You've found the best collection of cutout cookies to make for Christmas. It includes the sugar cookie recipe that you’ve been looking for as well as recipes for chocolate, shortbread, and gluten-free cutout cookies. Whether you’re new to baking or a seasoned pro, you’ll find these recipes easy to make. Just follow the step-by-step recipe steps and discover how to make Christmas cookies using traditional cookie cutters and creative decorating techniques. The recipes even include how to make icing for cookies so you can decorate the most festive cutout cookies on the holiday cookie platter. So grab your favorite cookie cutters and piping bag and get started making these cutout cookies that are sure to be the center of attention at your holiday gathering.
Maple Buttercream Cutouts
Impress your guests with these beautiful cutout cookies that are shaped like Christmas trees. You’ll have plenty to share because this sugar cookie recipe makes 30 cookies. Choose to decorate them with tinted buttercream frosting.
The Best Sugar Cookies
In just over an hour, you can have our best sugar cookie recipe ready for your family and friends. Follow the step-by-step directions to bake a perfect batch of cookies every time. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into your favorite shapes and characters. Once you have a batch baked up, follow the recipe’s steps to make royal icing—the best sugar cookie icing recipe.
Grapefruit and White Chocolate Cookies
Keep the holiday cookie decorating tradition alive with this twist on a classic sugar cookie recipe. For a savory note, sprinkle the frosted cookies with flaky sea salt. It's a great pairing for the bitter grapefruit.
Multi-Cutout Tree Cutouts
No frosting or piping bags are needed for this sugar cookie recipe. Just divide your dough and tint the portions with food coloring. Mix and match cutouts from each colored dough portion to make customized sparkling tree cookies. Give the cookies an extra twinkle of color by brushing them with edible luster dust.
Almond Sugar Cookies and Mascarpone-Cocoa Cutouts
Create Santa cookies with basic cookie cutter shapes, royal icing, and buttercream frosting. An almond sugar cookie base gives these beauties incredible flavor. Be sure to try the mascarpone-cocoa variation for a chocolatey treat.
Almond Sour-Cream Sugar Cookies
Add almond flavor to your Christmas cookie plate with these sour cream sugar cookies. Ground almonds and almond extract provide an indulgent flavor and a captivating fragrance. Pipe on snowflake designs with royal icing for beautiful cookies that are firm on the outside and tender on the inside.
Chocolate Wreath Sugar Cookies
Add a beautiful dimension to a round cutout cookie with a wreath design made of shaved chocolate. Making the striking design is as easy as arranging chocolate shards in a circle atop a classic sugar cookie that’s flooded with royal icing. Attach red candy-coated chocolate pieces with icing to simulate berries.
Diamond-Shape Santa Sugar Cookies
Transform a traditional diamond cutout cookie into a Santa cookie. Powdered sugar icing gives the cookie personality and holds the decorative candy in place. Get a jump on the holidays by making these cookies now and storing them for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Nut Butter Shortbread Trees
Make these shortbread cutout cookies with the recipe’s homemade almond butter. Traditional tree-shaped cutters make these powdered sugar-topped cookies simple and inviting. If you’re new to making shortbread, check out our Test Kitchen’s tips for buttery shortbread cookies.
Santa Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Spread holiday cheer and a ho-ho-ho message from Santa with these festive cutout cookies. It only takes two cookie cutters—one round to make the Santa bellies and one shaped like the letter H. Pipe the cookies with royal icing and sprinkle the H-shaped cookies with decorative sprinkles.
Lemon Curd Linzer Stars
Surprise everyone at the table with these lemon curd cookies. Decorate them with homemade powdered sugar icing and colorful sprinkles. We chose yellow to echo the lemon theme.
Top-Hat Snowmen Cookies
If you love crafting, then this cookie recipe is for you. Three cookie cutters and a series of cuts are needed to make these dressed-up snowmen. Tinted royal icing, colored sugar, confetti sprinkles, and orange gumdrops will make these snowmen stand out on your holiday table.
Concentric Star Sugar Cookies
Make decorating cookies simple with this sugar cookie recipe. No special decorating skills are needed to cut out the dough with a traditional star-shaped cookie cutter and flood the baked cookies with white royal icing. Once the icing is dry, pipe concentric stars on cookies using yellow-tinted royal icing. While the icing is wet, sprinkle piped stars with yellow-colored sugar.
Traditional Snowflake Sugar Cookies
Complete your holiday cookie plate with this easy sugar cookie recipe. A traditional snowflake-shaped cookie cutter makes the dough easy to manage and decorate. Just pipe the royal icing on the cookies with your favorite design in mind. Sprinkle the cookies with white sanding sugar and attach sugar pearls for a sparkling accent.
Gingerbread Cookie Cutouts
You can make beautiful gingerbread cookies for Christmas with this easy cookie recipe. This make-ahead recipe can be baked and frozen up to 3 months before serving. Decorate the cookies once they are thawed.
