Christmas cookie sparkles are classically soft sugar cookies rolled in sugar sprinkles. They’re incredibly festive and you’ll love the texture of the crunchy outside with the smooth inside!
Christmas Cookie Ingredients
We’re using all of the usual sugar cookie ingredients today. In fact, this recipe is the same as my cream cheese sugar cookies (without the frosting)! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of these cookies.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps them rise.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Butter: Butter adds creaminess and lots of delicious flavor. A sugar cookie staple! Make sure you have proper room temperature butter before beginning.
- Cream Cheese: A little cream cheese turns these soft sugar cookies into SUPER soft sugar cookies.
- Sugar: We use all granulated sugar in this sugar cookie recipe.
- Egg: One egg binds everything together.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts: Use both for the best flavor! I love the addition of almond extract in these cookies.
- Sanding Sugar: This is the same sugar we use for our almond butter sparkle cookies. Use your favorite colors for rolling. Or skip the crunchy sugar for super creamy sugar cookies!
How to Make Christmas Cookie Sparkles
I love that these are simple drop style sugar cookies—no rolling out cookie dough like we have to do when making my classic sugar cookies. If you don’t have a rolling pin or don’t feel like messing with cookie cutters, these sugar cookies are for you. We’ll roll the cookie dough into balls and you don’t need any special tools for that. YAY!
The Secret Ingredient!
This cookie dough is made from typical sugar cookie ingredients like butter, sugar, egg, and flour. I also add a little secret ingredient that turns these soft sugar cookies into SUPER soft sugar cookies. What a difference a couple ounces of cream cheese makes! Not only does this addition produce softer sugar cookies, it creates a wonderfully creamy tasting cookie as well. The texture is unlike any other sugar cookie I’ve tasted.
To Sparkle or Not to Sparkle
If a delightful crunch on the exterior doesn’t seem, well, delightful at all… leave the sprinkles off. Instead, bake the sugar cookies plain and frost them, just like my cream cheese sugar cookies. It’s the same cookie recipe, but I decorate with cream cheese frosting on top. So if you’re all about a super soft and creamy sugar cookie, but want nothing to do with the colorful sparkle, try them that way. Delicious with frosting!
Look how creamy and soft they are inside!
If you need more holiday baking inspiration, here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
Christmas Cookie Sparkles Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until relatively smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and beat until combined and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be thick. Cover dough tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 3-4 days. If chilling for longer than 2-3 hours, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard and the cookies may not spread.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Pour sanding sugar in a bowl or, if using multiple colors, a few separate bowls.
- Roll balls of cookie dough, about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie, then roll each ball in the sanding sugar to coat. Place each dough ball 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Using the back of a measuring cup or drinking glass, gently press down on each dough ball to slightly flatten. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until very lightly browned on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for 1 week.
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