Christmas Light Cookies
Soft, thick sugar cookies topped with vanilla buttercream, sparkling white sanding sugar, and colorful M&M Christmas lights. These easy Christmas cookies require no dough chilling and make such a fun addition to holiday cookie trays or cookie boxes!
Servings: 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature. you can use unsalted if you prefer!
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract optional, omit if you don't want it.
- 2 tbsp milk room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For the frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature. you can use unsalted if you prefer
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp heavy cream or milk room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
For decorating:
- black food dye
- white sanding sugar
- M&Ms in assorted colors
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and l baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, milk and granulated sugar for 3–5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract if using. Mix on low until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low just until combined. Do not over mix. Use a large cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls, about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2–3 inches apart. Use the flat bottom of a glass to gently flatten the dough balls to about ¼–½ inch thick.
- Bake for 10–11 minutes, until the edges are just set. The cookies should remain pale; avoid waiting for them to turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, heavy cream or milk and salt. Mix on medium until smooth and creamy. Use only enough liquid to make a scoopable frosting that holds its shape. Set aside about 2 tablespoons of buttercream and tint it black with gel food coloring. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, or snip a tiny opening in the bag. Leave the remaining buttercream uncolored.
For decorating:
- Pour the white sanding sugar into a shallow bowl. Use a small ice cream scoop to add 1–2 tablespoons of white buttercream to the center of a completely cooled cookie. Turn the cookie frosting-side down into the sanding sugar. Gently press until the buttercream spreads across the top of the cookie and is coated in sugar. Lift and check the coverage, gently pressing any bare areas back into the sugar.
- Pipe the black buttercream in loose swoops and loops across the cookie to create the Christmas light string. Gently press the M&Ms on their sides into the frosting along the black string, with one end of each candy touching the piped frosting to look like a light bulb. Alternate colors and place lights above and below the string. Repeat with the remaining cookies, decorating a few at a time so the buttercream stays soft enough to hold the candies.