Whole-Wheat Christmas Cookies

9 Reviews / 5 Average
Adapted from Pillsbury Family Cookbook, I've made these Christmas cookies with whole-wheat flour. Yes, they do contain refined sugar, but we're allowed to treat ourselves in moderation. You can also experiment with natural food dyes when you're decorating them to add some fun colors.
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A plate full of decorated Christmas cookies.

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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!

Two plates with brightly colored decorative Christmas cookies as a girls hand is picking one up in the background.

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?? :)

Two little girls making Whole-Wheat Christmas Cookies in the kitchen.

For a healthy holiday cookie recipe, try these Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies!

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83 thoughts on “Whole-Wheat Christmas Cookies”

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Recipe Rating




  1. 5 stars
    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.

  2. 5 stars
    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.

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. 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?

  5. 5 stars
    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

  6. 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.

    1. 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.