Holidays are the perfect time for indulgence—sleeping in, cozy movie marathons, and all the sweet treats your heart desires. We’ve rounded up the best Christmas cookie recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth. Some of our favorites are Gingerbread Mug Mates, Sugar Cookie Trees, and the adorably simple Grinch Cookies.
10 Favorite Christmas cookie recipes
1. Peppermint meringues
These little mouthfuls are both minty and sweet, airy and chewy—and their festive stripes make them extra festive. To make these tasty peppermint meringues, you’ll need just a few simple ingredients: egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, peppermint extract, and food coloring.
Why we love them: Meringues are unusual enough to seem somewhat fancy but also deceptively simple to make! These crowd-pleasers have just the right touch of sweetness, and the minty flavor helps prevent that “sugar coma” feeling that sometimes accompanies more decadent desserts.
2. Gingerbread mug mates
These adorable gingerbread mug mate cookies take traditional gingerbread people and add a little loop to hold tiny candy canes so they can hang on the side of a mug of hot chocolate.
Why we love them: While we will readily admit that these cookies do have a lot of “Pinterest fail” potential, we think they’re the perfect project for bakers willing to embrace a challenge. Put your engineering and construction skills to good use by trying these cookies—and tag us in a picture to let us know how it went!
3. Linzer cookies
There’s nothing prettier than the classic Linzer cookie. These sweet treats resemble tiny stained glass windows, featuring your favorite jam sandwiched between two almond-flavored shortbread cookies. A fun shape cut out of the top cookie gives a glimpse of the colorful jam underneath.
Why we love them: Linzer cookies immediately upgrade any dessert table. There’s just something classy, elegant, and pretty about the simple cookies, bright colors, and familiar flavor.
4. Toblerone shortbread with browned flour
Shortbread is a classic Christmas cookie, and this recipe for Toblerone shortbread with browned flour gets a bit of a kick from chopped Toblerone chunks and a special step to brown the flour, which adds a nutty flavor and caramel color to the finished cookies.
Why we love them: Shortbread is an old Scottish biscuit with minimal ingredients, but this recipe has taken something good and made it even better. We love the depth and complexity you get from browning the flour, and adding Toblerone chunks puts it over the top!
5. Sugar cookie trees
These fun little sugar cookies are utterly adorable. They’re made with traditional sugar cookie dough in four different shades of green, cut into four different circle sizes, and stacked to look like tiny trees.
Why we love them: Sugar cookies are a staple of any cookie exchange, but the fact that these stacked sugar cookie trees look like a little Christmas forest makes them even better. These will be a hit at any holiday gathering—and not only because it’s like getting eight cookies in one!
6. Double chocolate peppermint cookies
There’s something about peppermint at the holidays; it just gives everything a hint of candy cane. These double chocolate peppermint cookies combine chocolate cookie batter with semi-sweet chocolate chips before being topped with crushed candy cane.
Why we love them: These cookies come together in 30 minutes and use just one bowl, making them the ideal cookie to make during the sometimes-hectic holiday season. These cookies pair well with a nice cold glass of milk, making them the perfect choice to leave out for Santa.
7. Cranberry pistachio biscotti
We think this recipe for cranberry pistachio biscotti will become one of your family favorites. The rich flavors of cranberries, pistachios, and almond extract make this a delicious cookie. If you want to change things up, you can substitute the pistachios for different nuts, like almonds or walnuts.
Why we love them: Many cookies are soft and chewy, but the satisfying crunch of this pistachio-laden biscotti is a nice change. We love dipping these biscotti in tea or coffee on Christmas morning or enjoying the flavors solo.
8. Coconut macaroons
Mix sweetened condensed milk, flour, vanilla extract, salt, and flaked coconut in a bowl, bake, and you’ve got these delicious coconut macaroons. These cookies resemble snowballs and look wonderful nestled together on a brightly colored tray or inside a cookie tin.
Why we love them: Coconut can be polarizing—you either love it or hate it—but these macaroons are a welcomed change from the standard shortbread or peppermint flavors popular in many Christmas cookies.
9. Grinch cookies
These Grinch cookies give standard sugar cookies an endearing makeover—even if they are topped with a heart that’s three sizes too small! Mixing green food coloring into sugar cookie dough and adding a red heart-shaped sprinkle creates an instantly recognizable homage to one of the great classic Christmas movies, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
Why we love them: The Grinch himself wouldn’t be able to resist these sweet little cookies, making them winners in our books. Kids are particularly fond of the simple sugar cookie taste—make it extra special by serving them while watching the movie.
10. Orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies
Citrus and dark chocolate take center stage in these cookies, which also include ricotta cheese—an unexpected ingredient that makes them creamy and soft. These cookies truly melt in your mouth. They’re also topped with an unbelievably good glaze; you won’t be able to have just one!
Why we love them: Sometimes, you need a zesty, rich, and not overly sweet cookie, and this recipe fits the bill! Orange chocolate chip ricotta cookies will satisfy any dessert craving with an incredible citrus flavor you’ll love.
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