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Officially kicking off the holiday season with these easy Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies. Made with nutty brown butter, double the vanilla, and a little bit of chocolate. These cookies are soft, buttery, and perfectly sweet with the best vanilla flavor. They’re generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy vanilla bean glaze. And decorated with sweet chocolate and delicious holiday M&M’s for truly some of the best sugar cookies around. The secret is all in the combination of brown butter and real vanilla beans, which keep these cookies incredibly flavorful. Fun to bake, delicious to eat. These make for a great homemade gift, and a festive addition to your holiday cookie box!
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This is the year I’m focusing on ALL of the Christmas cookies. I have so many ideas and not enough days to share…picking the best cookies has been hard!
These were an easy choice though. They actually started out a little differently, but as soon as I had the idea to do Christmas lights, I was excited.
My goal this year is fun holiday desserts – but easy. Nothing too time-consuming and no big scary decorating projects. Just delicious, easy, cute, and extra festive. These cookies are all of those things.
My hang-up with basic sugar cookies is that they’re often flavorless and the frosting is even worse. They just taste like sugar, and I’m definitely not into that.
With these cookies, I wanted to add flavor with brown butter and real vanilla bean. The chocolate on top, just makes them even better.
Ingredients
- salted butter, at room temperature
- granulated sugar
- vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract
- hazelnut liquor (optional)
- 1 egg
- all-purpose flour, plus an additional 2-4 tablespoons, if needed
- baking soda
- kosher salt
VANILLA ICING
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips, melted
- mini holiday M&M’s and vanilla sugar for decorating
The details
Brown the butter, then let it cool off in the freezer a bit. Once it’s cooled (you only need 15 minutes), you can start mixing and baking.
Beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla bean powder. You’ll want to beat for at least a minute to really infuse the butter with the vanilla flavor. Next, add an egg and all the dry ingredients, then roll, cut, and bake. There’s absolutely nothing fancy here.
Whenever I make any kind of cut-out cookie, I always like to roll out the dough, cut the cookies, and then freeze the cut cookies on a baking sheet for a few minutes. This ensures that the cookies hold their shape. To cut my cookies, I used a simple circle cookie cutter and a holiday tree.
If you want to skip the rolling – simply slice n’ bake
I LOVE slice-n-bake cookies, and you can easily slice-n-bake with this dough!
Just divide the dough in half as directed, then roll each piece of dough into a log and chill in the fridge until totally solid.
If you have an almost empty roll of wrapping paper around, cut the roll and fit it around each log, this will prevent the dough from forming a straight edge in the fridge!
And when ready to bake, simply slice-n-bake!
Decorating is easy
I kept the icing simple, since I wanted the color to remain white but still have a nice flavor for these vanilla bean sugar cookies. I added a small amount of maple syrup and lots of vanilla.
It’s simple, but with the chocolate on top, perfect!
When it comes to cookies, I try to keep the decorating as easy as can be, and this is EASY. I used melted chocolate to draw on the cords for the lights, then used mini holiday M&M’s for the lights.
Doesn’t get easier, but looks so cute once finished!
Asher wasn’t around when I made these, so I can’t wait to make these again soon with her. She’s going to love them! They’re the perfect Christmas cookie to make with kids and for your next Christmas cookie exchange.
Looking for other Christmas cookies? Here are my favorites:
Vanilla Ginger Shortbread Wreaths
Lastly, if you make these Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder, or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon hazelnut liquor , (optional)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus an additional 2-4 tablespoons, if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Vanilla Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted
- mini holiday M&M’s and vanilla sugar for decorating
Instructions
- 1. Add 6 tablespoons butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat, cooking until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10 minutes, but no longer.2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.3. In a mixing bowl, beat together the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, the cooled browned butter, sugar, and vanilla bean powder until combined. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, beat until combined and the dough forms a ball. If the dough feels too wet to roll out, add 2-4 tablespoons additional flour.4. Divide the dough in half. Roll out the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Make sure you're using enough flour or your dough will stick. Cut out the cookies using circle and Christmas tree cutters. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. I recommend using a floured spatula to lift the cookies. Cover the baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, 15 minutes. Roll out the leftover scraps, and repeat with the remaining dough.5. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly golden. Let cool. 6. Meanwhile, make the icing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water until smooth and drizzly. If needed, thin the glaze by adding water – 1 tablespoon at a time, until drizzly. 7. Spoon the icing onto each cookie, spreading it to the edges. Let sit to dry. Add the melted chocolate to a sandwich bag and cut a small portion of the corner off. Draw 2 lines onto each round cookie and then a squiggly line up the trees. Press mini M&Ms into the chocolate as "lights" (look through the photos for examples).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hello! I was just wondering how long you can freeze the slice and bake cookie dough. I only baked one log tonight? Love the recipe!!
Hey Jamie,
Happy Sunday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! You can freeze for up to 3 months. xT
AMAZING! Made with the whole family tonight! Kids love it. The cookies taste like the best bakery cookies ever! What a happy gift to give the neighbors- so so so tasty!!
Hey Alyssa,
Happy Sunday!!☃️ Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Hello! Why would there be chocolate chips in the vanilla icing? It doesn’t mention them in the directions, is this a mistake?
See step 7 – the melted chocolate chips are used to create that drizzle across the cookies (that the M&Ms are lined up on) after the icing is applied.
Thanks Katrielle!
They are for the lines of the Christmas lights that you place the m&ms on. They are incredibly tasty!
Hi Molly,
The chocolate chips are used to create the “string” for the lights. Please let me know if I can help in any other way, I hope you love this recipe! xT
They’re delicious! Thank you for an awesome holiday cookie.
Hey Amy,
Wonderful!!🎄 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xx
How did you apply the icing so neatly onto the tree branches? I’m gonna try but then I’ll probably end up having to use a cone shaped tree w/o branches haha
Hey Ginger,
Lol I used a plastic baggie and just snipped a tiny hole at the corner. I hope this helps! Let me know if you give the recipe a try:) xx
Etsy has a number of great Christmas tree cookie cutters that would work with these beautiful cookies.
Thanks so much Karen!!
Is this a high altitude recipe? If not, do you have recommendations for 7,000 ft asl? Thank you!
Hey Jana,
You can go ahead and follow this recipe as written:) Please let me know if you give this a try, I hope you love it! xx
Would vanilla bean paste work or do you think the extract is better? I have both.
Thanks
Hey Kate,
I’m sure the paste would work, but vanilla extract is great as well:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi! I strangely only have full vanilla beans. Is one enough?
Hi Marina,
I would scrape out the insides and measure it to be 1 teaspoon. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this recipe turns out well for you! xT
Excited to try these cookies for my upcoming cookie exchange! Do you have a frosting recommendation for decorating rather than the icing in this recipe?
Hi Jenna,
Sure, this frosting recipe would work well for you:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/slice-n-bake-vanilla-bean-sugar-cookies/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! I hope this helps! xx
I read that you stenciled by hand the Christmas tree shape. How does one make that into a cookie cutter?
Hi Kathy,
I used a knife to trace around the dough:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Walmart online has it for 2 ounces at $24,99. It’s also free shipping.
Thanks for sharing Brenda, that still seems pretty pricey. The one I have linked is $10 for 4.5 ounces. xx
Vanilla bean powder is on Amazon, $34 for one ounce. I’ve no idea how many teaspoons in an ounce?.
Hi Annette,
Hmm, I have no idea what you are looking at, but the one that I have linked is a whole jar for $10 or just simply use the vanilla extract:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I can’t find Vanilla bean powder. I checked at my Safeway, Fry’s (Kroger), and Sprouts. I’m in Phoenix area and didn’t think it would be that hard to find.
Hi Kathy,
Just use the vanilla extract:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Do you, by chance, have a link to the tree cookie cutter? Love it!
Hi there,
Sorry, no link, I drew the stencil for the Christmas tree:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
The tree shape you used is beautiful! Any way you could attach an image that we could print out?
Hi Tory,
Sorry, I made these last year and no longer have the stencil:) xx