Cinnamon Christmas Cookies are delicate cookies, a cross between a cinnamon-infused sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie, shaped into stars for Christmas and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.
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If there's one spice that screams Christmas, I think we can all agree that it's cinnamon.
But also cloves, I love cookies infused with cloves and other spices like Gingersnaps (Just Like Grandma's!)
But these cinnamon stars are great cookies for Hanukkah or a New Year's Day celebration.
This recipe was inspired by my Kentucky Butter Cake Cookies with Cake Mix and Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe (No Fail!), and pairs well with this Red Hot Apple Cider + Holiday Drinks.
You might also want to try Biscoff Cookie Recipe (Easy!).
Melting Moments are another favorite cookie during the holidays or anytime.
If you're planning a whole holiday menu, Christmas chicken would be a delicious option for a main dish.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Cookies
- all purpose flour
- cornstarch (makes cookies more tender and helps to reduce spreading)
- sea salt or kosher salt
- butter, unsalted
- egg, large, room temperature
- vanilla extract
- superfine sugar (substitute confectioner's sugar if you don't have or put 1 cup + two teaspoons granulated sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds to equal one cup superfine sugar)
- ground cinnamon
- sprinkles (or your choice of decoration, this could be just cinnamon and sugar)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Cinnamon Christmas Cookies
You're basically making a cut-out dough here.
No worries, this recipe makes a forgiving dough.
If you have trouble at the rolling and cutting out stage, most likely the dough has gotten too warm and you should return it to your refrigerator or blast chiller aka freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Beat the room temperature butter and sugar together until lighter in texture and color. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add dry ingredients and just mix until combined. You don't want any white streaks of flour or cornstarch showing.
- Wrap well and chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting into shapes.
- Roll the dough to a quarter inch thick between two sheets of parchment paper, about the size of your cookie sheet, using a rolling pin.
- Cut out your shapes.
- Chill shapes for ten to 15 minutes before baking. This will help the cookies maintain their shape.
- Decoration is up to you. I used festive gold and silver nonpareils I bought on clearance at Target last holiday but these cookies are really good just topped with a cinnamon and sugar mixture (¼ cup granulated or sanding sugar to a teaspoon of cinnamon).
- You'll get whatever you're using for decoration to stick by applying a light egg white wash to the tops of cookies using a pastry brush or your fingers. Apply sprinkles or whatnot and bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remember oven temperatures vary so pay attention to how the cookies smell.
- Baking times also vary depending on how thin or thick you've rolled out your dough.
Hint: Be sure to chill dough thoroughly before rolling out.
Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper to reduce the likelihood of sticking to your countertop.
Parchment also makes it easier to move the dough you're cutting out back to the fridge to rechill if it gets too warm and uncooperative while you're working.
This is one of my favorite rolling pins.
If you don't have a rolling pin, you could use a wine bottle.
Variations
- Star shapes - use another shape if you don't have any star cutters. Or, use the edge of a water glass if you don't have cookie cutters.
- Cinnamon - If you don't like cinnamon you could add a different flavor to the dough, such as a teaspoon of lemon zest or vanilla extract.
- Sprinkles - I wanted to make fancy cookies so I used silver and gold non-pareils but you could top with cinnamon sugar or any color sprinkles you have. Or leave the cookies plain.
Equipment
- Parchment paper
- half sheet pans
- rolling pin
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- spatula
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
Chill dough for up to three months in a freezer-safe airtight container.
Freeze cookies for up to three months. Wrap cookies in freezer or wax paper, tuck inside a resealable freezer-safe bag and put that inside a freezer safe container.
Use an egg white wash to brush the tops of your cookies before topping them with colored sugar or sprinkles. Make a wash by whisking an egg white and a teaspoon of water until frothy. Lightly brush the tops of your cookies before adding colored sugar or sprinkles. Then bake. Be careful to just add a light wash. I find I can dip my pastry brush once to get enough wash on nearly a dozen cookies. Work quickly to get the cookies topped with sprinkles or non-pareils before baking. This method also works with cinnamon sugar. If you don't have an egg white, use a bit of milk instead. 
Top tip
After you've cut the cookie dough into shapes, chill the shapes for ten minutes before baking. The additional chill time will help the cookies keep their shape.
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Recipe
Cinnamon Christmas Cookies
Cinnamon Christmas Cookies are delicate cookies, a cross between a cinnamon-infused sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie, shaped into stars for Christmas and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.
Ingredients
- 1-¼ cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Beat butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy--about two minutes if using a stand mixer, three to four minutes with hand mixer.
- Add egg and vanilla extract, beat for a minute or until fully incorporated.
- Mix in dry ingredients flour through cinnamon until just combined. Don't overmix.
- Wrap dough well and chill for at least an hour.
- When ready to bake, pull dough out of fridge about 15 minutes ahead of time and preheat oven to 350.
- Roll dough to a quarter inch thick between two sheets of parchment paper. If dough is sticky, flour the parchment.
- Cut out with a star cutter or something equally festive starting at one edge of the rolled out dough.
- Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 12 minutes.
- Let cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling. These are very delicate when they first come out of the oven.
Notes
If you don't have a cookie cutter, you can use a the mouth edge of a glass to cut out the dough.
Use whichever kind of cinnamon you like. I prefer Vietnamese.
After you've cut out the cookie dough, chill the dough for ten more minutes before baking. The additional chill time will help the cookies keep their shapes.
This dough is pretty easy to work with for making cut-out cookies like stars.
If the dough starts to get fussy or uncooperative, you know, sticking to the parchment, not wanting to be moved, it has most likely gotten too warm. Put the entire piece of parchment on a cookie sheet to move the dough back to the fridge or freezer if you have space for a few minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield 20 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 148Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 11mgSodium 41mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 1gSugar 8gProtein 3g
Why are stars a symbol of Christmas?
Cookie Baking Advice
You may find these baking posts helpful, from Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays.
Liz
I'm going to start hunting for sprinkles before it gets too close to the holidays! Can't wait to make these!!!
Jennifer Osborn
Great idea Liz!