On this final information to the finest Christmas cookies, I’m sharing every thing you want for vacation cookie success—together with my most trusted cookie-baking ideas, really helpful instruments, a free printable procuring checklist, and 75+ top-rated Christmas cookie recipes from my web site.
Whether or not you’re baking just a few classics or assembling a full cookie field for gifting, this information is designed that can assist you bake Santa-worthy Christmas cookies with confidence.
Welcome to my full Christmas cookie information! My staff and I’ve examined, baked, and perfected tons of of cookie recipes over time, so there’s loads of sugar (and knowledge) right here to final all season lengthy.
No one needs a failed batch of cookies, particularly through the holidays. After years of vacation baking, plus a whole chapter dedicated to cookies in my New York Occasions bestselling cookbook Sally’s Baking 101, I’ve realized precisely what works… and what doesn’t.
We replace this Christmas cookies recipe web page yearly so you may depend on it as your go-to vacation baking useful resource.
What You’ll Discover in This Christmas Cookie Information
- Cookie Success Guides & Baking Suggestions
- Maximize Your Time When Baking A number of Batches
- 75+ Greatest Christmas Cookie Recipes, organized by class
- Free Printable Ingredient & Buying Chart
- Simple Cookie Field & Platter Extras
- Extra Christmas & Vacation Baking Sources
There’s so much to cowl—so let’s leap in!
Bake A number of Batches of Christmas Cookies (With out the Stress)
For those who’re something like me, you wish to bake not less than 5 totally different sorts of Christmas cookies directly. I host a devoted Vacation Cookie Baking Day each single 12 months, and after just a few early (very aggravating!) makes an attempt, I landed on a system that works very properly.
Right here’s a schedule to maximise your time and oven area:
- Make 1 kind of adorned cookie. I desire my gingerbread cookies, brown sugar cut-out cookies (pictured under), or Christmas sugar cookies. Make the dough the evening earlier than, then bake the cookies very first thing within the morning so they’re prepared to embellish. Beautify with my straightforward cookie icing, royal icing, or cookie adorning buttercream.
- Make a brilliant festive cookie. I recommend my peppermint mocha cookies or Santa’s whiskers cookies. Both dough should chill, so make the dough the evening earlier than. The peppermint mocha cookies are one of the crucial in style cookie recipes on my web site.
- Make a bar cookie and bake them as you put together the following cookie. I recommend my gingerbread cookie bars or M&M cookie bars.
- Make a no-bake recipe because the bar cookies bake. I recommend my chocolate coconut snowballs, Oreo balls, or chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies.
- Bake the cookies from #2. Beautify the cookies from #1 as #2 bakes.
- Lastly, make a no-chill cookie recipe resembling spritz cookies, shortbread cookies, snickerdoodles, or mini M&M cookies. Proceed adorning cookies from #1 as these cookies bake, if wanted.
75+ Of My Greatest Christmas Cookie Recipes
With out additional ado, right here is my full checklist of Christmas cookie recipes. Seize your cookie baking instruments and cookie adorning provides, and let’s get began!
These recipes have been organized into the next classes:
- Traditional Christmas Cookies
- Tremendous Festive Christmas Cookies
- Mint/Peppermint Cookies
- Fast Christmas Cookies
- Allergy-Pleasant Cookies
- Chocolate Cookies
- White Chocolate Cookies
- Shortbread/Slice & Bake Cookies
- Citrus Cookies
Traditional Christmas Cookies
Christmas Sugar Cookies with Simple Icing
My fan-favorite recipe for sugar cookies guarantees flavorful cookies with comfortable and thick facilities, barely crisp edges, and flat tops for adorning together with your icing of alternative.
Spritz Cookies
Utilizing a cookie press, form this straightforward buttery cookie dough into intricate shapes and have enjoyable adorning with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips.
Home made Butter Cookies
Get pleasure from these irresistible buttery cookies plain or make pretty designs and dip in chocolate and sprinkles for a festive contact.
Drop-Type Christmas Sugar Cookies
No rolling pin or cookie cutters required for these comfortable, chewy, and sprinkle-loaded drop fashion Christmas sugar cookies.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These fudgy cookies have been a large hit with readers, some calling them the “finest cookies I’ve ever had” and saying “you must make a double batch!”
Traditional Peanut Butter Blossoms
Home made peanut butter blossoms are the quintessential Christmas cookie and trademark of any vacation cookie tray.
My Favourite Gingerbread Cookies
Gentle within the facilities, crisp on the perimeters, and completely spiced, that is my fan-favorite gingerbread cookies recipe.
Severely Gentle Molasses Cookies
These do-it-yourself comfortable molasses cookies with crackly tops keep tremendous chewy for days and are completely spiced.
Crisp Molasses Cookies
My recipe for crisp molasses cookies have completely crispy edges and actually snap if you break them in half.
Pinwheel Cookies
Get pleasure from basic chocolate and vanilla pinwheel cookies plain or with a fast dunk in melted chocolate.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies
These iced oatmeal cookies are old school fashion with loads of cozy spice taste and a light-weight coating of vanilla icing.
Traditional Linzer Cookies
These basic Linzer cookies begin with a nutty almond- or pistachio-based dough, then bake into tender, evenly spiced rounds sandwiched with candy jam.
Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies are a few of the best Christmas cookies you possibly can make—you want simply 5 substances and 1 mixing bowl.
Brown Sugar Minimize-Out Cookies
These brown sugar cut-out cookies are like a comfy, flavorful cross between basic sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.
Cinnamon & Spice Palmiers (with Tough Puff Pastry)
These buttery crisp cinnamon & spice palmiers come along with pastry dough, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and orange zest, and when you’re quick on time, you may completely use store-bought puff pastry.
Tremendous Festive Christmas Cookies
Christmas Cookie Sparkles
Tremendous comfortable and creamy cream cheese sugar cookies rolled in your sprinkles of alternative!
Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies are each bit as chewy, comfortable, nostalgic, and healthful as common oatmeal cookies, however brimming with gingerbread spices and topped with spiced vanilla icing.
Sweet Cane Kiss Cookies
Adorably festive sweet cane kiss cookies come along with a handful of primary baking substances and peppermint Hershey’s Kisses.
Spumoni Cookies
These marbled spumoni cookies convey collectively pistachio, cherry, and chocolate—multi functional eye-catching, chewy, ultra-colorful cookie.
Brown Butter Marshmallow Crispy Cookies
Chewy, gooey, crispy-edged brown butter marshmallow crispy cookies style like a brown-butter-infused rice krispie deal with… in cookie kind!
Chocolate Swirled Meringue Cookies (GF)
These chocolate swirled meringue cookies are constituted of simply 5 substances with a delightfully crisp outdoors and a melt-in-your-mouth texture inside.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies
Sweetened largely with brown sugar and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom, these stamped cookies are simply as flavorful as they’re fairly!
Almond Butter Sparkle Cookies
These thick almond butter cookies sparkle with a roll in crunchy coarse sugar or festive sanding sugar sprinkles.
Caramel Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
Linzer-style caramel hazelnut sandwich cookies are blissfully buttery with brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, hazelnut and caramel flavors.
Gingerbread Blossoms
Gingerbread blossoms are fast, easy, and full of festive taste, plus there’s no cookie dough chilling required.
Pecan Sugar Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
These pecan sugar cookies increase the basic cut-out sugar cookie to new heights, delivering each further taste and texture.
Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
Brown butter sugar cookies are straightforward to make, extremely flavorful, and prepared in slightly below an hour.
Crimson Velvet Kiss Cookies
These cocoa-kissed crimson velvet kiss cookies are a colourful spin on conventional peanut butter blossoms.
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
For those who like chocolate chip cookies and all-things cake batter flavored, you’ll love these comfortable and chewy sprinkle-filled cookies.
Stained Glass Window Cookies
Crushed sweet melts because the cookies bake, creating a stunning windowpane impact—no further adorning or icing required.
Spiced Eggnog Oatmeal Cream Pies
Chewy oatmeal cookies flavored with eggnog, cinnamon, and nutmeg are sandwiched along with wealthy, spiced eggnog buttercream.
Gingerbread Home Recipe
On this complete put up is a video tutorial, gingerbread home template for the shapes, a full recipe, and all my adorning ideas and recommendation.
Mint/Peppermint Cookies
Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies
These cookies are comfortable and wealthy, unapologetically chocolate-y, and topped with a melty Andes Mint “frosting” swirl.
Chocolate Peppermint Madeleines
Elegant and festive, these chocolate peppermint madeleines are assured to impress, however are surprisingly straightforward (and pretty fast) to make.
Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
Irresistibly comfortable, buttery, and candy, these peppermint meltaway cookies are a festive favourite through the vacation season.
Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Sweet cane lovers will adore this festive and flavorful variation on the basic snowball.
Mint Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies
These comfortable and buttery icebox cookies begin from 1 primary cookie dough and are formed to resemble a enjoyable and playful checkerboard sample.
Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints
Apart from the unbeatable texture and festive taste, you’ll additionally admire how cute these tiny cookies are on any cookie platter!
Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies
My comfortable and chewy peppermint cookies with white chocolate and sweet canes are festive, scrumptious, and wildly straightforward to make.
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
These peppermint mocha cookies would be the undisputed star of your vacation cookie tray!
Peppermint Bark Cookies
Like conventional festive peppermint bark however within the type of an irresistibly comfortable chocolate cookie enrobed in white chocolate.
Fast Christmas Cookies
Allergy-Pleasant Christmas Cookies
Almond Flour Sugar Cookies (GF)
Candy and buttery, with crisp edges and chewy facilities, these almond flour sugar cookies are great plain or topped with frosting.
Simple Lace Cookies (GF)
Made out of solely 6 substances, these lace cookies are prepared in half-hour they usually style like candy brown butter and caramel.
No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Snowballs (GF)
These no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs are straightforward to make, freeze splendidly, and are all the time a crowd favourite.
Flourless Monster Cookies (GF)
Full of peanut butter, chewy oats, and oodles of chocolate chips and M&Ms, you’ll by no means guess these cookies are made with out flour.
Coconut Macaroons (GF & DF)
Coconut macaroons are fast and simple (no dough chilling required!), come along with simply 5 easy substances, and are naturally gluten free and dairy free.
Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies (GF)
This household favourite recipe is tremendous easy and nostalgic, and the cookies are gluten free recipe if utilizing licensed gluten free oats.
Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF & DF)
Naturally gluten free almond butter chocolate chip cookies are easy, healthful, satisfying, and made with solely 5 easy substances.
Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints (GF)
This upgraded model of basic macaroons encompasses a decadent pool of salted caramel within the heart and a drizzle of chocolate to prime all of it off.
Almond Butter Coconut Macaroons (GF & DF)
Made out of solely 6 base substances, these naturally gluten free and dairy free almond butter coconut macaroons are comfortable and moist within the facilities with further chewy edges.
See extra allergen-friendly recipes: Gluten Free Recipes, Egg Free Recipes, Nut Free Recipes, Dairy Free Recipes.
Chocolate Christmas Cookies
Piped Chocolate Butter Cookies
These chocolate butter cookies are the cocoa-kissed model of my basic do-it-yourself butter cookies.
Gentle & Chewy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
These chocolate snickerdoodles take every thing nostalgic and comforting concerning the authentic and provides it a wealthy, fudgy improve.
Stamped Chocolate Espresso Cookies
These stamped chocolate espresso cookies are the entire bundle: richly flavored, fantastically formed, and dressed to impress with a shiny espresso glaze that units.
Massive Fats Darkish Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
These mega cookies are hearty, flavorful, fantastically comfortable and thick, and excellent for pairing with a mug of your favourite sizzling beverage.
Chocolate Raspberry Crinkles
Similar to chocolate crinkle cookies, however with the added taste of actual raspberries!
Peanut Butter Fudge Puddles (Cookie Cups)
Peanut butter fudge puddles are pleasant 2-bite peanut butter cookie cups baked in a mini muffin pan and crammed with a wealthy chocolate cream.
Marshmallow-Shock Scorching Cocoa Cookies
Topped with a gooey marshmallow smothered in melted chocolate, these cookies are like a marshmallow-filled sizzling chocolate bomb, in cookie kind!
Chocolate Ginger Sparkle Cookies
With their sparkly, crinkly tops and tremendous comfortable chew, these chocolate ginger sparkle cookies are as scrumptious to eat as they’re stunning to behold.
Nutella Crinkle Cookies
We’re taking the beloved basic chocolate crinkle cookie and going a little bit nuts—in the very best manner—with these Nutella crinkle cookies.
Chocolate Frosted Cookies
These chocolate frosted cookies are easy to make however pack tons of sentimental, chewy, and fudge-like texture that each one chocolate lovers can admire.
Salted Caramel Darkish Chocolate Cookies
This award-winning recipe comes collectively by stuffing the darkish chocolate dough with a Rolo caramel sweet and topping with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
Chocolate Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
My chocolate gingerbread sandwich cookies mix gingerbread cookies with thick & creamy chocolate ganache.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
A basic chocolate chip cookie is liked and appreciated any time of 12 months, so why not embody a batch in your vacation baking?
Crimson Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
These crimson velvet cake-inspired chocolate chip cookies are incredible together with your favourite kind of chocolate chips and add a beautiful pop of coloration to any cookie platter.
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
These soft-baked thick and chunky double chocolate chip cookies are as indulgent as they appear.
White Chocolate Christmas Cookies
Gentle White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies
These cookies are all collectively candy, tart, comfortable, chewy, and barely crispy—they usually’re a fan-favorite each vacation season.
Magic 5 Cookies, Vacation Version
My model of soft-baked white chocolate cranberry and pecan oatmeal cookies has probably the most unbelievable taste and tons of contrasting textures.
Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
Flavorful maple cinnamon star cookies are constituted of a primary and simple maple-flavored cookie dough and get a dunk in white chocolate for further glam.
White Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Deliciously crunchy and crumbly, my white chocolate cranberry pistachio biscotti is ideal for dipping in your vacation sizzling chocolate, espresso, or tea.
White Chocolate Chip Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
Use my favourite oatmeal cookie base and add dried cherries, white chocolate, and cinnamon to create a model good for the vacations.
Gingerbread Latte Cookies
Have your (gingerbread) latte and eat it, too!
Shortbread and Slice & Bake Cookies
Icebox Slice & Bake Cookies (1 Dough, 5 Flavors)
Meet your endlessly recipe for icebox slice & bake cookies: a flexible, buttery base cookie dough prepared for infinite taste variations.
Shortbread Cookies Recipe
There’s no chilling crucial for this flavor-adaptable shortbread cookie dough, and the cookies won’t ever over-spread since you’re baking them in spherical pans.
Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies
Buttery, tender almond-vanilla shortbread meets raspberry jam—these raspberry almond thumbprint cookies are a basic for a purpose.
Cranberry Spice Cookies with Eggnog Icing
These shortbread-like cookies have festive spice taste, loads of candy dried cranberries, and are available collectively rapidly with solely half-hour of chill time.
Almond Crescent Cookies
With their delicate almond taste, crumbly shortbread texture, and candy powdered sugar coating, almond crescent cookies are a conventional favourite across the holidays, however can (and will!) be loved 12 months spherical.
Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
Bejeweled with candy cherries, these almond flavored cookies are rolled in coconut and baked till golden across the edges.
Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
These easy 6-ingredient brown sugar shortbread cookies are a candy, flavorful tackle conventional shortbread.
Salted Chocolate Pistachio Shortbread
With only a few easy substances, you may flip conventional shortbread into this salty-sweet chocolate pistachio shortbread.
1 Dough Neapolitan Cookies
These are my comfortable butter cookies flavored with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and formed in a loaf pan—so easy and so fairly.
Salted Pistachio Chocolate Chunk Slice and Bake Cookies
The mix of darkish chocolate and pistachios is completely underrated and considered one of my favorites so as to add to my vacation cookie menu.
Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
These comfortable and buttery shortbread cookies flavored with cherry and almond, then completed off with candy white chocolate.
Pistachio Drop Cookies
My comfortable and crumbly pistachio cookies are constituted of REAL pistachios and are topped with brown butter icing, plus the cookie dough is constituted of 6 straightforward substances and requires simply 1 mixing bowl.
Citrus Cookies
Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies
These buttery shortbread cookies are comfortable, tender, aromatic, and easily unforgettable.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Zesty, buttery, and tangy-sweet, these cut-out lemon shortbread cookies are a ray of sunshine on a plate!
Orange Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies
Tremendous comfortable and melt-in-your-mouth tender, these cookies are delicately flavored with contemporary orange zest, studded with mini chocolate chips, and topped with a easy citrus icing.
Lemon Ginger Cookies
Citrus and spice make a balanced and refreshing duo, a taste marriage that matches so many seasons of the 12 months!
Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
These cranberry orange icebox cookies ship large taste from surprisingly easy substances.
Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Get pleasure from candy, comfortable lemon sugar cookie crammed with from-scratch lemon curd and drizzled with lemon icing.
Darkish Chocolate Orange Biscotti
No extra dry or bland biscotti—this darkish chocolate orange biscotti has a lot taste and is ideal for dunking.
Lemon Coconut Drop Shortbread Cookies
These straightforward 2-bite lemon coconut drop shortbread cookies are like snowballs however with glaze as a substitute of a confectioners’ sugar coating.
Very Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Similar to their chocolate cousins, these lemon crinkle cookies are soft-baked, coated in confectioners’ sugar, and virtually soften in your mouth.
Free Printable: Christmas Cookie Ingredient & Buying Chart
To make vacation procuring simpler, my staff and I created a free printable ingredient chart, good for cookie baking days.
- Matches 6 cookie recipes
- Checklist every recipe on the prime
- Whole substances by cups, teaspoons, packages, and so on.
- House for extras like sweet canes, Hershey Kisses, molasses, sprinkles, and extra
(Observe: Fundamental pantry staples like salt, baking soda, and baking powder will not be included.)
**Free Baking Substances Chart PDF: Sally’s Baking Recipes Substances Chart
Right here is a photograph preview:
Simple Cookie Platter/Field Extras
For those who want an extra straightforward deal with to assist spherical out your vacation cookie packing containers and platters, listed below are just a few favorites:
Further Vacation Baking Sources
Closing Cookie Baking Success Suggestions
- Chill the cookie dough. If the cookie dough is especially sticky, moist, or greasy—chilling is in its finest curiosity. Chilling cookie dough helps forestall spreading.
- Ditch the desired baking time. I by no means take a look at recipe instances once I bake cookies. I take a look at the cookies themselves. The cookies are carried out when the perimeters are set and evenly browned.
- One batch at a time. You get the very best outcomes when the oven solely concentrates on that 1 batch. If you must bake multiple batch at a time, rotate the baking sheets from the highest rack to backside rack a pair instances by the baking course of to encourage even browning.
And whereas we’re chatting about all issues vacation baking, make sure you take a look at my Vacation Items for Bakers information. A lot of enjoyable concepts in there, both for your self or different baker pals!
Q: Which Christmas cookies are you making this 12 months? You may additionally get pleasure from making a masterpiece yuletide log, too!
