they have been decorated and the icing has been set is to layer them in an airtight container with wax paper between each layer to prevent sticking. Keep stored at room temp for 3-5 days.
- These Christmas cut out cookies are great when enjoyed the same day but taste best the following day! This gives the cookies a chance to soften and settle, making the flavors more intense and delicious.
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