For all those readers who asked…here is a whole-wheat Christmas cookie recipe! Now even though these are made with 100% whole-wheat flour please know they do contain some refined sugar (in both the cookie and the icing). I do occasionally post recipes made with refined sugar because, in my opinion, a cookie that’s homemade from scratch is far better than the factory-made version (or something like a “slice and bake”). And Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without cookies for Santa!
Disclaimer: This recipe contains refined white sugar, which means it doesn’t technically follow our real food rules…so only enjoy in moderation!
When it comes to decorating Christmas cookies though there always seems to be one dilemma…food coloring. I think I’ve made it pretty clear that we like to avoid the chemically-laden artificial dyes. So what’s one to do? Last year, we pureed some naturally dyed candies to color the icing and shortly thereafter purchased some natural India Tree natural dyes for a birthday cake. This year I played around with adding tumeric and paprika (yes, from our spice cabinet!) and also used some naturally colored sprinkles that I found at both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Shawn, our team’s FB coordinator, said she dusted off her juicer to help her add some colors to her kids’ icing.
No matter what you do to add some character to your cookies I can only hope you’ll feel the same as me: Those artificial neon colors just don’t look appetizing anymore now that I understand they are derived from petroleum and even require a warning label in some countries. What’s appealing about that? Naturally dyed cookies might not be as bright in color, but I think they taste just as good and, you be the judge, do these girls look like they are missing a thing?? :)
Whole-Wheat Christmas Cookies (with sugar!)
Ingredients
Rolled Sugar Cookie Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter (cold (1 stick))
- 1/3 cup sugar (granulated white)
- 1 egg
- 4 teaspoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Icing Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl fitted with an electric whisk cream the butter and sugar together for several minutes. While the mixer is going add the egg, cream, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
- With the mixer still going on low, slowly add the flour mixture until well mixed. Turn off the mixer and squeeze the dough together into a ball using your hands.
- Using a rolling pin roll the dough out onto a floured surface until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut desired shapes and place them onto an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 5 – 7 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately transfer to a cooling rack (if you have one) until cool.
- Meanwhile, use a fork to mix together the powdered sugar and heavy cream in a medium sized bowl. Top cookies with a thin layer of icing and other decorations if desired.
Hello! Can I substitute the heavy cream for half and half or whole milk?
Thanks!
We haven’t tried it but whole milk should work. – Nicole
These were great Christmas cookies! What I loved about them was that they were very easy to roll out, and they weren’t overly sweet even with the thin layer of frosting. I let my 2 and four year old help and the dough was durable enough for their non gentle hands.
I had put mine in the freezer for a few minutes because it was too sticky.
Can I make these using a regular hand mixer? I don’t have the big one that sits in the bowl. Thanks!
Great, not to sugary, reminded me of a whole wheat shortbread a bit. They are good on their own, but the frosting helps add a bit more sweetness.
Shouldn’t the dough be refrigerated for a time before rolling it out?
This dough is sturdy enough without refrigeration.
Will pure cane sugar work?
Yes, it will.
Does this frosting get hard to make the cookies stackable?
It does harden.
These were great. I had a real hard time rolling out the dough which seems to always be a problem with me and a rolling pin so i just rolled them out on parchment paper and baked them right like that.
Thanks for this! So excited to try them. I’m intolerant to wheat, so I’m going to attempt making these with gluten free oat flour. Any advice on making that work? I replaced the whole wheat for oat in the pumpkin muffin recipes and they were a HIT. :) Wondering if this will work as well?
Hi Lillie. Sorry, but that is not something we have tried.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was out of plain white unbleached flour and hubby said he will not go to the store again today lol! Writing this down and gone to make cookies. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO U
Do you think these cookies would ship well?
Hi there. While we’ve not shipped these, I think they will ship fine.
Do you think if I roll this out thicker (say 3/4″ – 1″) they’ll be soft sugar cookies? I’m looking for a softer sugar cookie instead of the crispier style.
Hi Jenna. They would be softer but they would not be cooked though. Try a quarter inch. :)
Kids enjoyed them, but the wheat flour taste doesn’t taste right in a sugar cookie!
Can these cookies be put in the freezer and saved for later? I was thinking of freezing some, then thawing and icing them
Hi there. Sure, you can freeze them.
Will organic sugar work or does it have to be the refined stuff?
Organic sugar IS refined, it’s just grown organically. And if it’s organic, it should be non-GMO, although I guess there’s still some debate on that point. So organic sugar is a better choice than conventional, but still an ingredient to be used/consumed sparingly.
True that! :)