A cozy Christmas cookie that melts in your mouth and melts your heart.
✨ A Festive Cookie Too Cute to Eat
Santa Bear Cookies aren’t just cookies — they are tiny, edible pieces of art. These little buttery bears, piped with ridged swirls and finished with adorable Santa hats, instantly bring joy before you even take a bite
Besides being unbelievably cute, these cookies are surprisingly simple. With a few basic ingredients and a piping bag, you can create a treat that looks bakery-perfect. Whether you serve them with tea, hot chocolate, or wrap them into gift boxes, they’re guaranteed to take center stage. And the best part? They stay fresh for days, so they’re perfect for holiday planning, school events, and Christmas Eve movie nights.
💕 Why You’ll Love These Santa Bear Cookies
There’s something incredibly heartwarming about holiday baking. The kitchen feels warmer, families gather, music plays softly, and the whole house smells like butter and vanilla. These Santa Bear Cookies capture that feeling in every bite. They are soft, melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies, decorated with white chocolate, royal icing, or simple chocolate dots to bring their faces to life. Because they require piping, they feel delicate and elegant — but not difficult.
They work for every age:
✅ Kids can decorate their own bears
✅ Adults appreciate the buttery French-style flavor
✅ They are beautiful enough for gifting
Few holiday cookies combine cute + delicious this perfectly.
🎁 Perfect for Gifting
If you love homemade gifts, these cookies are a dream. Place them in small transparent bags with ribbon, arrange them in tins, or add a little Christmas tag — and you instantly have thoughtful presents for neighbors, colleagues, teachers, or friends. They look like something from a luxury patisserie, yet they are made right in your kitchen. People feel special receiving them, because they truly look handmade with love.
📌 Pin It for Later
Save this cozy recipe on Pinterest so you don’t lose it — especially for Christmas week baking!
Find more adorable recipes on Pinterest: MimiYummy.
👉 Pinterest: https://pin.it/4j2WzG8Uu
🧁 Ingredients
For the Butter Cookie Dough
- 180g room-temperature butter
- 80g powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200g all-purpose flour
- 20g cornstarch
- A pinch of salt
For Decoration
- Red and white royal icing or melted colored chocolate
- Mini chocolate chips or melted chocolate for eyes and nose
👩🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
✅ 1. Make the Dough
Beat softened butter and powdered sugar until creamy and pale. This step is important — the more air you whip into the butter, the lighter your cookies will be. Add egg white and vanilla, then mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cornstarch, and salt. Mix gently with a spatula until a soft, pipeable dough forms. The dough should not be too firm — if it feels too thick to pipe, add 1 tsp of milk.
✅ 2. Pipe the Bears
Transfer dough to a piping bag with a star tip. On a baking tray lined with parchment or a silicone mat, pipe a large spiral for the face, smaller spirals on each side for ears, and a tiny spiral in the middle for the muzzle. For the Santa hat, use red icing or colored dough and pipe a small triangle on top of each bear’s head. Add a white dot as the pom-pom.
✅ 3. Bake
Bake at 160°C (320°F) for 12–15 minutes, or until edges become slightly golden. Do not overbake — these cookies should stay soft and buttery. Once done, let them cool fully so they don’t break when decorating.
✅ 4. Add the Face
Use melted chocolate or edible markers to add eyes, nose, and mouth. Suddenly, each cookie has a tiny personality. Some look sleepy, some look surprised — that’s the joy!
✨ A Slice of Nostalgia
There’s a special kind of happiness in shaping cookies into animals. It feels like childhood — playful, warm, and full of imagination. Even adults feel like little kids again while piping the faces and adding the hats. It’s the kind of kitchen moment where everyone gathers around the table, choosing which bear is cutest or which one looks like it needs a warm hug. It’s more than a recipe — it’s a memory.
🎨 Decoration Ideas
- Add edible glitter to the Santa hats
- Make pink hats instead of red for a pastel Christmas
- Give each bear a tiny scarf using colored icing
- Add coconut snow around the tray
Every tray of these cookies becomes a winter scene.
🙌 Make It Ahead — It Gets Even Better!
These cookies store beautifully. Keep them in an airtight container for up to one week, or freeze the unbaked dough and pipe whenever you want fresh cookies. If you’re preparing for Christmas gatherings, bake them a couple days early and decorate the morning of the party.
🕯 Cozy Dessert Moments
Picture this: a cold December evening, lights twinkling, hot chocolate steaming, and a plate full of Santa bears on the table. The cookie melts as soon as it touches your tongue, with buttery flavor and vanilla warmth. You almost feel guilty eating something so cute — but you immediately reach for the second one.
🌼 Simplicity Meets Sophistication
Even though these cookies look like they took hours, the dough comes together in minutes. The piping creates a stunning design that looks professional without complicated tools. They’re the perfect example of how simple ingredients can turn into beautiful, detailed desserts.
🧁 Small but Mighty
Each cookie is small, but intensely satisfying — rich, buttery, and perfectly sweet. They fill your mouth with a delicate crumb that feels almost like shortbread mixed with a cloud. That tiny Santa hat adds a gentle crunch, and the chocolate face brings just enough extra flavor.
🍰 More Recipes You’ll Love
Keep your holiday kitchen glowing with these recipes on MimiYummy.org:
- Chocolate-Filled Christmas Tree Cookie Cups
- Brownie Waffles
- Lavender Honey Panna Cotta
- Red Velvet Marble Waffles
Find them all at MimiYummy.org
🌟 The Perfect Balance
Crispy edges… soft centers… buttery flavor… cute decoration… and a whole lot of Christmas cheer.
🎁 Perfect for Gifting
Pack them in boxes, tins, or small bags tied with ribbon. They’re the kind of gift people remember — not because they’re expensive, but because they feel personal, handmade, and filled with love.
Written with sweetness and butter fingerprints,
Mimi 🧈🐻🎄