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Festive, easy, and fun…Holly Jolly Santa Cookies – Tis’ the Season! Simple vanilla sugar cookies shaped into the cutest, fattest little Santas, made effortlessly by shaping the dough into round balls. Frosted with a deliciously sweet whipped cream cheese frosting and you’ll have yourself the most perfect Christmas cookie. Fun to bake, delicious to eat, a great homemade gift, and a festive addition to your holiday cookie box!
As I write this the snow is falling outside my NYC hotel room, and well, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This is so cheesy, but New York in December, and with white fluffy snow, is the most magical experience. I am so happy it decided to snow on my last day here in the city. I’ll be home by the time you read this, and back in the deep, deep Colorado snow. But I’m feeling extra thankful that I was able to see NYC this time of year…and in snowy winter weather too. Next year I’m bringing my mom and little Asher with me. It’s always better with family, especially those two Christmas loving freaks. They would be loving every minute of this snowy, Christmas scene.
Anyway, it feels very fitting to be writing this post as the snow falls. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, these cookies are cute wintry cookies…and of course, delicious. Something about a fat little Santa covered in sweet frosting (and even some chocolate candies too) is always adorable.
Those of you who’ve been following HBH since the VERY early days, there’s a slight chance you’ll remember these cookies. I shared a version of this recipe only a month and a half into HBH’s inception. While looking back through old content a few weeks ago, I stumbled across this recipe.
The crazy thing about developing so many new recipes is that sometimes I forget about the old (and really GOOD) recipes I’ve created. Even though the photos of these cookies were horrid, I still found them to be so cute. And I remember Asher having so much fun helping me bake them. So I’m bringing one of my favorite cookies back to life. And while it is a slightly decadent cookie, I love them so much.
(cookie dough balls lined up and ready to assemble)
(assembling the red parts of Santa)
As you all know, I am no professional when it comes to decorating sweets. BUT I still love to make my desserts, especially the holiday ones, as cute and festive as possible. Enter these easy, rolly, polly, Santa cookies.
The idea is to take simple sugar cookie dough, roll it into tiny balls, attach them together into a “Santa” body, and bake. If you use the photos as guides, it’s the easiest sugar cookie you will make. Not to mention, so much fun! No stress, no pulling out your hair, just fun. Exactly what holiday baking should be.
Here is how you make these Holly Jolly Santa Cookies.
Start with the dough. I used my favorite sugar cookie dough that’s heavy on the butter…and vanilla. I died half of the dough red using food coloring and kept the other half of the dough plain. If you can find a great natural red food die, I would highly recommend using that. Sadly I’ve yet to find one that works well. If anyone has found one they use and love, please let me know!
Once the dough is died, it’s literally as simple as rolling each dough into multiple balls. Again, if you look through the photos you will most likely understand the process much, much easier. You need five white dough balls and five red dough balls to make one Santa.
Attaching the pieces…
This is the step that you might think will be tricky, but it’s actually so easy. To make each Santa, just gently push the dough balls together. Once again, use the photos as guides. Nothing needs to be shaped perfectly or lined up just right. As long as you have a rough body formed, the cookies bake up like adorable fat Santas.
Promise.
Once you have your Santas formed, add mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons, then bake! The process of rolling the balls will take a little time, but to me, this is easier than cutting out shapes…and I think they are way cuter, not to mention a little more unique. Because let’s be real, everyone is making your basic sugar cookies this time of year. Bake something a little different!
Decorating is easy.
Since the cookies themselves are already so cute, decorating is EASY. I used a sweet, creamy, whipped cream cheese frosting to add a layer of excitement to each bite. The frosting is used for Santa’s beard, hat, and hands, but my recommendation? Keep a small bowl of the frosting aside for adding to each cookie while eating. The frosting is SO GOOD and the cookie is made even better with a bit of additional frosting spread all over our little Santas.
For Santa’s nose, I use a mini red M&M. Simple, easy, and so cute.
These cookies make a delicious addition to any holiday party, cookie plate, or even cookie gift box. And if you have young kids these are a must bake before Christmas. They’ll have so much fun attaching the pieces since it’s something they can easily do all by themselves!
I’m really hoping to be able to set aside time one of these days before Christmas to do a baking day with Asher. These are the perfect cookies to make with her!
If you make these holly jolly Santa cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Jolly Santa Cookies
Servings: 14 Santa Cookies
Calories Per Serving: 691 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 teaspoons red food coloring
- mini chocolate chips (for eyes and buttons)
- mini holiday M + M s (for Santa's nose)
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powder sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined. Add the flour, and salt, beat until combined, and the dough begins to form a ball.3. Remove 1 cup of the dough and set aside. With the remaining dough, add in 1 teaspoon red food coloring, adding more if needed for better color. Keep in mind that the color will darken over time.4. From the red cookie dough, make 1 (1-inch) ball and 5 (1/2-inch) balls. From the plain cookie dough, make 1 (3/4 inch) ball and 5 (1/4-inch) balls. You will have a body, head, hat, four red arms and four white hands and a white ball for the top of the hat. I find it easiest to make all the parts first, then assemble. 5. On the prepared baking sheet, place the red 1-inch ball, gently flatten until 1/2 inch thick. Attach four of the red 1/2-inch balls for arms and legs. Next, attach the plain 3/4-inch ball for a head, gently flatten until 1/2 inch thick. Attach the plain 1/4-inch balls for hands and feet. Shape the remaining red 1/2-inch ball into a triangle for a hat and attach it. Repeat with remaining dough, arranging the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Add chocolate pieces for eyes and buttons (see above photos for visuals, this will help!).6. Transfer to the oven and bake the Santa's for 12-15 minutes, until lightly golden7. To make the frosting. Add the butter and the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until extra light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat together until whipped, about 2 more minutes.8. To decorate. Transfer half the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a small tip. Or, take a ziplock bag and snip a very small portion of the corner off the bag. Use the bag to go around Santa's face, arms, and legs. Put a small dot on the tip of his hat and then place one red mini M&M on his face as his nose.
Notes
Storing: the frosting will set up, but it's best to store these cookies in a single layer in an airtight container. If using these cookies to fill a cookie box, place a piece of wax or parchment paper between each cookie to help protect them, then carefully stack the cookies, or line them up side by side.
Freezing: unfrosted cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw, then decorate as directed.
This post was originally published on December 13, 2019
Give credit where credit is due. Roly Poly Santas – Better Homes and Gardens.
Hi Dana, if there was credit to give I would have certainly given it. I googled this recipe since I didn’t know what your were referring to. If you look at my original posting date, I shared this recipe first in December 2012…2 years before the recipe you referred to was even published. So, hope that clears things right up for you! 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you! And Happy Holidays!! xTieghan ?
Made these today for a covid-style Christmas cookie swap. They turned out very cute, but were VERY time intensive! I doubled the recipe to make 36 cookies, and it took about 4 hours as I had to roll out 432 tiny balls. Overall, still a fun recipe and will be adorable to put out for Santa!
Thank you so much Cait! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These cookies are adorable, meade them today and they are so cute 🙂
Thank you so much Kim! xTieghan
Haven’t made these Santa cookies yet, but gave 5 stars for being so cute! In your blog, there are some misspelled words.
Dyed rather than died. Dye instead of die.
” I died half of the dough red using food coloring and kept the other half of the dough plain. If you can find a great natural red food die,”
Haha thank you for catching that! I hope you love these cookies! xTieghan
Hi. These are the most delicious cookies ever. Do they need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese icing?
Thanks!
Hey Katie,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, you can keep these on the counter in an airtight container. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
They turned out so cute. Just made them for a New Year’s Eve party last minute. So good.
That is so great! Thank you for trying these Sonya! xTieghan
These were so fun to make and they tasted delicious too!
Thank you Gwen! So happy to hear that! xTieghan
such fun easy cookies to let the kids help with!!!!!
Yes! Thank you Abby! xTieghan
I made these for my cookie trays-very cute. Easy recipe. Next time I’ll be sure to press the pieces together a bit more and mix my food coloring in better! I think the decorating really makes them-take your time decorating. I didn’t have any decorating tips so I put in plastic bag and cut off the end. It worked. Clearly, if you have a variety of tips you can get that same look. The recipe makes about 5-6 cookies (at least for me, for the sizes I made the little balls) so I made them the highlight of my cookie trays. I placed each of them in a hand-shaped foil in the center of the tray so they wouldn’t break, and put my other cookies and fudge around it. Thanks for the recipe. I’m not a big cookie maker but they are too cute to pass up and relatively easy to make! Happy Holidays!
I am so glad these turned out so well for you Christina! Thank you so much for trying them! Also, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xTieghan
These were delicious and fun to make! They are absolutely adorable also. This is a great cookie recipe. Thank you!!!
Thank you Krysta!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Amazingly easy cookies to make . I will be measuring my cookie balls next time as they were quite large and only made 6 cookies , lol! But they turned out so cute . And the icing is THE BEST ICING EVER!!
Awh that is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this, Brandy! I am so glad it turned out so well! xTieghan
Who doesn’t love a cute dessert like this. Ho! Ho! Ho! Thanks for the great recipe and we look forward to trying it soon.
Right?! I hope you love these Ryan! Thank you so much! xTieghan
These are so, so cute! They were a little time consuming, but so worth it!
Thank you so much Lynsey! xTieghan
Hi I was wondering if you had any tips for if I want to do these gluten free?! I’m new to baking with gluten free stuff so I’ll take any advice you can give!
HI! I have never made this with GF flour so I can’t really say how it will turn out. If you do try it, I recommend Cup4Cup flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions and how it turns out. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This are so cute and silly, I love them!
Thank you so much Lauren! I am so glad you like these! xTieghan