Santa slice and bake cookies are a make ahead Christmas cookie built from a red dough log with a black belt running through it, sliced into rounds and piped with a white collar. That makes them a cookie exchange pick for Christmas trays, school parties or gift tins, since the log chills days ahead.
Wipe the knife clean after every single slice. Red dough drags across the black belt otherwise, and a smeared band of brownish pink ruins the one detail the whole cookie depends on.
The belt is a separate slab of dough glued in with egg wash rather than a line of icing, so it bakes as part of the cookie instead of sitting on top. Only a third of a cup of dough gets tinted black, which is why the belt stays a thin stripe.
Roll the red log longer than the recipe says. The red dough weighs about 568 grams, which is 33 cubic inches, and a 7 inch log 2 inches across holds only 22. Roll it nearer 10 inches and you get around 40 cookies rather than the 24 in the yield line.
Santa Slice and Bake Cookies
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalA red log split around a black belt, chilled firm and cut into rounds that bake into Santa coats, then piped with a white collar and a buckle.
Ingredients
- For the Cookie Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature, one for the dough and one for the egg wash
Black gel food coloring
Red gel food coloring
- For the Royal Icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons meringue powder
1/4 cup white sprinkles
Directions
FAQs
How long should the log really be?
About 10 inches for the red, not 7. The red dough comes to roughly 568 grams, which fills 33 cubic inches, while a 7 by 2 inch cylinder holds only 22. Forcing it gives you a fat log and leftover dough, so roll it longer and keep the 2 inch width.
How many cookies does this make?
Around 40, not the 24 the yield states. Once the belt is in, the assembled log runs close to 10 and a half inches, and quarter inch slices off that give roughly 41 after you trim the ends. That also brings each cookie down to about 89 calories.
How thick should the black belt be?
About a third of an inch rather than a quarter. The third of a cup of black dough works out at 4.8 cubic inches, and a 7 by 2 inch slab at a quarter inch only holds 3.5. Roll it to match the length of your red log and the belt comes out even.
Why does my red bleed into the black?
A dirty knife, almost always. Each cut carries red crumbs onto the next slice and smears them across the belt. Wipe the blade on a damp cloth after every slice, and chill the log 10 minutes if it starts to feel soft. For another two color log, see our peppermint pinwheels.
How far ahead can I make the log?
Three days in the fridge wrapped tightly, or three months in the freezer, which is the real advantage of a slice and bake. Thaw a frozen log in the fridge until a knife passes through cleanly. Pipe the faces the day you serve, the way you would our gingerbread men.
