Christmas Sugar Cookies shouldn’t be hard to decorate. Here are three easy ways you can decorate cookies using buttercream instead of Royal Icing.

Snowflake Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe with Buttercream Frosting

You won’t believe how easy these sugar cookies are to make and decorate. The secret is to relax, have fun, and don’t use royal icing. Don’t get me wrong – I love Christmas cookies with icing, but using buttercream frosting is easier, cleaner, and makes for a big puffy cookie that is soft to bite in to. I was so thrilled with how these beautiful snowflake sugar cookies turned out. Give this easy Christmas sugar cookie recipe a try and you won’t be disappointed.

When I was contacted by Wilton’s on behalf of Micheal’s Craft Store, I was ecstatic! I shop there all the time and it’s where I get a lot of my baking and decorating products. So, when they wanted to work with me to promote their Christmas Cookie Cutters and decorations I was IN!

I decided to make three different styles of cookies with the buttercream frosting. You can make easy decorations by just smearing frosting on the cookie and adding sprinkles. Then you can make a pretty decoration by piping lines out and layering a little cookie on top if you’re comfortable using a piping bag. Then, make a puffy and beautiful sugar cookie covered in frosting that looks more like a pillow.

I loved how easy they were. Check out the fun video I made for you!

See?? So easy! Now, go bake and decorate!

You can find the snowflake cookie cutter at your local Micheal’s Craft Store. It comes with the large 3 inch cutter and a smaller 1 inch cutter that I used to layer the cookie. I did try to cut out the center of the snowflake with the smaller one, but it made it very difficult to handle and it ended up breaking.

Once your comfortable with a few designs, get creative with it. There’s nothing stopping your creativity except for you. Get the kids involved and let them decorate their heart out.

When I handed the piping bags over to my daughter, I had poured just a bit of the sprinkles in their lids, so she had to pinch the sprinkles instead of dumping them on the cookie. I also placed the cookies on cookie sheet to catch all of the sugar and excess that falls off of the cookie. Of course, there was still a mess, but it was much more contained.

Aren’t those big, puffy snowflake sugar cookies beautiful? ILOVETHEM!!

I loved the color! That Color Right system from Wilton is great for getting me the perfect color every time.

I loved the design!  I think that the puffy frosting is just as beautiful as royal icing cookies.

For these cookies I used these Wilton Products

 

My family  loved this Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe and I’m sure your family will too. Thanks so much to Wilton’s And Micheal’s for supplying me with all of these great Christmas Cookie supplies!

For more delicious Christmas Cookies, check these out

Thumbprint Cookies

Lemon Snowball Cookies

Stain Glass Cookies

 

Yield: 3 doz depending on size

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

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Christmas Sugar Cookies shouldn't be hard. Here are three easy ways you can decorate cookies using buttercream instead of royal icing.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Decorating Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 42 minutes

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 1 1 /2 C Powdered Sugar
• 1 C Butter, unsalted
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract or use your favorite Tasteology Flavor
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 C Flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Basic Buttercream Recipe

• Ingredients
• 1 C Shortening
• 2 pounds Powdered Sugar
• 2 tsp Wilton Clear Vanilla extract - or use your favorite Tasteology Flavor
• ½ C milk
• Wilton Color Right (1 drop blue and ½ drop brown)

Instructions

For the Cookies

1. Beat butter and sugar until smooth. (Cover your mixer with a damp towel to keep powder from covering your surrounding area.)
2. Add in vanilla and almond extract with the egg.
3. Combine dry ingredients and stir in.
4. Wrap up 1/3 of the batter in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Repeat with remaining dough. It can also be placed in the freezer to bake at a later time.
5. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
6. Roll out 1 packet on a lightly floured surface or a silicon mat. Roll to 1/3 inch thickness and cut snowflake shapes. Place shapes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon baking sheet and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
7. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes depending on the size. Remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes before transferring to cool on a wire rack.

For the Buttercream

1. Cream the shortening and vanilla extract in a stand mixer for best results. Gradually alternate the sugar and milk until you have reached a thick, frosting consistency. Divide the batch of buttercream in half. One half will remain white, the second half will be colored blue.
2. Remove half from the white and add in another tablespoon of milk to thin it out. Transfer to a prepared piping bag with a Wilton No.3 tip.
3. Transfer the remaining white frosting to a prepared piping bag with a Wilton No.18 tip.
4. Color the remaining remaining frosting to a light pale blue. This was achieved using the Wilton Color Right system of 1 drop blue and ½ drop brown.
5. Remove half the blue buttercream and add an additional tablespoon of milk to thin it out. Transfer to a prepared piping bag with a Wilton No.3 tip.
6. Transfer the remaining blue frosting to a prepared piping bag with a Wilton No.22 tip.

Decorate the Cookies

1. Easy decorations : Pipe out the thicker frosting on a cookie and use an offset spatula to spread out the buttercream. Add sprinkles to decorate. The kids love this technique.
2. Moderate decorations : Pipe out a snowflake design with the thinner buttercream and add pearls and sugar to make them “sparkle”. Be sure to press the pearls into the frosting to be sure that they will stick once the buttercream dries.
3. Advanced decorations : If you’re comfortable piping shells, take the thicker frosting with the No.18 or No.22 tip and pipe shells on the tips of the snowflakes. Add pearls and sprinkles to decorate using your tweezers to help place the pearls exactly where you want them.

Notes

Notes from Karyn - These cookies and decorations do stay soft. The frosting crusts over, however, the decorations will crack if they are poked at. They can be gently stacked, but will not travel will if stacked. It’s best to keep them on a flat surface until ready to add to your Christmas cookie plate.

There will be more than enough buttercream for two or even three batches of cookies. You can freeze the buttercream to save for another cookie decorating event. Just allow it time to thoroughly thaw, then whip it back to your desired consistency.