Christmas Sugar Cookies (Easy Red, White, and Green Striped Christmas Tree Cookies)

Christmas Sugar Cookies are a fun and festive addition to any holiday dessert table. With beautiful red, white, and green stripes, these colorful cookies bring a cheerful Christmas touch to a classic sugar cookie recipe. Their pretty layered design makes them especially lovely for Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, and homemade holiday gifts.
Made with a simple buttery dough flavored with vanilla and almond extract, these cookies are shaped into Christmas trees and baked until just barely golden on the bottom. Although the striped appearance looks impressive, the process uses basic ingredients and a little preparation time. The most important step is chilling the layered dough until it is firm enough to slice, helping the colorful stripes stay together when you cut out the cookies.

Why You’ll Love These Christmas Sugar Cookies

• Festive Christmas colors: Red, white, and green layers create a beautiful striped effect that makes these cookies stand out on holiday dessert trays.
• Classic sugar cookie flavor: Butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract give the dough its familiar sweet flavor.
• Fun holiday shapes: Use Christmas tree cookie cutters to create cookies that look ready for a festive celebration.
• Simple ingredients: The recipe uses everyday baking ingredients and food coloring to create its colorful appearance.
• Great for holiday gatherings: These cookies are a lovely choice for Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, and homemade holiday treats.

Christmas Sugar Cookies Ingredients

You only need a handful of basic baking ingredients to prepare these colorful Christmas cookies.

• All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of the cookie dough and makes it firm enough to roll, layer, and cut into shapes.
• Baking powder: Helps the cookies bake properly.
• Salt: Balances the sweetness and brings out the other flavors.
• Unsalted butter: Gives the cookies their buttery flavor and tender texture. Slightly softened butter is easier to cream with the sugar.
• Sugar: Sweetens the dough and helps create the classic sugar cookie flavor.
• Egg: Helps bind the ingredients together.
• Vanilla extract: Adds a familiar flavor that works beautifully in holiday cookies.
• Almond extract: Adds a subtle almond flavor that complements the vanilla.
• Red and green gel food coloring: Creates the festive colored layers while leaving one portion of the dough white.

Helpful Tips for Making Striped Christmas Sugar Cookies

A few preparation details make a big difference when working with layered cookie dough.

Use slightly softened butter. The butter should be soft enough to beat smoothly with the sugar but should not be melted. This helps create a smooth, well-combined dough.

Roll the dough evenly. Roll each colored portion to approximately 1/8-inch thickness. Keeping the layers even helps create consistent stripes throughout the cookies.

Choose a suitable container. Use a container tall enough for your cookie cutter and wide enough to hold all three dough layers. The original recipe uses a 4 x 5 x 3-inch container.

Do not skip chilling. Refrigerate the stacked dough for at least 3–4 hours or overnight. Chilling is mandatory because the dough needs to become firm enough to slice neatly.

Work with small batches. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated while cutting and baking each batch. The dough can become sticky as it warms up at room temperature.

Handle the stripes gently. If the layers begin separating when sliced, gently press them together with your fingers before cutting out the shapes.

How to Make Christmas Sugar Cookies

Step 1: Prepare the Sugar Cookie Dough

First, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set the dry ingredients aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the slightly softened butter and sugar until light and smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is evenly combined.

Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on high speed until fully combined.

Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients come together into cookie dough. If the dough still seems too soft for rolling, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it reaches a suitable consistency.

Step 2: Divide and Color the Dough

Divide the prepared dough into three equal portions.

Keep one portion plain for the white layer. Add red gel food coloring to the second portion and green gel food coloring to the third.

Mix each colored portion until the color is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

You should now have three portions: red, white, and green.

Step 3: Roll and Stack the Colored Layers

Line a container with plastic wrap. Choose one that is tall enough for the cookie cutter you plan to use and has enough room for all three layers. A 4 x 5 x 3-inch container was used in the original recipe.

Prepare three large sheets of parchment paper. Roll each portion of dough separately on its own sheet until approximately 1/8 inch thick.

Measure the bottom surface of your container and cut each rolled dough portion into a rectangle that fits inside.

Carefully stack the red, white, and green dough rectangles inside the prepared container. Gently press the layers together with your hands so they stick.

Cover the container and refrigerate the dough for at least 3–4 hours or overnight, until completely firm.

Step 4: Slice the Chilled Dough

Once the layered dough is firm, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the container and use a large, sharp knife to cut thin, even slices approximately 1/6 or 1/8 inch thick.

Arrange the slices on a large sheet of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour.

If the colored stripes start separating, gently press them back together with your fingers.

Do not slice all the dough at once. Work with enough dough for one batch of cookies and keep the remaining dough refrigerated until you are ready to use it.

Step 5: Cut Out the Christmas Shapes

Use a large cookie cutter to cut the desired shapes from the sliced dough.

You can use Christmas tree cookie cutters to create festive holiday cookies. If you have a smaller cutter, use it to cut around the larger shape to reduce leftover dough.

Gather any remaining dough pieces, arrange them together, gently press them with your fingers, and cut out a few more cookies.

Transfer the cut cookies to the prepared baking sheet.

Step 6: Bake the Cookies

Bake the Christmas Sugar Cookies for 7–10 minutes, depending on their size, or until the bottoms are just barely golden.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Allow them to cool completely before serving.

Christmas Sugar Cookies Variations

The red, white, and green striped design is perfect for Christmas, but you can adapt the colors for other celebrations.

• Different holiday colors: Change the gel food coloring to create different color combinations for birthdays or other special occasions.
• Different cookie shapes: Use other cookie cutters instead of Christmas trees while keeping the same layered dough technique.
• Alternative striped combinations: Experiment with different colors while keeping one portion of the dough plain for a contrasting layer.

These are optional decorative variations. Keep the original dough ingredients and preparation method the same.

How to Serve Christmas Sugar Cookies

These colorful sugar cookies look beautiful arranged on a Christmas dessert platter alongside other homemade holiday treats.

You can also include them in a Christmas cookie exchange, serve them at family gatherings, or package them in festive treat boxes for homemade holiday gifts.

Their striped appearance makes them especially attractive when displayed together on a serving plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the dough need to chill for several hours?

Chilling helps the layered dough become firm enough to slice. The recipe requires at least 3–4 hours in the refrigerator or overnight. Skipping this step can make the dough difficult to cut into neat slices.

Can I prepare the cookie dough the day before baking?

Yes. The recipe allows the layered dough to chill overnight, making it convenient to prepare ahead of baking day.

Why are my cookie dough layers separating?

The layers may separate during slicing. If this happens, gently press them together with your fingers before cutting out the cookie shapes.

How thick should I slice the dough?

Slice the chilled layered dough into thin, even pieces approximately 1/6 or 1/8 inch thick, as specified in the recipe.

How do I know when the cookies are ready?

Bake for 7–10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. They are ready when the bottoms are just barely golden.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

Make ahead: One of the most convenient features of this recipe is that the layered dough can be prepared and refrigerated overnight. This allows you to divide the preparation into two stages.

During baking: Keep the uncut dough refrigerated while working on each batch. This prevents the dough from becoming too sticky at room temperature.

After baking: Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before packaging or serving.

For storage beyond these preparation instructions, follow reliable food-storage guidance appropriate for homemade baked cookies.

Final Thoughts

These Christmas Sugar Cookies are a beautiful way to bring festive colors to your holiday baking. The red, white, and green stripes create an eye-catching design, while the buttery sugar cookie dough delivers classic vanilla and almond flavor. Prepare the dough ahead, cut out your favorite Christmas shapes, and add these colorful cookies to your holiday dessert table.

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