Christmas Cookie designs for 2024 – A “Pinterest-perfect Christmas” Theme

A quick history

The very first time I made royal icing was actually for Christmas cookies in 2011. I didn’t bother coloring any of it, I just used colored gel tubes and experimented with wet-on-wet techniques. Now I giggle looking back at them, but it was the tiny spark that set off this hobby. It was another 5 years before I was ready to try again, though.

Things picked up a few years after that and I’ve continued to bake and decorate sugar cookies for Christmas each year. Here is a quick look at our Christmas cookies through the years.

This year’s inspiration

Now that I bake and decorate sugar cookies more frequently than once a year, this year’s theme had been on my mind quite a bit. It was early in the year that a vision for this year’s Christmas cookies began to form in my mind. I wanted to bring that vibe of sitting in your comfy sweats and socks, curled up on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate, all cozy and soft and feminine. I frequently daydreamed about my ideas and by the time the winter season was upon us I had built this vision up to what I can now admit was a bit too much. (What, me? Never.)

I ran into the issue that cookie cutters didn’t seem to exist for the very specific ideas I had in my mind’s eye. So I began by sketching some ideas in Procreate on my iPad. I then turned those sketches into vectors in Illustrator and used them to create shapes that I could cut out of cardstock using my Silhouette Cameo. Then I used those stencils to painstakingly cutout shapes of my cookies in dough using an x-acto knife. Yeah. I know. I’m nuts.

I also purchased a projector this year, which I used to project my sketches onto my cookies as well as to use as a reference for the “painting” cookies. It was a bit annoying to use (perhaps because I had not used one before) but it did help get the basic shapes for my designs blocked out before decorating.

Here’s the obligatory flat-lay photo of all the cookies laid out in order to document my insanity this year.

A closer look at a couple stand-out designs

Back of hair with bow

One of my favorites turned out to be this back view of a girl with a bow. Inspired by this photo, but I experimented with a few colors and techniques and was over all very fun to do. Do not regret.

Double decker modern house

Possibly the most insane of my designs this year was of a house. The inspiration was the idea of looking in (I also had an idea of looking out that I never could flush out) large glass windows on the scene previously described (curled on the sofa by the fire, etc…) I had to adjust this idea somewhat and instead ended up with a double decker cookie with a painted interior scene on the bottom cookie, framed with a second cookie layer made using melted clear mint candy glass that became windows. I also made a couple versions that was a single cookie with just the clear windows. Do not regret, but probably will not bother to make them again, lol.

Stack of books

This was inspired by an AI generated image that was included in a bundle I purchased from Etsy to print for Christmas decor this year. I really wanted to lean into the bows this year. This was a really fun cookie to design, as well. Do not regret.

Holding a stack of presents

Inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest. The hands this year were a struggle, but still a fun cookie to make. Probably not one I’d bother with again, though.

Framed “watercolor” paintings

This idea was similar to some cookies I’d played around with earlier in the year. This time, though, I used the projector to get the basic shapes laid out in the scene and added some depth and details after. These ended up being my favorites, I think. Painting is just so good for my soul, I really loved making these.

Girl holding a Christmas tree

Inspiration was a combination of a cookie I saw on Pinterest combined with an outfit trend I’ve been seeing and loving (white lacy mini-skirt with a baggy sweater and tall boots). This was one of the hardest to design, cut out and ultimately decorate, too. I foolishly tried to cut out the space between the legs on one of them, which resulted in many broken legs. Getting the proportions of the skirt and legs and things to look right was tricky. Making the tree look fluffy enough was a bit annoying. I don’t mind how the final product turned out but wouldn’t be worth making again.

Hot chocolate!

I had so many ideas that included hot chocolate. In the end I decided to make 2 variations, top-down and from an angle. These were really fun to do! Not too difficult and adding the marshmallows and creating the texture was surprisingly easy and super satisfying. I added real cinnamon to the tops as well, which was a fun additions. The designs on the mugs turned out a bit messy, but eh. Definitely something I’d make again, but hopefully with a real cookie cutter because cutting out with an x-acto was not fun.

Lap view cookie

The most prominent vision I’ve had all year was a cookie with an above-view look at a lap with cozy socks and hot cocoa. This didn’t turn out like I had envisioned. I just really struggled to get it to match the vibe in my imagination. So I only made one and ended up abandoning that idea in favor of a few others that took over my focus. It was just too messy and I wasn’t feeling it enough to bother perfecting it.

Sweaters, hats, houses, and trees (and more)

Sweaters played heavily into the aesthetic this year. I experimented with a couple styles, one using a cutter I bought online and the other I cut myself based on a picture I found and liked. I also made a few hats based on a cookie design I had seen and liked. Created a knit texture was super fun and will definitely be playing with that in the future

I also cut and made a couple fireplaces. This was fun, but more boring than I expected. I would perhaps try again with more creativity. It just took a back seat to the other designs this year.

The cookie cutter set I purchased came with some great designs for house, tree, wreath, and basket. So I played with those a bit. Very pretty and fun to make and way easier since I had actual cutters for them. Lol.

Final thoughts

I definitely recognize that I went a bit too far this year. I spent too much time thinking about and planning for these cookies. They took up much of my time and focus and contributed to the increase in stress as Christmas drew nearer. I had too many ideas and did a poor job trying to limit myself to a reasonable number of shapes to focus on.

Going forward I think I’ll stick to trying up to a couple new ideas or techniques per project instead of stuffing so many in one go. I also have a desire to purchase a 3D printer so I can one day make my own cutters. Someday. :)

I think my next goal in cookie making is to work on my consistencies and textures some more, making them look neater, smoother, more uniform and intentional.

Until next year! :D