Trying to impress the big jolly guy? You’re in the right place! These cookies are perfection. They’re soft but not too soft, festive but not fussy, and I can guarantee Santa won’t be able to stop after eating just one.
They come together in under 30 minutes, which is perfect for this extra busy time of year. Grab your little helper kids and let’s get baking.
What’s in Santa’s Favorite Christmas Cookies?
My ultimate chocolate chip cookie dough. This is the dough recipe I like to use when making chocolate cookies anytime of year! It’s seriously so good. All the usual suspects make up this dough… flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Red & Green milk chocolate M&Ms. This is what makes the cookies perfect for the season. I swap them out for pastels around Easter time, Orange and Black for Halloween… you get the idea. You can also chocolate chips if it’s just an average day.
Santa’s Favorite Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temp one stick
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ – 2 cups m&ms red and green for Christmastime
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ with a rack in the middle. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium/large bowl.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until it's light and fluffy, 3-5min. Reduce the speed to low, add the eggs and vanilla and beat until just blended (you can increase the speed to medium again once it isn't quite so sloppy).
- Turn off the mixer. Add half of the flour mixture to the stand mixer, begin to mix until the flour starts to incorporate. Turn it off again to add the remainder of the flour. Mix again until a dough forms, it will be fairly thick.
- Add 1 cup of the M&Ms to the mixer, mix on low to get them a little incorporated.
- Form the dough into rounds the size of a golf ball. Place on the baking sheet, with about an inch or so in between each cookie. I typically get 12 on a sheet. Press them down slightly and add a few of your remaining M&Ms to the top of each cookie.
- Bake 12 min. Let them cool on the pan for a minute or two, until they are more easily moveable. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cook completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temp or freeze for freshness.
Anjouli is a Midwestern farmwife and mom to two little boys. By day she works within the Healthcare industry and by night she’s always trying something new in the kitchen. Follow along to see what she’s feeding her farmers!
