1 base cookie dough is all you need to make a huge and colorful Christmas cookie box! This master cookie dough is inspired by my favorite snowball cookies recipe, and is perfect for flavoring, coloring, and shaping a million and one different ways!
Nothing screams festive quite like a Christmas cookie box, and this recipe makes the process of assembling your own box 100x easier! This recipe uses one base dough to make a fun and colorful arrangement of cookies - not to mention each one is BEYOND delicious!
What cookies are in this box:
For this box, I used this dough to make the following cookies:
• vanilla cut-out cookies
• chocolate cut-out cookies
• snowball cookies
• candy cane cookies
• Danish butter cookies
• thumbprint cookies
• wreath cookies
• Christmas tree blob cookies
Now, don't feel limited by the cookie options that I laid out here! You can really get creative with the cookies you add to your box with different shapes, colors, extracts, and add ins.
Christmas cookie box ingredients:
For the base cookie dough, you'll need:
• flour
• sugar
• salt
• butter
• vanilla
That's all!
Then, to make the same arrangement of cookies that I made for this box, on top of the ingredients above, you will need:
• pecans
• powdered & coarse sugar
• cocoa powder
• white chocolate
• red & green food coloring
• milk
• jam (or your favorite thumbprint cookie filling)
how to make a Christmas cookie box with one dough:
Make the dough:
1. Cream together butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. You just need to cream them together until they're combined. They don't need to be fluffy or whipped.
2. Fold in flour to form base dough. That's all you need to do for the starter dough!
3. Divide the dough into 7 even portions. Keep the dough set out at room temperature and covered with plastic wrap while you work on each cookie to keep it from drying out.
To make vanilla cut-out cookies:
1. Shape a portion of dough into a rough disk shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm.
2. Roll and cut out cookies in whatever shape you like.
* Note: save some cookie dough scraps for the Christmas tree blob cookies
3. Arrange on a baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes before baking. Freezing the dough helps it keep its shape.
4. Bake & cool. Cool for about 5 minutes on the pan then transfer onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely. You can leave these cookies plain, decorate them with some simple icing, or sandwich them with your favorite filling!
To make chocolate cut-out cookies:
1. Mix cocoa powder into 1 of the 7 portions of dough.
2. Like the vanilla cut-out cookies, wrap, chill, roll, cut, freeze, bake and cool!
* Note: save some cookie dough scraps for the Christmas tree blob cookies
3. (Optional) dip cooled cookies in melted white chocolate.
To make snowball cookies:
1. Mix chopped pecans into portion of dough.
2. Cover and chill the dough until firm.
3. Roll into ball shapes & bake.
4. Cool enough to handle then roll warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat.
To make candy cane cookies:
1. Divide one of the dough portions in half and color half with red food coloring.
2. Cover the two doughs and chill until firm.
3. Portion doughs into 1 tablespoon sized pieces.
4. Roll one piece of red dough and one piece of plain dough into ropes.
5. Twist dough ropes and curve ends to form a candy cane shape.
6. Freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
7. Bake & cool!
To make Danish butter cookies:
1. Add milk to portion of dough until it's a pipeable consistency.
2. Pipe swirls on parchment lined baking sheet. (Optional) sprinkle some coarse sugar or sprinkles over the cookies for added crunch / color!
3. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before baking.
4. Bake and cool!
To make thumbprint cookies:
1. Roll portions of dough into small balls.
2. Press your thumb into the center of the dough to create a center dip.
3. Bake, cool, & fill with your favorite filling!
To make wreath cookies:
1. Color a portion of dough with green food coloring.
2. Shape into disk and wrap dough. Chill until firm.
3. Roll and cut dough using a fluted cookie cutter and a smaller cookie cutter for the center hole.
* Note: save some cookie dough scraps for the Christmas tree blob cookies
4. Arrange on baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
5. Bake & cool!
6. (Optional) decorate cooled cookies with simple icing & sprinkles.
To make Christmas tree blob cookies:
This cookie is made using leftover dough from the vanilla cut-out cookies, chocolate cut-out cookies, and wreath cookies (because the final bit of dough never looks pretty as a cut-out anyway)!
1. Roll green, chocolate, and vanilla doughs into balls. Try to get the portions as small as you can.
2. Arrange portions of dough into a tree shape - sticking them together. Use the vanilla dough for the star tip, use the green dough for the body of the tree, and use the chocolate dough for the bottom trunk.
3. Freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
4. Bake & cool!
Check out these other recipes!
• Cranberry White Christmas Cake
• Nutella Linzer Cookies
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies
• Peppermint Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies
1 Dough Christmas Cookie Box Recipe
Ingredients
For the base cookie dough:
- 2 cups (4 sticks / 450g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (optional)
- 4 cups (480g) all-purpose flour spoon and leveled
For the chocolate cut-out cookies:
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (1.5oz / 45g) white chocolate (optional - for melting)
For the snowball cookies:
- ⅓ cup (45g) finely chopped pecans
- ¼ cup (35g) powdered sugar
For the candy cane cookies:
- red gel or liquid food coloring
For the thumbprint cookies:
- your choice of jam or filling
For Danish butter cookies:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- course sanding sugar (optional)
For the wreath cookies:
- green gel or liquid food coloring
Instructions
Make the base cookie dough:
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, salt and vanilla. You just need to mix them until they're combined - the mixture doesn't need to be fluffy. Add flour, and mix together until you have a cookie dough.2 cups (4 sticks / 450g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 4 cups (480g) all-purpose flour
- Divide the cookie dough into 7 equal portions. Keep the dough covered with plastic wrap and at room temperature while you prepare the different cookie shapes and flavors. If you don't plan on making all of the cookies the same day, store the dough in the fridge.
Make the vanilla cut-out cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Take one of the 7 dough portions and shape into a rough disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm (about 1 hour).
- Unwrap the chilled dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into about ¼ inch thickness, and cut out your desired shapes (I used a 2 inch round fluted cookie cutter).
- Arrange cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a small amount of room between each cookie to allow for air circulation. Gather scraps of dough and repeat the rolling and cutting process. Set aside a small portion of dough to use for the Christmas tree blob cookies (about 1 tablespoon - you can use the last of the scraps!)
- Freeze the cut cookies for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
Make the chocolate cut-out cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 portion of the base dough and cocoa powder. Mix together until you have a well combined chocolate cookie dough.2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- Take one of the 7 dough portions and shape into a rough disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until firm (about 1 hour).
- Unwrap the chilled dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into about ¼ inch thickness, and cut out your desired shapes (I cut mine into rectangles using a knife and a few round fluted cookies).
- Arrange cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a small amount of room between each cookie to allow for air circulation. Gather scraps of dough and repeat the rolling and cutting process. Set aside a small portion of dough to use for the Christmas tree blob cookies (about 1 tablespoon - you can use the last of the scraps!)
- Freeze the cut cookies for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
- (Optional) Melt white chocolate to dip / pipe onto the cooled cookies.¼ cup (1.5oz / 45g) white chocolate
Make the snowball cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 portion of the base cookie dough and chopped pecans. Mix to combine. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm (about 1 hour).⅓ cup (45g) finely chopped pecans
- Portion the snowball cookie dough into 1 tablespoon sized pieces and roll into a ball. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about ½ inch of space between each cookie to allow for air to circulate.
- Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom and lightly browned along the edges.
- Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, or until cool enough to handle. Then, toss the cookies in powdered sugar to coat the outside. It helps to use a fork for this step.¼ cup (35g) powdered sugar
- Arrange the cookies on a wire rack and set aside to cool completely to room temperature before serving. If you find the sugar has melted, you can give the cookies another light toss in powdered sugar to freshen them up.
Make the candy cane cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Take 1 portion of the base dough, and divide in 2. In a medium bowl, combine half of the dough portion and a few drops of red food coloring. If using gel food coloring, dip the tip of a toothpick in the food coloring and add a small amount to dough. Mix to combine, and if needed, gradually mix in more until you reach your desired shade of red. Liquid food coloring isn't as strong as gel, so you'll need to start with about a ¼ teaspoon, and gradually add more as needed.red gel or liquid food coloring
- Shape both halves of dough into rough disks, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Chill for about 1 hour, or until firm.
- Take your 2 doughs out of the fridge, and unwrap. Pinch off a piece of white dough and a piece of red dough (about 1 tablespoon each). Roll each color dough into a 5 inch rope. Twist the two colored ropes of dough to create a spiral, and curve the top to create a hook.
- Transfer the shaped candy cane cookies to your parchment lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining dough. Make sure to leave about 1 inch of space between each cookie to allow for expansion in the oven.
- Bake your cookies in the center of a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned along the edges and bottoms. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
Make the thumbprint cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Working with 1 of the 7 portions of dough, pinch off 1 tablespoon sized portions of cookie dough and roll into balls. Arrange on your baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between each portion of dough. Use your thumb or something with a similar size to push down the center of each cookie dough ball to create an indent.
- Bake the cookies in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown along the edges. If you find the cookies have puffed up in the oven and the indent is gone, simply press the centers down right after baking to reshape the indent. They're easy to shape while they're still hot. I like to do this with the back of a measuring spoon.
- Cool the cookies for about 5 to 10 minutes on your baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature. Spoon some jam or your favorite filling into the center indents of each cookie.your choice of jam or filling
Make the Danish butter cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 portion of the base dough with 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix to combine.1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- Transfer some batter to a large piping bag fitted with your choice of tip. Test pipe a cookie onto your baking sheet in your desired shape. If it cracks or breaks, gradually add milk to the cookie dough until you're able to pipe smooth cookies. The dough should still be quite thick and need some pressure to pipe.
- Pipe cookies in any shape or pattern you like on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between each cookie. (NOTE: Larger cookies will take longer to bake)
- (Optional) Top cookies with coarse sugar for added crunch! Freeze the piped cookies for 15 to 20 minutes before baking to help them keep their shape.course sanding sugar (optional)
- Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a light golden brown color along the edges. Start checking on them after around 8 minutes in the oven if they're smaller cookies. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the wreath cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine 1 portion of the base dough and a few drops of green food coloring. If using gel food coloring, dip the tip of a toothpick in the food coloring and add a small amount to dough. Mix to combine, and if needed, gradually mix in more until you reach your desired shade of green. Liquid food coloring isn't as strong as gel, so you'll need to start with about ½ a teaspoon, and gradually add more as needed.green gel or liquid food coloring
- Unwrap the chilled dough and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into about ¼ inch thickness, and cut out round fluted cookies. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut the centers of the cookies to create a wreath shape.
- Arrange cut cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a small amount of room between each cookie to allow for air circulation. Gather scraps of dough and repeat the rolling and cutting process. Set aside a small portion of dough to use for the Christmas tree blob cookies (about 4 tablespoons - you can use the last of the scraps!)
- Freeze the cut cookies for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
- (Optional) leave your cookies plain or decorate with some simple icing and sprinkles.
Make the Christmas tree blob cookies:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Using the scraps of dough leftover from the vanilla cut-out cookies, chocolate cut-out cookies, and wreath cookies, pinch off tiny portions of dough (about ⅛th to ¼ teaspoon in size) and roll into balls.
- Arrange the balls of dough next to each other in a Christmas tree shape, using the vanilla dough as the star and the chocolate dough as the tree trunk. (see above for visual) You can make the trees as large or small as you want, but smaller cookies will bake faster.
- Freeze the cut cookies for 10 minutes to help them keep their shape. Bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature.
Arrange your cookies in a 9x13 inch box and enjoy!
Enjoy!
Leave a Comment