22 Traditional Christmas Cookie Recipes to Make and Share All Season Long (2024)

In this collection of Christmas cookie recipes, we're sticking with beloved favorites, like spicy gingerbread, buttery shortbread, classic sugar cookies, and jam-filled linzer stars. If these treats aren't your favorites, consider whipping up a batch of our thumbprint cookies with brightly colored centers, or something a little unexpected, like Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps. And if you haven't gotten your seasonal fix of eggnog just yet, then you'll be pleased to know that we're also sharing a cookie version of the classic drink you're guaranteed to love.

Pick any of these time-honored cookie recipes to make and give over the holiday season. They're perfect for sharing, and a wonderful way to bring cheer to the ones we love. Happy baking!

20 Classic Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipes to Help You Get in the Holiday Spirit

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Classic Sugar Cookies

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Nothing says "Christmas" quite like a classic sugar cookie. This tried-and-true recipe can be rolled into any shape you like and decorated with colorful frosting.

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Noel Nut Balls

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Similar to Mexican Wedding Cakes and Russian Tea Cakes, these diminutive treats look like sweet snowballs and are made with nuts. For our Noel Nut Balls, we use Martha's family recipe which calls for pecans and contains a touch of bourbon or fresh orange juice. Which will you use?

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Gingerbread Cookies

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Cutout gingerbread cookies made with honey-spice dough or traditional boiled gingerbread dough are spectacular when dusted with sanding sugar on top of freshly piped icing. It gives the impression of new-fallen snow. We added some Dark-Chocolate Cutout Cookies here too for their contrasting shade—and because chocolate works so well with ginger.

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Peppermint Spritz Cookies

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For some, it's just not Christmas without spritz cookies. If you're in that camp, we've got you covered with these peppermint glazed cookies made using your trusty cookie press.

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Anise Pizzelle

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These thin, waffle-like cookies hail from the Italian region of Abruzzo. They get their intricate shape from a special pizzelle iron. Originally the plates of these irons had family crests embossed on them, but nowadays you'll find them with geometric, floral, or even snowflake patterns.

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Chocolate-Espresso Snowcaps

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Chewy mocha cookies that look like little snow-covered mountains are a Christmas classic.

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Shortbread Three Ways

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A trio of sweet, simple embellishments—chocolate chunks, boozy dried fruit, and coconut with pecans—sends a classic cookie over the top. Stick with the Classic Shortbread recipe or turn it into Chocolate-Chunk Shortbread, Fruitcake Shortbread, or Coconut-Pecan Shortbread.

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Meyer-Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies

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They tick all the necessary traditional boxes but the flavors have of these pretty wreath cookies been updated. Meyer lemons add their sweet, citrus perfume and rosemary brings a woodsy note.

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Finnish Star Cookies

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These favorite Finnish cookies, joulutorttu, are made with a rich, pliable dough that uses cream cheese. It's folded to make a simple star shape. Use your favorite jam in the center, bright colors are best.

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Thumbprints and Ball Cookies

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One versatile dough and so many cookies! Start with our easy vanilla cookie dough and make five different kinds of thumbprint cookies as well as three different ball cookies. It's all about adding citrus zest, cinnamon, or cocoa powder to plain vanilla dough, and decorating with a variety of toppings from ganache to peppermints, to make a marvelous array of treats.

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Lucinda's Molasses Drops

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Some of the best family heirlooms are edible, like these cookies, a tweaked version of Lucinda Scala Quinn's great-grandmother's recipe.

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Cinnamon Star Cookies (Zimsterne)

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A favorite in Germany, these angelic star cookies are light and chewy. To ensure their soft, almond dough doesn't harden, be sure not to over bake.

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Pfeffernussen

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The snowy sugar surface of these pfeffernussen contrasts with the peppery flavor that defines this traditional German cookie.

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Martha's Speculaas Cookies

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You'll need specially designed springerle molds to shape the fragrant spiced dough for these traditional Dutch cookies.

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Lebkuchen

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The German town of Nuremberg has been famous for its lebkuchen since the late 1300s; the soft, cakey cookies are traditionally made with several spices, candied citrus peel, hazelnuts, and almonds.

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Rum Balls

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Break a batch of brownies into bits, mix with dark rum, and roll into balls, then coat them with sparkling sugar to make this delicious holiday treat.

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Biscotti

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The festive duo of Cranberry-Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti and Cherry-Almond Biscotti make an excellent gift—along with a pound of your favorite coffee for dunking.

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Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

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A combination of fresh and ground ginger, molasses, and chunks of semisweet chocolate makes these egg-free cookies just irresistible. They're sophisticated enough for adults yet still chocolaty enough for children.

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Brandied-Fruit Tartlets

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Our take on the traditional English mince pies, these dried-fruit tartlets have decorative toppers made by using different cookie cutters or aspic cutters. Another option is to cut decorative vents with a sharp knife.

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Chrusciki Leaves

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The recipe for these traditional Polish fried cookies, also known as angel wings, comes from Martha's mother, Mrs. Kostyra.

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Brandy Nutmeg Crescents

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Sure, cinnamon is a popular spice, but we prefer nutmeg when it comes to Christmas cookies. Here's a moon-shaped take on the snow-dusted, buttery cookies that everyone loves.

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Linzer Stars

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Based on the famous linzer torte, these classic cookies combine the classic nutty and fruity elements but in a smaller package.

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22 Traditional Christmas Cookie Recipes to Make and Share All Season Long (2024)

FAQs

What is the number 1 Christmas cookie? ›

Peanut Butter Blossoms are America's favorite Christmas cookie, based both on total number of pageviews from the U.S. population as a whole, and number of states that ranked it as their top cookie (which is six, by the way).

Which Christmas cookies last the longest? ›

Shortbread and spritz cookies are longer-lasting cookies, which means they are perfect for holidays when there is some competition on the table. After all, Christmas in many homes is celebrated with a variety of dishes and sweet treats.

What is the original Christmas cookie? ›

Modern Christmas cookies can trace their history to recipes from Medieval Europe biscuits, when many modern ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruit were introduced into the west.

How long before Christmas should you make Christmas cookies? ›

As for the cookies—made for cookie swaps, church potlucks, household snacking, and Santa's plate—there is one little cheat: make now, freeze for later. You'll find that most of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes can be made anywhere from a month to six months before the 25th of December.

What is America's favorite holiday cookie? ›

Among those who can make a single choice, frosted sugar cookies lead the list (32%), with gingerbread (12%) and chocolate chip (11%) rounding out the top three. Snickerdoodles (6%) come in fourth place, followed by butter (4%), peanut butter (4%), and chocolate (4%) tying for fifth.

What is the #1 cookie in the United States? ›

The chocolate chip cookie is far and away America's favorite cookie This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys the tasty treat. More than 53% of American adults prefer the cookies over the next most popular kind, peanut butter.

What is the least favorite Christmas cookie? ›

On the naughty list of cookies, Americans gave the lowest win records to anise cookies, which only won 29% of its matchups.

What homemade cookies stay fresh the longest? ›

Twice-baked cookies like biscotti and mandelbrot have a longer shelf life than most other homemade cookies. These are the perfect cookies to start your holiday baking with—they won't be stale by the time you finish the rest of your cookies for your cookie trays.

What is the most popular cookie left for Santa? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

You can never go wrong with these classic, delicious cookies. Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

What is the cookie in White Christmas? ›

A Cookie is the name given to the digitally replicated consciousness of a human being. Originally appearing in White Christmas, they have been mentioned in several other episodes.

What country invented Christmas cookies? ›

The First Christmas Cookies

Those who would like to take credit for the invention of the Christmas cookie will have to arm wrestle the Germans for it. They believe that Weihnachtsplätzchen, a term that refers specifically to cookies and broadly to holiday treats, encompasses the origin of Christmas baking.

What cookie was invented in 1912? ›

On this day in 1912, Oreo cookies were first developed and produced by Nabisco in New York City. It's time to celebrate the iconic crunchy chocolate sandwich cookie with the sweet vanilla cream filling that Americans have enjoyed for over one hundred years. March 6th is National Oreo Cookie Day!

Can you leave Christmas cookies out overnight? ›

Curious how long cookies last at room temperature? Most homemade cookies will maintain their taste and texture for up to 3 days. If you leave them out for too long, the cookies begin to harden or dry out. To prevent cookies from becoming stale, cover them with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container.

Why are my Christmas cookies hard? ›

Cookies become hard when the moisture in them evaporates. This can be caused by leaving them out in the air for too long, baking them for too long, or storing them improperly. The lack of moisture makes the cookies hard and dry, which makes them difficult to enjoy.

Do you decorate Christmas cookies before or after baking? ›

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. I like to decorate cookies directly on baking sheets so I can stick the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to help set the icing.

What is the number one selling cookie in the world? ›

Oreo is the best-selling cookie in the world. It is now sold in over 100 countries. Oreo was first produced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, now known as Na-Bis-Co. But did you know Oreos are a copycat product?

What is Santa Claus's favorite cookie? ›

Chocolate Chip cookies

Santa himself lists these as his favorites, and he prefers them soft and gooey with lots of chocolate chips. If you decide to leave these out for him, make sure there's a glass of cold milk nearby!

What is the most loved cookie? ›

Chocolate chip cookies

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one.

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