Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas: 3 Modern Christmas Wreath Cookies

Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas: 3 Modern Christmas Wreath Cookies

Festive Christmas cookies are a personal (and tasty!) way to spread holiday cheer to neighbors and friends and to show appreciation for co-workers and party hosts. Want to break out of the Christmas cookie decorating mold? Try this modern twist on traditional Christmas wreath cookies with some help from Bernard Shondell, our resident king of cookies.

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Get baking  

All of these wreath cookies start with either Bernard’s time-tested and perfected sugar cookie recipe or gingerbread cookie recipe and are coated with white royal icing.

To get a smooth, glossy surface, use the “flooding” or “flow” method outlined in this post.

If you’re going to completely cover your cookies in decorations, you can paint them instead. See how you can use a pastry brush to quickly cover cookies in royal icing in this video (start at the one minute mark).

Want to skip right to the decorating? Order wreath-shaped cookies already iced from a local bakery.

Pro tips:

Bernard used wreath-shaped cookie cutters. But you could also use a large round cutter to make the wreath and a little one to cut a hole in the middle.

The butter solids in the baked cookies need to harden, so after baking your cookies need to sit and cool to prevent the icing from breaking down. If you’re in a rush, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes before you decorate them.

Gingerbread Christmas Wreath Cookies with Metallic Piping

Gingerbread Christmas Wreath Cookies with Metallic Piping

No fancy decorating skills needed! We used a dusting of edible gold metallic powder and gold nonpareils to give these classic gingerbread cookies a shot of sophistication.

Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreaths with Candy Color Mints

Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreaths with Candy Color Mints

It’s a cookie covered with…candy! Stir up some super-simple mints in holiday-bright colors to turn sugar cookies into a gift-worthy treat.

Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreaths with Lemon Icing and Sugared Herbs

Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreaths with Lemon Icing and Sugared Herbs

Don’t these remind you of a walk in a snowy winter woodland? Lemon icing and sprigs of rosemary and thyme make these frosty-looking cookies a perfect gift for the foodie in your life.