Santa's Whiskers Cookies are old-fashioned slice-and-bake Christmas cookies that let you look like a holiday baking goddess without spending December chained to the oven. Keep a log of dough in the fridge or freezer, slice off a batch whenever you need one, and accept the compliments with the dignity of a woman who absolutely has her life together. Even if the Christmas tree is still in the attic and you've lost the gift-wrapping tape.
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🥰 Are these Santa's whiskers cookies for you?
These easy cherry slice and bake cookies are for you if you:
- Love getting ahead of the Christmas chaos? Make the dough now, chill or freeze it, and bake fresh cookies whenever you need them.
- Need a cookie that looks fancy without requiring a culinary degree? Those pretty red cherries and coconut edges do all the decorating for you.
- Have a Christmas cookie exchange coming up. These vintage beauties stand out among my favorite Christmas cookie recipes without another frosting bag in sight.
- Want homemade cookies without baking five dozen at once. Slice off what you need and leave the rest for another day. Santa isn't the only one who deserves fresh cookies.
Ingredients
The ingredients are simple enough, but don't let that fool you. Those candied cherries, pecans, and coconut have been causing a scene on Christmas cookie trays for generations.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour. No need to get fancy.
- Sugar: Plain granulated sugar adds the right amount of sweet.
- Butter: Salted and softened, please. We're making cookies, not testing the mixer's ability to pulverize a brick.
- Milk: Just a tablespoon to help bring the dough together.
- Pecans: Finely chopped so you get a little nutty goodness in every bite. Almonds work, too.
- Almond extract: A little goes a long way, so don't get carried away with the bottle.
- Candied cherries: The bright red, sticky little jewels that make these cookies look like Christmas showed up wearing its best jewelry. Use part green candied cherries if you're feeling extra colorful.
- Vanilla: The real stuff, because imitation vanilla has no business crashing this particular Christmas party.
- Coconut: Sweetened flakes that coat the outside of the dough. They're Santa's whiskers, after all, and the man has an image to maintain.
📖 Recipe
Santa's Whiskers Cookies (Slice and Bake)
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- ¾ cup salted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup candied red cherries, finely diced
- ¼ cup pecans, or almonds, finely chopped
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
- Add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Beat the softened butter until fluffy - about 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond and beat until fluffy - about 1 minute.
- Stop and scrape down sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.
- With the mixer on low add the flour all at once and mix until just combined.
- Stir in the chopped nuts and mix, then the chopped cherries.
- Mix until just combined and the dough starts to come together. It will appear very crumbly.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently with your hands until it comes together well.
- Divide into 2 portions and form each into an 8 inch log.
- Sprinkle the coconut on a piece of wax paper, and roll each log in it until it is completely covered.
- Wrap each log in wax paper and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. You can refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months at this point.
- When you're ready to bake remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap, and slice into ½ inch thick slices. If it's been frozen you'll need to let it thaw for a bit until it's soft enough to cut without crumbling.
- Place 1 inch a part on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are just beginning to brown.
- Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If you want to have a soft cookie, make sure you don't slice the cookies too thin, and bake just until the bottoms are just turning golden brown.
- For best results let frozen dough thaw overnight in the fridge before cutting and baking.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🔪 How to make Santa's whiskers cookies
These slice-and-bake cookies are easy enough, but give the dough time to chill unless you want them spreading all over the baking sheet.
- Cream the butter with an electric mixer, then add the remaining dough ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chopped nuts. So far, everyone is behaving.
- Mix in the candied cherries. The dough will look crumbly enough to make you question your life choices. That's normal.
- Knead the dough gently, divide it in half, and shape each portion into an 8-inch log. We're making cookies, not firewood, so try to keep them even.
- Roll each log in coconut, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate or freeze until you're ready to bake. Even Santa needs a little downtime.
😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
🍒 Your cookie dough looks like a pile of crumbs. Don't panic and start dumping milk into it. This dough is supposed to look crumbly before you knead it. A little gentle persuasion with your hands should bring it together.
🍒 Your cookies are spreading all over the baking sheet. The dough wasn't chilled long enough. Give those logs at least 4 hours in the refrigerator before slicing. Christmas cookies need boundaries, too.
🍒 The dough crumbles when you try to slice it. If it's frozen, let it soften slightly before cutting. Use a sharp knife and don't try to hack through it like you're clearing brush on the back forty.
🍒 Your cookies turn out hard instead of tender. You probably sliced them too thin or baked them too long. Keep the slices about ½ inch thick and pull them out when the bottoms and edges are just beginning to turn golden.
🍒 The coconut won't stick to the dough. Gently press it against the logs as you roll them. If the dough is too dry on the outside, lightly dampen your hands and smooth them over the surface before rolling in coconut.
👩🍳 FAQs
Chilling the dough will help you to cut the cookies into uniform slices and helps prevent the cookies from spreading while baking.
Yep! Simply use a gluten-free flour instead of the all-purpose flour.
📚 More slice and bake cookie recipes
Slice and bake cookies are just full of old fashioned goodness - and these are no exception. You can hold the dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and slice off just as many cookies as you want to bake so they're always fresh.
When it comes to make-ahead Christmas cookies, these old-fashioned slice-and-bake beauties have earned their place in my freezer. Nothing beats having homemade cookie dough ready when December decides to become unreasonably chaotic. I love them for Valentine's Day, too, along with these red velvet sugar cookies. Don't save these just for holiday baking! They're delicious all year long!
Chadi Saleh says
Hello! How sre you? Pls can I use dried cherries instead. Thank you for sharing
Marye says
I've never tried but I'm sure you could.
Jill says
These are really good. Mine took about 20 minutes in the oven, though.
Renee says
Can I use maraschino cherries in place of the candied cherries? I really don't care for the taste of candied cherries.
Thanks,
Renee
Marye says
No they are too wet.
Angie carvajal says
Am going to make some thank you