Christmas Cookie Recipes

This seven-inch flake, prettier than a gingerbread house or a gingerbread man, is big enough to share -- but who really wants to?

These traditional spice cookies are just right for the holidays.

Use this recipe for sugar cookie cutouts, adapted from "Martha Stewart's Cookies," to make adorable Santa Cookies (pictured) or charming One-Piece Cookies, a perfect treat for baby showers.

When imprinting the fragrant spiced cookie dough with springerle molds, stop frequently to clean the patterns with the tip of a skewer. This allows for a better impression in the dough and resulting cookie.

Studding chewy oatmeal cookies with cranberries gives them a bit of bright color and a slight tang. Any dried fruit can be substituted.

Rolling these classic Christmas cookies in powdered sugar once while they're still warm and again when they're completely cooled ensures their snowball-like appearance.

Delicate yet buttery rich, these spritzes are lavished with an immoderate amount of vanilla and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

Coating the outsides of the dough with cornmeal or sanding sugar lends a lovely bit of crunch.

These cookies look like little snow-covered mountains. Roll each ball in confectioners' sugar twice to make sure it's thoroughly coated and no dark dough is visible.

Not only do snickerdoodles taste delicious, but they also have a fun name! Finish off this classic snickerdoodles cookie recipe with a cinnamon-sugar dusting. After rolling the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar, give them ample room on cookie sheets -- the snickerdoodles spread a lot as they bake.

The dough for these bark-like slice-and-bake cookies is amped up with cinnamon and cocoa and finished with a crust of raw sugar.

The secret to this rich chocolate-chunk shortbread is a mix of sugars—brown for a caramel note, and confectioners' for a melt-in-your-mouth texture. To make this a gift that your recipients can bake for themselves on-demand, wrap the logs of dough tightly in freezer paper to keep it from drying out; then roll it in patterned waxed paper and secure the ends with twine. You can download the free, printable gift tags you see on the packaging here. 

Lemon zest and juice add brightness and cut the richness of the brown butter in these cookies. You can make the dough up to two days in advance.

Try one of our shaped icebox-cookie variations: Almond-Cherry Coins; Apricot-Pistachio Triangles; Almond and Candied Orange Zest Bars; White Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Cherry Triangles; Papaya, Macadamia, and Coconut Triangles; Cranberry-Orange Coins; Chocolate, Walnut, and Cranberry Coins; Candied-Fruit Squares; Almond and Ginger Bars.

Known as zimtsterne in Germany, these festive star-shaped cookies are made from a nut meringue that's rolled and cut, then iced with a mixture of egg white and sugar before baking. Tuck a few into a waxed paper envelope and tie it with a red twine bow for a sweet presentation.

Rendering your own lard is what really makes these anise-flavored Mexican sugar cookies stand out, but you can use vegetable shortening in a pinch. Martha made this recipe on "Martha Bakes" episode 711.

Martha made these cookies on Martha Bakes episode 312.

Also known as cuccidati or turtigliuna, buccellati are Sicily's best-known Christmas cookie. Martha fills the buttery dough with a delicious combination of figs, pecans, and raisins.

Basic icebox dough gets a festive makeover when dotted with dried fruit and pecans.

Take one bite of this Southern classic, and you'll see why its name supposedly originated from the word 'divine'! Divinity candy is nougat-like confection that typically has mix-ins like dried fruit and nuts. For a festive holiday version, candied cherries, candied citron, and pecans were chosen to be folded into the light clouds of meringue. Note that the nougat mixture will need at least 8 hours to dry until it is sliceable, so plan accordingly.

For tinted cookies, add drops of gel-paste food coloring once the flour is incorporated. If you'd like to try a variation, see what ingredients to add: Spice Cookie Dough, Chocolate Cookie Dough, Citrus Cookie Dough.

Though they look complicated, these tender cookies are easy to make if you use a ruler. To ensure an even design, measure the strips of dough carefully.

These crunchy, spiced cookies are just right for the holidays.