• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Delicious Table logo

  • All Recipes
  • Holiday Recipes
    • July 4th, Memorial, Labor Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Year's Eve and Day
    • Superbowl Party & Game Day Food
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Mother's Day Recipes
  • Party Food
    • Cookout
    • Grill, BBQ, and Smoke Recipes
    • Holiday
    • Game Day Food
    • Comfort
    • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Shop Kitchen Collection
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • About
    • Lisa Hatfield’s Bio
    • Work With Lisa
    • Press
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
menu icon
go to homepage
  • 🍽 DELICIOUS TABLE
  • 👩‍🍳 RECIPE GUIDE
  • 💌 SUBSCRIBE
  • 📖 FREE eCOOKBOOK
  • 🎄HOLIDAY RECIPES
  • 🏆 MOST POPULAR RECIPES
  • 🛒 SHOP
search icon
Homepage link
  • 🍽 DELICIOUS TABLE
  • 👩‍🍳 RECIPE GUIDE
  • 💌 SUBSCRIBE
  • 📖 FREE eCOOKBOOK
  • 🎄HOLIDAY RECIPES
  • 🏆 MOST POPULAR RECIPES
  • 🛒 SHOP
×

Home » Latest Recipes » Baking

Santas Cookies

Published: November 14, 2021 | Last Updated: November 14, 2021 | Lisa Hatfield 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
A mug of cold milk with a Christmas cookie on top, and a written message to Santa.

Santa's Christmas cookies can be decorated with kid's wish lists. Place on a glass of cold milk, Santa will Ho Ho Ho for these sugar cookies.

Plan ahead for these, the royal icing needs 2-3 days to dry solid before you can write on them with edible color markers. I also am sharing creative royal icing decorating ideas and my top tips.

Happy holiday baking, it's a fun tradition to leave Santa cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. Children will love to write their wish lists for Santa. This is the best Christmas cookie recipe, you might be surprised by what the kids ask for...

Christmas Cookie Recipe

Baking Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add sugar and softened butter. Mix until combined.
  2. Next add egg, baking powder, orange juice, vanilla, and flour. Mix until combined.
  3. Wrap the dough in plastic food wrap and chill until firm.
  4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ thickness.
  5. Use a square shape cutter (I used a top from a food container) cut out the square. Next, using the big end of an icing decorating tip, cut a small hole in the corner of the cookie for the straw. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 1-2 inches apart.
  6. Heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
  7. Cool completely, then you are ready to decorate.

Mix The Icing

2 pounds powdered sugar

5 tablespoons meringue powder

dash vanilla clear preferred

Delicious Table logo
Join Our List

And receive a free recipe ebook as our thank you.

1 cup (scant) warm water

  • Place all ingredients into a mixer and whip on slow for 10 minutes.
  • Keep the royal icing covered with saran wrap or damp kitchen towel or it dries out and doesn't spread smoothly.
  • Add drops of red or green color to some royal icing.
  • Leftover icing can be frozen and used later.

Drying Royal Icing

PRO TIP: The best way to dry cookies is to place them on a sheet pan in the oven with only the oven light on.

  • Or place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan on the kitchen counter.
  • Don't put them in the fridge, the icing won't dry, and they get too soft.
  • The royal icing actually helps keep the cookies the right soft texture as it dries.
  • Humidity plays a role in how fast the icing dries, and will vary depending where you live and the weather the day you bake.
  • Place a fan near the cookies to speed up the drying process.

Christmas Cookie Decorating

  1. Fill a small pastry bag fitted with a small tip, and pipe a line around the edge of the cookie. Next, flood or fill in the center, and use a small thin skewer to fill in the icing.
  2. IMPORTANT: At this point, let the cookies dry completely before writing the wish list for Santa.
  3. Once cookies are dry and the icing is rock hard, use colored edible markers, and use a ruler to make the lines that look like a piece of paper, use blue and red pens for this step. Do this part for small children, then let them write the wish list.
  4. Place it on an ice cold mug of milk, add a cute red and white straw and wait for Santa's visit!
  5. Decorate other cookies with royal icing and sprinkles and create your own holiday designs.

Cookie Designs

  • For the "wish list" cookie, use a blue and red marker to create a piece of paper, then black to write the list.
  • Use red and white to create a peppermint candy swirl design, and top with some sprinkles.
  • Make little gift packages, add some cute dots and a big red bow.
  • Draw alternating lines of red and green, and drag the skewer through to create a fun design.
  • Create holly and berries with dots of red and make green holly leaves.
What is the history of Santa's Cookies and Milk Tradition?


Children have left cookies and milk out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve for decades.

Some say that leaving cookies and milk for Santa came from the tradition of hanging and stuffing stockings by the chimney, and leaving something to eat and drink was a way to welcome Santa.

It is said that in the 1930s during the Great Depression, cookies and milk for Santa took off as an American holiday tradition. Due to the severe hard financial times, many parents wanted to teach their children to give, be generous to others, and show gratitude for their Christmas gifts.
And so the tradition took hold, setting out small plates of cookies and a glass of milk for Santa.

More Christmas Cookie Recipes

Bake these wildly popular and "cookie-exchange" winning Santa’s Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies.

Shortbread Christmas Cookies are baked with peppermint white chocolate and macadamia nuts, these say Mele Kalikimaka and Aloha!

Make a Peppermint Candy Plate in only 20 minutes. Serve cookies, candy, hot cocoa, coffee, tea, festive drinks, or holiday cocktails. Put out for the holidays, or take to a potluck Christmas party.

Make Nut Goodie Candy Bars a Christmas family tradition, so amazing.

  • Chocolate Chip Christmas Cookies
  • Christmas Shortbread Cookies
  • Peppermint Candy Plate
  • Nut Goodie Bar Candy

CRAVING MORE?

Get my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for more Delicious Table recipes!

A collage of Christmas cookies decorated for Santa including one with a kids wish list on a mug of milk.
Print Pin Recipe

Santa's Cookies and Milk (Christmas Cookies)

Kids write their wish list on decorated Christmas cookies with edible ink. This recipe for Santa's Cookies and Milk includes step-by-step instructions. Ho Ho Ho! *plan ahead, these take 3-4 days for the icing to dry before writing on the cookies.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Royal Icing Dry Time -before writing on cookies 3 days
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 36
Calories 201kcal
Author Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Large Metal Sheet Pan
Meringue Powder (Royal Icing)
Edible Decorating Pens
Disposable Cookie Decorating Bags
8 Icing Colors

Ingredients

Cookie Recipe

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 egg I use EggBeaters, it works perfectly!
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed from an orange
  • 1 tablespoon good vanilla
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Royal Icing Recipe

  • 2 pounds powdered sugar
  • 5 tablespoons meringue powder order online
  • dash vanilla clear preferred
  • 1 cup (scant) warm water
  • Equipment: baking sheet pan
  • Icing Colors red and green
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Baking

  • In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add sugar and softened butter. Mix until combined.
  • Next add egg, baking powder, orange juice, vanilla, and flour. Mix until combined.
  • Wrap dough in plastic food wrap and chill until firm 1-2 hours.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ thickness.
  • Use a square shape cutter (I used a top from a food container) cut out the square. Next, using an icing decorating tip, cut a small hole in the corner of the cookie for the straw. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet at least 1-2 inches apart.
  • Heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake 10-12 minutes until edges are lightly browned.
  • Cool completely before decorating.

Royal Icing

  • Place all ingredients into a mixer and whip on slow for 10 minutes.
  • Keep finished icing covered with saran wrap or damp kitchen towel to keep from drying out.
  • Leftover icing can be frozen and used later.

Decorating

  • Fill a small pastry bag fitted with a small tip, and pipe a line around the edge of the cookie. Next, flood or fill in the center, and use a small thin skewer to fill in the icing.
  • IMPORTANT: At this point, let the cookies dry at least 2-3 days completely before writing the wish list on the cookies for Santa. Place on a sheet pan in the oven with only the light on.
  • Once cookies are dry and icing is rock hard, use colored edible markers and use a ruler to make the lines that look like a piece of paper, use a blue and red pens for this step. Do this part for small children, then let them write the wish list.
  • And now the best part, have children write their wish list to Santa on the cookies, place on a mug of milk, add a cute red and white straw and wait for Santa's visit!
  • Decorate other cookies with colored icing and sprinkles.

Notes

plan ahead

The royal icing takes 3-4 days for the icing to dry before writing on the cookies. 

supplies

  • Parchment paper
  • square cookie cutter (or food container top)
  • small icing tip
  • Wilton Edible Color Markers (craft stores/online)
  • ruler
  • small skewer
  • plastic pastry bags
  • assorted sprinkles and food colors for decorating 
Edible ink pens are easy to find in local craft stores, they are designed to write on cookies!

Nutrition

Calories: 201kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 165IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let's see it on Instagram! Follow us @Delicious.Table and tag us on your recipe photo with #delicioustable
Need ingredients or equipment to make this recipe? Shop Now Every cooking product recommended I own, use, and love how they perform in my kitchen. Happy Cooking! Lisa
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Delicious Table earns advertising fees from qualified purchases linking to Amazon.com
811 shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Larry Sclafani says

    November 30, 2020 at 3:12 am

    These look delicious and are so pretty!!! These are the most beautiful cookies I’ve seen! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you for such an awesome recipe I will definitely use again and share!

    Larry Sclafani
    http://nextbestreview.com/

    Reply
  2. Emily says

    March 10, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    5 stars
    I have been meaning to leave a comment about these cookies. My mom saw these on your site and ordered all of the ingredients so we could make them with the kids at Christmas this year and we ALL had so much fun making these. Naturally I made them ahead without telling the kids and then we let them write on them and leave them for Santa. It was perfectly magical for them. This will be part of our tradition now. Thank you!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm LISA! Welcome, can I get you something delicious to eat? Let's find that recipe you are craving. Delicious Table features simple recipes, holiday and party food ideas.

Find out more →

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

MOST POPULAR RECIPES

  • How To Make Sun Dried Cherry Tomatoes
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Easy Taco Salad
  • The Best BBQ Dry Rub
  • The Best Cheeseburger
  • The Best Burger Seasoning

ALL READER FAVES ►

COOKOUT & JULY 4TH RECIPES

  • White Wine Sangria
  • Blueberry Lemonade
  • American Flag Pie
  • Blueberry Pie Baked Outdoors
  • Patriotic July 4th M&M Cookies
  • July 4th Ice Cream Cake

MORE RECIPES ►

Footer

Most Popular "Reader Favorite" Recipes

A small clear jar filled with sun dried cherry tomatoes on a table with scatterd dried tomatoes all around the table.

How To Make Sun Dried Cherry Tomatoes

A white long plate with a stack of fried green tomatoes with remoulade and buttermilk ranch dressing.

Fried Green Tomatoes

A white plate full of taco salad topped with taco meat, grated cheese, Fritos, sour cream, black olives and tomatoes.

Easy Taco Salad

A large pork loin roast with a lot of dry rub seasoning pouring over the top.

The Best BBQ Dry Rub

A person holding a messy grilled burger topped with melted cheese, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

The Best Cheeseburger

A graphic of the steps to season hamburger patties, with them shaped on parchment paper.

The Best Burger Seasoning

A pile of bright yellow lemons in a pile ready to make lemon recipes.

15 Lemon Recipes

A white ceramic dog dish that says woof filled with homemade dog food.

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

A white plate filled with heart shaped lobster ravioli garnished with parsley.

Lobster Ravioli

Two small glasses of icy cold limoncello (lemoncello) ready to sip.

Limoncello

Large white casserole dish filled with mashed potatoes topped with pieces of butter.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Three golden crispy edged hash browns baked in a muffin tin on cutting board.

Oven Baked Hash Browns

A square collage of colorful grilled food at a cookout with a logo that says Cookout Menu.

Cookout Menu

A person pulling a dill pickle chip out of a clear glass canning jar of homemade pickles.

Jalapeno-Dill Refrigerator Pickles

A clear glass bowl filled with tri color cole slaw and wooden tongs stuck in the slaw.

Cole Slaw

A red bowl with fluffy vanilla frosting ready to frost a cake.

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

A large glass clamp jar filled with pickled eggs, fresh jalapeno slices, and spices.

Jalapeno Pickled Eggs

A graphic showing lots of food for July 4th including cheeseburgers, corn, and baked beans.

100+ July 4th Recipes

White plate filled with Beef Stroganoff on noodles with mushrooms.

Best Beef Stroganoff Recipe

A Cinco de Mayo party with frozen margaritas, guacamole, and chips on a green table.

CoronaRita Margaritas

A white casserole dish with roasted pulled pork just out of the oven and seasoned with bbq rub.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

Fireball Whisky Cocktails with cinnamon sticks wrapped in orange peel for garnish.

Fireball Whisky Cocktails

Four Havana club glasses filled with mojitos garnished with mint.

Cuban Mojito Recipe

A large white spoon scooping a serving of cowboy baked beans out of a casserole dish.

Cowboy Beans

More Delicious Recipes

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

As an Amazon Associate and Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on Delicious Table and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you, ever!  I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform. Happy Cooking! Lisa XO

I've Been Featured On

Lisa Hatfield Torres with Delicious Table shares everyday and holiday fresh seasonal ingredient real food recipes, cooking techniques, kitchen tips, and more at www.DeliciousTable.com.

PLEASE FOLLOW US!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Reader Faves!

A small clear jar filled with sun dried cherry tomatoes on a table with scatterd dried tomatoes all around the table.

How To Make Sun Dried Cherry Tomatoes

A white long plate with a stack of fried green tomatoes with remoulade and buttermilk ranch dressing.

Fried Green Tomatoes

A white plate full of taco salad topped with taco meat, grated cheese, Fritos, sour cream, black olives and tomatoes.

Easy Taco Salad

Copyright © 2021 ♥︎ Delicious Table ♥︎ Privacy policy ♥︎ Accessibility Statement