Fully Loaded Christmas CookiesChristmas Cookies are a sweet and salty taste sensation. Chock full of white chocolate chunks, red and green M&Ms and pretzels! These cookies will put you first on Santa’s route, trust me.
There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked cookies.
That aroma that draws people to the kitchen in anticipation of a warm bite as soon as they hit the cooling rack.
I lied. There IS something better than the smell: the flavor.
These Christmas Cookies are fully loaded with white chocolate chunks, M&Ms in Christmas colors and pretzels.
They have a sweet and salty flavor that’s addictive. In a soft cookie with some crunch from the pretzels.
WARNING: Don’t leave them all out for Santa on Christmas Eve. He won’t leave you any.
This Christmas Cookie recipe is great for holiday parties or sharing with friends.
It’s easy to make
These cookies are so good you’ll want them all year long.
Change up the M&Ms colors and they are perfect any time.
Christmas Cookie Ingredients
- Butter-flavored Shortening
- Light Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour (regular or gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend)
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Bar of White Baking Chocolate
- Red and Green M&Ms
- Pretzels (regular or gluten-free)
Using Shortening vs Butter in Cookies
Cookies made with butter tend to flatten and spread more than shortening cookies. They are also crisper.
Using shortening keeps makes taller cookies that retain their form and are more tender.
Shortening can leave cookies less flavorful than butter so using butter-flavored shortening is the best of both worlds.
White Baking Chocolate
Chopping a white chocolate bars creates a great texture in the cookies.
If you want to save some time or cannot find a bar, white chocolate baking chips may be substituted.
Making Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies
To make these Christmas Cookies gluten-free use a gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend and gluten-free pretzels.
M&Ms
These cookies are so good you’ll want them all year long.
Change up the M&Ms colors and they are perfect any time.
How to Make Fully Loaded Christmas Cookies – Step-by-Step
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
STEP 2: Cream together the shortening and both sugars until soft and fluffy (photo 1).
STEP 3: Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
STEP 4: Beat in flour, baking soda and salt to form a dough (photo 2).
STEP 5: Stir in the white chocolate, pretzels and M&Ms (photo 3).
STEP 6: Using a cookie scoop or rolling by hand, make 1-inch balls (photo 4). Place on prepared cooking sheet (photo 5).
STEP 7: Bake 8-10 minutes (photo 6). Remove and cool fully on cooling rack (photo 7).
Pro Tips for Making these Christmas Cookies
Adding Extra Flour (if needed)
The dough can be harder to roll into balls when it’s tacky. If after making the dough it is sticky to the touch, mix in an additional 1/4 cup flour.
This will make scooping or rolling the dough balls easier.
If you mix the sugar and shortening together for too long the dough tends to be more wet, so this method keeps it consistent from start to finish.
Don’t Overmix the Shortening and Sugars
If you mix the sugar and shortening together for too long the dough tends to be wetter. Do not overmix.
However if this happens, the dough will become tacky. Follow the extra flour tip above.
Using a Cookie Scoop
Using a 1-inch cookie scoop makes quick work of turning the dough into balls for baking.
It will keep the cookie size the same too.
The dough can be rolled into 1-inch balls by hand too.
Storing Christmas Cookies
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freezing the Cookie Dough To Bake Later
It’s always great when the mood strikes to have cookies straight out of the oven.
One way to do that is freezing the cookie dough to bake later!
How to Freeze Christmas Cookie Dough
- Prepare the cookie dough.
- Scoop it onto a lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 6 hours or overnight.
- When the cookie dough balls are frozen, remove them from the baking sheet and place in a freezer bag or container.
- Store up to 3 months.
Baking Frozen Cookie Dough
- Take the cookie dough out of the freezer while heating the oven.
- Place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake as directed. NOTE: They cookies may need a few additional minutes to bake fully.
More Sweet Christmas Recipes You’ll Love
- Sugar Plums – What Are They & How to Make Them
- Pecan Rum Balls – a No Bake recipe
- Forgotten Cookies – an easy Meringue cookie
- Eggnog Magic Cake – a Magical Christmas Dessert recipe
- Gingerbread Cake with Butter Rum Toffee Sauce
- Christmas Crack
- Stained Glass Cookies
Try These Recipes too!
- Wassail – a Classic Holiday Drink
- The Best Eggnog Recipe – A Boozy Party Punch
- Glogg – Scandinavian Mulled Wine
- Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies – Subway copycat recipe
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Fully Loaded Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter-flavored shortening
- 1 ½ cup Light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (regular or gluten-free measure-for-measure blend)
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 4-ounce bar White baking chocolate chopped
- 1 cup mixed Red and Green M&Ms
- 1 cup Pretzels (regular or gluten-free) roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silpat to line the pan.
- In a medium sized bowl using a hand held mixer or with a stand mixer, beat together shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy. DO NOT OVERMIX.
- Add eggs and vanilla; beat until just combined.
- Beat 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda, and salt together until dough forms. NOTE: If the dough sticks to your fingers when touched, add an additional ¼ cup flour.
- Stir in white chocolate, M&Ms, and pretzels.
- Use a cookie scoop or roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet with 2 inches between them.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook. Cookies should be slightly browned on the edges.
- Cool fully on a cooling rack before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
These Fully Loaded Christmas Cookies are full of sweet and salty flavors, and great textures too!
Alex H. says
Is there a way to make this cookie base in a gluten free form? Thanks for any ideas you may have…wondering if they would be as good if I used gluten free flour and pretzels…or would I need to adjust shortening to make sure they’re still as moist and chewy?
Toni Dash says
Hi Alex. You’ll note both in the blog post and recipe card instructions for making them gluten-free. As noted you’ll just use gluten-free measure-for-measure flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blend) and use gluten-free pretzels. No other adjustments are needed.
Tatiana F. says
Can regular butter be used instead of the shortening?
Toni Dash says
Hi Tatiana. The shortening is used to allow the cookies to both rise better but also keep them from spreading. It also makes the cookies softer.
You certainly can try it with butter but you may find that they spread and flatten. I have only made them as noted in the recipe.
If you try it do let me know how they turn out!