Santa's favorite cookies are packed with white chocolate chunks, festive M&M's, pretzels, chocolate chips, and sprinkles to make a perfect stocking stuffer for your friends and for Santa this holiday season.
Welcome to Day 1 of my holiday series 12 Days of Decadence! For the next twelve days, we'll have 12 holiday recipes that focus on one thing: absolute decadence! From desserts, to rich dinners, to luxurious cocktails, we're enjoying all things decadent! Happy Holidays!
My husband and I are big on creating fun traditions that will span generations, and what could be a more precious memory than baking delicious cookies? I know many people have that as a childhood memory and we wanted to do the same for Greyson.
Before the pandemonium, we would make a ton of cookies to give to our church friends and of course, make Santa's Favorite Cookies. They're a huge hit with everybody, always the most popular cookie at the cookie swap and the kids go crazy for it.
Santa's cookies are our version of Christmas monster cookies: a mix of classic chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and 'kitchen sink' cookies with a ton of Christmas spirit that are begging to sit on santa's plate with a glass of milk.
No peanut butter here since I am a poor unfortunate allergic soul, but it isn't missed. These festive cookies are absolutely stuffed with goodness and cheer.
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Equipment
Electric mixer - use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
Large baking sheets.
Silpat or parchment paper - I love my silpat, they make perfect cookies every time. Parchment
Cookie scoop - use a medium sized cookie scoop or a large cookie scoop for giant cookies.
Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Unsalted Butter - you want the butter at room temperature so you can cream it with the sugars.
Brown sugar - if you find that you've run out of brown sugar, I have a DIY brown sugar recipe that turns granulated sugar into brown sugar in a snap!
Granulated Sugar.
Vanilla Extract - use the good stuff, y'all.
Large Eggs - these need to be room temperature, too. Everything being room temperature means you'll have consistent baking results every time.
Old Fashioned Rolled Oats - If you're not too keen on whole oats in your cookies, try blending them up, like I do in the Neiman Marcus Cookie recipe. The oats really are a big part in the flavor and texture of these cookies.
Baking Powder - always buy aluminum-free baking powder and make sure it's fresh before starting your holiday baking. Old baking powder and baking soda loses its potency and won't give you that lightness or lift you're looking for.
Baking Soda.
All Purpose Flour.
Pretzels - I really like the salty-sweet mix here! Use really thin ones, twists or sticks work.
Christmas M&Ms - These are the milk chocolate red and green m&m's you'll find during the holidays. Can't find them at the store? Don't worry, I found Christmas M&Ms online for you.
Semisweet Chocolate Chips.
Christmas Sprinkles - go wild! Everyone loves sprinkles.
White Chocolate - I chopped up a bar of white chocolate, I just love those big pools of chocolate and the tiny flecks mixed into the dough from the irregular sizes.
Instructions
First preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl, then add all the dry ingredients besides the oats.
Use a baking spatula to mix the oats into the flour mixture.
Carefully add the mix-ins, we don't want them to end up breaking.
After chilling, use your cookie scoop to make evenly-sized cookie dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. You don't want a dry cookie, it's better to underbake slightly than overbake!
Variations and Pro Tips
Use other fun mix-ins like miniature marshmallows, butterscotch chips, chopped nuts, or peanut butter.
Get really photo-worthy cookies by placing some extra mix-ins on top of the dough balls before baking. Sprinkles, the M&Ms, chocolate chunks, they all make stunning photos!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Keep the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze, place the raw dough balls on a tray lined with parchment paper, freeze in your freezer, then place the frozen balls in a large freezer-safe zip-top bag for up to 6 months.
When you're ready to have some cookies, place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 14-15 minutes. Let cool for up to 10 minutes on the tray before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.
More holiday Cookie recipes
- Cut Out Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Magnolia Table Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brownie Crinkle Cookies
- Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
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📖 Recipe
Santa's Cookies
Santa's favorite cookies are packed with white chocolate chunks, festive M&M's, pretzels, chocolate chips, and sprinkles to make a perfect stocking stuffer for your friends and for Santa this holiday season.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks/16 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon (10 mL) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup holiday M&Ms
- 1 cup thin pretzels, chopped
- ½ cup white chocolate bar, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
- Cream both granulated and light brown sugars and the unsalted butter with an electric beater on low speed until the butter is light in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract until well incorporated.
- Use a baking spatula to mix in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt into the wet ingredients with a silicone spatula until the flour is just barely fully mixed in.
- Add all of your mix-ins and use the baking spatula to carefully fold them into the cookie dough evenly.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 1 hour up to overnight. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and let warm up for 10-15 minutes before continuing.
- Use a cookie scoop to make even cookie balls and place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper a few inches away from each other.
- Bake each batch for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through (at 5-6 minutes) to ensure even baking. Do not overbake! They should be very puffy looking with golden brown edges.
- Let them cool for 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer them to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
- Keep in an airtight container and they'll stay fresh for at least 3-5 days.
Notes
Making Santa's Favorite Giant Cookies
Use a large cookie scoop and place the cookie dough balls about 4-5 inches apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown.
Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Makes 16 giant cookies.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Keep the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze, place the raw dough balls on a tray lined with parchment paper, freeze in your freezer, then place the frozen balls in a large freezer-safe zip-top bag for up to 6 months.
When you're ready to have some cookies, place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 14-15 minutes.
Let cool for up to 10 minutes on the tray before transfering to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 159Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 150mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 3g
All nutrition facts are estimations. Please see a physician for any health-related inquiries.
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
Jasmine Lukuku - The Blenderist says
I'm a sucker for M&M's, so these look great!