A super simple Christmas Sugar Cookie recipe, these Mitten Cut-out Cookies are such a cute cookie idea that would be a treat all winter long!

Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

Until a couple of years ago, I have always thought sugar cookies were the blandest of all the cookies.

There were always such cute ideas and they looked gorgeous on party tables, but I almost always regretted taking one after the first bite. At best they were flavorless – at worst, chalky and dry. (And this wasn’t just one party – this was every time I saw a cute tray of sugar cookies at a party or event.)

However, after Ella and I tried the giant sugar cookies at Disney World (because, how can you not give in to a cookie the size of your child’s head?) I realized that sugar cookies can actually be delicious!

This mitten cookie recipe uses the same sugar cookie recipe used at the Disney parks – it is different from my go-to sugar cookie recipe as this recipe puffs up a bit while baking thanks to the addition of cream of tartar (which works with the mitten shape but is not always something I want to deal with in sugar cookies). These cookies have a delicious vanilla flavor and are soft and pillowy – they completely melt in your mouth!

I also experimented with making a couple of the mitten sugar cookies into cookie pops! It was incredibly simple and I’ll definitely be doing more of those in the future. You just need long lollipop sticks to make them (similar to the kind you would use for cake pops but longer).

They would be so cute arranged in a cookie bouquet as a gift, or individually wrapped as a small Christmas present (perhaps a classroom gift). Ella enjoyed hers as we read Jan Brett’s The Mitten.

Ingredients for Cut-Out Christmas Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the royal icing and decoration:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup cream of tarter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 1/2 cups powder sugar
• teal, red and green gel color
• 1 container of white sanding sugar

Tip: The cookie dough can be frozen, but if you need to prepare ahead and freeze, I would prefer to bake and freeze the undecorated cookies.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Mitten cookie cutter
• 4 disposable piping bags fitted with number 2 tip
• 3 squeeze bottles

How to Make Christmas Cut-out Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside

Using a standing mixer, cream together the butter, powder sugar, vanilla and egg and mix until combined and creamy

Using a large bowl, combined the flour, baking soda and cream of tarter

Gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed

Using your hands continue to mix until fully combined

Lightly flour a cutting board and knead the cookie dough a couple of times

Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut out a few mittens and place onto the cookie sheet

Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly golden brown

Repeat steps until completely out of dough

Let cookies cool completely

Note: if you want to make cookie pops, you simply need to add a strip of dough to hold a lollipop stick in place on the back of the cookie before making.

Using the standing mixer, combine the egg whites, cream of tarter, vanilla and powder sugar and mix until combined and stiff peaks form

Split the icing into 4 bowls – dye one bowl teal, one bowl red, one green, and leave the final bowl white.

Scoop half of frosting into the piping bags (one color per bag).

Add in about 2 tablespoons of water into each of the bowls and mix until combined

Pour the thinned icing into the squeeze bottles and set aside. Cover the white icing and place in the fridge.

Using the teal piping bag, pipe an outline around the top half of the mitten, leaving the bottom bare for the white on the mitten

Fill in with the thinned teal icing

Repeat steps with remaining red and green colors onto the other cookies.

Let cookies dry overnight.

Using the white icing piping bag, pipe a outline around the bottom part of the mitten and fill in with the thinned icing

Pour the sprinkles onto a plate

Dip the white part of the mitten into the sprinkles and set aside

Repeat steps on remaining cookies

Let cookies dry for an hour

Using the white icing, pipe a snowflake onto the middle of the mitten

Dip into the sprinkles

Repeat steps with remaining cookies

Choose one of the three colors to pipe a strip across the lower part of the mitten

Let cookies dry for another hour before enjoying.

 

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These Cut-out Sugar Cookies absolutely melt in your mouth and are a fun treat for a winter get-together or a sweet treat!

For more delicious winter desserts, check out our Hot Chocolate Pudding or our Crockpot Hot Chocolate.

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