Easy Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies

Soft, buttery, and bursting with color, these Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies are a treat for the eyes and the taste buds.

The secret to their vibrant swirl? Two different colored cookie dough sheets pressed together, rolled up, and dipped in sprinkles before slicing.

Plus, they're incredibly easy to make - perfect for busy holiday baking!

Don't miss out on all the other delightful Christmas cookie recipes we have in store for you!

Have you ever made store purchased slice and bake cookies? Yes, of course we all have.

They're easy way to have cookies fast when you're craving something sweet. Kids love helping putting the cookie slices on the baking trays too.

These versatile cookies can easily be adapted for any occasion! Simply switch up the food coloring in the dough to match your special event or holiday like I did with my Valentine's Day Swirl Cookies or my Colorful Swirl Christmas Cookies.

Helpful Tips for Preparing the Cookies

• When mixing the dough, if you see it is too "wet" from the food coloring, add another tablespoon of the flour.
• After you have both colored layers of dough on top of each other, trim them to make sure they're both the same size. Otherwise the spiral look of the cookies will be off. You can save the excess dough to make extra cookies. 
• Once you have the dough rolled out, make sure it is chilled before even trying to roll the two layers together. 
• You can easily change the food coloring and sprinkles for any occasion you're celebrating. 
• Swap out the vanilla extract for mint or almond extract.
• Make sure you chill the dough before slicing and baking. Chilling the dough allows the butter to harden again so the cookies don't spread too much while baking. 

How to Slice Cookie Dough Evenly?

To slice the cookie dough evenly for these Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies, use a sharp knife and chill the dough log thoroughly before slicing.

I like to use a serrated knife to help give me clean cuts. Try to have slices that are about ¼ inch thick.

After every few slices, give the cookie dough log a quarter turn to ensure even pressure and prevent one side from flattening.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

2-Pack Cooling Racks for BakingWooden Rolling Pin for BakingMcCormick Green Food Color, 1 fl ozHoliday Nonpareils

Main Ingredients Needed

Step-by-Step Directions

Step 1: In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended. Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball.

Step 2: Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.

Step 3: Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until it reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is ¼ inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

How to Form the Green and White Layers

Step 4: Once the dough is chilled and firm, remove the top wax paper sheets. Lightly brush the vanilla dough with water, then flip the colored dough on top, pressing the edges to seal. Trim any uneven edges with a knife.

How to Roll the Cookie Dough into a Log Shape

Step 5: Roll it up tightly from the long side, like a jelly roll. Don't worry about small cracks; just pinch them closed and keep rolling. If you find the dough is getting too soft, place it back in the refrigerator or even freezer to chill it again.

How to Slice the Cookies

Step 6: Pour the sprinkles onto a platter. Carefully roll the dough log in the sprinkles, then wrap in plastic and chill for a few hours. This re-hardens the butter, preventing the cookies from spreading too much while baking.

Baking Instructions

Step 7: Bake on Parchment Baking Sheets in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden brown.

Step 8: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a baking cooling rack to finish cooling.

Storing, Freezing, and Thawing Tips

Pantry: Place the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. If you plan to keep them for more than a few days, you can layer them between sheets of parchment paper in the container to further protect them from sticking together or becoming stale.

Freezer: Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper. Frozen cookies can be enjoyed for up to 3 months.

Thawing Tips: Allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature before serving.

📖 Recipe Card

Lois

Easy Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies

4.48 from 44 votes

Easy Slice and Bake Christmas Cookies are soft, sweet buttery cookies with Christmas colored sprinkles on the outside and a fun colorful swirl on the inside.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Additional Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 42 minutes mins

Servings: 4 dozen cookies

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Calories: 100

Ingredients Method Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 2 cups flour plus possibly a few more tablespoons
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup unsifted powdered sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, cut in chunks (2 ½ sticks)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon of food coloring of your choice and/or ½ teaspoon of any desired extra extracts
• 1 ½ cup holiday sprinkles

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Method

 

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended. Add butter in, gradually, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract.
2. Continue mixing until the dough forms a ball.
3. Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts.
4. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. You can at this point add a different extract flavor to the colored cookie dough. Mint or almond flavoring works lovely.
5. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.
6. Roll out each portion of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until it reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is ¼ inch thick.
7. Slide both onto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
8. When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Brush the uncolored vanilla dough lightly with water using a pastry brush. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even.
9. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.
10. Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it’s ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style.
11. Pour out sprinkles onto a large platter and set aside. Now gently lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and roll away covering the entire log in the sprinkles.
12. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or you can freeze the dough for up to three months at this point.
13. Slice your dough into ¼ inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden brown.
14. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 100kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 18mgSugar: 5g

Notes

The recipe calls for 2 cups of flour plus a few more tablespoons. What exactly does that mean?

• Sometimes adding food coloring to cookie dough will make the dough too wet and difficult to roll out, so you add extra flour about a tablespoon at a time to help.

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