Swirled Christmas Sugar Cookies make decorating simple and festive. A marbled glaze with red and green gel food coloring creates a fun swirl—just dip the cookie and add sprinkles. Kids love helping make these for Santa.
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Every year my kids and I bake treats for Santa and leave carrots for the reindeer. Over the years Santa has sampled plenty of cookies, and these Swirled Christmas Sugar Cookies have become his favorite. Their red, white, and green swirls feel like Christmas wrapped up in a cookie—snow, candy canes, and holiday cheer all in one bite.
During the holidays time is short and children must get to bed before Santa arrives, so we keep decorating quick and hands-on. Instead of intricate, hand-piped icing, we use a smooth glaze that’s marbled with green and red gel food coloring. Dip each cookie, sprinkle a few snowflakes, and they’re ready for the plate.
For the best shape retention and a thick, dippable cookie, I use Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening instead of butter. Shortening helps the cookies hold their cutter shape, keeping edges crisp while the interior stays light and tender—perfect for dipping into glaze.
This is a wonderfully messy, memory-making activity for the whole family. Expect sticky fingers and giggles; that’s part of the fun. Kids love stirring the colors into the glaze and seeing each cookie emerge with a unique pattern.
Each cookie becomes its own little work of art thanks to the marbling technique. The bright holiday colors are always a hit, and the kids enjoy sampling their creations as much as Santa will.
Try the Crisco Classic Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs recipe and top the cookies with this swirled glaze for a simple, festive finish. Share your photos with #BakeItBetter to show off your creations.
Swirled Christmas Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Crisco® Classic Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs:
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon, & level)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (226 g) Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, (one baking stick)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 Tbsp light corn syrup
- 3-4 Tbsp milk
- ½ tsp almond extract or vanilla
- green and red gel food coloring + toothpicks
- snowflake sprinkles
Instructions
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FOR THE COOKIES: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
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In a large bowl, beat the Crisco shortening and granulated sugar with an electric hand mixer on high until light and fluffy.
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Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, mixing to combine. Gradually blend in the flour mixture until a dough forms.
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Divide the dough in half. Roll each half on a lightly floured surface to about 3/8-inch thickness. Cut with 2–3-inch Christmas cookie cutters and place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone.
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Bake 8–10 minutes, until edges just begin to brown. Let cookies rest on the sheet for 1–2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.
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FOR THE GLAZE: Sift powdered sugar into a 13×9-inch baking dish. Add light corn syrup, 3 tablespoons milk, and the almond extract (or vanilla). Whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too stiff, add an extra tablespoon of milk. The glaze should be thick but pourable—add milk 1 teaspoon at a time if needed, or more powdered sugar if too thin. Test with a cookie to ensure proper consistency before coloring.
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Using toothpicks, place small dots of red and green gel into the glaze and swirl gently to create a marbled effect. Leave plenty of white space so the colors don’t fully blend.
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Work quickly: dip the top of each cooled cookie into the glaze, lift, and place on parchment or a wire rack. Immediately add snowflake sprinkles before the glaze sets. If the glaze begins to skin over, swirl it gently or stir to loosen. Allow glaze to set, then store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
*This glaze recipe is lightly adapted from a galaxy cookie technique.
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