Dora's Christmas Cookies

I was very dissapointed because I was going to add this WONDERFUL COOKIE RECIPE to the site to finally share with everyone else. This recipe has also been in my family for years...I have very fond memories and specific memories of when we frosted the cookies that I'd licked my fingers so much that I felt sick. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE COOKIES and they do taste much better with icing/frosting. Definately addictive!!! I've tried a few other cut out cookies from this site and I'd have to say NO OTHER COMPARES!!! AWESOME!!

I meant to write a review last Christmas (2001) and completely forgot! As I prepare for baking this year, wanted to say this recipe is Awesome! I made these cookies for gift baskets and everyone went nuts over them. Though I'm in my 40's I enjoyed the whole process of rolling, baking, and frosting. Excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

Amazing cookies! My 4 year old rolled and cut them himself. So easy! Very tastey even without frosting. I love this.. Thank You for the best cookie recipe ever.

These make a great sugar cookie, they are more cakelike than crisp, which I prefer. They make a nice fat cookie, easy to decorate, and don't break easy. I used Royal Icing to decorate them. The almond and vanilla extract give it a nice old-fashioned flavor!

Simply the best sugar cookies recipe I have ever come across. Cookies melt in your mouth.

I don't know if I did something wrong, but we did not like these at all. The icing that I used also had almond extract in it, and thats the only flavor that was in the cookies.

This the best christmas cookie recipe I have used in years. They were quick and easy to make, and most of all there was no sticking to the cookie cutters!

These cookies are awesome. No on in my family can bake so two years ago I took it upon myself to do Christmas cookies for everyone and these are it. I use butter instead of shortening and they are the classic, can't get enough of them, buttery Christmas cookies. I also use the "Decorator Frosting" recipe submitted by P. Oakes which is just wonderful, too.

This recipe is excellent...it's extremely versatile...we tried all sorts of flavors in it and they all came out wonderfully! They ice and decorate like a dream. We found that it's very easy to over cook them so be careful take them out immediately after they stop denting to the touch or they tend to become dry! This one will become a permanent fixture in my recipe box! Thank you Beverly! :)

I added a little bit more Almond extract and they came out wonderful, I was really impressed. They were very soft and not at all like other sugar cookies I have eaten before!!

This was a hassle free recipe that created a dough that was super-easy to work with. I especially liked that I didn't have to refrigerate the dough in order to work with it. I used my stand-mixer so it was easy to add the flour and milk alternately. Even my two year old had a great time making cookies that actually looked like they were supposed to! They tasted like traditional sugar cookies and were fantastic once iced.

I replaced half the shortening with butter because I like the taste better, and the only difference it made on the dough was that I had to refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes before I could roll it out. This is my new go-to cut-out cookie recipe. Very tasty!

Made these at a cookie baking party. A group favorite! Easy to handle dough.

I can't believe how wonderful this recipe was. I used it with my three little girls who rolled and rolled the dough out, and it never got sticky. The cookies baked beautifully and tasted great. The only thing I changed was the almond extract because I didn't have any. I just used vanilla. Thank you so much for sharing this. This will be our "recipe" to go to every Christmas :)

Made this for Christmas cookies this year and this is such a good cookie. Thanks for sharing this will be my new sugar cookie recipe.

My family loved this recipe and I really liked that I didn't have to chill the dough. I used butter and they rolled out and baked up really well (I baked them for 10 minutes) and were perfect for decorating, soft but durable. This recipe is definitely going in my permanent recipe file.

This dough was very easy to handle, without any refrigeration. It did not stick to the rolling surface, either (yay!). I love the flavor. I will make these again.

These cookies are GREAT!! I am eating one as I type. We refrigerated ours for acouple hours. They were easy to roll out and cut. They have great flavor, and we made ours nice and cakey. We plan on frosting them, but they are deliciuos without! They are soft and addiciting!!! This will definatly be a recepie passed down in my family!

I've had better tasting. I prefer sweeter tasting. On the plus side, I had no butter in the house and there aren't too many sugar cookie recipes that don't call for butter. My son made them; directions were great. These puff up alot, so roll them out thin.

!!!!The best sugar cookie recipe I have ever found!!!! Just the right sweetness, just the right tenderness. Easy to roll out once I added a bit of flour before rolling. Thanks so much Dora, I've been looking for the perfect christmas cookie for years and you've found it for me!!!

These are the BEST cookies I've ever had! I made them thicker and they are fantastic!! I followed the recipe exactly and they were full of flavour.

Awesome!!!! This is the one!!! It's that true traditional Christmas cookie flavor with both almond and vanilla extract. Usually, it's hard to find a cut out cookie where the cookie and frosting combo don't create a complete sugar overload. Use these cookies with the Decorator Frosting on this site for the right balance of sweet and savory!!! Also, either roll them out thin or bake longer, as the resulting crunchiness is delicious.

We made these cookies in a class at the senior community that I work at with much hesitations, "six cups of flour? We'll never be able to mix it [with arthritic hands]," and "I've never had success with rolled cookies." But guess what...we had success and everybody walked away feeling really good about the outcome! It truly is a perfect recipe for all ages!

Wow. I am so impressed with these cookies. They tasted great and I LOVED that I didn't have to chill the dough. I will definitely make again. These are the sugar cookies I remember from my childhood. Makes a good, soft, sturdy cookie. Usually frost with really good frosting from this site.

This dough was easy to handle. The dough smelled yummy, and the cookies were sensational. Thank you, thank you, thank you Beverly for sharing your family's very special recipie. Also, thank you Dora!

I thought this recipe was quite good and I liked that they were cake like. It was so easy and quick. Thanks Dora

These cookies are absolutely delicious! The dough was a bit sticky when I was ready to roll it out, so I kneaded in some extra flour, until it was the right consistency. I will definitely be making these year after year!

I was very disappointed. Too cakey and blah tasting. They puffed up as they baked and didn't retain their shape.

This was a great recipe in my opinion! Dough was eash to roll, cut and they cooked GREAT! Although I only cooked them for 10 mins...they are even good eating them plain with no frosting or decorations. The kids and I have a great time frosting them as well as eating them...santa will be very please on Christmas Eve night!

These are the only Christmas cookies we make!..they are the BEST!!

My hubby really loved this recipe, and ate a third of my cookies before I even could ice them. I topped them with Caramel Frosting V from this site. I will make this recipe again, every Christmas, and Halloween.

I do have to admit that this was the first time I have made homemade christmas cookies, although I have a great love for baking, I've just never done it...(now have a 2 year old, thought it would be fun) Boy was I in for a surprise, I followed the recipe exactly, the dough was very sticky, had to use a lot of flour just to roll it out, that may have been a mistake. The cookies did not turn out very well, hardly any were eaten. Not sure if I will attempt again next year, maybe a different recipe.

A very good cookie iced, or just with sprinkles or colored sugar. I made them for my children and grand children and not only did they love eating them but helping me decorate them too.

This is the first rating I've ever provided because I've been making these cookies for over 5 yrs and everyone loves them! The only adjustments is that I don't add the almond (too strong) and I cut back on the milk because it makes it too sticky. Also, if you don't want to be making/decorating cookies all day, cut the recipe in 1/2 and it still makes plenty

This is the recipe that my grandma passed down to her kids and I'm one of them!!! I baked them for the first time today with my girlfriend and they came out wonderful. These cookies are a family tradition, and being passed by generation to generation! Thanks Mim!

I halved the recipe since I didn't want as many cookies, and I needed to keep on adding flour to the mixture to make it manageable, but it worked out great! It made for some nice crunchy cookies! yummie!

Good cookie recipe.

The dont have any taste, not sweet, not salty, follow the recipe exactly and they aren't anything special. Appretiate those who post recipes but didn't work out. Thanks any way...

This was a terrific recipe! So easy to make and on Christmas, these cookies were gone in no time!

This recipe is pretty easy, but I didn't find the cookies to be all that great. A little dry and not much taste to them. You definitely need to frost them to make them worth anything. Cutting down the flour and adding a little more sugar and vanilla may help. They were soft, just dry.

i must have done something wrong as they were tasteless and a little tough. I am not the worlds best baker so probably used too much flour when rolling.

This recipe was delicious. I had mine refrigerated over night. IT made yummy cookies, and a lot of cookies!

This was the easiest recipe! The dough was very easy to work with and the cookies were delicious! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. I will definitely be making these every Christmas.

I LOVE this recipe!! The best tasting cut out recipe that i have ever made! Very easy and the dough is workable, not sticky!

I'm sorry but these were bad. My husband wouldn't even eat them. If I had to describe it, they tasted like baked homemade play dough without the salt. I used butter flavored crisco not margarine. They tasted like flour. I'm really surprised how many people rated these so high! Maybe I did something wrong but I have baked alot of cookies so I don't know.

I have been making these cookies every single Christmas since 2003 (I just had a look at my printout dated 2003!) and they are THE best Christmas cookies. My niece even calls them my "world famous" cookies and she now requests her own batch. They are great with or without icing - I use a royal icing glaze and then a dash of sprinkles on top.

This recipe is really good. The cookies have a subtle flavour that comes out at first, and then with every bite it comes out more and more. My husband helped me with the baking and he decided to put sugar crystals and sprinkles right into the dough mix when we were rolling it out, and it actually turned out really good!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

Ok, but I rolled mine very thin and they still rised too much for me. If you like crisp cookies these are NOT for you. If you like thicker cookies, then maybe you'll like these.

This is fantastic. The cookies came out soft and tasty. And we have fun decorating them. My friend suggested that I should refrigerate the dough for about 2 hours before the cookies cutting.

I downloaded this recipe over two years ago, and it's still the only sugar cookie I want to make. It's great with or without frosting. I don't like frosted cookies, and so many sugar cookies are completely tasteless cardboard with the sole purpose of holding frosting. Not these! I make them all year long, and they are perfect with coffee. The almond extract makes all the difference. Delicious! Thanks Dora!

Lacked flavor. This cookie won't stand on its own. Desperately needs frosting to make it palatable.

Was looking for a quick, easy, hyperactive 4 year old friendly christmas cookie recipe when we realized that nobody remembered to make cookies... the night before the gathering! These were very quick, my niece could almost roll and cut them herself, and they were good. Everyone in the family loved them... I probably should have doubled the batch... there weren't any leftovers for people to take home! Very good recipe, will make again!

wasn't as sweet as i had expected; if you didn't make sure the dough was completely flattened b/4 cutting out, it seemed to rise a little higher than i had wanted. if you like soft cookies, this recipe will work for you

I used margarine, not shortening, and doubled the vanilla and almond extract (based on some peoples suggestions). Perhaps that's what did the dough in. It was soo wet...gooey. There was no way I would be able to roll it out and cut shapes. I also didn't realize that the recipe was for so many cookies! - I made about 45 instead of 5 dozen. If I had made them thinner, maybe they would be less cake like. As it was, they were odd, and very thick and spongy. Not like a cookie at all...like tiny dense cakes, but not so tasty. They also lacked flavor...but I'm thinking this is because they have so little fat and sugar in them. Perhaps if you use shortening, not margarine, and don't change the recipe, and make sure to get the cookies really really thin, they would be a good base if you had a really good frosting. I think I'll just stick to sugar cookies, though.

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. My husband was as pleased with this cookies as I was. I couldn't decorate them fast enough!!! They are so easy to roll have a wonderful flavor and make a ton of cookies. This is a cookie I will make year after year. Once again thank you.

These were very good and easy. I substituted eggnog for the milk and it was good. kids loved decorating them. =)

I followed everything exactly and my dough is too sticky to roll out. I cut the dough in half and rolled each half in wax paper in the fridge and I am hoping that tomorrow they will be workable because the dough tastes great. Just so far they are not working as cut outs. Maybe its because I am in Texas, and the weather is different? I dont know, so I will edit my review tomorrow if they turn out. For now they are 3 stars. If it was on taste alone I would give 5 stars though.

The Dough was way to sticky to roll out... i ended up having to just make round normal cookies :( disappointed

I got many rave reviews on these! (A couple people declared them they're new favorite!) They rolled out and baked great. We made half the batch with sprinkles of sorts and the other half with powdered sugar/vanilla/butter frosting...those with the frosting went faster and tasted better..the ones with the sprinkles seemed a little dull. Great recipe Bev! I'll be sure to use it again!

wow! worked great

Kind of bland in taste. But we had a super great time decorating with frosting!

Dry and tasteless. I thought adding a creamcheese icing would make them easier to swallow. The icing was the only thing that had taste...which only made the cookie part even more tasteless. I won't make these again.

These have a nice consistency and are good for lots of decorative icing, but if you are going to eat them plain you may want to add some extra flavor or spices.

This recipe was easy to use, but had no flavor and when the cookies were done they rose up like little tasteless bread loaves. These were really disappointing, sugar cookies should at least taste like they have sugar in them!!Sorry!

Not a very sweet or flaky cookie.... But perfect for icing. The dough was easy to handle and was very sturdy for cutting shapes.

These cookies are easy to make but it has no taste. My daughter loved decorating them though.

They were awesome, everybody loved them.

Must have done something wrong. The mixture turned out too soggy,and when I added more flour, they turned out tasteless. Hope others have more luck.

Im not sure what I did wrong, but my dough was very sticky. It did turn out to be a good tasting cookie. I used homemade buttercream icing for a nice finishing touch.

I got many rave reviews on these! (A couple people declared them they're new favorite!) They rolled out and baked great. We made half the batch with sprinkles of sorts and the other half with powdered sugar/vanilla/butter frosting...those with the frosting went faster and tasted better..the ones with the sprinkles seemed a little dull. Great recipe Bev! I'll be sure to use it again!

The dough was too sticky couldn't roll it

Excellent and easy!

So easy and very tasty. My family loves these and are perfect to decorate. I made some thin and some thicker. Both are perfect!

This is my family's favorite Christmas cookie recipe. The almond flavor is very mild, so I like to add a little extra almond extract. We frost ours with a simple powdered sugar, milk & vanilla extract icing and I give the kids clean paintbrushes to paint the icing on.

I used oil instead of shortening. I would have used all vanilla extract, except it is outrageously expensive now, so I used half vanilla extract and half vanilla flavor. Even with those changes it was yummy!!

I used oil instead of shortening. I would have used all vanilla extract, except it is outrageously expensive now, so I used half vanilla extract and half vanilla flavor. Even with those changes it was yummy!!

Great recipe! Even for the beginner baker (myself) these came out wonderful even without frosting, i used two tablespoons of vanilla extract, no almond and rolled it out on powdered sugar. Everyone loved them! I also tried cookies with thick dough and thin dough when rolled out, and the thick oned came out more cake like while the thin ones came out crisp. either way my family loved them both!

This is the same recipe my family has been using as far back as I can remember! Delicious!