Edible Christmas Ornament Cookies

Whip up a batch of these ornament cookies for Christmas this year. buttery sugar cookie topped with a royal icing. These cookie cutter Christmas ornament cookies are so stunning. Sprinkle on some festive sprinkles, and ribbon for decoration!

A fancy decorated Christmas cookies that is great for entertaining, gifting to loved ones, or treating your family. These cookies will wow anyone with looks and taste. Give this cookie ornament recipe a try today. This is the best Christmas cookies. Or try out our Christmas pretzels.

If you love Christmas like us. Here are some Christmas cakesicles that are a jumbo-size cake popsicle. These are so good. We also have a easy Christmas shortbread cookie or for a no-bake dessert try our cornflake cookies.

These Ornament Cookies Are..

• Homemade cookies
• Topped with Royal Icing
• Edible cookie ornaments that you can hang on tree if you want
• Festive
• Simple to decorate

Ingredients You Will Need

• Butter – Reach for room temperature butter. If you use salted butter, just leave out the teaspoon of salt in the cookie recipe.
• Granulated Sugar
• Flour – All purpose flour is what we used. Make sure to measure properly and level the top of the measuring cup.
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Eggs – Reach for room temperature on eggs.
• Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar – This is for making the royal icing.
• Meringue Powder – we love this powder for making icing. You need meringue powder not egg white powder.

Helpful Tools

• Couplers – This is great if you are going to change up the colors of your icing. That way you have multiple couplers to use.
• Christmas Ornaments Cutters
• Mixer – or Stand Mixer

Variations To Recipe

Extracts – Feel free to swap out the vanilla extract with an almond extract. It will give the cookies great flavor. Or do 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon almond.

Christmas cookie icing – Instead of royal icing feel free to swap with a buttercream, or any other style of frosting.

Coloring Icing – Consider coloring your icing if you want to decorate your cookies differently.

How to Make

Step One: Start by creaming your butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Let it whip for 5 minutes. This is important.

Step Two: Next, add in the vanilla and eggs. Mixing well.

Step Three: Next in a bowl add your flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

Step Four: Begin to incorporate the dry ingredients from the wet.

Step Five: Next divide the cookie dough in half. Roll out on a floured surface to get around 1/8″ thick. Then use Christmas cookie cutters and make your shaped cookie dough.

Step Six: Place the dough on a prepared baking pan and bake as directed, then allow to cool fully. When the cookies are done, use a straw to poke a hole on the top of the cookie, for where the string goes.

Step Seven: Once the cookies are cooled you will work on the royal icing.

Step Eight: Add ingredients for the royal icing in a stand mixer. Begin mixing until when you lift up the attachment the icing drizzles down into the bowl.

Step Nine: Now you can put the icing on the cookies and decorate. If you want color with food coloring to change up the color of the icing.

Expert Tips

If the cookies bubble up at all while baking. When you place them on a parchment lined cooling rack place upside down. This will help the bubbles go away.

The hole needs to be large enough for ribbon to go through. Make sure to check with the first one you make.

Don’t make the hole to close to the top or it can break when you go to hang the cookies.

You can use ribbon or bakers twine if you would like.

The longer you mix royal icing the thicker the texture will become.

Make sure that you adjust the water as needed. We might use 10 tablespoons water one day and then later on use 12-14. Watch the consistency of the mixture.

You can make Christmas tree cookies stars, ornaments, or any other shape you want. These are festive and fun.

Storing Cookies

Your royal icing Christmas cookies will store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You will find these cookies will dry out as they store in a container.

You can also freeze your cookies for 3-4 months if you want. Or vacuum seal your cookies for a longer shelf life.

Note: If you use a different type of frosting, it might then need to be where you refrigerate the cookies if it is buttercream, cream cheese frosting, etc.

Practical notes

Here are some common questions for these ornament sugar cookies.

Do these cookies spread when they bake?

The cookies will not spread much when you go to bake them. They are a cookie cutter style cookie, so it will hold shape well. If by chance the cookies do spread, that means the batter of the cookie was not mixed with proper ratios.

How long does it take royal icing to set up?

Generally, royal icing will take around 2-3 hours to set up. If your icing is more on the runny side, it will take a bit longer to set up. We recommend making your desserts in advance by a day or 1/2 a day to ensure the icing has time to fully set up.

How to prevent royal icing from setting up before using it?

If you are taking a break from decorating the cookies, you can take a damp paper towel and place on top of the icing. Otherwise, the air will cause the icing to harden.

Here are some more homemade holiday desserts to pair next to this Christmas cookie recipe.

Ingredients

Makes 30 -40 cookies

Cookie Ingredients

• 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Royal Icing Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 8-10 tablespoons room temperature water
• Gel food coloring, optional
• Christmas Sprinkles, optional

Method

1. In a stand mixer, you will cream your butter and granulated sugar for 5 minutes on medium speed.
2. Then you will add in your eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well and scrape down the sides.
3. Next in a small bowl add your flour, baking powder and salt, and mix well. Then slowly incorporate the dry into the butter mixture.
4. Divide you cookie dough into two sections and roll out the dough to 1/8" thick.
5. Use cookie cutters to design as you would like. Place on a prepared baking sheet, and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are fully done.
6. Once you remove from the oven take a straw and poke a hole in removing the cookie are to make a hole for string.
7. Let the cookies fully cool.

Royal Icing Directions

1. Start by adding your powdered sugar, meringue powder and 8 tablespoons of water into a hand or stand mixer. With the whisk attachment begin mixing the icing ingredients on high speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
2. At this time you can beat in more water if you find the mixture is too thick. Depending on humidity the texture will change.
3. You want the royal icing to drip down slowly on the whisk when you lift it out out of the bowl. Too runny will take longer for the icing to dry.

Decorating

1. Pour your royal icing or any type of icing in piping bag, and pipe your cookies.
2. Then you will add sprinkles if you want. Allow the cookies to set up.
3. Then take some ribbon or baker’s twine and tie a ribbon through the hole of cookie.
4. Then you have Christmas ornament cookies ready to serve up!

Kitchen notes

Cookies

– Depending on size of cookie cutters, will depend how many cookies you will end up with. Icing – You can use any type of icing you want. We like royal icing as it hardens, and allows the string or ribbon to not have frosting on it. Royal Icing – It takes around 2 hours for the royal icing to dry. If you are going to pause on decorating, place a wet paper towel over the icing in a bowl to prevent it from drying up. Texture of Icing – If you need you will add less or more water. Depending on humidity and other factors you will find the water varies. Storing Cookies – Store your cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They will dry out after too long. You can also freeze your cookies if you would like. Cookies – If you find your cookies bubble up when baking just place them upside down on parchment paper to help remove the air bubbles.