Winter Wonderland Cookies Recipe

These winter wonderland cookies are almond vanilla cut-out sugar cookies decorated with pale blue, white and silver royal icing. One batch makes about 24 snowflakes, snowmen and mittens, and they bake in 8 to 10 minutes at 350°F.

The shapes stay sharp because the dough is chilled for an hour, then the cut cookies go into the freezer for a few minutes before baking. Plan on an afternoon for baking and icing, and an overnight rest so the icing dries hard.

One Batch, in Numbers

• Yield: about 24 cookies, depending on the cutter size
• Dough: 1 cup (226 g) butter, 1 cup (200 g) sugar and 3 cups (375 g) flour, rolled ¼ inch thick
• Chill: at least 1 hour for the dough, then 5 to 10 minutes in the freezer for the cut shapes
• Bake: 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges just start to turn golden
• Icing: 4 cups (480 g) powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 5 to 6 tablespoons water
• Keeps: 1 week in an airtight container once the icing is dry; undecorated cookies freeze for 2 months

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The Dough Behind the Snowflakes

This is a plain butter and sugar dough with very little lift. There is only ½ teaspoon of baking powder for 3 cups of flour, just enough to keep the cookies tender without puffing the shapes out of line. Use unsalted butter that is soft enough to dent with a finger but not greasy. Butter that has started to melt gives you a dough that spreads.

Cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mix looks pale and fluffy like the bowl above, then beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. The almond is optional, but it is what makes these taste like a holiday bakery cookie rather than a plain sugar cookie. Add the flour, baking powder and salt only until a dough forms. More mixing after that makes the cookies tough.

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Chilling, Rolling and Cutting the Shapes

Divide the dough in half, flatten each piece into a disk, wrap it and chill for at least 1 hour. Two smaller disks chill faster and are easier to roll than one big block.

Roll on a lightly floured surface to an even ¼ inch. Thin spots brown before the rest of the tray is baked, so check the thickness at the edges too. Cut snowflakes, snowmen and mittens, set them on parchment-lined sheets, and put the trays in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes while the oven heats to 350°F.

Will They Hold Their Shape?

Yes, if the butter is cold when the tray goes in. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes and take them out when the edges are just turning golden. The centers still look pale, and that is right: they firm up as they cool. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack before any icing touches them, or the icing melts and slides.

• Snowflake points spread: the dough was too warm. Give the cut shapes the full 10 minutes in the freezer and bake one tray at a time.
• Centers puffed up: the dough was rolled thicker than ¼ inch or the flour was scooped heavy. Spoon the flour into the cup or weigh 375 g.
• Dough cracks when you roll it: it is too cold. Leave it on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes and try again.

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Royal Icing in Winter Colors

Beat the sifted powdered sugar, meringue powder and 5 tablespoons of water for 7 to 10 minutes, until the icing stands in stiff peaks. This is the same method as my royal icing recipe, and it dries hard enough to stack. For a softer finish that still sets, use sugar cookie icing that hardens instead.

Then split the icing into bowls and judge each one by how it moves:

• Outline icing: about as thick as toothpaste. A line piped with a #2 tip holds its shape.
• Flood icing: add water a teaspoon at a time. Drag a knife through the bowl; the line should disappear in about 10 to 15 seconds.
• Colors: keep most of the batch white, tint one bowl pale blue and one a deeper blue. A little gel color goes a long way, and the shades darken slightly as they dry.

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Decorating Snowflakes and Snowmen

Outline each cookie, then flood the center and nudge the icing into the corners with a toothpick. Let this base layer dry for several hours before you pipe snowflake lines, dots or a snowman scarf on top. Lines piped onto a dry base stay raised; dots dropped into wet icing sink flat, which looks nice for polka dots and messy for fine lines.

The one mistake I see most is color bleed. Dark blue piped straight next to wet white icing seeps into it. Let one section crust for about an hour before you flood the color beside it. Sanding sugar, nonpareils or edible glitter go on while the top layer is still wet so they stick.

The same icy palette works on my winter wonderland chocolate cupcakes and the winter vanilla layer cake, so a whole party table can match.

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Drying, Storing and Making Them Ahead

Leave the decorated cookies uncovered overnight before stacking or bagging them. Once the icing is hard, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, with parchment between layers.

To get ahead, bake the cookies, cool them and freeze them undecorated for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the container so condensation stays on the outside, then decorate. Iced cookies do not freeze as well because the icing can sweat as it thaws.

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Filling Out a Winter Cookie Tray

These sit nicely next to melting snowman cookies for a winter wonderland birthday, and gingerbread crinkle cookies add a spiced, darker cookie to the plate. For a green pop of color, the decorated Grinch cookies use the same outline and flood method. Pin this recipe to your winter baking board so the icing times are there when you need them, and tell me in the comments which shapes you cut.