25 Best Christmas Cookies
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Christmas homemade gingerbread cookies on wooden table
Are you ready to bake and spread some holiday cheer? Christmas cookie season is here! Whether you need inspiration for your cookie platters, homemade gifts for teachers and neighbors, or a festive potluck dessert, these Christmas cookies have you covered all season long. From gingerbread guys and gals to chocolate biscotti, there is something for every cookie lover on this list. Be sure to read my best baking tips before you get started to ensure success. Break out your cookie cutters and let the baking begin!
25 Best Christmas Cookies
1. Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Sweet but not cloying, these buttery, nutty, sugar-crusted shortbread cookies come from pastry chef Lisa Kolb Ruland of the blog Unpeeled. They are perfect to serve with coffee or tea any time of day, and they make a lovely homemade gift. GET THE RECIPE
2. Old-Fashioned Molasses Cookies
These chewy and soft molasses cookies with a sparkly sugar crust are loved by kids and grown-ups alike. The recipe calls for a hint of ground black pepper; you won’t know it’s there, but it adds a subtle heat that lingers on the palate. GET THE RECIPE
3. Holiday Cut-Out Butter Cookies
Photo by Suzana Marinkovic
Buttery and crisp, these almond-scented sugar cut-out cookies are a dream to make. The dough comes together in minutes, is easy to work with, and holds its shape perfectly when baked. GET THE RECIPE
4. THE BEST Chocolate CHIP Cookies
These classic chocolate chip cookies are reliably thick, chewy on the inside, and crisp around the edges—and they have the perfect balance of salty, sweet and chocolaty flavor. GET THE RECIPE
5. Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are quite possibly the cutest holiday cookies but, they often taste like cardboard! Not so with these darling gingerbread guys and gals: flavored with ginger, molasses and warm spices, and with a perfect crispy-chewy texture, they taste just as good as they look. GET THE RECIPE
6. Snickerdoodles
Sweet and buttery sugar cookies coated with cinnamon-sugar—who can resist an old-fashioned snickerdoodle? This is a great recipe to make with young kids; little ones love forming the squishy dough into balls and rolling them in cinnamon-sugar before baking. GET THE RECIPE
7. Salted Peanut Butter Cookies
Chewy, ultra-rich, and sprinkled with flaky sea salt, these sinfully good peanut butter cookies from Ovenly are made with only five ingredients, and they are also gluten and dairy-free. GET THE RECIPE
8. LINZER COOKIES
Linzer cookies are nutty, buttery sandwich cookies filled with jam inspired by the famous Viennese Linzer torte. The small cut-out on the top cookie creates a beautiful stained-glass-window effect. Get the recipe
9. The Best Sugar Cookies
They may look plain, but these crave-worthy cookies are rich and buttery with a crisp, sugary exterior and soft, chewy interior. The secret ingredients? Cream cheese, which makes the cookies tender, and a hint of almond extract, which gives the cookies a delicate almond flavor. GET THE RECIPE
10. Scottish Shortbread
Crisp, ultra-buttery, and not too sweet, shortbread cookies are easy to make with just a few ingredients. Traditionally baked in large rounds and cut into wedges, shortbread is served in Scotland on winter solstice and holidays. It’s delicious with tea or coffee any time of day, and since it’s plain (in a good way), kids love it too. GET THE RECIPE
11. Oatmeal Brown Sugar Cookies with Raisins and Pecans
These are the be-all-and-end-all oatmeal raisin cookies. They are made with fewer oats than most recipes, which, surprisingly, makes for much better oatmeal cookies. They are also sweetened entirely with brown sugar, which gives them wonderful a flavor and texture. GET THE RECIPE
12. Double Chocolate Biscotti
My son calls these chocolate biscotti “crunchy brownies.” It makes sense – biscotti are twice-baked cookies made intentionally dry and crisp for dunking into tea or coffee — and these are loaded with of chocolate. They might seem like fancy adult cookies, but children love them too. Serve them with a glass of hot chocolate or warm milk for dunking and you will have very happy kiddos. GET THE RECIPE
13. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Easy to make and sinfully good, peanut butter blossoms are chewy peanut butter cookies topped with Hershey’s kisses. GET THE RECIPE
14. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Chocolate crinkle cookies are what happens when you cross a brownie with a chocolate chip cookie. To get the crinkled exterior, you roll the chocolate dough balls in powdered sugar. As the cookies bake, they spread, causing the sugar to crack and reveal the chocolate cookie underneath. GET THE RECIPE
15. Brookies
When a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie have a baby, you get a brookie. These marbled bar cookies are ideal for cookie swaps and holiday parties when you need a fun potluck treat for all ages. Get the recipe
16. Almond Biscotti
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Inspired by the cookies served at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, these biscotti are made by shaping an almond-studded cookie dough into loaves, baking it, slicing it, and then baking it again. They are lightly sweet, buttery, crunchy but not tooth-shattering, and good any time of day. GET THE RECIPE
17. Buckeyes
Buckeyes are no-bake peanut butter candies dipped in chocolate that resemble the nut of the Ohio state tree, the buckeye. They’re not cookies, but they belong on your holiday cookie spread. Get the recipe
18. Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
These gorgeously light meringue cookies have a crisp outer shell and marshmallowy interior filled with chocolate chips. Bonus: they’re naturally gluten-free. GET THE RECIPE
19. Coconut Macaroons
Chewy inside and golden-crisp outside, these coconut macaroons are wonderful plain but even more irresistible dipped in melted dark chocolate. They keep well for days on end, making them the perfect cookie to bake ahead or gift to friends and neighbors over the holidays. GET THE RECIPE
20. Toffee Almond Sandies
A longtime family favorite, these toffee almond sandies are buttery, sweet shortbread cookies studded with caramelized toffee bits and slivered almonds. The recipe makes a ton and the cookies keep for a long time – the perfect holiday cookie! GET THE RECIPE
21. Chocolate Kisses (Baci di Cioccolato)
These sophisticated chocolate cookies come from Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by the late Gina DePalma. A variation of baci di dama (Italian lady’s kisses), which consist of two tiny hazelnut cookies and a rich chocolate filling, they are perfect Christmas cookie for the chocolate lovers in your life. GET THE RECIPE
22. Baileys Chocolate Truffles
Technically not cookies, but the perfect addition to any Christmas cookie platter, these rich truffles are pure chocolate bliss. They’re so intensely chocolate, you really only need one or two to satisfy your sweet tooth. Bonus: they’re easy to make with one bowl and a microwave. GET THE RECIPE
23. SECRET INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
These exceptional chocolate chip cookies are made with two secret ingredients: finely ground oatmeal and coconut. Everyone loves them but no one will guess what’s in them. GET THE RECIPE
24. SnowBall Cookies
Dusted with powdered sugar like freshly fallen snow, these cookies (aka Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, or butter balls) are a must for the holiday season. GET THE RECIPE
25. Tate’s Copycat Thin & Crisp Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you like the famous thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies from Tate’s Bake Shop in the Hamptons, you’ll love this copycat recipe. The cookies are crunchy, buttery, and downright addictive. GET THE RECIPE
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13 of the 25 “Christmas Cookies” are in no way Christmas Cookies. Really? Chocolate Chip cookies and variations on them? Those are not Christmas! And Hershey’s Kisses jammed into anything equates to limited imagination and effort.
wow looks like the Scrooge stopped by.
Just tried your molasses cookies.Yum! My family recently voted your chocolate chip cookies the new favorite. Next time around I’m going to do blind dates 🙂
Just made your incredible chocolate biscotti. They came out fabulous so much so I’ll have to probably make another batch for the Christmas tray. Look forward to trying some of your others.
Thank you
Diana
Hi Jenn,
Thank you so much for these recipes. I love your cookbooks and always check your blog for your sound cooking advice and tips. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I highlighted several of your recipes much to my family’s delight. Your baked ziti, pasta e’ fagioli, sweet/spicy pecans and big Italian salad were absolutely delicious. Holiday baking is my favorite time of year and plan to surprise friends, family and neighbors. Thank you again.
💗 Happy holidays!
I just mixed a batch of your Old Fashioned Ginger Cookies…chilling now and baking later today!
Thank you Jenn….can’t wait to try these recipes…:)
OMG, this is like sitting in my mother’s kitchen going through recipes to get ready to bake. It was just my mom, sister and I growing up and we didn’t have a lot to spend for Christmas gifts for teachers, doctors, etc. so we baked! Everyone waited for my mom’s Christmas cookies. Thank you for carrying on a tradition……
Love these recipes…and THE GREAT CHRISTMAS IDEAS!! I want the gift to American test kitchen for myself! Please someone take the hint!!!
lol
This is so helpful!! I can’t wait to make these with my family (:
Thank you so much for these recipes. I have made a few of these cookies from your cookbooks and also your blog. I will try some of the cookies I have not made…I have been meaning to make them. I have some of your recipes that i will use for my baking business that i will be start next year i’m just getting really prepared on what i do for the next year because my business will be in Dallas,Texas.
Probably you’ve included these in your collection(s) somewhere. One of my favorite cutouts is filled cookies, because they can be as simple, elegant, and/or creative as the limits of our imagination.
Send all 25 recipes to my mailbox address ethelenalilly@gmail.com
Hi Ethelena, Unfortunately, I’m not able to send each one to you, but if you click on this link, you’ll find links to all 25 recipes. Hope you enjoy whatever you make!
Dear Jenn,
Thank you so much for these recipes. I have made a few of these cookies from your cook books and also your blog. I will try some of the cookies I have not made…like the coconut macaroons…I have been meaning to make them.
I hope that you have a nice holiday…I wonder if you celebrate the gift giving or the tree part of Christmas. We have Jewish friends that we have included in our Christmas and they have included us at Passover. I have always done Hanukkah and Purim in our home when our kids were growing up. I wanted to teach others traditions and tolerance. Now that our daughter and her husband have three sets of Jewish neighbours in Victoria, BC., the Jewish holidays we celebrated and learned about, have come in handy. And…the neighbours are amazed that Katharine knows as much as she does. Our boys, too, remember…especially Hanukkah, when we played with the Dreidel and they won Hanukkah geldt (the chocolate gold wrapped coins).
You send amazing recipes to all of us. The only recipe that I felt was not as good as mine was The Marble Cake. Lol!!
Thank you again for sharing. xo
Hi Jacqueline, What a great thing you did exposing your kids to another religion as they were growing up! Sounds like it was not only a lot of fun for them but it has served them well as adults! So glad you enjoy the recipes and I hope you find a new a few new cookie ones to try from this collection. Have a wonderful Christmas! XO
I was looking for a recipe for Rugelach, mandel bread and Rolodot. Thank you!!