Santa’s Whiskers Cookies (Slice and Bake)

Santa’s Whiskers Cookies (Slice and Bake)

These old-fashioned Santa's Whiskers Cookies are buttery, tender slice-and-bake cookies filled with chewy candied red cherries, crunchy pecans, and hints of vanilla and almond. Rolled in sweetened coconut before chilling, they bake up with pretty, snowy edges and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The dough freezes beautifully, making fresh Christmas cookies easy whenever you need them.

Course cookies

Cuisine American - Vintage, Holiday

Prep Time 14

Cook Time 12

Chill 4

Total Time 4 26

Servings

Calories 117kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

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

storage:

Store baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter. They will stay fresh for a week or so as long as they are tightly sealed. Like all slice and bake cookies, Santa's Whiskers cookies also freeze beautifully for up to 3 months either baked or unbaked.

tips:

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.

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