This Christmas wreath sugar cookies recipe and tutorial makes perfect festive treats. With a deliciously buttery sugar cookie base and completely edible handmade fondant decorations, these wreath cookies are perfect for Christmas cookie exchanges and holiday parties.
The cookies are baked using my no spread sugar cookies recipe and require only a handful of ingredients (5 simple ingredients). They are rolled and cut into rings and decorated with mini fondant poinsettia flowers and leaves and chocolate fondant wreath.
This recipe makes approximately 44 Christmas wreath cookies measuring 6.5 cm in diameter and with the hole in the center measuring 2.5 cm in diameter.
If you like these cookies, you should also check out these snowflake cookies, butterfly cookies, Easter egg sugar cookies, heart cookies and daisy cookies.
And if you want to learn how to make fondant and gum paste flowers, check out my tutorials on how to make easy fondant flowers, simple gum paste flowers, gum paste roses, gum paste hibiscus, gum paste poppies and gum paste plumeria.
Jump to:
❤️Why You Will Love This Tutorial
- The cookies are rich and buttery and hold their shape perfectly well.
- All the decorations on the cookies are completely edible.
- The cookies are very easy to make and decorate.
- They are perfect for Christmas. You can make them as treats for Christmas, or as gifts for family and friends.
🧾Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- All purpose flour (plain flour) - sift before using to aerate and break any lumps.
- Granulated sugar (caster sugar) - use fine sugar to make the cookies. Coarse sugar is not suitable and will leave specks of sugar marks on the surface of the cookies after baking.
- Butter (salted) - salt in the butter enhances the taste of the cookies. If you are using unsalted butter, add one eighth teaspoon of salt when creaming the butter and sugar. Butter should be at room temperature but not too soft.
- Egg - binds all the ingredients to create a soft cookie dough. Use large egg.
- Vanilla extract - adds a lovely flavor and aroma to the cookies.
For the Decoration:
- Fondant - I used Satin Ice in dark chocolate for the twigs, and red and yellow for the poinsettia and holly berries. I also used white fondant which I tinted in green color for the leaves. You can also make your own fondant with this homemade fondant recipe or marshmallow fondant recipe.
- Green food coloring - To color the fondant to make leaves on the wreath. I used Americolor Olive green.
- Star shaped sprinkles - These are tiny star-shaped, gold sprinkles that I used randomly on the wreath.
- Fondant glue - This was the gluing agent for this cookie decorating project.
Tools and Other Supplies:
- Teardrop plunger cutter set - This is used to make the poinsettia flowers as well as to cut the leaves. Use a slightly smaller cutter for the flowers and a larger one for the leaves.
- Round scalloped cutter set - You will need the cutters in 2 sizes to cut the cookie dough. A larger one for the outer diameter and a smaller one to cut out the hole in the center.
- Star fondant tool - This is used to shape the poinsettia flower centers before adding the yellow centers.
- Scriber needle tool - This is used to mark the lines for the leaves as well as to attach the star sprinkles onto the wreath. You will see in the tutorial below how to use the needle tool to effectively attach the tiny star sprinkles onto the decorated Christmas cookies.
*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*
📃Substitution and Variation
Flavor and color option for the cookies:
- Lemon - add 1 tablespoon of freshly grated lemon rind to the creamed mixture, before adding flour.
- Almond - omit vanilla extract and replace with almond extract.
- Coconut - omit vanilla extract and replace with coconut extract.
- Cocoa - reduce the flour by 50 grams and add 50 grams of cocoa powder. Sift the cocoa powder with flour before adding into the creamed cookie dough.
- Peppermint - add half a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the cookie dough, together with the vanilla extract.
- Green wreaths cookies- add some green color (a little food color at a time) to the cookie dough and mix well. Cut and bake the cookies as usual.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!
👩🍳How to Make
Step 1: Prepare the baking tray
Line the tray with parchment paper. The cookies need to be chilled before baking so clear the space in your fridge. Pre heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
Step 2: Mix the cookie dough
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until the mixture turns light and creamy (image 1).
Note: Do not over overbeat the mixture. Suffice if it turns creamy. There is no need for it to become light and fluffy.
Next, add the egg and beat until it is well incorporated (image 2). Add vanilla extract and mix again.
Finally, add the flour and mix on low speed until the dough comes together (image 3). Place the dough in a covered bowl (or wrap it in plastic wrap) and refrigerate until it is firm (but not too hard).
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it between parchment paper (wax paper) or plastic sheets. Use dowel rods on either side of your cookie dough as a guide for even thickness for your cookies (image 4).
Note: To make sure all your cookies are of a consistent thickness, place 2 dowel rods on either side of your cookie dough when rolling it. The rods will make sure you do not roll your dough too thin or too thick and the thickness will follow the diameter of your rods.
Also, when rolling the dough, do it between 2 parchment sheets. That helps prevent the dough from sticking to your workspace and rolling pin, and it also helps to release the cookies better after cutting.
Step 3: Cut and bake the cookies
Cut the dough with a round scalloped cookie cutter (image 5). Use a smaller scalloped cutter to cut out the center. Use a skewer to remove the centers to make ring cookies (image 6).
Place the cut out round cookies on prepared baking sheet or cookie sheet. Refrigerate until they are firm.
Bake the Christmas wreath cookies for about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) until they turn golden brown on the sides.
Remove cookies from the oven and cool them on a wire rack to room temperature. Keep cookies in an airtight container until ready to decorate.
Step 4: Make the fondant poinsettia flowers
Knead and roll some red fondant thin.
Cut out 12 teardrop petals for each poinsettia (image 7).
Note: It is faster to make the flowers all at once, so you can actually cut out all the petals at once and keep them covered as you form the flowers.
Pinch the pointed ends to make them slightly more pointy (image 8).
Start by placing 3 petals as shown (image 9).
Apply some glue at the rounded ends of each petal. Arrange another 3 petals on top of the first set of petals, making sure these are placed right in between each of the petals in the earlier set (image 10).
Repeat the process with another two sets of 3 petals, making sure the petals are placed in between the earlier set of petals (image 11). Notice how the petals are all well distributed and the pointy ends of all the petals are visible from the top.
Next, lift the flower and put it onto a flower former (or any container that is rounded to help the flower set in a rounded form) that has been well dusted with cornstarch. Use a star tool to press in the center of the flower (image 12).
For the yellow centers, use some yellow fondant to form 3 tiny balls. Apply glue to the center of the flower and place them in the center of each flower (image 13). Complete all the flowers and leave them aside to set while you complete the rest of the cookies decoration (image 14).
Note: You can even make these flowers in advance.
Step 5: Make the chocolate fondant twigs
Roll some dark chocolate fondant into a long thin strip or a few shorter strips. Gather 5 layers of the strips together and twist them gently to form a twisted rope. The twisting does not have to be perfect nor does it have to be closely formed (images 15 & 16).
Note: You can also use a fondant extruder tool to pipe out the long strips of chocolate fondant.
Brush your cookie with some glue and attach the twisted brown twigs. Place it towards the outer circumference of the wreath and cut off the excess (images 17 & 18).
Repeat the process for another layer of twisted brown twigs, this time with only 3 strips of the fondant. Attach the strip below the earlier one and trim off the excess (image 19).
Note: In deciding on the length of the twigs on the cookie, place 3 of your poinsettia on the cookies and trim off the brown twigs right where the flowers row starts and ends.
Step 6: Attach the fondant leaves and flowers
To make the leaves, tint some white fondant with Americolor Olive green food color. Roll it thin and use a slightly larger teardrop cutter than the one used for the petals to cut out the leaves. You will need 6 leaves for each cookie. Keep the leaves covered as you work on them (image 20).
For each leaf, use a needle tool (or a toothpick or skewer) to imprint a line in the middle. Start from the round end to the pointy end of each cutout. Next, pinch the pointy ends slightly to make them look like leaves (images 21 & 22).
Attach the first 4 leaves to the Christmas wreath cookies (with some glue) (image 23). Next, add 2 flowers on either side of the twigs' ends (with a light brush of glue). Place another 2 leaves after the flowers (image 24).
And complete the circle with the final poinsettia in the center. Adjust the flowers and leaves as necessary (image 25).
Step 7: Make and attach the fondant holly berries
Once the poinsettias and the leaves are all in place, make the holly berries. Pinch tiny bits of red and form them into smooth balls.
Group them into 3s and attach 3 sets onto each cookie. Start with the first set directly opposite the centermost poinsettia. Apply a light brush of glue so that the berries stay in place. Attach another 2 sets of the berries on either side of the wreath (image 26).
Step 7: Add the sprinkles
Once the berries are done, it's time to add on the star sprinkles. Since these are so thin and tiny, attaching them with fingers can be quite hard.
The best way is to dip your needle tool in fondant glue, touch the star sprinkle with the tip (the stars will stick to the needle tool tip easily) and press it gently onto the wreath where you want to position the star (make sure to apply some glue to the wreath before placing the stars on) (images 27 & 28).
Attach the stars randomly on the Christmas wreath, making sure they are well distributed on the wreath. After that, brush off any excess cornstarch on the decorated cookies with a soft brush (image 29).
And with that, the Christmas wreath sugar cookies are complete.
💡Expert Tips
- This recipe makes crisp and crumbly cookies. If you wish to make soft and chewy cookies, reduce the baking time by at least 2 to 3 minutes. Also, if you make larger cookies or smaller cookies, adjust the baking time accordingly. Start with a small batch to get the right baking time.
- This no spread sugar cookies require the dough to be chilled before cutting and before baking. Do not chill the dough too long before cutting as it will be too hard and difficult to roll. If it becomes too hard, leave the dough at room temperature for a few minutes until it softens before rolling again. It is ok to let the dough chill longer after cutting (before baking).
❤️More Tutorials You Will Love
Do you like this tutorial? Please leave a 5-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐rating in the recipe card below and consider a review further down this page. I would love to hear from you. Thank you!
📖Recipe
Christmas Wreath Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Teardrop plunger cutter set
- Round scalloped cutter set
- Star fondant tool
- Scriber needle tool
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
- 400 g all purpose flour
- 180 g granulated sugar
- 200 g butter salted
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration
- Fondant
- Food coloring
- Star shaped sprinkles
- Fondant glue
Instructions
Bake the cookies
- Line baking tray with parchment paper and pre-heat oven to 175 °Celsius.
- Place butter in a clean bowl. Add the granulated sugar and cream both until the mixture turns creamy (see Note 1).
- Next, add the egg and continue beating until it is well incorporated into the creamed mixture. Add vanilla extract and mix again.
- Finally, add the flour in batches and mix until the dough comes together. Place the dough in a covered bowl and refrigerate until it is slightly firm. Do not leave the dough for too long or it will be too hard to roll.
- Remove dough from the fridge and roll it between parchment paper or plastic sheets. Use dowel rods as a guide for the thickness of your cookies (see Notes 2 & 3).
- Cut the dough with a round scalloped cookie cutter. Use a smaller cutter for the center.
- Place the cut out round cookies on prepared parchment paper or cookie sheet. Refrigerate until they are firm.
- Bake cookies for about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) until they turn golden brown on the sides.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool them on a wire rack to room temperature. Keep cookies in an airtight container until ready to decorate.
Make the fondant poinsettia flowers
- Knead and roll some red fondant thin. Cut out 12 teardrop petals for each poinsettia. Keep them covered as you form the flowers.
- Pinch the pointed ends of each petal to make them slightly more pointy.
- Start by placing 3 petals in a circle with the pointed ends pointing outwards. Apply some glue at the rounded ends of each petal.
- Arrange another 3 petals on top of the first set of petals, making sure these are placed right in between each of the petals set earlier. .
- Repeat the process with another 2 sets of 3 petals, making sure the petals are placed in between each of the petal set before. Each flower should have 12 petals.
- Next, lift the flowers and put them into a flower former (or any container that is rounded to help the flower set in a rounded form) that has been well dusted with cornstarch. Use a star tool to press in the center of the flower.
- For the yellow centers, make 3 tiny balls with yellow fondant. Apply glue to the center of the flower and place the yellow centers right in the center of each flower.
- Complete all the flowers and leave them aside to set while you complete the rest of the cookies decoration (see Note 4).
Make the chocolate fondant twigs
- Roll some dark chocolate fondant into a long thin strip or a few shorter strips (see Note 5).
- Gather 5 layers of the strips together and twist them gently to form a twisted rope. The twisting does not have to be perfect nor does it have to be closely formed.
- Brush your cookie with some glue and attach the twisted brown twigs onto it. Place it towards the outer circumference of the wreath and cut off the excess.
- Repeat the process for another layer of twisted brown twigs, this time with only 3 strips of the fondant. Attach the strip below the earlier one and trim off the excess (see Note 6).
Make the fondant leaves
- Tint some white fondant with Americolor Olive food color. Roll it thin and use a slightly larger teardrop cutter than the one used for the petals to cut out the leaves. You will need 6 leaves for each cookie.
- For each leaf, use a needle tool (or a toothpick or skewer) to imprint a line in the middle. Start from the round end to the pointy end of each cutout. Next, pinch the pointy ends slightly to make them look like leaves.
Attach the leaves and flowers to the cookies
- Attach the first 4 leaves to the cookies (with some glue), close to the chocolate twigs earlier.
- Next, add 2 poinsettia flowers on either side of the twigs' ends (with a light brush of glue). Place another 2 leaves after the flowers.
- And complete the circle with the final poinsettia in the center. Adjust the flowers and leaves as necessary.
Add the holly berries
- Pinch tiny bits of red fondant and form them into smooth balls.
- Group them into 3s and attach 3 sets of holly berries onto each cookie. Start with the first set directly opposite the centermost poinsettia. Apply a light brush of glue so that the berries stay in place. Attach another 2 sets of the berries on either side of the wreath.
Add the sprinkles
- Dip the needle tool in fondant glue, touch the star sprinkle with the tip (the stars will stick to the needle tool tip easily) and press it gently onto the wreath (apply some glue to the wreath before placing the stars on).
- Attach the stars randomly on the Christmas wreath, making sure they are well distributed on the wreath.
- Brush off any excess cornstarch on the decorated cookies with a soft brush to complete the cookie decorating.
Notes
- Do not over overbeat the mixture. Suffice if it turns creamy. There is no need for it to become light and fluffy.
- To make sure all your cookies are of a consistent thickness, place 2 dowel rods on either side of your cookie dough when rolling it. The rods will make sure you do not roll your dough too thin or too thick and the thickness will follow the diameter of your rods.
- Also, when rolling the dough, do it between 2 parchment sheets. That helps prevent the dough from sticking to your workspace and rolling pin, and it also helps to release the cookies better after cutting.
- It is faster to make the flowers all at once, so you can actually cut out all the petals at once and keep them covered as you form the flowers. You can even make these flowers in advance.
- You can also use a fondant extruder tool to pipe out the long strips of chocolate fondant.
- In deciding on the length of the twigs on the cookie, place 3 of your poinsettia on the cookies and trim off the brown twigs right where the flowers row starts and ends.
Leave a Reply