Social media has turned into a treasure trove of foodie content (and I LOVE it), but amidst the plethora of tempting recipes, there’s a trend that’s hard to ignore. It’s disheartening to see numerous creators sharing recipes that haven’t undergone thorough testing. As someone who’s passionate about creating and sharing delicious recipes, it saddens me to witness people eagerly attempting to recreate these viral dishes only to find them fall flat. Cooking is an art, and behind each successful recipe lies meticulous testing, adjustments, and dedication to ensuring it delivers on flavour and texture.

This is especially true around the holidays, with influencers trying to snag as many views as possible, and seasonal bakers looking for the next easy recipe to try. But I’ve gotta say it… a lot of viral recipes are just NOT GOOD! There’s a big wave right now going on about “no-chill no-spread sugar cookie dough”, and while I’m sure some of the recipes are ok, this just isn’t sitting quite right with me. A lot of times with baking, there are no shortcuts! Recipes require chilling time for a reason!!! If you cut that out, you’re compromising somewhere else. With sugar cookies, the best flavour and texture comes from the ratio of butter to sugar to flour. In order to make a no-chill, no-spread cookie, you have to tweak those ratios away from the optimal configuration. So if you want a quick and easy recipe, by all means, search up one of those. In my experience, they are on the dry/crumbly side of things, and maaaay taste more like cardboard than buttery sweetness. But if you are willing to plan ahead and can swing extra time for chilling, you’ll be rewarded with extra scrumptious results.

I have discovered 3 key factors that make my sugar cookie recipe one of the best out there. First, is the chilling time. It only needs 1 hour in the fridge, after you’ve cut out your shapes. You can use that time to do other things! You can also leave them in there for longer, if you want to prep the dough the day before. This chilling time allows the butter to set up, so the cookies don’t spread in the oven and you get to keep the beautiful shapes that you cut out with the cutters.

Number two: vanilla bean paste! To avoid a bland cookie, you’ve gotta add flavourings, of course! Vanilla extract works great, but for next level deliciousness, try vanilla bean paste.

My last trick helps most with texture, and it is to roll the cookie dough thiiicck. Like, 1cm thick. This is more than most recipes call for, but trust me! This allows the cookies to stay soft and chewy when they bake, instead of becoming a crumbly, brittle little cookie.

Ok, rant over. That’s how you make GOOD sugar cookies, that won’t spread but still taste amazing.

As for decorating, we have two options: one that’s quick and simple, and one that’s best for detailed decorating.

1. First is the method I used all growing up: “easy icing”. This just involves mixing icing sugar and milk to form a paste, and spreading it on the cookies. Easy peasy!
2. Alternatively, you can make royal icing. There are plenty of recipes available to make this from scratch… But I do not have one. I use eggless royal icing mix that I get from Bulk Barn (see photo of package below). You can also order on Amazon! All you have to do is add water, and whisk! This is my preferred way to decorate, as it is much easier to pipe designs.

For Christmas, I tend to keep the decorating somewhat simple since I’m usually making boatloads of cookies. My favourite designs include snowflakes, marbled Christmas trees, peppermints, wreaths, and some funky ornaments.

Edit: a lot of you guys have been asking for the tools I use for these, so I’ve compiled a list of everything needed (including cookie cutters!) to make these sugar cookies here: All the Tools Needed for Perfect Christmas Cookies.

^{Note: this list contains affiliate links which may earn commission for purchases made at no additional cost to you.}

Here are two videos, showing the snowflake design and how to make marbled Christmas trees:

And here’s a longer video, packed full of tips and tricks for rolling out the dough and decorating your cookies:

Happy baking!

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