Edible Christmas Cookie Boxes (Recipe & Tutorial)

🎁 The Cutest Sugar Cookie Gift Boxes!

What are the two best parts of the holiday season? Baking and gift-giving, of course! (Some people might say that eating and gift-getting are the best parts, but around here we’re trying to get on Santa’s Nice List, so let’s keep things selfless, okay?)

What if I told you that we could combine both baking and gifting in one fun—and delicious—recipe? Sold!

These Christmas Present Cookie Boxes just might be cutest cookie recipe you’ll ever see. First of all, EVERYTHING is cuter in miniature form, and not only are these tiny versions of gift boxes, but they’re filled with even smaller cookies, so it’s like mini cookie inception, and it’s adorable.

Secondly, I just love the thought of gifting someone a fun box filled with candy, and then having them chow down on the box itself after they eat the goodies inside. Tasty AND eco-friendly! We’re basically saving the world over here, one dessert at a time.

If you’re looking for even more Christmas cookie recipes perfect for gifting, you’ll love these Big Soft Sugar Cookies, Oreo Cookie Christmas Ornaments,  Chocolate Truffle Peppermint Crunch Cookies.

🧾 Ingredients

The good news: you probably already have most, if not all, of the ingredients you’ll need to make these cookie boxes! I made a few changes to the standard sugar cookie recipe to give these a little holiday flair, so here are a few tips to keep in mind as you make this recipe. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

• Brown sugar: In this recipe, I swapped the standard white sugar for brown sugar. Using brown sugar gives these cookies a softer texture and a subtle caramelized sugar flavor that immediately brings to mind cozy winter nights. If you’d rather make a standard sugar cookie recipe, I recommend checking out these Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies or my Big Soft Sugar Cookies (with Frosting!).
• Orange Zest: I love the little zing of citrus in this recipe, but you can omit it if you don’t have an orange handy. If you are adding it, make sure you use a microplane to make the zest, so it’s in tiny pieces.
• Cinnamon: I wanted to have a light spice cookie taste, so added a bit of ground cinnamon. If you want even more of a gingerbread taste, feel free to add ground ginger and any other spices you’d like—I think cardamom would also be a delicious addition!

🥄 Equipment

You’ll need a few common baking tools for these cookie boxes, as well as a few specialty decorating products if you want them to look like the pictures.

• Cookie cutters: You can freehand the square shapes, but a set of nested square cookie cutters will make your life MUCH easier! You can also pick up these mini Christmas cookie cutters to make adorable mini cookies to fill the boxes. You can make other non-square shapes, like trees, snowflakes, or stars, as long as you have 2 nestled cookie cutters in those shapes. 
• Baking Sheet: I love this half sheet pan from USA Pan–it’s heavy-duty, sturdy, and fits a ton!
• Parchment paper or Silpat: A half-sheet Silpat is the perfect nonstick cookie solution
• Piping bags: I like these disposable piping bags for the price and convenience. Pro tip: I wash them and re-use them to reduce waste!
• Chocolate transfer sheets: You’ll need a large enough sheet to cover three 3×3″ squares, but I recommend having a little extra on hand in case of mistakes or re-dos. Here are a few beautiful transfer sheet patterns you might like: one, two, three, four.
• Candy Coating: Pick up candy coating in traditional Christmas colors: white, red, and green. 

📋 Instructions

Now I won’t tell you that these come together in under 10 minutes, because that’s a lie and I’ve still got my eyes on the Nice List prize. There is a lot of dough rolling and cookie cutting involved, after all.

But I can promise that if you’ve ever made any sort of sugar cookie, you’ve got this one in the bag. And if you haven’t, no time like the present to start! Here’s how easy it is, step by step. 

To Bake & Assemble the Sugar Cookies:

To start, make sure you have 2 cookie cutters that nestle together with about ½” space between the edges. You can make squares, trees, stars, or anything else you’d like. This recipe is written to make three complete 3″ boxes, so if your cutters are approx 3″ wide, you should get a similar yield.

You’ll cut out 7 cookies for each cookie box—two solid cookies, for the top and bottom, and then 5 “frames,” that are basically just an outline of the shape, with the middle removed. I found that larger boxes looked good with 5 middle layers, while smaller ones looked more proportional with 4 layers. But you can experiment and see what works best for you!

To Decorate the Cookie Boxes:

1. Trace your large cookie cutter on the top (plastic-covered) side of the transfer sheets, then cut out the shapes. Try not to touch the back side too much, or you might smear the design.
2. Place the transfer sheets on your work surface with the plastic side down and cocoa butter side up, and spread a thin layer of warm melted candy coating onto the top all the way out to the edge and a bit beyond.
3. When the sheet is completely covered, work a spatula under the sheet and transfer it to a different area of parchment so the edges are clean. Repeat with the remaining sheets, and let dry completely.
4. Carefully peel back the plastic from the tops of the sheets
5. Spread some melted coating on the bottom (flat side) of one of the top cookies, and gently press the chocolate on top.
6. Pipe a line of dots around the edge to finish the look of the cookies.

🍬 Filling The Edible Cookie Boxes

And now for the most important question: what to put in the cookie boxes??

I couldn’t resist making tiny cookies for my gifts—gingerbread men, holly leaves, stars, and Christmas trees, all decorated with melted candy coating. Since I was already rolling and cutting dough for the boxes, why not have a little fun with it?

I also added some holiday candies, like peppermints and cinnamon imperials. I think mini cupcakes would also be adorable in here! Just make sure you’ve sized your boxes to accommodate whatever treat will be going inside.