23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (2024)

Whether you're a fan of chocolate, sugar cookies, shortbread, or meringues, you'll want to make a few of these holiday cookie recipes to round out seasonal menus and have on-hand for gatherings and gifting. You'll be hard-pressed to decide which ones to bake first, from S’mores Linzer Cookies to Triple Chocolate–Peppermint Cookies. Here are the best Christmas cookie recipes for holiday parties and gatherings.

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Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben

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German for "cheeky boys," these Bavarian cookies will be the star of your holiday cookie platter. Brown butter and cardamom make this simple cookie into a fragrant treat. Take the time to freshly grind the cardamom — its robust, citrusy flavor is worth it.

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Tortellini Dolci al Forno (Emilian Fruit-Stuffed Christmas Cookies)

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (2)

Not to be confused with the pasta of the same name, these classic Emilian Christmas cookies are made from a tender, flaky dough filled with a sweet-tart trio of fruit: cherry preserves, rich saba (cooked-down grape must), and candied citron.

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Cranberry Moscow Mule Gingersnaps

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (3)

With freshly grated ginger, ginger syrup, and ground dried ginger, cookbook author Vallery Lomas’ drop cookies pack a punch. Speckled with lime zest and vodka-plumped dried cranberries, the namesake Moscow mule co*cktail is well represented in these soft and cakey cookies.

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Milk Punch Cornmeal Cookies

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (4)

These sweet, buttery drop cookies are topped with a blanket of bourbon-spiked white chocolate ganache, paying homage to the timeless milk punch co*cktail. A combination of almond flour and cornmeal provides a light, sandy texture and a sweet, buttery flavor. Showered with freshly grated nutmeg for a touch of warmth, the ganache topping hardens into a smooth shell, locking in moisture for the ultimate gift-giving treat.

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Vanilla–Brown Butter Sablé Cookies

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Pastry chef Natasha Pickowicz loves simple vanilla cookies like these. Vanilla, a notoriously difficult ingredient to grow and source, really shines in this recipe, making the quality especially important. To efficiently seed a vanilla bean, use a paring knife to split the bean in half lengthwise, then use the full edge of the knife to scrape the seeds from the cut sides.

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Italian Rainbow Cookies

Whether you call them rainbow cookies, Neapolitan cookies, or tricolore cookies, these are a crowd pleaser on any dessert table.

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Triple Chocolate–Peppermint Cookies

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The peppermint bark in these cookies is simple to make and adds a beautiful pop of color and flavor in each cookie, though store-bought bark will work well here, too.

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Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (8)

Classic sugar cookies get the gluten-free treatment. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and almond extract provide a nice hint of spice, and letting the dough rest overnight to better hydrate the flour is the secret to the cookies' tender texture.

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Fudgy Grasshopper Sandwich Cookies

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (9)

Cookbook author Jesse Szewczyk’s grasshopper co*cktail–inspired cookie borrows the crème de menthe and white crème de cacao flavors and colors and reimagines them into an unexpected treat reminiscent of a Linzer cookie.

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S’mores Linzer Cookies

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Linzer cookies are descendants of the linzer torte, named for the Austrian city of Linz. Swapping graham flour and hazelnut meal for a portion of the all-purpose flour and almond meal gives these linzer-inspired cookies the flavor of s’mores.

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Gluten-Free Cacao Nib Meringues

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (11)

Made with chocolate, cacao nibs, and cocoa powder, these intensely flavored meringues have a delicate, crispy exterior with a soft, chewy, marshmallow-like interior.

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Chocolate Pretzel Crinkle Cookies

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (12)

Chocolate crinkle cookies are often more cloying than satisfying. By substituting the flour with Glutino pretzels, this version of the holiday staple is not only gluten-free but also perfectly salty-sweet with the best-ever chewy center.

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Cake Cookies

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Sean Flynn says his grandmother's cake cookies have been a staple at celebrations in his home. They're a piece of cake to make.

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Cardamom Shortbread Cookies with Dulce de Leche Peda Filling

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (14)

Adorned with edible flower petals and gold leaf, these spiced sandwich cookies, from cookbook author Hetal Vasavada, are an occasion unto themselves.

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Brown Butter and Dark Chocolate Rye Cookies

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2022 F&W Best New Chef Caroline Schiff adds an extra layer of earthiness to these crumbly dark chocolate cookies with dark rye flour. This recipe prepares two logs of dough to make ahead for slice and bake cookies.

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Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

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These marvelous Christmas cookies combine chocolate with spicy gingerbread. "I was tired of basic gingerbread," says Matt Lewis of Brooklyn’s Baked about why he created these cookies. The answer is clear: "My connection to chocolate is really deep," he says. An added benefit of these cookies is that the supple dough is very easy to work with.

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Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

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Baker Julianne Jones’ wonderfully zingy gingerbread cookies have a tender and cakey texture, yet they’re sturdy enough to decorate.

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Putri Salju Pandan (Pandan-Flavored Indonesian "Snow White" Cookies)

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (18)

Traditionally in Indonesia, Putri Salju ("Snow White" or "Snow Princess") cookies are made with almonds, peanuts, or cashews inside and are popular during the holidays, including Christmas, Ramadan, and Chinese New Year.Shandra Woworuntu adds pandan flavoring and omits the nuts.

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Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing

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Chef Michael Mina recommends decorating these gingerbread cookies with kids.

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Kourampiedes (Greek Christmas Cookies)

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Blanched and toasted almond pieces bring a lovely crunch to Despina Economou's crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Greek Christmas cookies.

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Linzer Cookies with Spiced Jam

23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (21)

Kevin Sbraga adds anise and coriander to the raspberry jam that he spreads between these hazelnut cookies, which are spiced with cinnamon and cloves.

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Negroni Cookies

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Angela Garbacz pairs unsweetened cocoa powder and pungent Campari to give these soft and chewy Negroni-inspired cookies their signature bitterness. Orange zest–infused sugar imparts a gentle, sweet fragrance and crunchy texture.

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Cardamom Thumbprints

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Adding cardamom to Kay Chun's crispy cookies gives them a subtle spiced flavor. You can fill the thumb print with jam or chocolate.

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23 Holiday Cookie Recipes to Make This Season (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

What is the least favorite Christmas cookie? ›

On the naughty list of cookies, Americans gave the lowest win records to anise cookies, which only won 29% of its matchups.

What is the secret to a good cookie? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  • Always use butter.
  • Choose the right sugar.
  • Choose the right flour.
  • Check your flour is in date.
  • Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  • Cream the butter and sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour.

What is the most popular cookie in the United States? ›

Some of the most popular cookie flavors include:
  • Chocolate chip.
  • Peanut butter.
  • Peanut butter blossoms.
  • Double chocolate chip.
  • Snickerdoodle.
  • Sugar.
  • Shortbread.
  • Pumpkin.

What is America's favorite holiday cookie? ›

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What is the most bought cookie? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co.

Which Christmas cookies last the longest? ›

Shortbread and spritz cookies are longer-lasting cookies, which means they are perfect for holidays when there is some competition on the table. After all, Christmas in many homes is celebrated with a variety of dishes and sweet treats.

What is the original Christmas cookie? ›

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

Do you flatten cookie dough before baking? ›

Flattening the cookie dough provides more surface area that comes into contact with the ice bath, shortening the time it takes to chill. Then submerge the dough in the ice water and let it chill. After 20 minutes the dough will be completely chilled and ready for baking.

How to bake cookies like a pro? ›

Tips for Baking Better Cookies
  1. Creaming Butter. ...
  2. Measure Your Flour Correctly. ...
  3. Line Your Pans With Parchment Paper. ...
  4. Add Eggs One at a Time. ...
  5. Add Flour or Dry Ingredients in Batches. ...
  6. Fold in Chocolate Chips by Hand. ...
  7. Space Cookies Evenly on Baking Sheet. ...
  8. Use an Ice Cream Scooper to Measure Out Dough.

What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

The science is simple: According to the flour authorities over at Bob's Red Mill, cornstarch can help “soften the rigid proteins of the flour, resulting in a light and chewy dessert.” “The cornstarch complements the flour in absorbing the liquids, but won't develop gluten structure like the flour will,” stresses ...

What is in cowboy cookies? ›

As with most things in Texas, Bush's Cowboy Cookies are enormous and wholly stuffed with so many mix-ins: oats, coconut, pecans, and of course, chocolate chips. They're sure to win over any crowd.

What is the 1 cookie in the US? ›

It might just be this one. Ever the crowd-pleaser, the chocolate chip cookie is renowned for its balance of richness and sweetness. The traditional recipe for these cookies includes butter, eggs, chocolate chips, and brown sugar, but it can be tweaked to fit a variety of tastes and occasions.

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