Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies are cookies that will melt in your mouth and are full of colorful sprinkles to get you in the holiday spirit! Check out my Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies for a classic ooey-gooey cookie.
Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies
These cookies are inspired by ooey gooey butter cakes. The recipe for the original ooey gooey cake was actually a mistake! In a St. Louis Bakery, John Hoffman made a mistake by using the wrong amounts of sugar and flour. Since the cakes have become so popular, it’s easy to see (and taste) how they can be a delicious cookie.
Although my Ooey Gooey Butter Cake recipe is made with cake mix, I wanted to try a from-scratch version for the cookies. I tested quite a few recipes and was troubled by the flavor and consistency that they produced. So after a lot of tweaking and a lot of eating (no complaints here!), I finally settled on a cookie that everyone loved. And, with a few added sprinkles, they are perfect for Christmas!
How to Make Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies
To make the Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Make sure you use room temperature ingredients. (Most refrigerated ingredients can get to room temperature in about 30 minutes.) Room temperature ingredients allow for more even baking and fewer lumps!
Next, add in the egg and vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder, and half of the confectioners’ sugar. With the mixer on low, gradually beat everything into a creamed mixture. Finally, gently fold in the Christmas sprinkles. Once the dough is made, it’s time to get the cookies baked!
Ooey Gooey Butter Cookie Dough
You may have noticed that I did not refrigerate the dough. Most recipes call for this so I, of course, tested that. What exactly does refrigerating do for cookies? Well, when you chill cookie dough, it solidifies the fat. Then, when you are ready to bake the cookies, the chilled dough takes longer to melt and remains solid longer, meaning the cookies spread less.
For this recipe specifically, that meant the cookies were much more puffed up and tall, which also meant I had to bake them a bit longer to make sure they were actually baked through. The edges browned and didn’t look as pretty as I would like.
Those cookies actually tasted less ooey-gooey when the dough was chilled, so I opted to delete that instruction and use the dough immediately after preparing. The cookies are a bit flatter, but they are still just as ooey-gooey and delicious!
How to Bake the Cookies
To bake the cookies, use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop to create balls of dough. Roll each ball in the remaining half cup of confectioners’ sugar and place each on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I put about 6 cookies on each sheet. Use the bottom of a glass or your hand to flatten out the dough a bit.
Bake for 8-11 minutes, or until they no longer appear wet on top. Let them rest on the baking sheet for about five minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
How to Freeze Christmas Cookies
The very best way to freeze these cookies is to freeze the dough. I like to scoop out my individual cookies, place them on a baking sheet (they can be close together), and then place them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once they are chilled through, I place them in an airtight bag and then label it with the cookie name and date.
If you want to freeze the cookies after they are baked, allow them to cool completely. Then, lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer. Once the cookies are frozen, store them in a freezer-safe zipped bag, labeled and dated. They will keep for up to four weeks.
Looking for More Holiday Treats?
Peppermint Patty Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies
Christmas Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies are cookies that will melt in your mouth and are full of colorful sprinkles to get you in the holiday spirit!
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) salted butter, softened
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (282g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (126g) confectioners' sugar, divided
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅓ cup Christmas sprinkles
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar until blended.
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Add in egg and vanilla.
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Add in flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup confectioners sugar. With the mixer on low, gradually beat into creamed mixture.
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Gently fold in the sprinkles by hand. The more you fold, the more likely the sprinkles will bleed, so fold until just incorporated.
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Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough, and then roll in the remaining 1/2 cup of confectioners’ sugar. Place approximately 6 dough balls on each of the lined baking sheets.
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Bake until they no longer appear wet on top, 8-11 minutes. After about 5 minutes, place on wire racks to cool.
If you freeze the cookies before baking can you bake them straight from the freezer? How long would you bake them? Thanks so much!
Hi! These sound so delish! I live in Colorado at about 5000 feet — what do you recommend for a high altitude adjustment? A little more flour? Maybe a tablespoon or two?
Thanks 🙂
Hi, Christine! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Here are some High Altitude Baking Tips that you could try. Have a wonderful day!
Made these with my daughter and they were delicious! Stayed soft for days after baking as well
Can you use unsalted butter in this recipe?
Hi, Kim! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Yes, you can use unsalted butter. Have a great day!
Do you have a recipe book
on step 7 dont understand about after cooking 8-11 minutes.after about 5 minutes place on wire rake to cool.after 5 minutes what?im lost between the cook time and the 5 minutes.
thank you so much!Because i am not a bsker.
These are fantastic! I made these gluten free with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free cup for cup flour, and they turned out perfect!
Could I use Monk fruit sweetner iso sugar? Almond flour iso plain flour?
I made these today they are delicious. I had to add in extra flour cuz my day was really loose and very sticky.
I want to keep this recipe for the goofy cookies .how can I save it ?
Seems to need more time in the oven. Other than that it was great!
Hi, Betty! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions and comments. Oven temperatures can definitely vary in temperature. I am glad to hear you liked the cookies! Have a fantastic day!
Can I use a cake mix to make the ooey gooey
butter cookie?
How do I adjust the recipe?
Thanks so much
Nailed it! These were great. And for anyone curious about making them gluten-free, I made a batch with the same measurements of King Arthur’s measure for measure flour and they got the seal of approval from my 9 year old. Just had to bake them about 4-5 minutes longer.
Ok so I didn’t read 1/2 a cup of confectioners sugar and put the whole cup in the batter. Should I start over? Please say no. Lol
lol I am not sure! You might be ok? Let me know!
Can I add cocoa? My grandson is a chocoholic:) and he is making them with me tomorrow. He said that Santa likes chocolate.
Hi, Amanda!
The recipe says e will need 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese. Could you please advise how many it should be in grams?
I’m from Russia and not used to your measurement units)))
And one more question. It’s regarding
baking powder. Do you usually use level, rounded or heaping teaspoons or it doesn’t matter that much?
Thanks and really good wishes with your baking!
Hi, Elena! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Eight ounces of cream cheese is about 227 grams. As for the baking powder, level off the measuring spoon. I hope this helps, and have a great day!
I just made this recipe and loved it. I found that the oven time needed to be longer side, but did have three cookie sheets in at the same time. I definitely will make these again!
I’ve made these twice and I love the taste! I am, however, struggling with the baking time.
The first time, they were very underdone and wouldn’t come off the splat mat.
The 2nd batch was very overdone, and had browned a bit, but still looked wet.
Do you have any video or photos of what I should be watching for? The taste is worth adding them to my Christmas goodie boxes but hoping to get a better handle on the cook.
It says bake for 8-11 mins. After you remove from oven they mean leave it on the cookie sheet, then after about 5 mins put on a cooling rack. These cookies will be very soft when removed from oven so when you let them sit a bit they won’t break on you when transferring them onto the cooling rack to fully cool
These were a HUGE hit at our Christmas party! Easy and fun to make (they needed about 13min to bake in our oven) I have shared your recipe with our guests who also requested it. Thanks!
Flavor is absolutely amazing. I was a bit confused by the ‘until they no longer appear wet on top’ direction. I don’t think they ever looked ‘wet’. My first sheet I did a full 11 minutes and they were nowhere near done so I ended up closer to 14 minutes and the were much better! Will definitely make these again.
I’ve made these twice now. I am using a new oven, electric, I know, tuck but I don’t have a choice. They took 16-17 minutes to cook and made 49 cookies. I do love the taste as does my 2 year old neighbor!
These were terrific!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi christine , I just made your cookies and they are delicous.do they need to be refrigerated since they have cream cheese in them?