Make four Air fryer Christmas Cookies from one simple dough! Use this easy air fryer cookie recipe to make all your favorite festive cookies,
Make dough once, divide it into batches, and then create 4 different air fryer Christmas cookies: Sugar cookies, Thumbprint cookies, Kiss cookies and M&M cookies.
Whether you are making cookies for your family, a holiday party, a cookie exchange, or just for Santa, this is a fabulous way to get lots of fresh baked cookies without a lot of effort! The dough can easily be frozen or refrigerated, so you can spread your holiday cookie baking out.
The recipe card below contains the base dough and the recipe for Christmas M&M cookies. You can find the individual recipes for the other varieties at the links below. Or get a FREE pdf with all four recipes!
- Air Fryer Sugar Cookies (both Frosted and Sprinkle)
- Air Fryer Thumbprint Cookies
- Air Fryer Kiss Cookies
🎄4 Air Fryer Christmas Cookies, 1 Dough
When it comes to cooking, I am a lazy baker. I enjoy holiday baking, but I prefer to make delicious recipes that don’t take hours and don’t make my kitchen look a disaster zone when I’m finished.
So this festive cookie recipe is perfect because I only have to get out the mixer and mixing bowls once, but can still create many different favorite cookies. All the variations make it seem like you spent hours baking and decorating these delicious treats.
Free PDF
I can make a small batch of cookies and save the rest of dough for later or make 4 dozen cookies all in one day.
The cookies are soft and buttery, with a melt-in-your-mouth flavor. And baking in the air fryer means they bake much faster than a traditional cookie recipe. You can enjoy warm, freshly baked cookies after just 7 minutes of baking.
Transform your Christmas baking this year by putting your air fryer to work!
🧈Base Dough Ingredients
For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below
Butter and shortening – Butter and shortening give these cookies their rich flavor.
Instant vanilla pudding – Adding instant pudding mix gives these cookies a soft texture.
The remaining simple ingredients are baking staples, including granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and salt.
🎅Additions for Different Cookie Batches
Each variation will call for a few extra ingredients.
- M&M Christmas Cookies: Red and green M&M candy
- Sugar Cookies: Frosting, sprinkles
- Thumbprint Cookies: Jam, powdered sugar
- Kiss Cookies: Hershey Kiss candy, red and green sparkling sugar
🥣How to Make Air Fryer Christmas Cookie Base Dough
Cream the butter, shortening, and white sugar with an electric mixer in a medium-sized bowl. Once it is fluffy and well combined, add the eggs, vanilla extract, and instant pudding powder and mix well.
Mix the baking powder and salt with the flour in a separate mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time, and mix until combined. The dough does not need to be refrigerated, although it will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator if you aren’t baking right away.
💭Making Multiple Batches of Cookies
My 5.8-quart Cosori air fryer makes about 8 cookies per batch. You can make all your Christmas cookies in one day, or save the cookie dough in the refrigerator and make a fresh batch of cookies every day.
Wrap dough you aren’t going to use right away tightly in plastic wrap, and it will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator, or see freezing instructions below.
This cookie dough recipe makes about 40 cookies. So I generally divide the dough into 4 parts and make one batch of each of the 4 cookie varieties! Check out the individual posts for your favorite varieties.
🧊Freezing the Dough
This dough freezes well. Divide it into 4 or 5 parts, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it in an airtight container. It will keep for about 3 months.
Then you can make 8-10 cookies with each dough portion. Put the dough in the refrigerator the night before you plan to make it, so it can thaw.
📝FAQ
Yes, you can bake this classic recipe in the oven. Bake the cookies in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 12-15 minutes.
Parchment paper is recommended but not essential. It makes cookie baking in the air fryer much easier, especially if you make multiple batches. You can buy perforated parchment paper perfectly sized for most air fryer baskets or cut your own.
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Air Fryer Christmas Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup M&M candy red and green
Instructions
- Cream butter, shortening and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix until they are light and fluffy.¾ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup shortening, 1 ½ cups sugar
- Add in eggs, vanilla, and instant pudding mix. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.2 eggs, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 box instant vanilla pudding
- In a separate bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, and salt.2 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time. Mix in between additions until all the flour is combined.
- Preheat the air fryer at 350 degrees F for 3 minutes. Make sure you don’t preheat with parchment paper inside.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to make tablespoon sized cookie dough balls.
- Flatten the cookie balls slightly with your fingers, pushing them down until they are about 1/2 inch thick.
- Lightly press 7-8 M&M candies on top of each of the balls of dough.1/2 cup M&M candy
- Once preheated, add a piece of parchment paper to the air fryer basket. Place the cookies on the parchment paper, keeping them about 1 inch apart. Make multiple batches if necessary.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes or until set and golden brown.
- Let the cookies cool in the basket for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire baking rack to finish cooling.
Notes
One Dough, 4 Cookies
Use this same cookie dough to make other air fryer cookie recipes! Make some festive treats for the holidays, and fill your cookie platter quickly.Freezing the Dough
This dough freezes well. Divide it into 4-5 parts, wrap each tightly in plastic, and freeze. I can make 8-10 cookies per dough portion. Put the frozen cookie dough in the refrigerator the night before you plan to make it, and let it thaw.As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
