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Hi Bold Bakers!
WHY PARENTS LOVE THIS RECIPE: My 3 Easy Christmas Cookies To Bake With Kids all start with the same dough. Yes, you read that right! One cookie dough, three different cookies to keep the kiddos creative and happy!
There is a lot on your hands when you’re a parent, and cooking up batch after batch of Christmas cookies to please all your little ones (not to mention your spouse, grandparents, and possibly coworkers!) is a bit too much to take on. I totally get it!
That’s why I wanted to share with you my 3 Easy Christmas Cookies To Bake With Kids. Each cookie is unique, fun, and one of a kind — but they all start with the same dough.
One cookie dough for 3 different types of cookies to give yourself and your stand mixer a break.
Every kid likes to spend a little special time in the kitchen helping to bake Christmas cookies for Santa or holiday cookies they can share with their family and class. I’m so happy to be able to give you a stress-free recipe to do just that — plus, these cookies are extremely kid friendly. Not only are they delicious sugar cookies, but they’re easy to decorate cookies. Your little one certainly doesn’t need to attend pastry school just yet.
Whip up a batch of my Best Ever Sugar Cookie Recipe, and let’s get started!
Table Of Contents

What You’ll Need To Decorate Easy Christmas Cookies
To get started baking easy holiday cookies with kids, you will need a few things.
- Best Ever Sugar Cookie Recipe. When kids picture decorating sugar cookies, this is exactly the cookie they imagine. My homemade sugar cookie recipe gives you a crispy, sweet cookie that’s perfect for decorating! This is the dough that all three of our cookie designs will use.
- Decorating Icing. I outline how to make decorating icing below in the full recipe. You’ll use this icing for all 3 cookies.
- Gel Food Color. We’ll be using gel food coloring for these cookies. I prefer gel food coloring over liquid food coloring because it has brighter colors and won’t water down your icing. A little goes a long way.
- I used green and black gel food coloring.
- Piping Bags and Tips. For the icing, you can use piping bags or Ziploc bags.
- Decorations. I use a number of store-bought products to decorate these cookies to keep it simple. Of course, feel free to decorate however you like with whatever products you like best! Here’s what I used:
Sugar Cookie Decorating Tips
I’ll go over a few key tips for each cookie decoration, but here are a few helpful things to know when working with this sugar cookie dough and the homemade icing!
- This dough is soft and sticky, so be sure to work quickly when you roll it out, so it stays cold. Use plenty of flour to prevent sticking!
- Chill the dough for at least 3 hours before you roll it out. Otherwise, it will be too difficult to handle.
- Keep the icing covered if you are making it in advance; otherwise, it will dry out!
- For each cookie, I give you decorating suggestions, but of course, feel free to decorate however you and your little ones like! Use different candies, change the icing colors, or thicken the icing with more powdered sugar.
Can I Make Sugar Cookie Dough Ahead Of Time? Making Icing In Advance
Yes and yes! You can make sugar cookie dough in advance by wrapping it in plastic wrap and storing it in your refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can freeze sugar cookie dough for up to 2 months. Be sure to let it come to temperature in the refrigerator overnight before you plan on baking.
You can make the icing in advance and store it, covered, for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Christmas Tree Cookies

These extra-large Christmas Tree Cookies make it easy and fun for small hands to decorate!
Scroll down for a step-by-step guide to decorating Christmas Tree Cookies! Here are a few tips while decorating these sugar cookies:
- You can cut the Christmas tree shapes into any size you prefer; keep an eye on them while baking so they do not burn.
- You can make Homemade Sprinkles to decorate the trees!
- I used these Edible Gold Stars to decorate.
- Any colorful candies will do, but if you prefer, you can color your decorating icing with different gel food coloring and use that instead.
Reindeer Cookies

Are your kids enamored with Rudolph and the rest of Santa’s magic reindeer? Then these simple to decorate holiday cookies are the perfect project!
Be sure to scroll all the way down to the recipe card to see my step-by-step guide for decorating Reindeer Cookies, but while I have you here, here are a few tips:
- Get the kids involved with scooping, rolling, and shaping the dough before you bake! This cookie is a very easy shape and a great way to get kids involved.
- You can roll the dough in cinnamon sugar before shaping it for a delicious coating.
- I used red for the reindeer’s nose, but feel free to use different colored gumdrops! You can also use M&Ms or Skittles for the nose.
- Be sure to have extra pretzels because they can get a bit messy when you try to break them to create the antlers.
- I used these Candy Eyeballs, but you can decorate using different colored icing if you prefer. Or just different colored candies!
Snowman Cookies

I may find these Snowman Cookies the cutest of the bunch! There’s lots of room for creativity here, so let your kids get a little wild while dressing up their edible snowman!
You can follow my step-by-step guide to decorating Snowman Cookies below, but here are a few tips.
- Larger cookies are easier for small hands to decorate, so feel free to adjust the size to your preference!
- If precise piping for the eyes, mouth, and buttons is too difficult, use mini chocolate chips instead.
- Be sure to use sweetened coconut flakes for the best taste. If your kids aren’t fans of coconut, omit it.
- Instead of coconut flakes, you can use white sanding sugar for a sparkly snowman. Or, omit both the coconut and sanding sugar; the white frosting will still look adorable bare.
- I give you directions to make traditional-looking snowmen below, but let your kids decorate their snowmen how they’d like! Experiment with different food coloring and candy.
More Holiday Cookie Ideas
And don’t miss more everyday baking recipes in my NEW Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day cookbook!