Santa Cookies

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Ho ho ho! Make yummy Santa Cookies that are soft inside and a bit crispy outside. It’s easy – just one bowl and a spoon, no mixer needed!

This recipe creates a small batch of cookies, ideal for Christmas Eve and especially suited for Santa. For an even smaller batch, consider trying Single Serve Chocolate Cookies or Single Serve Oatmeal Cookies!

A collection of santa cookies, adorned with festive red and green chocolate candies.

Cookies For Santa Plate

In our home, Santa is quite selective about his cookies. Every year, the kids understand that we’ll set aside special time on Christmas Eve to prepare cookies for Santa and Reindeer Chow for his reindeer. This is because my husband and I (or rather, “Santa”) need substantial fuel for wrapping presents and preparing everything for Christmas morning!

Santa Cookies baked to perfection, ideal for leaving out on a 'cookies for Santa plate.'

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Santa Cookies

5 from 4 votes
Ho ho ho! Make yummy Santa Cookies that are soft inside and a bit crispy outside. It's easy - just one bowl and a spoon, no mixer needed!
Santa Cookies baked to perfection, ideal for leaving out on a 'cookies for Santa plate.'
Print Recipe

Santa Cookies

Santa Cookies baked to perfection, ideal for leaving out on a 'cookies for Santa plate.'
5 from 4 votes
Ho ho ho! Make yummy Santa Cookies that are soft inside and a bit crispy outside. It's easy - just one bowl and a spoon, no mixer needed!
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword santa cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 16 large cookies
Chelsea Lords
Calories 236kcal
Cost $4.50

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg (at room temperature)
  • 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (reduce if using table salt or if sensitive to salt)
  • 1 and 3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup good quality milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet or dark chocolate -- whichever is your favorite)
  • 1/2 cup Christmas M&Ms

Instructions

  • BUTTER: Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, refrigerate it for 3-5 minutes or until it's a room temperature. The butter can't be hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
  • WET INGREDIENTS: Once butter is cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir again until smooth.
  • DRY INGREDIENTS: Add the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Again, stir until smooth. Add in the correctly measured (See Note 1) flour and mix until just combined. Don't overmix. Add in the chocolate chips and M&M's. Gently stir until combined.
  • CHILL: Tightly cover the bowl and chill for 1 hour.
  • OVEN: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a pan with parchment paper or nonstick liner.
  • SHAPE BALLS: Roll balls of dough into tall cylinders (see picture #11 above for shape and size). Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet, allowing plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces if you have a food scale (the batch should make about 16 total cookies).
  • BAKE: Bake for 8-12 minutes, erring on the side of underbaking to keep them soft and chewy. The cookies will firm up a little more out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown and the top is no longer wet looking.
  • MAKE 'EM PRETTY (OPTIONAL): Press a few extra chocolate chips or M&M's onto the tops of the cookies as soon as you remove from the oven. Allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
  • STORAGE: We like these cookies best on day 1 and 2 of being made. They do last up to 1 week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor quality. To store, place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Measuring flour: Flour is the most important measurement in this recipe. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you'll be packing in way too much flour--which will yield cake-y and less flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife. See a visual of this here. Even better? Weigh your ingredients on a food scale!

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 16large cookies | Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2.3g | Fat: 10.1g | Cholesterol: 26.9mg | Sodium: 7.8mg | Fiber: 1.2g | Sugar: 28.7g

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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