Next Post
Overnight Cinnamon Roll Bread with Chai Frosting.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Festive, easy, and fun…Holly Jolly Santa Cookies – Tis’ the Season! Simple vanilla sugar cookies shaped into the cutest, fattest little Santas, made effortlessly by shaping the dough into round balls. Frosted with a deliciously sweet whipped cream cheese frosting and you’ll have yourself the most perfect Christmas cookie. Fun to bake, delicious to eat, a great homemade gift, and a festive addition to your holiday cookie box!
As I write this the snow is falling outside my NYC hotel room, and well, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This is so cheesy, but New York in December, and with white fluffy snow, is the most magical experience. I am so happy it decided to snow on my last day here in the city. I’ll be home by the time you read this, and back in the deep, deep Colorado snow. But I’m feeling extra thankful that I was able to see NYC this time of year…and in snowy winter weather too. Next year I’m bringing my mom and little Asher with me. It’s always better with family, especially those two Christmas loving freaks. They would be loving every minute of this snowy, Christmas scene.
Anyway, it feels very fitting to be writing this post as the snow falls. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, these cookies are cute wintry cookies…and of course, delicious. Something about a fat little Santa covered in sweet frosting (and even some chocolate candies too) is always adorable.
Those of you who’ve been following HBH since the VERY early days, there’s a slight chance you’ll remember these cookies. I shared a version of this recipe only a month and a half into HBH’s inception. While looking back through old content a few weeks ago, I stumbled across this recipe.
The crazy thing about developing so many new recipes is that sometimes I forget about the old (and really GOOD) recipes I’ve created. Even though the photos of these cookies were horrid, I still found them to be so cute. And I remember Asher having so much fun helping me bake them. So I’m bringing one of my favorite cookies back to life. And while it is a slightly decadent cookie, I love them so much.
(cookie dough balls lined up and ready to assemble)
(assembling the red parts of Santa)
As you all know, I am no professional when it comes to decorating sweets. BUT I still love to make my desserts, especially the holiday ones, as cute and festive as possible. Enter these easy, rolly, polly, Santa cookies.
The idea is to take simple sugar cookie dough, roll it into tiny balls, attach them together into a “Santa” body, and bake. If you use the photos as guides, it’s the easiest sugar cookie you will make. Not to mention, so much fun! No stress, no pulling out your hair, just fun. Exactly what holiday baking should be.
Start with the dough. I used my favorite sugar cookie dough that’s heavy on the butter…and vanilla. I died half of the dough red using food coloring and kept the other half of the dough plain. If you can find a great natural red food die, I would highly recommend using that. Sadly I’ve yet to find one that works well. If anyone has found one they use and love, please let me know!
Once the dough is died, it’s literally as simple as rolling each dough into multiple balls. Again, if you look through the photos you will most likely understand the process much, much easier. You need five white dough balls and five red dough balls to make one Santa.
This is the step that you might think will be tricky, but it’s actually so easy. To make each Santa, just gently push the dough balls together. Once again, use the photos as guides. Nothing needs to be shaped perfectly or lined up just right. As long as you have a rough body formed, the cookies bake up like adorable fat Santas.
Promise.
Once you have your Santas formed, add mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons, then bake! The process of rolling the balls will take a little time, but to me, this is easier than cutting out shapes…and I think they are way cuter, not to mention a little more unique. Because let’s be real, everyone is making your basic sugar cookies this time of year. Bake something a little different!
Since the cookies themselves are already so cute, decorating is EASY. I used a sweet, creamy, whipped cream cheese frosting to add a layer of excitement to each bite. The frosting is used for Santa’s beard, hat, and hands, but my recommendation? Keep a small bowl of the frosting aside for adding to each cookie while eating. The frosting is SO GOOD and the cookie is made even better with a bit of additional frosting spread all over our little Santas.
For Santa’s nose, I use a mini red M&M. Simple, easy, and so cute.
These cookies make a delicious addition to any holiday party, cookie plate, or even cookie gift box. And if you have young kids these are a must bake before Christmas. They’ll have so much fun attaching the pieces since it’s something they can easily do all by themselves!
I’m really hoping to be able to set aside time one of these days before Christmas to do a baking day with Asher. These are the perfect cookies to make with her!
If you make these holly jolly Santa 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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Santa cookies are adorable! Just finished decorating mine. I didn’t have mini chocolate chips or mini red M&M’s so I cut regular size to small and it worked. Also no pastry bag but plastic bag worked fine. Used my mother’s sugar cookie recipe (a lot of almond extract and powdered sugar in the dough) and the cookie turned out light and fluffy. Next year I’ll have all the ingredients and a pastry bag! You are so talented!
Hey Lynne,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Did I miss baking powder or soda? Mine are cooking and are flat and huge.
Hey there,
No baking soda or powder, was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe. Let me know how I can help! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These Santa’s are so damn cute.. This is the first time I’ll be baking for Christmas and this is definitely on my list. Love your creativity and recipes so much. I also wanted to know how many cookies will we be able to make with this quantity?
Hey Nicole,
This recipe will make 14 Santa cookies. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! My sister and I made these and we had a lot of trouble with the legs and arms and heads falling off after baking. Is there something we can do next time to avoid this? Really yummy tasting though!
Hey Lexi,
Thanks for trying the recipe, next time try pushing the balls together a bit so they don’t fall apart. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I was told that 1 cup of butter was around 220g. This is totally not accurate. Made the batter super soft and the dough just wouldn’t form. Had to add so much extra flour and the cookies came out dry and super breakable.
Hey Keerthani,
So sorry this recipe did not workout for you. One cup of butter is equal to 227 grams. Please let me know how I can help for next time! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These were so cute and delicious! The kids loved them!
Hey Kierstin,
Thanks so much for trying the cookies, I am so glad they were enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These are so cute! Made them with my mom and they turned out perfect with such a nice texture! Thank you for sharing such a creative recipe!
Hey Gaby,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This was my first time with these cookies. They didn’t come out perfect but so cute anyway. Next time I’ll make the red ball for the hat twice as big. A great addition to my cookie tray!
Hey Cheryl,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
These were SO much fun to make and delicious! The frosting is AMAZING! My daughter and I had a great time making them today. These will definitely be a new tradition for us every holiday. Thank you for the recipe!! Happy holidays!!
Hey Jaime,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I loved this recipe and the Santa’s came out so cute! The cookie and icing are delicious. My only reason for four stars is that these cookies are extremely fragile. We had 3 break after hours cooling. Be careful with them for cookie boxes but enjoyed the cute and yumminess!
Hey Emma,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
WOW! These were so much fun. I was a little worried that my dough was to sticky but these are very forgiving cookies. I also am obsessed with this icing. This will be my go-to icing for cookies from now on. So so yummy! Thank You for another yummy recipe!
Hey Jodie,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hi! Love the recipe! Do these cookies need to be refrigerated? I was hoping to overnight them in a cookie box to a friend.
Hey Callie,
No need to refrigerate:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hello! I made these today and they are adorable!! Question: random parts (that were rolled individually) came apart after baking. Any recommendations to “glue” them back together?
Hey there,
Try using the frosting to glue them together. I hope this helps! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hey! Made these last night and they were the cutest! We did have some trouble with the appendages sticking together – heads would fall off, legs would come apart – we used frosting to perform surgery, but would love to know some tips on keeping these little guys together!
Hey Nithya,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Hello! I want to make these but my nephew is allergic to eggs. Do you have any recommendations/effective egg substitutes for this recipe?
Hey Angela,
So sorry, I have not tested this recipe without egg, you could try a chia or flax egg! I hope you love the recipe! Happy Holidays! xTieghan