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Everyone falls in love with the first bite of theseCopycat Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies. The melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookies with a cloud of sweet Christmasy buttercream are irresistibly delicious!
When I was thinking about a signature Christmas cookie for 2021, I had lots of ideas but it didn't take long to settle on these Copycat Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies. They're an adaptation of our original Copycat Crumbl Sugar Cookies, just dressed up in some pretty holiday clothes.
I decided not to reinvent the wheel (although we do have another delicious holiday cookie coming up) because our original Crumbl Sugar Cookies brought tons of rave reviews. Here are a few of them.
AMAZING! I don't know what a Crumble cookie is but these have the taste of an expensive bakeshop cookie, were easy to make and look festive. I made mine for the 4th of July holiday - did not tint the frosting and decorated with red, white and blue jimmies. Everyone raved. So buttery, just right cakiness texture and the touch of almond makes everyone think I either spent a fortune or hours making neither of which were true. Thank you for making me look good!
I made these at my daughter’s house. She and her boyfriend loved them and thought they were just like Crumbl cookies... even better!
These cookies are nothing short of magical. I want to thank you for sharing your cooking and baking expertise.
Oh. My. Word. I finally got around to making these - practicing for Christmas gift giving. These cookies are outrageous!
Sugar cookies are #1 with me so I give all new recipes a try. These cookies are melt-in-my-mouth soft and my new favorite; thanks for the recipe.
There are more, but I think you get the idea, these Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies ALWAYS bring lots of 5-star comments!
What is a Crumbl cookie?
Wondering what in the world a "Crumbl" cookie is? Crumbl is a chain of cookie shops here in the U.S. that's popularity has spread like wildfire over the past 2-3 years. They have lots of different varieties although their sugar cookies are probably the most popular and beloved.
If you've never had the pleasure of experiencing Crumbl Sugar Cookies, you've been missing out on something wonderfully delicious. They're big, soft sugar confections that are topped with a beautiful swirl of fluffy pink buttercream icing. They're pretty enough to make them quite irresistible but then you take the first melt-in-your-mouth bite... and that seals the deal!
One Bowl, No Mixer needed!
I love that you can mix up this dough quickly with just one bowl and no mixer needed. It's a simple dough with just a few basic ingredients; butter, sugar, eggs, flour baking powder, salt and vanilla. You probably have everything you need to whip up a batch right in your cupboard and pantry.
The buttercream is just as simple; butter, half and half, powdered sugar and vanilla and almond extracts. Again it can be whisked together by hand in one bow. Of course, if you prefer using an electric mixer, it's not a problem. I just love the simplicity of mixing up something delicious with just one bowl and a sturdy spatula.
Large, small... or anywhere in between!
Make the cookies any size you like. Authentic Crumbl cookies are quite large, I generally make mine a little smaller for better portion control but the larger size is really nice for gifting. Yes, these Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies make a wonderful gift! Who wouldn't love to receive a box of these beauties tied with a pretty bow?
We've created a free, printable gift label to make your packages look super festive and professional.
If you'd like to receive the labels, simply leave a comment in the comment section below this post. We will email a PDF for the labels and instructions on how to print them up yourself. We'll also include links for the boxes and ribbon pictured in this post.
Make a batch of these fabulous Crumbl Sugar cookies and bring smiles of delight to your family, friends, neighbors, teachers... Hide one or two for yourself, make a fire and a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the season! Cheers!
Cafe Tips for making these Copycat CrumblChristmas Sugar Cookies
- Because this recipe does not require a mixer, the butter needs to be nice and soft. You can let butter sit out at room temperature but if the air is chilly in your house, it won't get soft enough. Here are some ways to soften butter:
- You can soften the butter in the microwave on power level 10%. It works like magic. You’ll need to experiment a bit with your microwave though, as they’re all different. Start with 1 minute. Add 20 to 30-second increments until you learn how long your microwave will take to get the butter nice and soft, but not melted.
- Another technique I often use to soften butter is to put it in the microwave for a few hours with the light on. To keep the light on in the microwave I put a folded paper towel in the door.
- Boil a cup of water in the microwave for 3-4 minutes and get things nice and steamy. Leave the water cup in the microwave, add the butter and close the door. The warmth from the steamy water will help to quickly soften the butter.
- Cutting the butter into small pieces helps it soften quicker.
- Place the hard butter on a small plate. Fill a bowl with hot water. Wait 5 minutes then discard the water. Put the warm bowl over the butter.
- Put the butter in the oven with the light turned on. This will take a few hours.
- The fastest way to soften butter is to put cold butter in the microwave for 10 seconds. Turn it to the opposite side and microwave for another 10 seconds. It might be ready at this point, but if it’s not completely soft, add one or two more 5-second stints.
- Don't skip the one-hour chilling time. It really makes the cookies easy to scoop up and helps them not spread too much in the oven. I have chilled the dough as long as overnight. If you chill it for more than an hour, let it sit out for 15 minutes to soften a bit before scooping up the balls.
- I like to add a bit of peppermint extract to the buttercream but that's up to you. You can also use vanilla extract and a few drops of almond extract which would be similar to the real deal Crumbl Sugar Cookies.
- I like to use a retractable ice cream scoop to make these cookies and scoop up uniform size balls of dough.
- If you want all of your cookies to be precisely the same size, use a scale. I make my smaller cookies right around 35g and the larger ones (like you see in the gift box above, 50g.
- If you're in the market for new sheet pans I love these OXO Good Grip Sheet Pans. They're really sturdy and hold up well.
- I love these pre-cut parchment paper sheets, and use them all the time for baking. They're the perfect size for sheet pans. They save lots of time, are easy to store and a box lasts forever!
- For those of you living outside the U.S., half and half is an American convenience product that's often used for a coffee creamer. It's half milk and half heavy cream.
- I found the best way to spread the icing on these Copycat Crumbl Sugar Cookies is with a small butter knife. If I want to frost a bunch of cookies quickly, I stuff the icing in a disposable icing bag and squeeze a big round plop on top of each cookie then spread out the icing with a butter knife.
- I sprinkle the iced cookies with nonpareils in holiday hues. I really like this Jingle Mix.
Thought for the day:
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod,
Magi, from the east, came to Jerusalemand asked,
“Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
Copycat Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies
Chris Scheuer
Everyone falls in love with the first bite of these Copycat Crumbl Christmas Sugar Cookies. The melt-in-your-mouth, buttery cookies with a cloud of sweet Christmasy buttercream are irresistibly delicious!
5 from 20 votes
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CALORIES
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ¾ cup very soft butter I use salted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
For the icing:
- 4 tablespoons very soft butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
- 2¼-2 ½ tablespoons half & half
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract OR
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
For the cookies:
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and stir until nice and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until combined.
Add the baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Lastly, add the flour and stir until it’s completely incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Scoop up the dough into 1½-3 tablespoon scoops. Roll the scoops into balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet pan. With a flat bottom glass, press each dough ball down to create a ½-inch tall cookie. I like to place a small piece of parchment paper on top of the dough ball before pressing to flatten it. The parchment will keep the dough from sticking to the bottom of the glass.
Bake for 12-16 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to turn golden at the edges. Don’t overbake.
Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the icing:
While the cookies are cooling make the icing by combining the soft butter, powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of the half and half and extracts in a medium-size bowl. Stir together until creamy and well combined. If icing is stiff add more half and half, a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. You want a thick, but nicely spreadable consistency. Add 2-4 drops of green food coloring to get a pretty green color
To frost the cookies, spread each cookie with a generous spoonful of frosting and spread to just within the edges of the cookies. You can also use a piping bag with a large round tip. Pipe the icing, starting in the center and working your way to near the edges. Then use a small offset knife to spread the icing with a circular motion. Sprinkle the cookies with Christmasy nonpareils right away, before the icing dries. Allow the icing to set for about 30 minutes.
Once set, cover and store the cookies in an airtight container (separate layers with parchment or wax paper) for 2-3 days or freeze for longer storage.
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