These Frosted Shortbread Christmas Cookies are buttery and sweet, and so easy to make. They’re the perfect cookies to make with the kids and leave out for Santa!
It’s already day six of my Countdown ’til Christmas, Santa is going to be here before we know it! So today I bring you these yummy frosted shortbread Christmas cookies – perfect to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. For Countdown ’til Christmas I’ve been posting a festive recipe a day up until Christmas Eve. Day 1 was Spiced Caramel, Day 2 was a Chocolate Peppermint Milkshake, Day 3 was Peppermint Puppy Chow, Day 4 was Mince Pies and Day 5 was Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake.
Do you have many Christmas traditions with your family? My traditions these days involve splitting my Christmases between the UK and the US, which is nice but it’s always sad to be away from people you care about at Christmas which I inevitably am! Leaving cookies out for Santa is a simple tradition, but I think it’s one a lot of people like to do with their kids. And of course you can’t forget about the glass of milk to wash these Frosted Shortbread Cookies down with and some carrots for the hard working reindeer – who, fun fact, are actually all female if the countless drawings, displays, movies and stories are to be believed! Female reindeer keep their antlers during the winter but males shed them.
As well as the fun of leaving a little gift for Santa and his reindeer, actually making these Frosted Shortbread Christmas Cookies with your kids can be a lot of fun and a great tradition to pass down. And these cookies are great for that, because they’re nice and easy to make and can be decorate however you like! I kept it simple with festive coloured frostings and sprinkles, but the possibilities are endless! You can even add some festive flavours, like cinnamon or orange.
They’re so yummy too, so saving some for Santa might require hiding a couple away until everybody is going to bed! You, of course, then get to do the fun part of pretending to be Santa and eating up the cookies! One of the perks of being a parent, I’m sure! Not that I’m saying Santa isn’t real….
Of course, you don’t have to share these Frosted Shortbread Cookies with Santa! You can make them for your family, for your Christmas party or to give as gifts (I would only give these ones as gifts that you can hand deliver, they won’t ship well). This is my first time making frosted cookies and I’m definitely a convert, shortbread is my favourite type of cookie hands down and I didn’t think they needed anything else, they shine on their own! But I decided to frost them to make them more festive looking and I’m glad they did, while they still shine beautifully on their own the frosting is just a yummy addition!
I’d love to see what you guys are up to this holiday season on social media, You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
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- 250g unsalted butter, softened but not melted
- 60g Icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 300g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 50g cornflour (cornstarch)
- 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200g icing sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Red and green food colourings, preferably gel colourings
- Sprinkles
- Put all the shortbread ingredients in a bowl and beat together until all combined and smooth. You may need to use your hands to gently need it into a dough towards to end.
- Roll the dough into a large ball and flatten into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out cookies with a round cookie cutter, use whatever size you want your cookies they won't spread. Obviously the smaller the cookies the more you'll get and vice versa
- Transfer cookies to the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are light golden brown and the cookies are set to touch.
- Cool on tray for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies are very delicate when warm, so be careful not to break them.
- To make the frosting, add the butter, sugar and vanilla to a bowl and beat together. If using an electric or stand mixer, start off on a slow speed so your kitchen doesn't end up covered in a fine layer of icing sugar! Beat until combined, then increase speed and beat until light and fluffy.
- Separate the frosting into three bowls. Add green dye to one bowl and red to another, leaving the last bowl white. Gel food dye is best for this as you'll need to use much less dye, add a little at a time until you have your desired colour.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cookies using an offset spatula or the back side of a spoon. The cookies are much more sturdy once they're cooled, but they're still pretty delicate so use a gentle hand.
- Add sprinkles and any other desired decorations
- Store in airtight container for up to 5 days
- Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon to the shortbread mixture for a festive kick
- This recipe yielded 16 cookies for me, but how many you get will depend on how thick you roll the dough and how big your cookie cutters are.
- Recipe is easily doubled.
What a perfect plate of cookies for Santa and you even left something for the reindeers, how sweet, happy holidays Michelle, hugs:)
Thank you Lily 🙂 Happy holidays to you too x
These are my kids fave cookies! And yours look great! All month long I am featuring different holiday cookie creations for my cookie countdown to Christmas! I would love it if you stopped by to check it out! 🙂
Cathy
Thank you Cathy!
I will definitely stop by and check it out!
These look so festive and delicious! I absolutely understand the splitting holidays. This year I’m torn between Colorado and New England, which isn’t quite as far as the US and UK, but pretty close. 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
Thank you Kaila! It’s a shame we can’t split ourselves isn’t it! Have a wonderful holiday season too x
Happy Holiday Michelle and thanks for the cookie.
Tracey
Thank you Tracey, happy holidays to you too x
You have been a busy lady with all this baking! The cookies look great. My kiddos love frosted cookies. It’s definitely a treat for them since they don’t get it often. Thanks for linking at Show Me Saturday.
haha yes, these cookies are yummy but definitely a once in a while treat for kids with all that sugar!!
Thank you 🙂
I’m glad my children are beyond the Santa stage, but I miss the excitement that is generated by his arrival. My kids looked forward to placing cookies, milk and carrots out for him before rushing off to bed. Oh the memories… Thanks for sharing and linking up to Scraptastic Saturdays.
I think Santa can be a lot of fun, but I can imagine it being a nightmare at times too!
Bet it’s fun as the parent getting to eat the cookies too haha x
If Santa is at all like me, he’d eat these cookies and then head to the kitchen looking for more. Better have a good hiding place. 🙂
Oh don’t worry, Santa will be lucky to have a couple saved for him he definitely wouldn’t find any more in the kitchen, they disappear like crazy in my house!
Thank you for posting to Motivation Monday!
I love Christmas traditions, especially leaving treats our for Santa. These cookies look perfect for just that. I’m opening the link party early this week to make up for missing last weeks, so be sure to stop by and link up at the earlier time of Saturday 8am UK time. Happy New Year!
Thank you 😀
Cool, thanks for letting me know! Happy New Year! x
I was excited for this recipe but either I’m doing something wrong, or there is a missing ingredient. My dough was a disaster. I kept adding more and more flour because it was soooo sticky,. I couldn’t even attempt to roll it. Not sure how it went so wrong as I followed the steps to a T.
Hi Kari-Jane,
Hmm not sure what the issue is here, I’ve checked the ingredients and there isn’t anything missing. I’ve not made it for a while but the dough always comes together fine.
The dough is quite soft but it shouldn’t be so sticky you can’t roll or handle it. The only thing I can think of is the butter being too soft, especially if your kitchen is very warm. I would try wrapping the dough in cling film (or keeping it in the mixing bowl and covering) and chilling it in the fridge for about 30 mins, then try kneading it gently to form a ball. Depending on how warm your kitchen is/how long you handle it, you may still need to do the step of flattening into a disc and chilling again before rolling out.
Another thing that may help (along with the above) is creaming the butter first before adding the sugar and flours, which can help the dough come together easier. It also allows you to have the butter a little colder to start with.
I hope your next attempt (at this recipe or another shortbread recipe) is more successful!
Hello. I have made these cookies for many years. This year, I plan to make them early so hope I can freeze them, already frosted. Do you think that will work?
Hi Sheila,
I’ve not tried freezing them myself but that should work. Just freeze them straight after frosting (do one layer at a time so the buttercream is hardened before putting another on top) and then defrost them on the counter for a few hours. Buttercream tends to sweat when it defrosts, but if you leave them at the room temperature it should dry out again. If you’re making them for a special occasion, it may be worth test freezing a small batch first, just to be sure!
I would avoid putting any sprinkles on until after defrosting though, as the colours may bleed.