Description
Holly and Berry Sugar Cookies are festive, buttery sugar cookies shaped like holly leaves and decorated with vibrant green royal icing and red candy berries, perfect for holiday celebrations and Christmas treats.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Decorations
- Red and green royal icing or decorating gel
- Mini red candy balls or sprinkles for berries
- Green food coloring (optional for dough)
- Flour for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to prepare for baking the cookies.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add Egg and Extracts: Incorporate the egg, vanilla extract, and optional almond extract into the creamed mixture, beating until fully combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients into Wet: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until a soft dough forms. If desired, mix in green food coloring to tint the dough evenly.
- Chill Dough: Divide the dough into two halves, flatten each into discs, wrap or cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up for easier rolling.
- Roll and Cut Cookies: On a floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Use holly leaf-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges turn lightly golden around the perimeter.
- Cool Cookies: Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
- Decorate: Using green royal icing or decorating gel, pipe the holly leaf designs on the cooled cookies and add 2 to 3 mini red candy balls or dots of red icing in the center to represent berries.
- Set Icing: Allow the icing to dry and set completely before serving the cookies or storing them to keep decorations intact.
Notes
- For make-ahead convenience, freeze undecorated cookies for up to 2 months.
- A stiffer royal icing is recommended for detailed and durable leaf designs.
- Fondant can also be used for decorating if preferred over royal icing or gel.
