Description
Delicious and festive shortbread cutout cookies perfect for holiday celebrations. These buttery cookies are decorated with vanilla icing, white chocolate, rosemary sprigs, and colorful sprinkles to create beautiful wreaths and Santa hat designs.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour gluten free if needed
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Decorations
- 4 ounces white chocolate
- Rosemary sprigs, sprinkles, sanding sugar for decorating
- Red food coloring oil-based
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl with an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Scrape down the sides and add powdered sugar. Beat again for 1 minute.
- Mix dough ingredients: Add vanilla bean paste and salt, beat until incorporated, scraping bowl as needed. Add flour and cornstarch, beat on medium-low until dough just comes together and pulls away from sides. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes refrigerated.
- Roll and cut cookies: Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Flour a clean work surface and roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use floured round and scalloped cookie cutters to cut out shapes and wreaths. Gather scraps, re-roll until dough is used. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheet and chill 15-30 minutes.
- Bake cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating halfway, until edges are set and just turning golden. Cool 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Make icing: Whisk powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a shallow bowl until smooth and lump-free. Dip cooled cookies upside down into icing carefully and lift out.
- Decorate wreaths: Arrange rosemary sprigs on iced cookies with 2-3 small pieces on each side. Sprinkle 3 small red sprinkles underneath and add more sprinkles around cookie before icing sets.
- Decorate Santa hats: Let remaining cookies set on baking sheet. Melt white chocolate and place small amount in pastry bag. Mix remaining chocolate with red oil-based food coloring and fill separate piping bag. Pipe hat shapes swirling back and forth. Add white chocolate details to rim and top. Sprinkle sanding sugar. Optionally use green food coloring to create Christmas tree shapes.
Notes
- Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.
- For longer storage, freeze baked undecorated cookies for up to 3 months and thaw completely before decorating.
- Cookie dough can be rolled out and frozen for up to 3 months; bake directly from frozen.
- Use oil-based food coloring with white chocolate to avoid seizing; water-based colors like gel will cause white chocolate to seize.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
