Honestly, there's no better time of the year to make sugar cookies than during the holidays. These light and airy cookies are made with a bit of citrus, which is perfect for winter. And when topped with a royal icing, they're a festive treat!
Make the dough: In an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Mix in the egg, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, and almond extract. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and scrape the bowl to ensure everything is incorporated. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut: Once well chilled, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼- to ½-inch thick and cut with desired cookie cutters. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake in the preheated 350°F oven until slightly puffed and just beginning to turn golden, 10-14 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.
Make the royal icing: Mix the egg whites, 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, and vanilla powder together until smooth. Add the remaining ½ cup of powdered sugar until the frosting is thick and ribbon-like when poured. Separate the icing into bowls and color with food coloring.
Decorate: Use pastry bags or a plastic cookie decorating bottle to decorate the cookies.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 190 kcal
Reviews
Sandra Harvey on 2025-12-29 (5 stars): Where do I buy your Christmas Cook Book?
Tina Schrag on 2025-12-09 (5 stars): Delicious cookies! Excellent by themselves with the orange zest and juice. Easy to make, easy to work with.
JS on 2024-12-22 (5 stars): These are delicious! I like how they have actual flavor. I added candied ginger to the top of some (because they were left over from the ginger molasses cookies) and they paired wonderfully.
Jennifer on 2024-12-17 (5 stars): These cookies are so good! I have made these for work in the past. I am now required to bring them for any potluck. Just made a batch tonight.
Helen Roesner on 2024-12-05 (5 stars): Love your show
Jocelyn Baan on 2024-12-05 (5 stars): The best sugar cookie I’ve ever had! They dough rolled out so easily. So easy to work with. I made mine 1/2 inch thickness. They were perfect. The smell in my house after was intoxicating.
Emily F Zimmerman on 2023-12-14 (5 stars): Love Christmas 🎄 cut out cookies to make, give and Share with friends.
Heather on 2022-12-13 (5 stars): Oh my goodness!!! I have had so many compliments on these cookies. This recipe is by far my favorite and I will be adding it to my recipe box.
Joyce Williams on 2022-11-27 (5 stars): Have stumbled onto this website and I love watching and learning about so many different ideas at my young age of 80plus. Live that Kaleb gives credit to his Mother and Grandmother's.
