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We’ve Got All The Christmas Cookies You’re Going To Want To Make This Holiday Season

There's only 25 days of Christmas, so start baking now.

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letter shaped pastries filled with chocolate and cinnamon sugar on a plate with milk
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Without a doubt, cookies are one of the BEST parts of any holiday season, and Christmas cookies are some of the most fun to eat, bake, and decorate. Luckily, there are loads of opportunities to try them all out, whether you're making them for a party or cookie exchange, to give as gifts, or just to enjoy during a cozy night in at home. Whether you’re a master baker looking for a new challenge or a kitchen novice looking for easy recipes, you can get in on the holiday baking fun. Check out our favorite Christmas cookies for ideas—don’t forget to make enough to leave out for Santa and his reindeer too.

When creating this list, we thought of the perfect Christmas cookie box that’s got a little something for everyone in it. You’re going to want to start with whatever recipes you think are the most classic—like gingerbread cookies, candy cane cookies, spritz cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, peanut butter blossoms...then go wild.

Want to add a little whimsy? There’s SO much you can do with a basic sugar cookie, whether you want to add color to the dough itself, like in our Christmas pinwheels, our advent calendar cookies, or our checkerboard cookies; or on top in the form of royal icing or frosting, like in our snowflake cookies, our tie-dye Christmas tree cookies, our leg lamp cookies, or our Santa cookies (in the shape of the big man’s face).

Looking to bowl people over with unexpected flavor? Try our Santa’s trash cookies, our white chocolate cranberry orange biscotti, our panettone cookies, or our eggnog snickerdoodles. Another way to add intrigue to your cookie selection is to bake up traditional holiday cookies from around the world, like our Middle Eastern ma’amoul, our Polish kolaczki cream cheese cookies, our Italian cuccidati, or our Mexican polvorones.

While we’re all for completely homemade recipes, Christmas is also one of the best holidays to get creative with store-bought options. You really just need some icing or frosting, some miniature candies, and a little bit of creativity to create holiday masterpieces. Check out our melted snowmen cookies, our Milano reindeer cookies, our Pillsbury stacked sugar cookies, our Christmas light cookies, or our cake mix peppermint bark cookies for ideas, but feel free to get creative. The fun of decorating is the best part!

1

Candy Cane Cookies

candy cane cookies
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These cookies look so much more complicated than they are. They are actually just a simple sugar cookie where half of the dough gets dyed red and then twisted together. So simple!

Get the Candy Cane Cookies recipe.

2

Santa's Trash Cookies

santa's trash cookies
Lindsay Conchar

Even Santa has a snacky side. These cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, sprinkles, pretzels, and potato chips for the salty-sweet dessert of your (and his!) dreams.

Get the Santa's Trash Cookies recipe.

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3

Advent Calendar Cookies

sugar cookies decorated with numbers
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

This year, we’re excited to do things a little differently, and bake up a batch of sugar cookies to serve as our advent calendar. This cookie countdown is as fun to decorate as it is to eat, and makes a delightful gift for the holidays too.

Get the Advent Calendar Cookies recipe.

4

Gingerbread Cookies

gingerbread cookies with icing
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

For us, gingerbread should have a lot of ground ginger, a bit of cinnamon, and a tiny amount of cloves. It's the perfect Christmas formula. But if you don't have cloves (or really loathe them), you can just leave them out. As for the ginger, it's necessary but negotiable. Feel free to use less.

Get the Gingerbread Cookies recipe.

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5

Grinch Cookies

grinch cookies
Andrew Bui

Not everyone's all about the Christmas cheer, and that's okay! These adorable sugar cookies will warm hearts even if they're 10 sizes too small this holiday season.

Get the Grinch Cookies recipe.

6

Cake Mix Peppermint Bark Cookies

chocolate cookies with peppermint bark and white chocolate
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Though we’re all for pulling out all the stops for holiday baking masterpieces, sometimes you just really want or need some festive cookies, like right now. That’s where these cake mix cookies come in. Best part? How versatile these are—you can use any mix-ins you like.

Get the Cake Mix Peppermint Bark Cookies recipe.

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7

Pillsbury Stacked Sugar Cookies

sugar cookie with christmas pillsbury sugar cookies in the middle surrounded by sprinkles
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Thanks to Pillsbury’s adorable holiday-shaped sugar cookie doughs, all you need to bring out the festive vibes is two packs of dough (one with shapes, and one without) and some colorful sprinkles. Pull out your ugly Christmas sweater, put on your favorite holiday movie, and get ready to create the ultimate (and easiest!) cookie plate for Santa.

Get the Pillsbury Stacked Sugar Cookies recipe.

8

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

chocolate crinkle cookies with powdered sugar
LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY

These extra fudgy chocolate cookies are just as beautiful as they are delicious. The best ways to guarantee your crinkles stand out? Chill your dough and roll it in powdered sugar twice.

Get the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies recipe.

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9

Panettone Cookies

panettone cookies
PHOTO; ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLIST; MAKINZE GORE

To think a fluffy, enriched bread can somehow translate into a buttery cookie might seem preposterous. But don’t stop reading! These cookie are the perfect base for the orange peel, currants, dried apricots, chocolate, and almonds you love about the original, with half the work.

Get the Panettone Cookies recipe.

10

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

chocolate peppermint cookies half covered in chocolate with crushed peppermint candies
PHOTO: DANE TASHIMA; FOOD STYLING: JASON SCHREIBER

With a texture similar to a crinkle cookie (minus the sugar coating), these chocolate peppermint crunch cookies are soft in the center and slightly chewy around the edges. They're made extra festive with a dip in melted chocolate and crushed peppermint candies too.

Get the Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies recipe.

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11

Pan-Banging Confetti Cookies

pan banging holiday confetti cookies on a white table
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCER

Wanna get into the holiday spirit? Make these pan-banging sugar cookies. Loaded with colorful sprinkles and sparkling with sugar, these exuberant cookies promise to bring out the kid in all of us all season long.

Get the Pan-Banging Confetti Cookies recipe.

12

Letters To Santa Cookies

letter shaped pastries filled with chocolate and cinnamon sugar on a plate with milk
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Set out a plate of these cookies for the big guy this Christmas Eve, and they will guarantee to keep you on his nice list for years to come! They’re cute, delicious, and super-simple to make. Sprinkled with warm cinnamon sugar and filled with decadent Nutella, these cookies have an extra touch of Christmas magic.

Get the Letters To Santa Cookies recipe.

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13

Cookie Cereal

mini chocolate chip cookie pieces
PHOTO: BRYAN GARDNER; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These bite-sized, crisp, chocolate chip-packed cookies are just too cute. Perfect for weekends, holidays (put some out for the big guy on Christmas Eve!), and every-other-Tuesday, this classic combo of milk-and-cookies is so delightful you can, and should, eat it with a spoon…literally.

Get the Cookie Cereal recipe.

14

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

green colored cookies with chocolate chips
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

Regular chocolate chip cookies are great, but this time of year, festive green peppermint chocolate chip cookies are even better. We added Andes Mints and peppermint extract to our cookies instead of chocolate chips to take these OTT.

Get the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

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15

Eggnog Snickerdoodles

eggnog snickerdoodle cookies
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

We personally LOVE eggnog, but ahem, don’t always enjoy having to buy a big container of it that no one else will drink. Enter: these eggnog snickerdoodles. They take the beloved cookie recipe and add a little extra festive, but not overwhelming, depth that everyone will enjoy.

Get the Eggnog Snickerdoodles recipe.

16

Ugly Sweater Cookies

sugar cookies decorated with icing to look like ugly christmas sweaters
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: RILEY WOFFORD

Looking to wow people at the Christmas cookie swap this year? Look no further than these gorgeous cookies. We know, it sounds like an oxymoron, but these stunners truly redefine "ugly sweater."

Get the Ugly Sweater Cookies recipe.

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17

Peanut Butter Blossoms

peanut butter blossoms
PARKER FEIERBACH

As the story goes, a woman by the name of Mrs. Freda F. Smith from Ohio developed the original recipe for these for The Grand National Pillsbury Bake-Off competition in 1957. She lost, but her cookies still became legendary, particularly after Pillsbury instated the Bake-Off Hall of Fame and ranked her recipe 7th on the list. The more you know!

Get the Peanut Butter Blossoms recipe.

18

Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks

sugar cookies stacked with green icing and sprinkles to make christmas tree stacks
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISON

All you need is store-bought sugar cookie dough, an easy homemade buttercream (colored green to nail the Christmas vibes), and your desired decorations to create these tiny edible trees. In 30 minutes, you’ll have the cutest cookie stacks that everyone will be fighting over.

Get the Christmas Tree Cookie Stacks recipe.

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19

Peanut Butter Cookies

peanut butter cookies
PARKER FEIERBACH

Peanut butter cookies are salty, sweet, and more rich than a chocolate chip cookie ever could be. We're suckers for the classic fork crosshatch look, but you can totally skip it. (Ready for the next level? Make peanut butter STUFFED cookies.)

Get the Peanut Butter Cookies recipe.

20

Chocolate Pie Cookies

chocolate pie cookies topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

If you love the richness and the comfort of homemade French silk pie, then these chocolate pie cookies are just what you need. Inspired by the classic, but with the ease and convenience of a cookie, this recipe offers a unique twist on beloved flavors.

Get the Chocolate Pie Cookies recipe.

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