Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cookie Recipes 31 Days of Christmas Cookies—It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year for Baking! By Frances Kim Frances Kim Frances is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 21, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Alpha Smoot The weather outside may be frightful, but these Christmas cookie recipes are absolutely delightful. Cozy up with a cup of hot cocoa as you take bite after bite of shortbread, palmiers, crinkle cookies, and so much more this holiday season. Whether you're baking a batch or two, hosting a cookie swap, or participating in an all-day baking marathon, these festive Christmas cookies are sure to spark joy all December long. What would the holiday season be without gingerbread cookies? Our recipe calls for plenty of warm spices to flavor the dough. Then cut the dough into whatever shapes you fancy. Go traditional and cut out little girls or boys, or turn them into woodland creatures like deer and bears for a wintery look. Another sweet twist on nature are our whimsical coffee-meringue acorns; finely chopped pistachios or pecans add crunch and color. Of course, there are sugar cookie recipes galore. These picture-perfect sugar-cookie cutouts are customizable with royal icing so you can make the colorful, intricate designs of your dreams. Looking for a way to repurpose candy canes and peppermint candies? peppermint-candy sugar cookies are a refreshing twist on a classic recipe. If you can't get enough of the picturesque falling snow (or perhaps live in a region where having a white Christmas is just a dream), our citrus sugar cookies cut out in the shape of snowflakes and Christmas trees should do the trick. Armed with a variety of festive cookie cutters, sparkling sanding sugar, and plenty of Christmas spirit, you'll soon be joining forces with Mrs. Claus and the elves to bake batch after batch of Christmas cookies. 01 of 31 Cream-Cheese Jam Ice Diamonds Anita Calero Raspberry preserves are sandwiched between light, tender cream-cheese cookies cut in the shape of diamonds, and the whole batch is covered with a blanket of powdered sugar "snow." View Recipe 02 of 31 Peppermint-Spritz Cookies Louise Hagger A subtle wink at candy canes, these wreath cookies have a drop of food coloring in the glaze to thank for their marbled red-and-white appearance. View Recipe 03 of 31 Gingerbread Cookies Sang An Molasses, dark brown sugar, and a bevy of spices—ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves—give these cookies their classic gingerbread flavor. Take a page out of Martha's book and turn them into a menagerie of woodland creatures. View Recipe 04 of 31 Salted-Caramel Whoopie Pies Will Anderson Cinnamon-and-allspice cookies are filled with caramel buttercream and rolled in pink rock salt and sanding sugar for this perfectly balanced treat. View Recipe 05 of 31 Birch-Bark Tuiles Louise Hagger Streaks of cocoa powder in the dough gives these crisp cookies the appearance of bark when baked. View Recipe 06 of 31 Glazed Spiced Snowflake Cookies Aaron Dyer No mold needed for these beautiful speculaas cookies—just a doily rolling pin, and cookie cutters. View Recipe 07 of 31 Coconut-Pistachio Biscotti Cornmeal and olive oil are the MVPs in this riff on the traditional Italian cookies—the former adds texture, while the latter contributes a lovely fruitiness. View Recipe 08 of 31 Sugar-Cookie Cutouts Anna Williams Our basic sugar cookie recipe makes a great base for any festive shape you please. Start with this adorable red-hooded little girl, then let your imagination run wild. View Recipe 09 of 31 Streusel Jammies Aaron Dyer These crumbly cookies are a delicious way to use up the leftover bits of jam in your fridge. The almond-studded batter goes well with any fruit—cranberry, apricot, blueberry, cherry, whatever you've got on hand! View Recipe 10 of 31 Anise Shortbread Sandwich Cookies Louise Hagger We love the combination of sweet-tart apricot with aromatic anise in these shortbread stars. View Recipe 11 of 31 Sugar-Dusted Macaroon Trees Seth Smoot It couldn't be easier to shape these festive coconut trees—the only tool you need is clean hands! View Recipe 12 of 31 Peppermint-Candy Sugar Cookies Sang An Peppermint candies can be so much more than an after-dinner treat. Use them to amp up your sugar cookies this holiday season. View Recipe 13 of 31 Pistachio and Dried-Apricot Rugelach Aaron Dyer Dried apricots simmered with vanilla make an addictive filling for these crescent cookies. Pistachios add just the right amount of crunch. View Recipe 14 of 31 Spicy Chocolate Cookies Armando Rafael Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, these cookies combine an intense cocoa flavor with fiery cayenne pepper and fragrant cinnamon. View Recipe 15 of 31 Russian Tea Cakes Bryan Gardner Let wintry weather serve as baking inspiration—make a batch of these snowball-like almond cookies smothered in powdered sugar. View Recipe 16 of 31 Raspberry Palmiers Sang An Our take on the beloved elephant ears calls for spreading a homemade sour cream dough with raspberry jam. View Recipe 17 of 31 Coffee-Meringue Acorns ANITA CALERO Why not shower your loved ones with meringue "kisses"? These delectable treats are flavored with coffee extract and finished with bittersweet chocolate and either pistachios or pecans. View Recipe 18 of 31 Shortbread Swirls Aaron Dyer Time to break out the piping bag! You'll need a star tip to make these stunning S shapes. Make a batch of one color, or better yet, all five. View Recipe 19 of 31 Citrus Sugar Cookies Lemon zest brightens these otherwise classic sugar cookies. Stamp out all kinds of shapes, then decorate with royal icing and colored sugars. View Recipe 20 of 31 Double-Chocolate Peppermint Sandwiches Aaron Dyer Like a peppermint patty in cookie form! The chocolate filling gets its bracing flavor from peppermint extract as well as chopped peppermint candies. View Recipe 21 of 31 Fruitcake Shortbread You can use any dried fruit you please for these colorful cookies. We went with apricots, cranberries, currants, and candied citron, but figs, pineapple, strawberries, and kiwi would also be wonderful. View Recipe 22 of 31 Cinnamon-Log Slices ANITA CALERO Everyone will ooh and ahh over the bark-like effect cinnamon and chocolate give these slice-and-bake cookies. View Recipe 23 of 31 Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies Romulo Yanes A quick turn in the oven transforms crushed hard candy into beautiful stained glass windows in these ornament-shaped cookies. View Recipe 24 of 31 Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing Gingerbread triangles become festive trees with the help of some lemony icing and sanding sugar. View Recipe 25 of 31 Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Cookies Con Poulos Lemon and bittersweet chocolate temper the richness of buttery macadamia nuts in these simple holiday cookies. View Recipe 26 of 31 Gingered Sugar Cookies Will Anderson Amp up sugar cookies with two types of ginger—ground and candied—then sweeten and tint one half with molasses and the other with honey to create a striped candy-cane effect. View Recipe 27 of 31 Almond and Apricot Thumbprint Cookies Rich almond butter cookies are the perfect canvas to showcase dollops of apricot jam. View Recipe 28 of 31 Gingerbread-Espresso Crinkle Cookies Mikkel Vang If you're not a fan of shaping and decorating gingerbread men but love the taste, this recipe is for you. A tablespoon of instant espresso powder is all it takes to elevate the spicy, warm flavor of gingerbread to something even richer. View Recipe 29 of 31 Meyer-Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies Mikkel Vang How stunning are these edible shortbread wreath cookies? Fresh Meyer lemon juice perks up the buttery dough and pairs well with the sugared herbs for garnish. View Recipe 30 of 31 String-Light Christmas-Tree Cookies Ryan Liebe After your done decorating your real Christmas tree, get ready to adorn these edible sugar cookies. Skip the fuss of making royal icing and create smooth, even strands of garland using melted white chocolate instead. View Recipe 31 of 31 Chai Snowballs Ryan Liebe There's nothing like sipping on a cup of warm chai tea in the middle of a snowy day. Turn that experience into a cookie that everyone can dig into while you watch the flakes fall. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit