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    TaraTeaspoon » Holidays + Celebrations » Easy Christmas Recipes

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    Published: by

    Santa Face Sugar Cookies

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Jump to Comments
    Santa Face Sugar Cookies
    Santa Face Sugar Cookies

    These Santa cookies are the cutest cookies you've ever seen! They're decorated with royal icing and are great for cookie swaps and gifting.


    I dare you to nibble on one of these darling Santa face cookies. They are almost too cute to eat! Made with a simple raindrop-shaped cookie cutter, it's the perfect canvas for Santa's smiling face.

    santa face sugar cookies beauty

    There are so many things that make these Santa face cookies special. The little blue eyes and pink nose give Santa's face a little sweet personality.

    The up-turned mustache helps Santa smile, and they are perfect for packing up in cellophane bags for party favors or gifts. Because the royal icing sets and hardens, it won't smear or rub off once the cookies are dry.

    These will be the hit of any cookie swap! Just tell me if you don't win, or get the most compliments and gushes ever!

    Jump to:
    • Recipe Ingredients
    • How to Make Santa Cookies
    • Tips for Making Santa Sugar Cookies
    • More Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas:
    • Santa-Face Santa Sugar Cookies

    Recipe Ingredients

    These Santa cookies come together with basic ingredients you likely keep on hand year-round!

    The sugar cookie base is made with flour, butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. I also used two egg yolks — save the egg whites for another baked good!

    To create the decorated Santa cookies, I used my favorite royal icing recipe. It pipes like a dream and can be colored using gel food coloring.

    How to Make Santa Cookies

    I used a basic sugar cookie dough for these Santa face cookies, a raindrop cutter, and a small circle cutter to make the shapes for his face and three-dimensional mustache! Don't you just love how his little 'stache sits on top?

    Here's an overview of how these royal icing Christmas cookies are made:

    1. Make the sugar cookies as directed in the recipe card below.
    2. Once the cookies have cooled, you can decorate the cookies. Color ⅔ cup royal icing red and ¼ cup each pink and blue and place in pastry bags with tips.
    3. Fill another pastry bag with 1¼ cup white icing.
    4. Ice the tops of the drop cookies with red icing and the bottoms and all half-circles with white icing. Allow icing to set before proceeding.
    5. Adhere half circles to drop cookies with icing to form a mustache.
    6. Pipe hat trim and tip with white icing. Pipe eyes and nose with blue and pink icing.
    7. Allow icing to set completely before enjoying.
    Santa face cookies on red platter and red linen

    Can This Recipe Be Made in Advance?

    Yes, you can prepare the decorated Santa cookies up to three days before you plan on serving them.

    Store them in airtight containers, separating each layer with wax paper to protect the cookie design.

    Tips for Making Santa Sugar Cookies

    • If you don't already have raindrop and circle shaped cookie cutters, you'll want to get them to be prepped and ready to bake. These are some of my favorite circle cutters. And this raindrop cutter set has the perfect size.
    • Get the kids involved and let them decorate Santa's face. You could use sprinkles or sanding sugar on the beard and mustache! Or even on the hat and trim.
    • Royal icing is the easiest to pipe and makes for the cleanest looking decorations. However, you can achieve similar results using cream cheese frosting. The cookies may just be a little messier, but that's okay!
    Close up recipe image of Santa Face Cookies

    More Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas:

    • Christmas Tree Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Rudolph Reindeer Cookies
    • Honey Cinnamon Cut Out Cookies
    • Chocolate Snowman Cookies
    Close up recipe image of Santa Face Cookies

    Santa-Face Santa Sugar Cookies

    Tara Teaspoon
    These Santa cookies are the cutest cookies you've ever seen! They're decorated with royal icing and are great for cookie swaps and gifting.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 45 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Chill Time 5 hrs 30 mins
    Total Time 6 hrs 30 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 18 Cookies
    Calories 193 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup unsalted butter
    • ¾ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 large egg yolks
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 recipe Royal Icing
    • Gel paste food coloring

    Instructions
     

    Make the cookies:

    • Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside. In mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, 3 min. Beat in yolks and vanilla. Add flour mixture and combine. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, chill 2 hours.
    • Heat oven to 350°F.
    • Roll dough to ¼ inch thick on a floured surface. Cut using a 2-by-3½-inch raindrop cutter to cut 18 cookies. Use a 1½-inch round cutter to cut 18 cookies. Place drops and circles on separate baking sheets. Cut each circle in half and separate. (Dough scraps can be re-rolled up to 2 times.)
    • Bake cookies until just golden, about 15 min for drops, about 10 min for cut circles. Cool completely.

    Decorate the cookies:

    • Color ⅔ cup royal icing red and ¼ cup each pink and blue and place in pastry bags with tips. Fill another pastry bag with 1¼ cup white icing.
    • Ice tops of drop cookies with red icing and bottoms and all half-circles with white icing. Allow icing to set, about 30 min.
    • Adhere half circles to drop cookies with icing to form a mustache. Pipe hat trim and tip with white icing. Pipe eyes and nose with blue and pink icing.
    • Allow icing to set completely, at least 3 hrs.

    Notes

    I used a raindrop cutter for the head, and 1 ½ - inch round cutter for the mustache.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1gCalories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 35mgPotassium: 58mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 342IUCalcium: 23mgIron: 1mg
    Want to watch videos to show you how to cook?Check out our Youtube and try this recipe and more.

    Tasty cookie recipes!

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    • Oatmeal Carmelitas Recipe
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    • Irish Shamrock Cookies

    For more holiday recipes that are great to give and share try:

    Peanut Butter Bites

    Pistachio Chocolate Bark

    Tara in kitchen making salad

    About Tara Teaspoon

    I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.

    Find out more!

    Recipe and Food Styling Tara Teaspoon. Recipe also developed by Vanessa Seder. Photographs Antonis Achilleos. Prop Stylist Gerri Williams. Originally published in LHJ 12/08

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    Filed Under: Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Desserts Tagged With: baking, christmas, cookies, royal icing, santa cookies, santa face, sugar cookies

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mary Bench says

      July 16, 2018 at 6:22 pm

      I've never seen anything this CUTE!!!!

      Reply
    2. Brittany Smart says

      July 19, 2018 at 2:31 pm

      The cutest Santa cookies I've ever seen!

      Reply

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