These New Year's Eve Cookies are easy and simple to make. They are cute, fun and festive and include other ideas for decorated cookies for New Years. They are thick soft and chewy and will be gobbled up at a party or gathering.
These are popular for New Year's Eve, obviously. However this recipe is easily customizable for any holiday.
This was inspired by my Halloween Cookies, 4th of July Cookies and Fall Maple Cookies. It pairs well at a party with our Maraschino Cherry Cookies and our Molasses Cookies.
Jump to:
What You'll Love About This Recipe
- Quick and Easy - while these cookies do need to chill, as they are a roll out cookie, they come together quickly and easily. Active time is minimal. They are also super easy to make!
- Kid Friendly - these are super kid friendly and so fun to make with kids. They are hard to ruin, so they are perfect for budding bakers to try by themselves, or for young ones to help with. Kids love helping roll out and cut out the dough!
- Party Friendly - These cookies are perfect for a party or even a fun night in for the New Year.
- Easily Customizable - customize these to your own preference. Add more fun elements or use champagne or firework cookie cutters.
- Simple Yet Beautiful - our goal is to create easy, approachable recipes, and these fit the bill. For not a lot of effort, they are simple and festive.
- No dye for black frosting - follow our instructions using black cocoa powder for a delicious dye free way to have black frosting.
Ingredients
- butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract, pure is recommended
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- powdered sugar
- black cocoa
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1. Beat the butter and sugar on high for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined.
2. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour, up to overnight. If more than 3 hours, allow to thaw at room temperature for 10 minutes before use. Roll dough out to about ¼"-⅜" thick.
3. Cut out circles from the dough using a cookie cutter or even a glass. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and Bake at 400*F for 6-9 minutes, until the tops are matte and the edges have set. For super soft cookies, do not wait for them to turn golden.
4. While the cookies cool, make the frosting. Beat butter on high for 2 minutes until lightened and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until well combined. Next add vanilla and beat. Add milk (optional) to thin, if desired. Frost cooled cookies and decorate with New Year's sprinkles. If wanting to use black frosting, pull some aside, then add the black cocoa and milk. Gold, black, and white are the most popular colors for New Year's Eve, then secondarily silver, purple and bright blue.
Hint: Don't skip the chilling step! I know it's hard to be patient and wait for the dough to chill, but it is worth waiting for!
Substitutions
- Cream Cheese Frosting - use cream cheese frosting for the cookies instead of buttercream. We recommend this cream cheese frosting that tops our pumpkin bars.
- Icing- these cookies are also delicious iced instead of frosted! Check out our Fall Maple Cookies for the icing recipe and decorating tips to go with the icing. When using the recipe, swap the maple extract for vanilla extract.
- Cookie Cutters - use champagne bottle, numbers to represent the year, or firework shaped cookie cutters for the New Year.
Variations
- Peppermint - swap the vanilla extract for peppermint extract for a fun variation in the frosting.
- Fruity - add 1-2 teaspoons of your favorite fruit extract in the frosting as a yummy way to switch it up. You could try orange, lemon, strawberry, cherry and more!
- Fruit Pizza - make the cookies as normal then make them into mini fruit pizzas. Check out our 4th of July Cookies for the topping recipe and more instructions.
Equipment
Storage
Store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Baked cookies can be frozen and stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Top tip
For soft and chewy cookies, do not over bake! The cookies are done when the edges are set and the tops are matte. Do not wait for them to turn lightly golden, or they will be crunchy.
FAQ
Make easy yummy New Year's Eve Cookies by making your favorite thick soft and chewy sugar cookies. Make frosting and top them with icing and New Years Eve decorations.
Recipe
New Years Eve Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cookie:
- ½ cup unsalted butter slightly softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs large
- 1 ½ teaspooons vanilla pure vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt *if using salted butter, reduce salt to ¾ teaspoon!
For the Frosting
- 1 cup salted butter
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tablespooons milk *optional, add til desired consistency is reached.
For the Black Frosting
- ½ cup black cocoa *Remove half the frosting and place in another bowl. Add ½ cup black cocoa and 1-2 Tablespoons milk until the desired consistency is reached.
Instructions
- Beat slightly softened butter and sugar on high for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat one more minute. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Chill in the refrigerator 1+ hours.
- Preheat oven to 400*F. Lightly flour a surface by sprinkling a small amount of flour on a work surface. Roll out the dough ¼"-⅜" thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out circles (or other desired shapes) Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 6-9 minutes, until tops are matte and edges are set.
- While the cookies are cooling make the frosting by beating the butter on high for 2 minutes until lightened in color. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift before adding. Add in the vanilla and mix until combined. Frost cooled cookies and decorate before frosting has set.
- To make black frosting, remove half the frosting and place in another bowl. Add ½ cup black cocoa powder (tastes like OREOs!) and 1-2 Tablespoons milk until desired consistency is achieved. Black cocoa will make them very dark brown, close to black. For a true black, feel free to add a touch of black food coloring.
- New Year's Eve colors are gold, black and white. Secondary colors are silver, purple and bright blue. Have fun decorating!
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Nicole
These New Year's Eve Cookies were cute and fun to make! They are the perfect thick and chewy texture and were super easy. Can't wait to make them again for our New Years party!