Santa’s Whiskers Cookies – A classic slice and bake Christmas cookie studded with candies cherries and pecans, and rolled in coconut. These are delicious, flavorful and festive treat that is perfect for the holiday season!
What are santa’s whiskers?
Santa’s whiskers are one of the popular cookies around the holiday season. These are crunchy slice and bake cookies made with candied cherries, pecans and coconut. They are often enjoyed with a cup of hot cocoa or coffee.
These cookies are super simple and easy to make
Why you’ll love this recipe:
These are wonderful make-ahead cookies for the holiday season!
They look so festive and perfect addition to any cookie platter.
Can be made with a handful of ingredients!
Ingredients:
All- Purpose Flour – Also known as plain flour. I haven’t tried these cookies with any gluten-free flours yet.
Butter – I have used unsalted butter. Skip salt if you are going to use salted butter.
Sugar – Make sure you are using fine granulated sugar. It adds a wonderful crunch to the cookies.
Candied Cherries – Traditionally, both red and green candied cherries are used to make santa’s whiskers. If you don’t have both in hand, stick to one color. You could also maraschino cherries.
Pecans – These can be substituted with chopped walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts.
Coconut – The dough needs to be rolled in sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut before chilling. You can skip this step, if you don’t love coconut in your cookies.
Vanilla – Swap it with almond extract for a different flavor.
Milk
Salt
Variations:
Substitute vanilla with almond extract for a flavor variation.
Drizzle icing or melted chocolate oven the baked cookies to make them more pretty and delicious.
If you want to a soft cookie, cut the chilled dough into thick slices and bake.
Replace pecans with any of your favorite nuts.
Tips & Notes:
Make sure the dough is chilled enough before baking to prevent the cookies from spreading while baking.
Chill the dough for at least 4 hours.
Cut the dough into even slices to ensure even baking.
Chop pecans and cherries into small pieces. This will make the slicing easier.
Serving suggestions:
These santa’s whiskers tastes best when served with a cup of coffee or milk.
They can also be served as a sweet treat at parties.
Storage suggestions:
The baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. If you’d like to store them for longer, they can be frozen for up to 2-3 months.
You can also store the unbaked cookie dough in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If you want to store them longer period of time, freeze them for about 3 months.
Can we double this recipe?
Yes, you can! If you want double the recipe, divide the dough into two parts and roll into 8 inch logs. No changes needed.
Step by step instructions:
Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Beat everything using a spatula or whisk until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add in vanilla and milk and mix well.
Add salt and flour to the butter-sugar mixture.
Gently mix everything until well combined.
Add in chopped pecans and chopped candied fruits to the dough.
Gently mix the dough until combined.
Mix everything using your hand to make a soft dough. Do not knead it.
Shape the dough into a 8 inch long roll and roll it in flaked coconut.
Wrap it with a parchment paper or cling film and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to a day.
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
Line a baking sheet and keep it aside.
Remove the dough from the fridge.
Cut the chilled dough into ¼ inch even slices.
Place them on the lined baking tray.
Immediately, place the in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown color at 180 degrees C.
When they are set and baked, take them out of the oven and let them cool down for a couple of minutes.
Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Store them in an airtight container.
Few more holiday recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Snowballs
- Peppermint Meltaways
- Chocolate Covered Oreos
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Condensed Milk Choco Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Kiss Snowballs
- Peanut Butter Buckeyes
How to make santa’s whiskers recipe video below:
Recipe adapted from Food.com
Santa’s Whiskers Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter softened
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ Cup Chopped Pecans
- ¼ Cup Chopped Red Candied Cherries
- ¼ Cup Chopped Green Candied Cherries
- ⅓ Cup Flaked Coconut
- ⅛ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Beat everything using a spatula or whisk until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add in vanilla and milk and mix well.
- Add salt and flour to the butter-sugar mixture.
- Gently mix everything until well combined. Add in chopped pecans and chopped candied fruits to the dough.
- Gently mix the dough until combined.
- Mix everything using your hand to make a soft dough. Do not knead it.
- Shape the dough into a 8 inch long roll and roll it in flaked coconut.
- Wrap it with a parchment paper or cling film and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or up to a day.
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
- Line a baking sheet and keep it aside.
- Remove the dough from the fridge.
- Cut the chilled dough into ¼ inch even slices.
- Place them on the lined baking tray.
- Immediately, place the in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown color at 180 degrees C.
- When they are set and baked, take them out of the oven and let them cool down for a couple of minutes.
- Transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
- Store them in an airtight container.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only.
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