Recipe Roundup

53 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes

Rock your holiday cookie swap with simple recipes for buttery shortbreads, no-bake coconut cookies, chocolate thumbprints, and other sweets that will put everyone in the Christmas spirit.
Christmastree shaped cookies decorated in ombr shades of green with glitter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Diana Yen

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  • Christmastree shaped cookies decorated in ombr shades of green with glitter.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Diana Yen
    1/52

    Ombre Christmas Tree Cookies

    These glittering treats are easy to make by shaking on layers of sparkling sugar in three shades of green to create a gradient from dark to light. Gold dragees form simple tree toppers.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    2/52

    Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies

    This childhood favorite is even better than you remember.

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  • Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
    3/52

    No-Bake Chocolate Oat Cookies

    Chocolate-oat cookies get a glow-up courtesy of dried cherries, chopped almonds, and a dash of espresso powder. A dusting of cocoa finishes them off like….well, not like snow, but it sure makes them pretty.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Diana Yen
    4/52

    Watercolor Christmas Ornament Cookies

    Using a simple watercolor painting technique, it’s easy to brush and splatter these cookies with unique patterns.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog
    5/52

    Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés

    Logs of slice-and-bakes—like these Chocolate–Pistachio Sablés—store wonderfully in the freezer. And guess what? No need to defrost before slicing and zipping them into the oven.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Diana Yen
    6/52

    Iced Christmas-Cookie Letters

    Spell out holiday cheer on your favorite platter or cookie plate with these wintery snow-capped cookies.

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  • Photo by Davide Luciano
    7/52

    Coffee Malteds

    Freshly ground espresso beans (although instant espresso or coffee works) and unflavored malt powder gives the cookies a comforting, warm, mildly vanilla taste.

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  • Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food styling by Mira Evnine
    8/52

    Linzer Cookies

    Use raspberry jam in half and coconut-pandam jam in the remainder for delicious linzers with red and green centers.

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  • Photo by Leigh Beisch
    9/52

    Spiced Chocolate Molasses Buttons

    This cookie gets a double hit of raw sugars: sticky dark muscovado in the dough and a roll through turbinado sugar that adds crunch and a naturally glittering finish around a puddle of bittersweet chocolate ganache.

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  • Photo by Peden & Munk
    10/52

    Chocolate-Nut Rugelach

    The slice-and-bake technique used for these cookies is easier to manage than shaping a traditional crescent version—a touch of sanity during holiday baking madness.

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  • 11/52

    Spiced and Glazed Molasses Cookies

    If you’d like an even more pronounced molasses flavor, use a robust instead of mild molasses. Just don’t use blackstrap in these cookies; not only will it be too strong and bitter, but it will overwhelm the spices.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    12/52

    Chocolate Blackout Cookies

    We love the look of the homemade extra-long sprinkles on these whoopie-pie-type cookies, but they take a steady hand and a wealth of patience to shape. Use any store-bought sprinkle in their place.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    15/52

    Gingerbread Brownies

    This extra-dense chocolate brownie is packed with all the warm, spiced flavors of your favorite holiday cookies.

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  • 16/52

    Chewy Molasses Cookies

    You know that cookie with the slightly crisp edges, chewy center, and magical ability to stay fresh for days? That's the sweet, sassy molasses talking. Lightly spiced, addictively chewy, and unapologetically molasses-y, this is our favorite version yet of the classic holiday cookie.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton
    21/52

    Chocolate, Pistachio, and Tahini Truffles

    Tahini (aka ground sesame paste) replaces the traditional heavy cream in these orange-scented treats for a nuttier but equally rich flavor.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    22/52

    No-Bake Pistachio–White Chocolate Cookies

    These no-bake cookies rely on nut butter and white chocolate for their creamy, chewy texture, and a combination of oats, pistachio, and cranberries adds a nice, sweet crunch.

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  • Photo by Alice Gao
    23/52

    Butterscotch–Potato Chip Balls

    Butterscotch chips and crushed potato chips make these buttery brown sugar cookies dance across your tongue with sweet and salty flavor.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    24/52

    Pistachio Cardamom Butter Cookies

    White chocolate gives a rich, creamy finish to these deliciously spiced slice-and-bake cookies.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    25/52

    Pannelet Cookies With Sweet Potato and Coconut

    Medrich's version of these golden orange yam and coconut cookies from Spain is delicate and flavorful.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    26/52

    Simple Christmas Cookies

    A super-easy, no-mixer-needed cookie dough recipe that doesn’t dirty any bowls and leaves plenty of time for the fun stuff—baking, decorating, and eating dough scraps, of course.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    29/52

    3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

    These naturally gluten-free treats couldn't be easier to make or enjoy!

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  • Photo by Chris Court, William Meppem, Anson Smart, Ben Dearnley
    30/52

    Raw Peppermint Slice

    With a wheat-free coconut-date cookie crumb–like crust, a creamy coconut layer, and a rich chocolate topping, these bar cookies will remind you of your favorite candy but taste so much better.

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  • Photo by Peter Frank Edwards
    31/52

    Bourbon Balls

    Bourbon Balls function as the ultimate easy dessert for Southern cocktail parties, and they put a sweet, slightly boozy finish on any get-together. Think of them as an edible digestif. Crushed vanilla wafers hold all the chocolatey goodness together.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    32/52

    Salted-Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Using salted butter and resting the dough are the secrets to these crowd-pleasing cookies that are equal parts chewy and crunchy.

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  • Photo by Peden & Munk
    33/52

    Spiced Brown Butter Linzer Cookies

    This recipe for elegant window pane cookies calls for red currant jelly, but you can use any kind of jelly you like.

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  • Photo by Kelsey McClellan
    34/52

    Pistachio Thumbprints

    You can find pistachio paste at specialty food stores and some grocery stores, but making your own is easy. Process 1/2 cup raw pistachios, 2 Tbsp. honey, and 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a food processor to a smooth paste.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    37/52

    Triple-Ginger Cream Sandwiches

    These sparkly cookies take classic gingerbread and turn up the volume with three variations of ginger and a decadent cream cheese filling.

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  • Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    38/52

    Grapefruit-Vanilla Shortbread

    In this recipe, a few textured and vibrant toppings gussy up a tender, buttery, and ultra-simple shortbread.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    39/52

    3-Ingredient Brown-Butter Shortbread

    Traditional shortbread gets an added depth of flavor with the use of brown butter. This recipe results in a rectangular-shaped cookie, but feel free to cut the dough into any shape you like while it's still warm.

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  • The New Easy, photography by William Meppem
    40/52

    Chocolate Chunk Share Cookie

    Because sharing at the holidays is caring.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Judy Mancini
    45/52

    Tahini Cookies

    Think of these tahini cookies as grown-up peanut butter cookies. The tahini lends a creamy, earthy flavor.

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  • Photo by Dan Jones
    46/52

    2-Minute Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookie

    Like any cookie, this one will harden as it cools. If you want a warm, soft-centre cookie eat it immediately. Or feel free to wait 5 minutes until the edges crisp a little.

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  • Photo by Paige Green
    47/52

    Jam Bars

    The combination of rice syrup and almond butter make these bars less sweet, with a toothsome, more substantial savory quality than most other versions.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    48/52

    Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Sweet Pastry Dough

    This rich buttery dough works as a great gluten-free alternative to classic sugar cookie dough.

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