Looking for the season’s most scrumptious Christmas cookies to eat, share and swap? Feast your eyes on our festive collection of holiday cookie recipes!
Whether you’re a novice cookie maker with minimal skills or an expert cookie artiste, the perfect Christmas cookie recipe is just a click away.
Gluten-free and vegan chai-spiced snowball cookies are the perfect Christmas treat
No need to skip the holiday desserts just because you’re following a gluten-free diet. These scrumptious chai-spiced snowball cookies -- inspired by Cafe Johnsonia -- are vegan and gluten-free. You’ll love every nibble of these yummy orbs of radiantly spiced cookies that feature ground cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves as well as pronounced vanilla and honey flavors. Rolled in powdered sugar, snowball cookies are too cute to resist and these tasty little snowballs will delightfully surprise your cookie-loving friends -- even those who avoid gluten-free and vegan desserts. If you love chai, we guarantee that these GF-friendly Christmas cookies will be your favorite holiday treat.
For a cheery and scrumptious treat, try these chocolate-covered snowball peppermint cookies
The iconically irresistible snowball Christmas cookie just got better! Inspired by All She Cooks, we’ve given the classic sugar-dusted cookie a new refreshing flavor and festively fancy look. Our chocolate-covered snowball peppermint cookies are lush with butter, vanilla, chopped pecans, and crushed peppermint candy canes. Once they are baked, decorate them with a drizzle of melted chocolate and a bright scattering of red, white, and green candy dots. While the standard snowball is fun to pop in your mouth, these deliciously adorned snowball cookies will be the Christmas cookie that gets devoured first.
When your Christmas cookie cravings yearn for something new, bake our colorful chocolate-drizzled Christmas cookies with holiday sprinkles. Inspired by Casa Veneracion, these thin, crisp, buttery cookies come to the table with lovely hints of vanilla and almond flavors and an eye-catching drizzle of melted chocolate and scattering of red, white, and green sprinkles. As a bonus, they are ridiculously easy to make and, unlike so many other holiday cookie recipes, require minimal chilling in the refrigerator. Get your kids in the kitchen and turn these cookies into a Christmas tradition. Let your kiddos drop dollops of cookie dough onto baking sheets, then watch their eyes widen as the mounds of cookie dough bake and flatten to crunchy, nibbly perfection. Then give them free reign to go wild with the chocolate and sprinkles decor.
These adorable Christmas mouse cookies are simple and sweet
Spread holiday cheer by bringing these Christmas mouse cookies -- inspired by Apron Strings -- to your dessert table this year. Each yummy cream cheese, cinnamon-kissed cookie is whimsically transformed into an adorably edible mouse with the help of sliced almonds as nibble-worthy ears, mini chocolate chips for eyes, red hots for a warm rosy nose, and a licorice rope as a whip of a tail. Surprise your neighbors and co-workers with a festive platter of Christmas mouse cookies. Send plates of cookies to school with your kids. Make an extra batch just to keep on the kitchen counter so your family can nibble away with cookie mouse abandon.
Looking for a dramatic holiday cookie that will get the most attention at the Christmas cookie swap? These classic holiday pinwheel cookies -- inspired by That Skinny Chick Can Bake -- make a stunning entrance and then unleash a perfect balance of vanilla and peppermint flavors. Flaunting impressive red and white spirals and bright-colored sprinkles, these pinwheels will be the holiday dessert everyone remembers. Don’t be daunted by making spiral cookies. We’ll show you how to expertly master each and every step. Once you bake a batch of holiday pinwheels, you’ll find yourself giddy with excitement to customize them for other cookie occasions.
Our reindeer Oreo pops are a fun and easy Christmas treat your kids can help make
If you’re searching for a fun Christmas tradition that gets your kids into the kitchen, look no further than these no-bake reindeer Oreo pops, inspired by eASybAKED. No need to turn on the oven when you can turn a package of Oreos into cute reindeer faces by dipping them in melted chocolate and decorating them with candy eyes, red hots for the nose, and pretzel pieces for antlers. Who knew the iconic crispy, cream-filled chocolate cookie could become such a fun and festive Christmas treat! Now that you know, you’ll be the talk of the Christmas cookie swap when you showcase your adorable holiday treats. Real reindeer don’t fly, but these reindeer Oreo pops will fly right off the plate as your family and friends gobble them up.
If you love gingerbread cookies but don’t enjoy rolling out dough to cut out gingerbread men, our recipe for white chocolate dipped gingerbread cookies is for you! Inspired by Your Cup of Cake, these soft, chewy round-shaped cookies are made with molasses, vanilla, and heartwarming gingerbread spices -- ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Even though they aren’t meticulously decorated like traditional gingerbread people, they deliciously garner cookie-loving attention with their melted white chocolate dip and red, green, and white star and wreath sprinkles. These fun and easy gingerbread cookies can be baked by the dozens and given as gifts or proudly presented at the next Christmas cookie occasion.
Cranberry cookies dipped in chocolate and pecans
Your family and friends will give you a dessert-craving standing ovation when you set down a plate of these festive cranberry cookies dipped in chocolate and pecans. Made with vibrant fresh cranberries and enhanced with vanilla, every crisp, buttery cookie is lavishly dipped in melted chocolate and generously sprinkled with crunchy bits of pecans. Dipped cookies are always a welcome eat, but it’s the fresh cranberries that make these cookies an extra special holiday treat. They add a pop of color and their naturally tart flavor deliciously counters the sweetness of the chocolate-dipped cookie. You can personalize these cookies with your favorite flavor of baking chip. Try white chocolate or dark chocolate chips for a tasty change or sprinkle them with finely chopped pistachios or walnuts.
Vegan, gluten-free iced holiday shortbread cookies
If your vegan and gluten-free diet has kept you from sinking your sweet tooth into the dizzying array of decorated Christmas cookies, you’re going to go wild for our vegan, gluten-free iced holiday shortbread cookies -- adapted from Blissful Basil. Made with a perfectly formulated combination of oat and coconut flours, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, and vanilla, these dairy- and gluten-free treats are an addictive nibble even before they’re iced. But it’s Christmas, after all, and shortbread cookies beg to be dressed up with royal icing. Though traditional royal icing is made with egg whites and is off-limits for vegans, our royal icing is made with powdered sugar and aquafaba. If aquafaba is new to you, check out our recipe to learn more about this ingenious egg replacement.
When the thought of painstakingly decorating sugar cookies with royal icing saps your Christmas baking enthusiasm, make these utterly adorable reindeer sugar cookies -- inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction. Start with your favorite cookie recipe for the base (we love the sugar cookie recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction), then top each cookie with a generous dollop of chocolate frosting, swirling it to resemble a furry reindeer face. Decorate the cookie with edible eyes, a Nilla wafer and an M&M for the muzzle and nose, and mini pretzels for antlers. Even Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer would approve -- and then, like your family and friends, proceed to devour every reindeer sugar cookie in sight.
3 Christmas cookies from Grandma’s recipe cards
The best Christmas cookie recipes come from Grandma’s recipe box. Our very own Foodblogs editor Betsy Bailey shares three of her favorite nostalgia-rich recipes her grandma made. Get ready to fall in love with Grandma’s oatmeal cookies, chocolate chips cookies (including a gluten-free option), and no-bake crispy coconut balls. The oatmeal cookie recipe is an irresistible classic that delivers oat-rageous treats that are chewy, caramely, dense, and utterly delicious. The chocolate chip cookie recipe yields a tall, tender chocolate-studded cookie that has extraordinary flavor and chew -- even the gluten-free option boasts a remarkable chewiness. The crispy coconut balls are made simply with a yummy mixture of crispy rice cereal, butter, and dates rolled into balls and covered in shredded coconut. Each of these heirloom cookie recipes will bring holiday cheer to your family’s dessert table.
These simple butter cookies made with ground nuts, shaped like crescent moons, and dusted white with powdered sugar are a Christmas classic that has a rich history around the world. They’re buttery, sweet, and delicate in texture from the ground nuts. Traditional crescent moon cookie recipes feature walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts. We use ground almonds, but you can use your favorite nut of choice or a combination of nuts. The shortbread dough is easy to shape into crescents and can even be rolled into balls if you feel like completing your dessert table with crescent moon cookies and snowballs.
Christmas cutout sugar cookies
Is your creative spirit craving Christmas cutout sugar cookies to decorate, eat, swap, and share? We’ve got a scrumptious Christmas cutout sugar cookies recipe just for you! Make a big batch of dough and go wild with your favorite cookie cutters and royal icing. Our sugar cookies are made with real butter, vanilla, granulated sugar, and meticulously measured dry ingredients. Follow our expert tips and tricks for baking these treats and your cutout cookies will come out of the oven soft and chewy in the middle and slightly crisp around the edges. Once they cool, use royal icing (our fail-safe recipe is included) to decorate them to your heart’s content. Even if you’re not a cookie artist, you’ll have fun baking and making these classic holiday treats.
Classic candy cane cookies for Christmas
Nothing says Christmas like candy canes. Our classic candy cane cookies are a festive riff on the holiday staple. These red and white striped cookies are shaped like candy canes, so you can decoratively hang them over a mug of cocoa. But, unlike the crunchy candy, they’re melt-in-your-mouth soft and chewy. Featuring luscious vanilla and a hint of mint, each cookie is a double-strand twist of dough bent into a cane before baking. When the cookies cool, they’re ready for giving and eating. These mouthwateringly memorable Christmas cookies are a tradition-worthy treat you can make with your kids or best friends year after year.
Chocolate-Kahlúa snowball cookies
Tired of making the tried-and-true snowball cookies you’ve always made? Then give the classic bite-sized cookies a boozy twist. Our chocolate-Kahlúa snowball cookies are pure pleasure with every nibble. Made with crushed wafer cookies, coffee, Kahlúa, sugar, and toasted almonds, this adults-only version of snowballs will wake up your cookie-making excitement and give you an impressive treat to share with your friends, co-workers, and holiday party guests. In addition to a flight of cocktails or tray of gourmet coffee drinks, you can set down a platter of these chocolatey coffee-flavored cookies for all to eat.
Best-ever cutout sugar cookies
When we say these are the best-ever cutout sugar cookies, we mean it! Our Christmas sugar cookie recipe -- inspired by the Pioneer Woman -- is ingeniously formulated to make decorative cookies that hold their shape but stay melt-in-your-mouth soft, even with icing and sprinkle decor. Pull out your favorite cookie cutters and recruit your kids to help you roll, cut, bake, and decorate. We use white royal icing and glittery sprinkles, but you can personalize your cookies with an eye-catching array of icing colors and candy embellishments of your choice. Keep the cookies for your family holiday gatherings or give them away in ribbon-tied treat bags. Homemade decorated cookies are always a welcome and appreciated holiday gift.
Photos Via: Thanksgiving.com