80 Best Christmas Cookies
From classic sugar cookies to gingerbread men, these top recipes will sweeten your holiday - and make you the darling of all your cookie swaps.
From classic sugar cookies to gingerbread men, these top recipes will sweeten your holiday - and make you the darling of all your cookie swaps.
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"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
"This is a family favorite. The secret is soaking the raisins — it makes all the difference."
-Merrie Wold
"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
"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
"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