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, beneficial instruments, a free printable procuring record, and 75+ top-rated Christmas cookie recipes from my web site.
Whether or not you’re baking a number of classics or assembling a full cookie field for gifting, this information is designed that will help you bake Santa-worthy Christmas cookies with confidence.
Welcome to my full Christmas cookie information! My workforce and I’ve examined, baked, and perfected tons of of cookie recipes through the years, so there’s loads of sugar (and knowledge) right here to final all season lengthy.
No one needs a failed batch of cookies, particularly in the course of the holidays. After years of vacation baking, plus a complete chapter dedicated to cookies in my New York Occasions bestselling cookbook Sally’s Baking 101, I’ve discovered precisely what works… and what doesn’t.
We replace this Christmas cookies recipe web page yearly so you’ll be able to depend on it as your go-to vacation baking useful resource.
What You’ll Discover in This Christmas Cookie Information
- Cookie Success Guides & Baking Ideas
- Tips on how to Maximize Your Time When Baking A number of Batches
- 75+ Greatest Christmas Cookie Recipes, organized by class
- Free Printable Ingredient & Purchasing Chart
- Straightforward Cookie Field & Platter Extras
- Extra Christmas & Vacation Baking Assets
There’s lots to cowl—so let’s soar in!
Tips on how to Bake A number of Batches of Christmas Cookies (With out the Stress)
When you’re something like me, you need to bake not less than 5 totally different sorts of Christmas cookies without delay. I host a devoted Vacation Cookie Baking Day each single 12 months, and after a number of early (very tense!) makes an attempt, I landed on a system that works very properly.
Right here’s a schedule to maximise your time and oven house:
- Make 1 sort of embellished cookie. I choose my gingerbread cookies, brown sugar cut-out cookies (pictured beneath), 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. Embellish with my simple 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 common cookie recipes on my web site.
- Make a bar cookie and bake them as you put together the subsequent 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. Embellish the cookies from #1 as #2 bakes.
- Lastly, make a no-chill cookie recipe comparable to 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 record 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:
- Basic 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
Basic Christmas Cookies
Christmas Sugar Cookies with Straightforward Icing
My fan-favorite recipe for sugar cookies guarantees flavorful cookies with mushy and thick facilities, barely crisp edges, and flat tops for adorning along with your icing of alternative.
Spritz Cookies
Utilizing a cookie press, form this simple buttery cookie dough into intricate shapes and have enjoyable adorning with sprinkles, chocolate, and chocolate chips.
Do-it-yourself Butter Cookies
Get pleasure from these irresistible buttery cookies plain or make beautiful designs and dip in chocolate and sprinkles for a festive contact.
Drop-Fashion Christmas Sugar Cookies
No rolling pin or cookie cutters required for these mushy, chewy, and sprinkle-loaded drop type 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 have to make a double batch!”
Basic Peanut Butter Blossoms
Do-it-yourself peanut butter blossoms are the quintessential Christmas cookie and trademark of any vacation cookie tray.
My Favourite Gingerbread Cookies
Tender within the facilities, crisp on the sides, and completely spiced, that is my fan-favorite gingerbread cookies recipe.
Significantly Tender Molasses Cookies
These home made mushy 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 whenever you break them in half.
Pinwheel Cookies
Get pleasure from traditional chocolate and vanilla pinwheel cookies plain or with a fast dunk in melted chocolate.
Iced Oatmeal Cookies
These iced oatmeal cookies are old school type with loads of cozy spice taste and a light-weight coating of vanilla icing.
Basic Linzer Cookies
These traditional Linzer cookies begin with a nutty almond- or pistachio-based dough, then bake into tender, flippantly spiced rounds sandwiched with candy jam.
Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies are a number of the best Christmas cookies you could possibly make—you want simply 5 components and 1 mixing bowl.
Brown Sugar Reduce-Out Cookies
These brown sugar cut-out cookies are like a comfortable, flavorful cross between traditional 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 brief on time, you’ll be able to completely use store-bought puff pastry.
Tremendous Festive Christmas Cookies
Christmas Cookie Sparkles
Tremendous mushy and creamy cream cheese sugar cookies rolled in your sprinkles of alternative!
Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
These cookies are each bit as chewy, mushy, 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 fundamental baking components and peppermint Hershey’s Kisses.
Spumoni Cookies
These marbled spumoni cookies deliver 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 type!
Chocolate Swirled Meringue Cookies (GF)
These chocolate swirled meringue cookies are made out of simply 5 components with a delightfully crisp exterior and a melt-in-your-mouth texture inside.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Stamped Cookies
Sweetened principally 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 filled with festive taste, plus there’s no cookie dough chilling required.
Pecan Sugar Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
These pecan sugar cookies increase the traditional cut-out sugar cookie to new heights, delivering each further taste and texture.
Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
Brown butter sugar cookies are simple to make, extremely flavorful, and prepared in just below an hour.
Pink Velvet Kiss Cookies
These cocoa-kissed purple velvet kiss cookies are a colourful spin on conventional peanut butter blossoms.
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies
When you like chocolate chip cookies and all-things cake batter flavored, you’ll love these mushy 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 publish 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 mushy 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 simple (and pretty fast) to make.
Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
Irresistibly mushy, buttery, and candy, these peppermint meltaway cookies are a festive favourite in the course of the vacation season.
Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Sweet cane lovers will adore this festive and flavorful variation on the traditional snowball.
Mint Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies
These mushy and buttery icebox cookies begin from 1 fundamental 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 respect how lovely these tiny cookies are on any cookie platter!
Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies
My mushy and chewy peppermint cookies with white chocolate and sweet canes are festive, scrumptious, and wildly simple 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 mushy 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.
Straightforward Lace Cookies (GF)
Produced from solely 6 components, these lace cookies are prepared in half-hour and so they style like candy brown butter and caramel.
No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Snowballs (GF)
These no-bake chocolate coconut snowballs are simple to make, freeze splendidly, and are all the time a crowd favourite.
Flourless Monster Cookies (GF)
Filled with 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 components, 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 components.
Caramel Coconut Macaroon Thumbprints (GF)
This upgraded model of traditional macaroons encompasses a decadent pool of salted caramel within the middle and a drizzle of chocolate to prime all of it off.
Almond Butter Coconut Macaroons (GF & DF)
Produced from solely 6 base components, these naturally gluten free and dairy free almond butter coconut macaroons are mushy 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 traditional home made butter cookies.
Tender & Chewy Chocolate Snickerdoodles
These chocolate snickerdoodles take every thing nostalgic and comforting concerning the unique and provides it a wealthy, fudgy improve.
Stamped Chocolate Espresso Cookies
These stamped chocolate espresso cookies are the entire package deal: richly flavored, superbly formed, and dressed to impress with a shiny espresso glaze that units.
Huge Fats Darkish Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
These mega cookies are hearty, flavorful, fantastically mushy and thick, and ideal 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 stuffed 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 type!
Chocolate Ginger Sparkle Cookies
With their sparkly, crinkly tops and tremendous mushy 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 traditional chocolate crinkle cookie and going a bit of nuts—in the very best method—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 respect.
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 traditional chocolate chip cookie is cherished and appreciated any time of 12 months, so why not embody a batch in your vacation baking?
Pink Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
These purple velvet cake-inspired chocolate chip cookies are incredible along with your favourite sort 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
Tender White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies
These cookies are all collectively candy, tart, mushy, chewy, and barely crispy—and so they’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 essentially the most unbelievable taste and tons of contrasting textures.
Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
Flavorful maple cinnamon star cookies are made out of a fundamental 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 excellent 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 eternally recipe for icebox slice & bake cookies: a flexible, buttery base cookie dough prepared for infinite taste variations.
Shortbread Cookies Recipe
There’s no chilling needed 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 traditional for a cause.
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 may!) 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 components, you’ll be able to flip conventional shortbread into this salty-sweet chocolate pistachio shortbread.
1 Dough Neapolitan Cookies
These are my mushy 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 one in all my favorites so as to add to my vacation cookie menu.
Cherry Almond Shortbread Cookies
These mushy and buttery shortbread cookies flavored with cherry and almond, then completed off with candy white chocolate.
Pistachio Drop Cookies
My mushy and crumbly pistachio cookies are made out of REAL pistachios and are topped with brown butter icing, plus the cookie dough is made out of 6 simple components and requires simply 1 mixing bowl.
Citrus Cookies
Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies
These buttery shortbread cookies are mushy, 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 mushy and melt-in-your-mouth tender, these cookies are delicately flavored with recent 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 massive taste from surprisingly easy components.
Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Get pleasure from candy, mushy lemon sugar cookie stuffed 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 simple 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 & Purchasing Chart
To make vacation procuring simpler, my workforce and I created a free printable ingredient chart, excellent for cookie baking days.
- Matches 6 cookie recipes
- Checklist every recipe on the prime
- Whole components by cups, teaspoons, packages, and many others.
- House for extras like sweet canes, Hershey Kisses, molasses, sprinkles, and extra
(Be aware: Fundamental pantry staples like salt, baking soda, and baking powder aren’t included.)
**Free Baking Substances Chart PDF: Sally’s Baking Recipes Substances Chart
Right here is a photograph preview:
Straightforward Cookie Platter/Field Extras
When you want a further simple deal with to assist spherical out your vacation cookie bins and platters, listed here are a number of favorites:
Further Vacation Baking Assets
Remaining Cookie Baking Success Ideas
- Chill the cookie dough. If the cookie dough is especially sticky, moist, or greasy—chilling is in its finest curiosity. Chilling cookie dough helps stop spreading.
- Ditch the required 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 executed when the sides are set and flippantly browned.
- One batch at a time. You get the very best outcomes when the oven solely concentrates on that 1 batch. If you have to bake a couple of 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, remember to 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 take pleasure in making a masterpiece xmas log, too!
