These Christmas Lights Cookies are a fun and colorful addition to your holiday baking list. Made with sweet, buttery cookies and decorated with festive icing and colorful candy lights, they bring a playful touch to any Christmas dessert table. I love making these cookies during the holiday season because they are fun to decorate and perfect for baking with family. Whether you’re preparing treats for a Christmas party, filling a holiday cookie platter, or sharing homemade goodies with friends, these Christmas Lights Cookies are a cheerful way to spread some holiday sweetness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No piping skills required: Spread frosting with a spoon and press on mini M&Ms.
- Small batch, big impact: The recipe makes 12 cookies.
- Kid-friendly assembly line: Little fingers press the M&Ms onto the icing.
- Budget-friendly: Pantry staples and one tube of icing create the cookies.
- Cookie exchange ready: The decorated cookies look impressive with minimal effort.
Tools You’ll Need
Nothing fancy, I promise.
- Electric mixer: Use a hand mixer or stand mixer. A whisk works, though it takes more effort.
- Rolling pin: Roll out the dough. A wine bottle works in a pinch.
- Offset spatula: Spread the royal icing easily. A butter knife works too.
- Baking sheet: Line it with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Small tube of black icing: Use one labeled “for writing” for the string.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour – Plus extra for rolling. Don’t skip the extra or you’ll be scraping dough off your counter.
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder – Gives the cookies a little lift.
- Pinch of salt – Balances the sweetness.
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened – Should be soft enough to make a finger indent, but not melty.
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar – Equal amount to the butter.
- 1 egg yolk – Save the white for the royal icing.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract – Classic sugar cookie flavor.
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract – This is what makes them taste special. Don’t skip it.
For the Small-Batch Royal Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar – Sift it if you’re feeling fancy. I usually don’t.
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice – Helps ‘cook’ the egg white. Bottled works in a pinch.
- 1 large egg white – The leftover from the yolk. Let it come to room temperature.
For Decorating
- 1 small tube of black icing – For writing ‘happy birthday’ on cakes. The small tip is perfect for the string.
- Handful of mini M&Ms – The blue bag is best because the colors look like Christmas lights.
How To Make Christmas Lights Cookies
This is a simple cut-out cookie recipe, but the decorating is where the fun (and the chaos) happens. Set up an assembly line and let the kids help.
- Make the dough: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and both extracts, and beat until combined. Sprinkle in half the flour mixture and beat gently, then add the rest. Stop as soon as there are no flour streaks – overmixing makes tough cookies.
- Roll and cut: Dust your counter with flour and dump the dough out. Gather it into a ball and press it into a 1/2-inch thick disk. Flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough until it’s big enough to cut about 8 shapes. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Re-roll the scraps to cut 4 more shapes. You should get 12 cookies total.
- Chill: Put the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. This keeps the cookies from spreading.
- Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges just start to turn brown. Let them sit on the sheet for a few minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the royal icing: In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. In another small bowl, beat the egg white to loosen it, then measure out 2 tablespoons and add to the sugar mixture. Whisk slowly – it will look like a paste at first, but trust the process. Keep whisking until it becomes a smooth, thick icing. Resist the urge to add more liquid.
- Frost the cookies: Spoon a small amount of icing onto each cooled cookie and spread it almost to the edges with an offset spatula. Let the icing harden completely – this can take an hour or two.
- Decorate: Pipe two thin black lines onto each cookie using the tube of black icing. Then press mini M&Ms sideways onto the lines to look like lights. Let the kids help with this part – they love it.
♥ The Misfit Tips!
- Do not rush the icing: Wait until the royal icing feels hard to the touch, at least 1 hour and preferably 2.
- Use mini M&Ms: Regular M&Ms are too large and heavy for the cookie lights.
- Make ahead: Bake the cookies up to 3 days ahead and store them in an airtight container.
- Decorate before serving: Decorate the cookies on the day you serve them for the freshest look.
- Use a writing icing tube: The small tip creates thin black lines for the string.
Perfect Pairings
These go perfectly with…
- A cold glass of milk balances a sweet sugar cookie.
- Hot cocoa with extra marshmallows fits a festive mood.
- A Christmas movie marathon makes these the ultimate couch snack.
- Cookie exchange platters gain a colorful decorated cookie without much effort.
How to Store
❤
- Room temperature: Store decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Avoid the refrigerator because royal icing softens there.
- Freezer: Freeze the undecorated cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before decorating.
- Reheat: Do not reheat the cookies. Serve them at room temperature.
- Note: Mini M&Ms may bleed color into the icing after a day or two. The cookies remain safe to eat but look less crisp.
Christmas Light Cookies
These Christmas lights cookies combine flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, almond extract, royal icing, black writing icing, and mini M&Ms in one small batch. You chill the cut-out cookies for 10 minutes, bake them at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, frost them with royal icing, and decorate them with black icing strings and mini M&Ms. Make these Christmas lights cookies for a cookie exchange, holiday party, or Christmas movie night when you need an easy festive christmas cookie idea.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make the DoughIn a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until everything is well incorporated.Gradually add the flour mixture in two additions, beating gently after each. Stop mixing as soon as no dry flour streaks remain. Avoid overmixing, as this can make the cookies tough.
- Roll and CutLightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough onto it. Gather the dough into a ball, then press it into a disk about ½ inch thick. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough until it is large enough to cut approximately 8 shapes. Cut out the cookies using your preferred cookie cutter and carefully transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Gather the dough scraps, gently press them together, and reroll the dough to cut 4 more shapes. You should have about 12 cookies in total.
- Chill the CookiesPlace the baking sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Chilling the cutouts helps the cookies hold their shape and prevents excessive spreading during baking.
- BakeBake the chilled cookies for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden brown. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes so they can firm up. Transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.
- Make the Royal IcingIn a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg white briefly to loosen it. Measure out 2 tablespoons and add them to the powdered sugar mixture. Whisk slowly until the ingredients begin to combine. The mixture will initially look thick and paste-like, but continue whisking until the icing becomes smooth and thick. Avoid adding extra liquid too soon. Give the ingredients time to combine fully before adjusting the consistency.
- Frost the CookiesOnce the cookies are completely cool, spoon a small amount of royal icing onto each one. Use an offset spatula or the back of a small spoon to spread the icing evenly, taking it almost to the edges. Let the icing dry completely before decorating. This can take 1–2 hours, depending on the thickness of the icing and the humidity.
- DecorateUse the tube of black icing to pipe two thin lines across each cookie to create the wires for the Christmas lights. Press mini M&M candies sideways onto the black lines to resemble colorful holiday lights. Let children help with this fun decorating step, making the cookies a festive activity for the whole family.