Santa Gnome Cookie Cup Recipe for Christmas

These Santa Gnome Cookie Cups pair refrigerated sugar cookie dough with fresh strawberries, red candies, and white decorative icing to create adorable, bite-sized gnomes that are as festive as they are tasty.

We enjoy getting creative during the holidays, and these tiny Santa gnomes are a perfect example. They’re simple to make, require just a few familiar ingredients, and add a playful touch to holiday cookie trays, classroom parties, or cookie exchanges.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quick and easy: ready in under an hour from start to finish.
• Minimal ingredients: items you can find at any grocery store.
• Festive and fun: perfect for holiday gatherings, gift boxes, or decorating parties with kids.

🛒 Ingredients

This recipe keeps things simple. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below.

• 1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 24 strawberries, hulled (tops removed)
• 24 red candies (red M&Ms or similar)
• White decorative icing (store-bought squeeze tube or piping icing)

🔪 How to Make Santa Gnome Cookie Cups

These Santa gnomes are constructed in a few straightforward steps: bake the cookie bases, cool them, then decorate to create the gnome face and hat.

Step 1: Prep

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a mini muffin pan or spray each cavity lightly with nonstick spray. Line up your strawberries and candies so assembly is quick once cookies are cool.

Step 2: Bake the cookie “heads”

Roll the sugar cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place one ball into each mini muffin cup. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Let the cookie cups cool completely on a wire rack before decorating so the icing adheres properly.

Step 3: Decorate

Squeeze or pipe white icing onto one side of the cooled cookie cup and let it drape down to form a beard. Place a hulled strawberry upright on top of the cookie to serve as the hat. Add a red candy against the icing just below the strawberry to create the nose. Use a toothpick or small knife to swirl the icing slightly, creating the appearance of beard texture, then add a small dollop of icing to the strawberry tip to finish the hat.

📝 Variations

Customize these gnomes to suit your taste or to work with what’s available:

• Nose options: Try red jellybeans, red gumdrops, or small red candies instead of M&Ms.
• Cookie choices: Use chocolate chip or peanut butter refrigerated dough for a different flavor profile.
• Hat styles: Swap strawberries for halved strawberries, raspberries, or small marshmallows for a snowy hat.

🥄 Equipment

You only need a few basic tools:

• Mini muffin pan
• Wire cooling rack
• Toothpick or small skewer for detailing
• Piping bag or squeeze-tube icing

🥫 Storage

Store assembled cookie cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. The cookie base will stay fine longer, but the fresh strawberries are best within a few days.

💭 Tips

Let the cookie cups cool completely before adding icing to prevent it from sliding off. If you find the icing is too runny, let it sit a few minutes to thicken or chill briefly before decorating. For cleaner assembly, pipe icing into a small disposable bag with the tip snipped off.

⁉️ FAQ

Answers to common questions about these cookie cups.

🧾 Recipe Card

A concise recipe summary for quick reference.