Once in awhile, an idea in my head turns out better than planned. That is the case with these ugly Christmas sweater cookies. I also love love LOVE, the recipe for these beauties. I made them using a box of yellow cake mix, and they taste SOOO good. Santa would definitely approve.
The best Sugar Cookie recipe for making ugly Christmas sweater cookies.
To my taste buds, these sugar cookies actually tasted better than traditional sugar cookies. They also stayed VERY moist.
I’ve always had trouble with regular sugar cookie recipes drying up on me, and not staying soft and fluffy, as a sugar cookie should. But not these! They also held their shape really well while baking, which is HUGE plus when going to decorate your ugly Christmas sweater cookies.
No-one likes a sugar cookie that goes into the oven looking like a sweater, but comes out of the oven looking like the Lochness monster. ;)
I fell in love with this sugar cookie recipe so much, I think I’ll use it for all our Christmas cookies this year:
- Like these red velvet Christmas cookies
- These adorable Rudolph Christmas cookies
- Even these gummy bear cookies which look like stained glass when they bake
- And I’ll definitely be saving the tip for when I make these lemon poppyseed cookies that look like bunnies in the spring
Decorating ugly Christmas sweater cookies
Once the cookies are all rolled, cut, and baked, now begins the fun part. I have about a buzzillion piping tips! So I took all of them, and just dumped them out on my counter to have fun with ALL of them!
The more tips, the better.
Have fun with the different textures the piping tips offer, and the range of sizes.
The Wilton grass tip was probably my favorite tip of the bunch, because I loved the shag look it gave my cookies.
I also liked any star tip, especially the smaller sizes. Just have fun!
Ugly Christmas sweater cookies recipe with a cake mix box!
I didn’t look at ANY pictures for reference, because I wanted these all original, and different. That’s what makes these cookies so fun!
You can’t mess up, promise.
So without further ado, here’s the recipe we used to make these cake mix box Ugly Christmas sweater cookies that honestly are the furthest thing from ugly!
Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies
Use a cake box recipe to make these adorable ugly Christmas sweater cookies that taste as amazing as they look.
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 stick Softened Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1/3 Cup Flour + 1/3 Cup Flour for Kneading
- Sweater Cookie Cutter
- Piping Bags
- Couplers
- Piping Tips
- Food Coloring
American buttercream
- 2 Sticks of Butter Softened
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch Salt
- 3 tbsp Milk
Instructions
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Start by mixing your sugar cookie dough! In a stand mixer, combine the yellow cake mix, 1 stick of softened butter, 2 eggs, and 1/3 cup flour. The dough will be WET!
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Sprinkle a good amount of flour onto a clean, and flat surface, and scoop the dough out. Begin kneading the dough, adding the additional 1/3 cup flour, until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers.
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Roll the sugar cookie dough out, until the dough is about a quarter of an inch thick, or more. I like my sugar cookies fluffy, and thick. So I tend to roll my sugar cookies out, thicker than most.
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Once the sugar cookie dough is rolled, cut the sugar cookies out using a sweater cookie cutter. You can find sweater cutters at most stores right now or click the link above for our favorite.
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Freeze your sweater cookies on the pan, for only ten minutes. No more, and no less.
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Then place the slightly frozen cookies into a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 11 minutes.
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The cookies might look too blonde, but I PROMISE the cookies are done. Sugar cookies are RUINED if baked too long. I take mine out when I see even the slightest bit of golden brown, around the base of the cookie. At eleven minutes, my sugar cookies are barely golden on the bottom of the cookies, and I place them directly onto a cooling rack, from the oven.
Prepare the American buttercream.
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Cream the softened butter.
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Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, salt, and milk.
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Add the remaining powdered sugar, and mix until combined. Divide the buttercream into even amounts, and color as wanted. I use Americolor gel coloring.
Lastly, arrange your freshly frosted ugly Christmas sweater cookies onto a festive plate, and let your guests marvel at their cuteness. I took these to my parents house for dinner, and my family told me they were too cute to eat. But when we finally caved, my closet of Christmas sweater cookies tasted SOOO good.
I really think they tasted BETTER than traditional sugar cookies. REALLY! I loved that they didn’t dry out, and that they held their shape while baking.
Photos @A Subtle Revelry by Brie Zacher.
