Discover the easy and versatile recipe for Christmas cookies with just one basic dough.

If Christmas means baking Christmas cookies like there’s no tomorrow for you, then you absolutely need to get inspired by this super easy recipe, with a wow final result! Just one basic shortcrust pastry will allow you to make up to 5 different kinds of cookies! Yes, you heard that right. And if creativity is your strength, you might even bake a few more!

Easy, Fun, and Perfect for the Holidays

It seems incredibly complicated and complex, but in reality, it’s a fun and relaxing activity, perfect for making with the family. Not to mention the enormous satisfaction you’ll have in offering them to your guests during the holidays! You’ll make a great impression! To make them, you’ll just need an afternoon of your time and, as I said, a little creativity in decorating them as you prefer!

The 5 Varieties of Christmas Cookies

Here are the delightful variations I propose:

Gingerbread men and spicy snowflakes, the great classics of the holidays

Lemon stars, fresh and fragrant

Hazelnut and chocolate cookies, irresistible for the sweet tooth

Almond sandwich cookies filled with almond cream and strawberry jam.

Pistachio stars, sometimes transformed into elegant pistachio and chocolate baci di dama.

These homemade cookies keep well if stored in a tightly sealed tin box and are perfect as Christmas gifts! Pack them in personalized bags, perhaps accompanied by a card or a label with all the ingredients listed. They will be a much-appreciated culinary Christmas gift!

Other Christmas cookie ideas you might be interested in:

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Rest time: 30 Minutes
Portions: approx. 65 cookies
Cooking methods: Electric oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Autumn, Winter

Ingredients

⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while costing you nothing extra!

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 oz butter (cold)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp potato starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp candied orange peel (or grated orange zest)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom (ground)
1 tbsp limoncello
1 lemon zest (untreated)
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tbsp hazelnut liqueur (or 10 ml. milk)
1/3 cup hazelnut flour (or finely chopped hazelnuts)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup pistachio flour
1 tbsp pistachio cream
1 egg white
A few drops lemon juice
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon spread (or lemon jam)
1/4 cup almond cream
3 tbsp strawberry jam
1 oz dark chocolate
to taste pistachio flour
to taste chocolate sprinkles
to taste colored sugar sprinkles (preferably Christmas-themed)

Tools

1 Stand Mixer
1 Rolling Pin
5 Plastic Wrap
1 Dough Scraper
Cookie Cutters
2 Piping Bag
1 Baking Sheet
1 Baking Mat
1 Cooling Rack

Steps

In the bowl of the stand mixer, add the flour and the previously sifted potato starch (fig. 1).
Add the sifted powdered sugar (fig. 2) and the vanilla extract (fig. 3).
Add the pinch of salt and the cold butter cut into cubes (fig. 4).
Using the K-beater, mix on low speed until you get a sandy mixture. Finally, add the eggs and continue mixing (fig. 5).
You need to obtain a fairly compact and homogeneous mixture (fig. 6).
Divide the obtained dough into 5 equal parts, weighing them for convenience. Wrap them with plastic wrap and leave them for 10 minutes in the freezer (fig. 7).
For the gingerbread men and spicy snowflakes (approx. 20): take one of the 5 dough portions and place it in the stand mixer, add the finely chopped candied orange peel, cocoa, and ground spices (fig. 8).
Mix with the K-beater until you have a homogeneous and uniformly colored mixture. Slightly flatten the dough with your hands, wrap it again in its plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes (fig. 9).
For the double lemon stars (approx. 10): take another portion of dough and place it in the stand mixer, add the grated lemon zest (I used powdered) and the limoncello (fig. 10).
Mix with the K-beater for a couple of minutes until you get a homogeneous mixture. Flatten it, wrap it in its plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes (fig. 11).
For the almond and almond cream sandwich cookies (approx. 10): take a third portion of dough and place it in the stand mixer, add the almond flour and almond milk (fig. 12).
Mix with the K-beater for a couple of minutes until you get a homogeneous mixture. Flatten it, wrap it in its plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes (fig. 13).
For the pistachio stars and pistachio baci di dama (approx. 12): take a fourth portion of dough and place it in the stand mixer, add the pistachio flour and pistachio cream (fig. 14).
Mix with the K-beater for a couple of minutes until you get a homogeneous mixture. Flatten it, wrap it in its plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes (fig. 15).
For the hazelnut and chocolate chip cookies (approx. 12): take the last portion of dough and place it in the stand mixer, add the hazelnut flour or hazelnuts previously ground in a mixer and the hazelnut liqueur or alternatively 1 tablespoon of milk (fig. 16).
Add the chocolate chips and mix with the K-beater for a couple of minutes at medium speed (fig. 17).
You should get a well-homogeneous mixture. Flatten it, wrap it in its plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes (fig. 18).
After the resting time in the fridge, use a rolling pin to roll out the first dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 inch (fig. 19).
Use gingerbread man and snowflake-shaped cookie cutters to cut out your cookies until the dough is used up (fig. 20).
Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are slightly golden (fig. 21).
Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack (fig. 22).
Using a rolling pin, roll out the second lemon dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 inch (fig. 19).
Use star-shaped cookie cutters to cut out your cookies. Cut out the center of half with a smaller cutter and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (fig. 24).
Place them in the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake at 350°F for 9-10 minutes, or until they are slightly golden, then let them cool on a rack (fig. 25).
Roll out the hazelnut and chocolate chip cookie dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 inch, cut out your cookies with a round cutter with a 2-inch diameter and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (fig. 26). Put them in the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, or until they are slightly golden, then let them cool on a rack (fig. 27).
Roll out the almond sandwich cookie dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 inch, cut out your cookies with a round cutter with a 2-inch diameter, cut out the center of half and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put them in the freezer for 10 minutes, then bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, or until they are slightly golden, then let them cool on a rack (fig. 28).
Roll out the pistachio dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 3/16 inch, cut out your cookies with a large star cutter (fig. 29).
With the rest of the dough, form an even number of balls by rolling them between your hands, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I garnished with pistachio flour and themed sprinkles. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes (fig. 30)
Turn off the oven, remove the cookies, and let them cool on a rack (fig. 31).
Once ready and cooled, we can start to fill and decorate: garnish the pistachio balls with spreadable chocolate cream and join them together. Then let them dry (fig. 32).
Fill the bases of the lemon stars with lemon jam or cream and pair them with the cut-out ones (fig. 33).
Finally, fill the bases of the almond sandwich cookies with almond cream or strawberry jam and pair them with the cut-out ones (fig. 34).
Decorate as creatively as you want with melted dark chocolate, white chocolate, powdered sugar, etc.
Decorate the spiced men and snowflakes with royal icing. For the procedure, click HERE.
Arrange them in tin boxes; they will look very nice and preserve better.
And there you go… your assorted Christmas cookies with one dough are ready to be enjoyed!
Enjoy from FeFè’s Kitchen!