Deck the Halls with Our Best Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas
We’ve been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. With the holiday season just around the corner, it’s time to deck the halls and Santa’s plate with the best Christmas cookie decorating ideas. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or a beginner, we’ve got plenty of easy ways to zhush up your favorite sweets – both homemade and store-bought.
Elevate Your Cookies with These Decorating Ideas
Decorating a cookie can be as simple as dipping it in melted chocolate or pressing a candy into the dough. However, if you want to level up this holiday season, try your hand at piping and flooding. Start with your favorite holiday cookie dough as your blank canvas, then get creative. Don’t have a recipe for the dough? We’ve got you covered with our best-ever recipes for classic sugar cookie dough, spice-infused gingerbread cookies, and buttery chocolate truffle dough.
Make the Perfect Christmas Treats
Our list offers decorating ideas for every skill level, including some that require no more equipment than a bowl and spoon. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you. Here are some of our top picks for Christmas treats that are sure to impress:
1. Neapolitan Cookies
The decoration for these adorable slice-and-bake cookies starts with one master dough that’s flavored separately – one-third with melted dark chocolate, another with freeze-dried strawberries, and the remaining left plain. Stack the doughs into a block, chill, and slice to give the cookies their gram-worthy, three-toned look.
Get the Neapolitan Cookies Recipe
2. Matcha Snowball Cookies
Simply mix matcha with powdered sugar, then let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Seek out the freshest, high-quality matcha powder for the best flavor and bright green color that won’t turn muddy.
Get the Matcha Snowball Cookies Recipe
3. Cranberry-Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti
It’s fun having an oblong shape among the sea of round cookies. Dip the biscotti in dark chocolate, then drizzle with white chocolate for an elegant touch.
Get the Cranberry-Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti Recipe
4. Black Forest Cookies
For this retro-fabulous riff on Black Forest cake, dollop chocolate cookies with whipped cream, then crown with a brandied cherry topping.
Get the Black Forest Cookies Recipe
Make it Easy with These Decorating Ideas
No Need for Fancy Equipment
Our list of decorating ideas includes some that require no more equipment than a bowl and spoon. Whether you’re short on time or just starting out, these recipes are perfect for you. Here are some of our top picks for easy decorating ideas:
5. Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches
If you’re not a pro at decorating, spritz cookies are a savior. Every squeeze of the press creates a picture-perfect design. Enjoy these crisp, chocolate cookies on their own or double down on the cacao by sandwiching them with a rich, peppermint-spiked ganache.
Get the Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches Recipe
6. Linzer Stars
Create the eye-catching design of these traditional Austrian cookies with just a couple of star-shaped cookie cutters. The cutout window allows the ruby-red seedless jam to peek through.
Get the Linzer Stars Recipe
7. Sprinkle Donuts
Cut Sugar Cookie Dough into rounds. With a smaller cutter, cut centers out of the rounds. When cool, spread the donuts with frosting and decorate with red and green sprinkles.
8. Traditional Cutouts
Everyone needs a good cutout cookie recipe, and this one’s super simple. Once they’re cool, frost, glaze, and decorate to your heart’s content with Ornamental Frosting.
Get the Traditional Cutouts Recipe
Easy Cleanup with These Decorating Ideas
Our list of decorating ideas includes some that require no more than a bowl and spoon. Whether you’re short on time or just starting out, these recipes are perfect for you. Here are some of our top picks for easy decorating ideas that are easy to clean up:
9. How to Flood Icing for Christmas Cookies
Mix up a batch of royal icing. Thin out half with a few drops of water until it looks like honey, then pop thick and thin icings into two separate piping bags. Pipe the thick icing to outline your cookies with a line, then let set. Flood with the thin icing, then use a toothpick to quickly drag it to the edges. Let icing set slightly, then sprinkle with sanding sugar or nonpareils. Let set.
Get the How to Flood Icing for Christmas Cookies Recipe
10. White Chocolate-Dipped Madeleines
Decorating in a hurry? Dip store-bought madeleines in melted white chocolate and sprinkle with chopped cranberries and pistachios so they look and taste homemade.
Get the White Chocolate-Dipped Madeleines Recipe
More Decorating Ideas to Try
These are just a few of our top picks for decorating ideas. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you. Here are some more decorating ideas to try:
11. Sugar Cookie Trees
Glue a stack of sugar cookies together with royal icing to create the perfect edible pine.
Get the Sugar Cookie Trees Recipe
12. Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread isn’t just for houses! It also makes a sweet, spiced base for rich milk chocolate frosting used to fill these sandwich cookies. Decorate the tops with royal icing for these minimalist snowflake shapes.
Get the Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies Recipe
13. Choco-Dipped Trees
Cut Sugar Cookie Dough into trees. When cool, dip half of each tree in melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with multicolored sanding sugar.
14. Sugar Cookie Ornaments
Decorate these sugar cookies like ornaments, and you’ll be able to hang them on your tree – if you’re able to resist eating them first.
Get the Sugar Cookie Ornaments Recipe
15. Peppermint Drops
Scoop and roll Sugar Cookie Dough into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheet and pat to flatten. After removing cookies from oven, immediately press a candy kiss into the center of each cookie.
16. Cookie-Pressed Spritz
Cookie decorating isn’t just about adding icing! With the help of a cookie press, you can add Christmas shapes to these picture-perfect cookies.
Get the Christmas Spritz Cookies Recipe
17. Holiday Snickerdoodles
Scoop and roll Sugar Cookie Dough into 1-inch balls in a small bowl of cinnamon sugar; place on cookie sheet. Pat to flatten slightly and bake.
18. White Chocolate Trees
Cut Sugar Cookie Dough into trees. When cool, drizzle with melted white chocolate and green candy melts.
19. Jam Sandwich Cookies in Envelopes
The decorative stars on these jam-filled cookies are just as adorable as the paper envelopes they come in.
Get the Jam Sandwich Cookies Recipe
20. Thumbprint Jammers
Scoop and roll Sugar Cookie Dough into 1-inch balls in a bowl of small nonpareils; place on cookie sheet. Make indentations in the center of each cookie and bake. When cool, fill centers with jam.
A Word from Our Editors
Samantha MacAvoy is an Assistant Editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, where she writes about tasty recipes, must-try food products, and top-tested secrets for home cooking success. She has taste-tested hundreds of products and recipes since joining GH in 2020.
Susan Choung is the recipe editor at Good Housekeeping, where she pitches ideas, parses words, and produces food content. In the Test Kitchen, she cooks and samples recipes, working with developers to deliver the best-written versions possible.
More Christmas Recipes to Try
Looking for more Christmas recipes? Try these:
- Christmas Recipes
- The Best and Worst Christmas Foods, Ranked
- Dazzling Christmas Desserts
- Impressive Christmas Dinner Recipes to Try
- Delicious Holiday Side Dishes
- 78 of Our Best-Ever Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Extra-Jolly Christmas Cocktail Recipes
- 50 Cute Gingerbread House Ideas
- Holiday Treats: Let the Christmas Baking Begin!
- Presented by Shipt: Easy and Festive Christmas Appetizers
- The Best Festive Christmas Shots to Try This Year
- Christmas Breakfast Ideas for the Whole Family
- 45 Festive Christmas Cupcake Recipes You’ll Love
Start Your Holiday Baking Today!
With these decorating ideas and recipes, you’ll be sure to make the holiday season a little sweeter. From classic sugar cookies to gingerbread men, we’ve got you covered. So why wait? Start your holiday baking today and make this Christmas season one to remember!
What are some easy Christmas cookie decorating ideas? Simple ideas include dipping cookies in melted chocolate, pressing candies into dough, and using royal icing for flooding.
What type of cookie dough is recommended for decorating? Classic sugar cookie dough, spice-infused gingerbread cookies, and buttery chocolate truffle dough are recommended.
What are Neapolitan Cookies? Neapolitan Cookies are slice-and-bake cookies with a three-toned look achieved by layering dough flavored with melted dark chocolate, freeze-dried strawberries, and plain dough.
How can I make Matcha Snowball Cookies? Mix matcha with powdered sugar to coat cookies for a festive green color.
What are Black Forest Cookies? Black Forest Cookies are chocolate cookies topped with whipped cream and brandied cherry.
What are Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches? Chocolate Spritz Sandwiches are cookies cut with a press and filled with peppermint ganache.
What are Linzer Stars? Linzer Stars are cookies with cutout centers that allow red jam to show through.
How do you flood icing on Christmas cookies? Mix royal icing, thin it, and use piping bags to outline and flood cookies, then decorate with sanding sugar.
What are White Chocolate-Dipped Madeleines? Madeleines dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with cranberries and pistachios.
What are Sugar Cookie Trees? Decorated stacks of sugar cookies stuck together with royal icing to form an edible pine tree.
How do you make Gingerbread Cookies? Gingerbread dough is filled with milk chocolate frosting, then cut into shapes and decorated with royal icing.
What are Choco-Dipped Trees? Sugar Cookie Dough cut into trees and dipped in dark chocolate with multicolored sanding sugar.
What are Sugar Cookie Ornaments? Decorated sugar cookies that can be hung on a tree.
What are Peppermint Drops? Small sugar cookies with a candy kiss pressed into the center.
What are Cookie-Pressed Spritz? Cookies cut with a press to create shapes.
What are Holiday Snickerdoodles? Sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking.
What are White Chocolate Trees? Sugar Cookie Dough cut into trees, then drizzled with white chocolate and green candy melts.
What are Jam Sandwich Cookies in Envelopes? Cookies filled with jam and sealed in decorative paper envelopes.
What are Thumbprint Jammers? Small cookies with a jam-filled thumbprint indentation.
