From classic sugar cookies to gingerbread men, these top recipes will sweeten your holiday—and make you the darling of all your cookie swaps. Looking for a different kind of sweets? Check out these Christmas candy recipes, or try some indulgent fudge!
"I have three words for anyone thinking of making these cookies: quick, easy and delicious! Perfect for Christmas goodie trays."
-ciao
"These melt in your mouth and are a good addition to your holiday cookie tray."
-cooking_geek
"These are delicious! They taste similar to Girl Scout cookies. I couldn't find Andes baking chips, so I bought the mints and chopped them up."
-hojo
"I really preferred these to an actual cheesecake and they were easier to make. I also liked that they weren't overly sweet."
-Julie421511
"I'm SO glad I gave these cookies a go — in fact, the only reason I created an account here was to give this recipe my thumbs-up!"
-tealeafs
"I took these to a cookie exchange and they were a hit. I half-dipped them using semi-sweet chocolate."
-Gay Gilmore
"These were a perfect combo of crispy and chewy. Like another reviewer, I can't stop eating them."
-HeidiSue
"These are the best cookies I have ever made! They came out crumble-in-your-mouth perfect. The cornflakes just give them a crunchy kick."
-Anneris
"I have been trying for years to re-create the recipe my Italian grandmother made. This is finally the one!"
-Damfarm
"This may just be the perfect cookie recipe. I'm so glad I decided to double the recipe!"
-Nevdiliel
"This is a wonderful recipe. All my son's friends love cookie dough so this helped me feel comfortable about serving them all "raw" dough. This tastes just like the real thing."
-mommyoffour
"These are the best cookies I've ever eaten. The texture is just perfect, and the kosher salt works like magic to counteract the sweetness."
-SilverOpera
"What lovely little Christmas delights! These morsels are nothing short of buttery goodness."
-CoffeeB
"I've tried other recipes with oatmeal and cranberries, and these are by far the tastiest — and the chewiest! I used walnuts instead of pecans."
-rmetz
"We love, love, love this recipe! They are awesome and so easy to make. Try them dipped in or drizzled with chocolate."
-PaigeSpud
"This was a great recipe that I'll use again. I used a small amount of cream of tartar to get my meringue to peak."
-SuperSpike
"These are a must for holiday cookie trays. The dough is perfectly buttery and the jelly adds the right amount of sweetness."
-diner524
"These sugar cookies are simple and delicious. My cookies came out beautifully — thin and crisp. I highly recommend this recipe."
-day-hee
"This dough is so easy to work with, and everyone at our annual Christmas Eve party commented on how cute and tasty they were."
-Chef #670879
"This is a family favorite. The secret is soaking the raisins — it makes all the difference."
-Merrie Wold
"I am soooo happy to find this recipe. It is my twin sister's favorite Christmas cookie. Not an easy cookie to make but worth the effort. Pretty and delicious!
-Anonymous
"We included these cookies on our holiday trays for family and friends. They looked so festive, and tasted wonderful."
-mommyoffour
"These are an excellent gluten-free cookie recipe. They're a great Christmas treat."
-Sweet Heidi
"This recipe makes a lot of cookies. They are tiny and have a wonderful cake-like texture."
-Cathleen Colbert
"Super easy to make and turned out perfect! This is my go to recipe for sugar cookies now!"
-Amber Simon
"The result of this simple recipe is a chewy iced "blondie" dotted with orange-flavored Craisins and white chocolate."
-CookinDiva
"These were excellent cookies. I doubled the chocolate powder and added a 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee. Very chocolatey!"
-wadadiligyal
"These have a wonderfully light and delicate shortbread texture. They're nutty and not too sweet."
-SaraFish
"These are the only peanut butter cookies I make anymore. They are good with crunchy or creamy peanut butter."
-Lola Granola
"These are the best coconut macaroons I have ever made! I love that they are soft and chewy and pretty close to perfection."
-cooksome
"I have been looking for a butter cookie that tastes like the ones Gramma used to bake. This is it. These are the best butter cookies ever!"
-Terri F.
"They came out great. I will be making them for Christmas, but instead of black and white frosting I'm going to try green and red frosting."
-maureen305
"I made some of this icing this past weekend for use in decorating a gingerbread cookie tree for a party. This stuff is pretty easy to whip up and really does dry very quickly. It's a keeper!"
-Outnumbered By Pean
"These turned out beautifully. The recipe is so simple that the possibilities are endless."
-brightdawn1891
"One word: killer! These cookies are easy to make — not to mention soft, chewy and exquisitely spiced."
-letarr
"These are the best snickerdoodles I've ever had. I don't chill the dough — if you wet your hands with cool water, you can easily roll the balls and get them into the oven faster!"
-yoitsbecky
"This is a tradition in my home-little children love the activity and everyone enjoys the cute little mice. I place them in a holiday cupcake paper & add a Christmas Mouse label to personalize and transport."
-rburl
"I love these little snowballs! It's a wonderful cookie at Christmas time. These baked up so nicely and were so easy to make."
-Aunt Paula
"I wanted a thumbprint cookies without nuts, and this one turned out perfectly."
-mary winecoff
"My family loves these cookies! I have made this recipe several times now, and the cookies turn out great every time."
-Alyson P.
"This is a very quick and easy recipe. I used sliced almonds instead of ground ones to save time and they turned out great."
-lizz
"These cookies are incredibly easy to make-not as labor-intensive as they look!""
CookingTimeForMe
"This is one of the best cut-out cookie recipes I've tried. The cookies are rich, buttery and not too crisp."
-Kaarin
"These are a light and buttery French puff pastry cookie. They have a simple taste and cinnamon sugar is a must."
-J-Lynn
"These were very good. I liked all the colors in the cookies made by the gumdrops. Looked good on my trays!"
-AutumnRain
"Fantastic! I made this icing for my Christmas tray cutouts, and it turned out perfectly — glossy, delicious and easy to make."
~Leslie~
"These stand up to other peanut butter cookies but require less time, work and effort."
-Tinks599
"These were chewy and delicious. Both the kids and parents loved them because they were so soft."
-stamp
"These were wonderful. My kids ate them all up and I had to make another batch for my cookie exchange."
-Acerast
"These were the easiest cookies I've ever made. They had just the right amount of crumbs."
-mommymakeit4u
"I love buttery cookies and using my cookie press, so this recipe was perfect. They are nice and light."
-italia
"These were so yummy, I didn't put in any peppermint extract and they were still really good. I also used caramel filled kisses!!!"
-wildegirl
"These cookies are so soft and buttery. They're as easy to make as using a pre-made mix but they taste much better."
-LjeffTheChef
"I'm usually horrible at baking from scratch, but this recipe was fantastic! Super easy, tasty and soft."
-seabug22
"Lovely, simple cookie. Great lemony flavor,and fine texture make these a treat to savor. I liked the simplicity of the recipe too."
-ammetz
"Incredible cookies! I've loved these since I was a little girl, and I'm thrilled to have finally found the recipe."
-Chef #413233
"My mom used to make these when I was a little girl. They were easy to make and delicious. Perfect for a cookie exchange."
-Laowai wife
"I've made these for years as a Christmas cookie to give to friends. I substitute red and green glace cherries for the maraschino cherries."
-SarniaKid
"These cookies reminded me of spending Christmas in Germany. They were delicious."
-Petite Mommy
"I was craving a mint and chocolate combo and this was a quick fix. They're a simple holiday cookie."
-Roxanne J.R.
"By far a great recipe. Don't tell my mother that I'm using this one instead of hers. They are light, and short. They really melt in your mouth."
-elizam
"These cookies are easy and delicious — just fun, simple sugar cookies that are great for any season. Using the bottom of a sugar-coated glass to flatten the balls of dough is genius."
-Mandy at Food.com
"These were sinfully delicious! The dough was easy to work with (better to use it cold, when it got warmer it got too gooey to work with); these were best when they were cool-the caramel from the candy bars melded with the cookie & made a chewy scrumptious awesome bottom to it. God, these were good!!!"
-bellisima
"OH YUMMY! This was so easy to make! We used devil's food chocolate cake mix, and put dried cranberries in them. Simple and fantastic recipe! "
-Denise Nachtigal
"This is by FAR my family's favorite cookie on the Christmas cookie tray. You can make them festive by using holiday M&Ms."
-Manda
"These cookies were totally delicious and so simple to make. I used egg wash on the almonds before putting them on top so they'd stick. My favorite arrangement was just a bunch of broken almond slices. I also tried mini chocolate chips."
-merylsp
"Very tasty recipe and dough is quick to come together and easy to work with. I think this is my new favorite for cutouts! :)"
-a_schoeneich
"I loved the taste of these cookies. They're a Christmas tradition in my house."
-Jenny Sanders
"Just bagging them up for presents before I eat them all... Absolutely delicious!"
-Caias Mum
"Made these tonight for the Christmas season. They were so tasty and very easy. I followed the recipe to a T and they came out great. A total keeper and worthy of the cookie plate"
-TeacherLaLa
"I was looking for a recipe for authentic Melomakarona that I could make this holiday season as a nostalgic treat for my Greek husband, and this recipe really fit the bill! We ended up with DELICIOUS authentic Greek Christmas cookies! They really are very tasty. A great recipe that I feel will become an annual Christmas tradition in our family!"
-mizboxster
"I found this recipe when my daughter was young and it was one of our Christmas traditions to make these each year. Last year, I taught my granddaughter to make them for our family Christmas celebration. Very good and a nice switch from Rice Krispies Treats."
-Fran Q.
"I would call these Winter Solstice cookies because they are deep and dark like the longest night! Delicious"
-Lovely Dolphin
"I have been making these cookies for Christmas for many years. We love them."
-Belloo
"The whole family agreed that these were the best cookies I baked this year. I baked 1/2 the batter the first night and about 5 days later I bake the balance. They were terrific!"
-Parris Original
"Yum! At first glance they look too sweet and maybe like a bon bon, then they hit your mouth. I made this recipe and they did not last the night. All were devoured. Subtle flavor almost like a tea or coffee cake. My words are NOT giving fair measure to their allure. Try some. You will want more. :) Very yummy."
-Miss Amanda
"These were so easy to make, I am making dozens to give away this Christmas. Excellent mini cookies."
-the veggie plot
