25 Best Christmas Cookies
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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 for pecan shortbread cookies.
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 for molasses cookies.
3. Holiday Cut-Out Butter Cookies
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 for holiday cut-out cookies.
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 for the best chocolate chip cookies.
5. Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are quite possibly the cutest holiday cookies, but they don’t always taste as good as they look. Not so with these darling gingerbread guys and gals! They’re flavored with ginger, molasses and warm spices, and they have a perfect crispy-chewy texture. Get the recipe for gingerbread cookies.
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; they love forming the squishy dough into balls and rolling them in cinnamon-sugar before baking. Get the recipe for snickerdoodles.
7. Viennese Crescents
Fondly known as Kipferl in Austria, Viennese crescents are nutty and delicate cookies shaped like whimsical half-moons. A dusting of powdered sugar makes it look like they’ve been covered with freshly fallen snow. Get the recipe for Viennese crescent cookies.
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 for linzer cookies.
9. The Best Sugar Cookies
These crave-worthy cookies are rich and buttery with a crisp, sugary exterior and soft, chewy interior. For a festive twist, roll them in holiday-themed sprinkles instead of sugar before baking. Get the recipe for sugar cookies.
10. 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 for shortbread.
11. Crispy Ginger Cookies
Featuring a spot-on mix of ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, these ginger cookies deliver a buttery, sweet crunch with just the right touch of chewiness in the center. Get the recipe for crispy ginger cookies.
12. Double Chocolate Biscotti
My son calls these chocolate biscotti “crunchy brownies.” They might seem like fancy grown-up 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 for chocolate biscotti.
13. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Easy to make and sinfully good, peanut butter blossoms are chewy peanut butter cookies topped with Hershey’s kisses—and they are some of the cutest cookies around. Get the recipe for peanut butter blossoms.
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 for chocolate crinkle cookies.
15. Christmas Wreath “Cookies”
These treats make a fun kitchen project for kids and adults alike, and the finished wreaths are as cute as they are delicious. Made with cornflakes, marshmallows, green food coloring, and mini candies, they are a holiday twist on classic Rice Krispie treats. Get the recipe for Christmas wreath cookies.
16. Biscotti
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 for biscotti.
17. Peppermint Bark
With swirls of white and dark chocolate topped with crushed peppermint candy canes, this bark offers a simple yet festive addition to your holiday treat lineup. While it may not be a traditional cookie, it certainly deserves a place on your holiday dessert table! Get the recipe for peppermint bark.
18. Peanut Butter Cookies
Thick and soft with a rich peanut butter flavor and slightly sandy texture, these are the ultimate PB cookies. Get the recipe for peanut butter cookies.
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 for coconut macaroons.
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 for toffee almond sandies.
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 for chocolate kisses.
22. Palmiers
Transform your kitchen into a French bakery with simple yet elegant heart-shaped palmiers—buttery, flaky pastries layered with caramelized sugar. Get the recipe for palmiers.
23. Oatmeal CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
If you’re a fan of classic chocolate chip cookies, you’ll want to try this oatmeal version. With their hearty oat texture and a hint of nutty flavor, they might just become your new favorite chocolate chip cookies! Get the recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
24. SnowBall Cookies
Covered with powdered sugar like a blanket of snow, these cookies (aka Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes, or butter balls) are a must for the holiday season. Get the recipe for snowball cookies.
25. Spritz Cookies
Press, bake, enjoy! Easily whip up dozens of adorable spritz cookies using a cookie press. Kids will love helping to make, press, and decorate the cookies. Get the recipe for spritz cookies.
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!!