Description
Celebrate the holiday season with these delightful Holly and Berry Sugar Cookies, featuring classic sugar cookie dough cut into festive holly leaf shapes and decorated with vibrant red and green icing. Perfect for Christmas gatherings or as a cheerful treat to share with family and friends, these cookies are flavorful, fun to decorate, and sure to brighten any cookie platter.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Decorations
- Red and green royal icing or gel decorating icing
- Small red candies or sprinkles (for berries)
- Green sanding sugar (optional, for sparkle)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to ensure it reaches the right temperature for baking the cookies evenly.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. This ensures the leavening agents and salt are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter with granulated sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color—this will help create tender cookies.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Beat in one large egg, then stir in the vanilla extract and almond extract if using, incorporating flavors evenly.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms without overmixing.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two equal parts, shape each into a disc, wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the dough for easier rolling.
- Roll and Cut Shapes: On a lightly floured surface, roll out one dough disc to approximately 1/4-inch thickness. Use holly leaf-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes, transferring them to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn a light golden color. This keeps the cookies soft inside with slightly crisp edges.
- Cool: Remove cookies from oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
- Decorate: Use green royal or gel icing to outline and fill in the holly leaves. Add red icing dots or small red candies to mimic holly berries. Optionally sprinkle green sanding sugar over the icing for extra sparkle.
- Set Icing: Let the decorated cookies sit undisturbed until the icing has fully set before storing or serving.
Notes
- For sharper edges, chill the cut cookie shapes on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before baking.
- These cookies can be baked ahead of time and decorated later as the icing can be applied when needed.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week to maintain freshness.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes (plus 30 minutes chilling)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
