Name: Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 56 min
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; 4 cups powdered sugar; 3 tbsp meringue powder; 6 to 8 tbsp water; Gel food coloring

These sugar cookies get dressed up in royal icing to look like the kitschy, charming sweaters that show up every December. They taste buttery and crisp and double as edible place cards or a cookie swap showstopper. No advanced decorating skills required, just a piping bag and a sense of humor.

Why These Cookies Show Up Every Holiday

The dough is a reliable sugar cookie that holds its shape without spreading. You get clean sweater outlines, a blank canvas for stripes, zigzags, and tiny icing snowflakes.

Decorating them becomes half the fun. Everyone at the table grabs a color and adds a reindeer, a wonky tree, or too many polka dots. The ugly factor is the whole point, so there is zero pressure to get it perfect.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened: let it sit at room temp for 45 minutes so it creams easily
1 cup granulated sugar: regular white sugar gives the right crunch at the edges
1 large egg: cold is fine, but let it lose the chill for 15 minutes if you can
2 tsp vanilla extract: pure vanilla keeps the flavor clean
3 cups all-purpose flour: spooned and leveled, not scooped, so the dough stays tender
1 tsp baking powder: gives a tiny lift without puffing the shapes
½ tsp salt: fine sea salt balances the sweetness
4 cups powdered sugar: for the royal icing; sift if it is lumpy
3 tbsp meringue powder: this sets the icing firm so you can stack cookies later
6 to 8 tbsp water: add slowly until the icing reaches the right consistency
Gel food coloring: red, green, blue, and yellow let you mix any shade; liquid coloring can thin the icing too much

Variations / Substitutions

Make them gluten-free: swap the all-purpose flour with a cup-for-cup gluten-free blend that contains xanthan gum. The texture will be a little more crumbly but still cuttable.
Try a different shape: gingerbread men, stars, or simple circles work with the same dough. Adjust the bake time by a minute or two for smaller cutters.
Skip the royal icing: use a simple powdered sugar glaze with a few drops of food coloring for a softer finish. It won’t harden as crisp, so serve them the same day.
Add spice: stir ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg into the flour for a warmer cookie that still pairs well with vanilla icing.

For another holiday tray staple, take a look at my Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies.

How To Make Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies

Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugar

In a large bowl, beat the 1 cup softened butter and the 1 cup granulated sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Stop once the mixture is light and fluffy and you can no longer see gritty sugar grains.

This step builds the cookie’s structure. Scrape down the bowl once so you don’t end up with pockets of uncreamed butter later.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

Beat in the egg and the 2 teaspoons vanilla until they disappear into the butter, about 30 seconds. In a separate bowl, whisk the 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet and mix on low just until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.

The dough will look a little crumbly at first, but it should hold together when you press it. If it feels too sticky, chill it for 10 minutes before the next step.

Step 3: Roll and Cut the Dough

Divide the dough in half. Roll each piece between two sheets of parchment paper to a ¼-inch thickness. Slide the slabs onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until the dough is firm.

Peel off the top parchment and stamp out sweater shapes with a floured cutter. Gather the scraps, re-roll them one time, and chill again before cutting more. Keeping the dough cold stops the cookies from spreading in the oven.

Step 4: Bake the Cookies

Place the cutouts an inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 9 to 11 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. You’re looking for edges that are just starting to turn pale golden, not brown.

Let the cookies cool on the pan for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. They crisp up as they cool, so don’t rush the decorating.

Step 5: Whip the Royal Icing

In a clean bowl, combine the 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, and 6 tablespoons water. Whip on low with a hand mixer until the icing is smooth and glossy, about 2 minutes. Add more water half a tablespoon at a time until the icing flows off a spoon in a ribbon that disappears back into the bowl in 10 seconds.

Divide the icing into small bowls and tint each with gel food coloring. Keep the bowls covered with a damp paper towel so the icing does not crust over while you work.

Step 6: Decorate the Sweater Cookies

Spoon a small amount of icing into a piping bag with a small round tip, or use a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off. Outline each cookie first, then flood the inside with a thinner icing. Tap the cookie gently to settle the surface before adding stripes, snowflakes, or zigzags.

Let the decorated cookies sit uncovered at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours so the icing hardens. Serve them stacked on a platter, and the bright colors will look like a rack of tiny woolly sweaters.

Tips for Even Sweater Shapes

Roll the dough to an even ¼ inch. If it’s thinner, the cookies will bake too fast and brown; thicker ones feel doughy in the middle.
If your cutter leaves a fuzzy edge, chill the cut cookies for 5 minutes on the pan before baking. Crisp outlines make the icing line cleaner.
Use a toothpick to guide icing into tight corners or to pop air bubbles while the surface is still wet.
Let the first icing layer dry for 10 minutes before adding details on top. Otherwise the colors bleed into each other.

Bake times by cookie thickness:

Thickness	Oven Temp	Bake Time
⅛ inch	350°F	7 to 8 mins
¼ inch	350°F	9 to 11 mins
⅜ inch	350°F	12 to 13 mins

Keeping Your Sweater Cookies Fresh

Store fully decorated cookies in a single layer inside an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of parchment between each layer.

The undecorated cookies freeze well for up to 2 months. Frost them after thawing, not before, so the icing stays crisp.

What To Serve With Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies

These cookies shine next to a mug of hot chocolate, because the cocoa bitterness cuts through the sweet icing. Mulled apple cider works too, the warm spices echoing the vanilla notes in the cookie. For grown-ups, a stout or a porter with coffee undertones makes the buttery cookie feel richer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a pre-made cookie dough?

You can, but store-bought dough often spreads more. Chilling it longer helps, though the shapes may look softer than with this recipe.

How do I get bright red icing without a bitter taste?

Gel food coloring gives deep color with a tiny amount. Avoid using liquid red coloring, which can turn the icing pink and thin it out.

Can I skip the meringue powder?

Yes, you can replace it with 2 tablespoons of pasteurized egg whites and reduce the water slightly. The icing will still harden, but work quickly before it sets.

What if the dough cracks when I roll it out?

Let the chilled dough sit on the counter for 5 minutes so the butter softens just enough to roll smoothly. If it still cracks, knead it gently two or three times with your hands.