Skip to content

Top Navigation

Allrecipes Allrecipes
Log In Account Details

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Create a Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Help this link opens in a new tab

More

  • Shopping List
  • Cooking School this link opens in a new tab
  • Ask the Community this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Your Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Help this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Shopping List
  • Cooking School this link opens in a new tab
  • Ask the Community this link opens in a new tab
Login
Get Allrecipes Magazine
Pin FB

Explore Allrecipes

Allrecipes Allrecipes
  • Find a Recipe
    Find a Recipe

    Include these ingredients

    Filter by Ingredients

    Do not include these ingredients

    Filter by Ingredients
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Kitchen Garden

      The Kitchen Garden

      Take your love of food to the next level by growing your own. Our first ever Allrecipes gardening guide gives you tips and advice to get you started. Read More
    • Order Your Recipe Ingredients Online With One Click

      Order Your Recipe Ingredients Online With One Click

      Shop your favorite recipes with grocery delivery or pickup at your local Walmart. Read More
    • 15 Asparagus Pasta Recipes You'll Want to Make on Repeat

      15 Asparagus Pasta Recipes You'll Want to Make on Repeat

      Read More
  • 100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes

    100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes

    See All 100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
    15 Brunch Casseroles for Easy Springtime Weekends

    15 Brunch Casseroles for Easy Springtime Weekends

    • Breakfast Burrito Recipes
    • Breakfast Casserole Recipes
    • Crepe Recipes
    • Egg Recipes
    • French Toast Recipes
    • Frittata Recipes
    • Granola Recipes
    • Omelet Recipes
    • Overnight Oat Recipes
    • Pancake Recipes
    • Quiche Recipes
    • Waffle Recipes
  • Lunch Recipes

    Lunch Recipes

    See All Lunch Recipes
    10 Pasta Salads to Perk up Your Weekday Lunch

    10 Pasta Salads to Perk up Your Weekday Lunch

    • Healthy Lunch Recipes
    • Sandwich Recipes
    • Sandwich Wraps and Roll-Up Recipes
    • School Lunch Ideas and Recipes
  • Dinner Recipes

    Dinner Recipes

    See All Dinner Recipes
    15 Garlic Chicken Thigh Recipes to Make for Dinner

    15 Garlic Chicken Thigh Recipes to Make for Dinner

    • Dinner Fix
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Chicken Breast Recipes
    • Chicken Thigh Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Ground Beef Recipes
    • 100+ Pasta and Noodle Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Pork Tenderloin Recipes
    • Turkey Recipes
    • Ground Turkey Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Shrimp Recipes
  • Appetizer & Snack Recipes

    Appetizer & Snack Recipes

    See All Appetizer & Snack Recipes
    7 Refreshing Pineapple Salsa Recipes

    7 Refreshing Pineapple Salsa Recipes

    • Baked Brie Recipes
    • Bruschetta Recipes
    • Chicken Wing Recipes
    • Crab Cake Recipes
    • Deviled Egg Recipes
    • Fruit Dip Recipes
    • Guacamole Recipes
    • Hummus Recipes
    • Jalapeno Popper Recipes
    • Meatball Appetizers
    • Nacho Recipes
    • Salsa Recipes
    • Stuffed Mushroom Recipes
  • Bread Recipes

    Bread Recipes

    See All Bread Recipes
    8 Dutch Oven Bread Recipes That Are Better Than the Bakery

    8 Dutch Oven Bread Recipes That Are Better Than the Bakery

    • Banana Bread Recipes
    • Biscuit Recipes
    • Bread Machine Recipes
    • Cornbread Recipes
    • Doughnut Recipes
    • Muffin Recipes
    • Pumpkin Bread Recipes
    • Quick Bread Recipes
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Yeast Bread Recipes
    • Zucchini Bread Recipes
  • Dessert Recipes

    Dessert Recipes

    See All Dessert Recipes
    Strawberry Desserts to Make When You Can't Get Fresh Strawberries

    Strawberry Desserts to Make When You Can't Get Fresh Strawberries

    • Cake Recipes
    • Carrot Cake Recipes
    • Cheesecake Recipes
    • Chocolate Cake Recipes
    • Cookie Recipes
    • Cupcake Recipes
    • Frosting and Icing Recipes
    • Ice Cream Recipes
    • Peach Cobbler Recipes
    • Pie Recipes
    • Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Recipes
    • Pound Cake Recipes
    • Sugar-Free Dessert Recipes
    • Sweet Spot
  • Drink Recipes

    Drink Recipes

    See All Drink Recipes
    22 Fruity Margarita Recipes

    22 Fruity Margarita Recipes

    • Bloody Mary Recipes
    • Cocktail Recipes
    • Coffee Drink Recipes
    • Jell-o Shot Recipes
    • Margarita Recipes
    • Martini Recipes
    • Punch Recipes
    • Sangria Recipes
    • Smoothie Recipes
  • Main Dish Recipes

    Main Dish Recipes

    See All Main Dish Recipes
    25 Oven-Baked Chicken Thigh Recipes Ready In Under 1 hour

    25 Oven-Baked Chicken Thigh Recipes Ready In Under 1 hour

    • Beef Stroganoff Recipes
    • Casserole Recipes
    • Enchilada Recipes
    • Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
    • Pork Chop Recipes
    • Shepherd's Pie Recipes
    • Shrimp Scampi Recipes
  • Salad Recipes

    Salad Recipes

    See All Salad Recipes
    16 DIY Dressings for Green Salads

    16 DIY Dressings for Green Salads

    • Chicken Salad Recipes
    • Coleslaw Recipes
    • Cucumber Salad Recipes
    • Egg Salad Recipes
    • Fruit Salad Recipes
    • Pasta Salad Recipes
    • Potato Salad Recipes
    • Spinach Salad Recipes
    • Tuna Salad Recipes
  • Side Dish Recipes

    Side Dish Recipes

    See All Side Dish Recipes
    10 Delicious Side Dishes for Enchiladas

    10 Delicious Side Dishes for Enchiladas

    • Baked Bean Recipes
    • Broccoli Side Dish Recipes
    • Mashed Potato Recipes
    • Pasta Sauce Recipes
    • Potato Side Dish Recipes
    • Rice Side Dish Recipes
    • Salad Dressing Recipes
    • Scalloped Potato Recipes
    • Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
  • Soup, Stew & Chili Recipes

    Soup, Stew & Chili Recipes

    See All Soup, Stew & Chili Recipes
    12 Hearty Hominy Soup Recipes

    12 Hearty Hominy Soup Recipes

    • Beef Stew Recipes
    • Cabbage Soup Recipes
    • Chicken and Dumpling Recipes
    • Chili Recipes
    • Corn Chowder Recipes
    • Gumbo Recipes
    • Jambalaya Recipes
    • Potato Soup Recipes
    • Taco Soup Recipes
    • Tomato Soup Recipes
    • More Soup Recipes
    • More Stew Recipes
  • Cooking Style

    Cooking Style

    See All Cooking Style
    10 Instant Pot Shrimp Recipes

    10 Instant Pot Shrimp Recipes

    • 5 Ingredient Recipes
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • BBQ & Grilling Recipes
    • Cooking for Two
    • Family Dinner Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Kid-Friendly Recipes
    • Leftover Recipes
    • Make-Ahead Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Recipes
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
  • Diet & Healthy Recipes

    Diet & Healthy Recipes

    See All Diet & Healthy Recipes
    15 Keto Instant Pot Recipes

    15 Keto Instant Pot Recipes

    • Diabetic Recipes
    • Gluten-Free Recipes
    • Keto Recipes
    • Low Calorie Recipes
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Low Cholesterol Recipes
    • Low Fat Recipes
    • Low Sodium Recipes
    • Mediterranean Diet Recipes
    • Whole30 Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining
    15 Best Ramadan Recipes

    15 Best Ramadan Recipes

    • Holiday Planning
    • Cocktail Hour
    • Good Times, Good Food
    • New Year's Recipes
    • Recipes for Super Bowl(R)
    • Valentines's Day Recipes
    • Mardi Gras Recipes
    • St. Patrick's Day Recipes
    • Easter Recipes
    • Cinco de Mayo Recipes
    • Mother's Day Recipes
    • 4th of July Recipes
    • Halloween Recipes
    • Thanksgiving Recipes
    • Christmas Recipes
  • World Cuisine

    World Cuisine

    See All World Cuisine
    12 Best Persian Recipes to Add to Your Weeknight Rotation

    12 Best Persian Recipes to Add to Your Weeknight Rotation

    • Chinese Recipes
    • Filipino Recipes
    • German Recipes
    • Greek Recipes
    • Indian Recipes
    • Italian Recipes
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Mexican Recipes
    • Russian Recipes
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Global Kitchen
  • Kitchen Tips

    Kitchen Tips

    See All Kitchen Tips
    6 Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Cast Iron Skillets

    6 Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Cast Iron Skillets

    Keep your cast iron pans in tip-top shape by avoiding these no-nos.
    • All About Ingredients
    • Baking
    • Bake It Up A Notch
    • Buying
    • The Allrecipes 2021 Spring Cleaning Handbook
    • Gardening
    • How To
    • Substitutions
    • Tools and Techniques
    • You Can Cook That
  • Allrecipes Magazine Recipes
  • Food Wishes with Chef John
  • Homemade Podcast
  • Trusted Brands
  • Food News and Trends

    Food News and Trends

    See All Food News and Trends
    We Tried 8 Canned and Frozen Biscuits and These Were the Best

    We Tried 8 Canned and Frozen Biscuits and These Were the Best

    Which premade biscuits are worthy of your breakfast?
    • Cooks to Follow
    • Gift Guides
    • Product Reviews and Buying Guides
    • Recalls

Profile Menu

Get Allrecipes Magazine this link opens in a new tab
Join Now

Account

  • Create a Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Help this link opens in a new tab

More

  • Shopping List
  • Cooking School this link opens in a new tab
  • Ask the Community this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Your Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Help this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Shopping List
  • Cooking School this link opens in a new tab
  • Ask the Community this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE

13 Fun, Festive Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas

By Karen Gaudette Brewer
October 20, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Soft Christmas Cookies in gingerbread man, candy cane, and tree shapes on a white plate
Credit: MDarling

With the right tools, you can bake and decorate Christmas cookies that would stop Santa in his tracks. Here's how our talented home cooks have used pretzels, sprinkles, sugar pearls, and frosting to churn out these 13 creative confections. 

Start Slideshow

1 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Reindeer Games

Reindeer Cookies
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

"These reindeer cookies are really adorable! Children enjoy making and eating them. Add a red M&M and make the Rudolph." — JMEVNO

1 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Warm Wishes

marshmallow snowman cookies melting
Credit: The Gruntled Gourmand
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Don't worry if the faces of these Melted Snowman Cookies turn out a little messy. They're melting, after all!

2 of 13

3 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Let It Snow

circle sugar cookies with Christmas trees covered in snow
Credit: Brielle Brauner
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Allrecipes user Brielle Brauner gave basic cookies the look of a snowglobe with just white, black, and blue frosting. 

3 of 13

Advertisement

4 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Layer Up

Sugar Cookie Icing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

The layered look works for cookies, like these stacked snowflakes.

4 of 13

5 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Home for the Holidays

Classic Gingerbread Cutouts
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

"This made a beautiful gingerbread house! I used the template on this website and did the recipe exactly as it says to here. It made a gingerbread house and quite a few large gingerbread people." — wilco

5 of 13

6 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Star Struck

Shortbread Cookies
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Coating just half of these star-shaped shortbread cookies with frosting gives them an (unexpectedly) elegant look.

6 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

A Merry Little Christmas

Sugar Cookie Icing
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

The little details are what make a cookie extra special, like the sprinkle-sized gingerbread men on this tree. What would you place inside this edible snow globe?

7 of 13

8 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Oh Deer

Gingerbread Men
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

Turn a gingerbread man upside down to transform him into a reindeer with a little help from some frosting and candy. We love the tangled Christmas lights in this reindeer's antlers. 

8 of 13

9 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Frosted the Snowman

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

You'd be amazed how much fun you can have with circle cookie cutters.

9 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Happy Howlidays

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

If you're recreating your family as cookies, don't leave out the dog!

10 of 13

11 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Bundle Up

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

As we've long known, it's the accessories that make the outfit. From a hat and scarf on a snowman to mittens adorned with sprinkles, cold-weather gear gives Christmas cookies an even cozier appeal. 

11 of 13

12 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Special Snowflakes

snowflake-shaped cookies decorated with pale blue and white icing
Credit: Dianne
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

With sugar pearls and a touch of white sprinkles, these snowflake-shaped cookies look extra enchanting.

12 of 13

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 13

Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Don't Sweat It

sugar cookies shaped like Christmas sweaters, snowmen, candy canes, and snowflakes
Credit: Stephanie Maloney
View Recipe this link opens in a new tab

We're smitten with all of home cook Stephanie Maloney's sugar cookies, especially the sweaters! If you've ever DIY-ed your own tacky Christmas sweater, why not get just as crafty in the kitchen?

  • See our entire collection of Christmas Cookie Recipes here.
  • 22 Christmas Cookies Just Like Grandma Used to Make

13 of 13

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Karen Gaudette Brewer

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 13 Reindeer Games
    2 of 13 Warm Wishes
    3 of 13 Let It Snow
    4 of 13 Layer Up
    5 of 13 Home for the Holidays
    6 of 13 Star Struck
    7 of 13 A Merry Little Christmas
    8 of 13 Oh Deer
    9 of 13 Frosted the Snowman
    10 of 13 Happy Howlidays
    11 of 13 Bundle Up
    12 of 13 Special Snowflakes
    13 of 13 Don't Sweat It

    Share options

    Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

    Login

    Allrecipes

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Jobs this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Apps this link opens in a new tab
    • Sitemap this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Global Communities

    Global Communities

    • Australia & New Zealand this link opens in a new tab
    • Canada this link opens in a new tab
    • Quebec this link opens in a new tab
    • United Kingdom & Ireland this link opens in a new tab
    • United States this link opens in a new tab
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
    • Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithAllrecipes is part of the Meredith Food Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab. All Rights Reserved.
    Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.allrecipes.com

    View image

    13 Fun, Festive Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.