31 Days of Christmas Cookies—It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year for Baking!

By Frances Kim
Updated January 17, 2021
Credit: Alpha Smoot
Daily baking inspiration for the holidays and beyond! 'Tis the season to enjoy (and gift!) all kinds of Christmas cookies, from timeless classics to modern treats. Want more tasty and festive holiday cookie recipes and tips? Be sure to download our complete guide here!
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Credit: 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.

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Cream-Cheese Jam Ice Diamonds

Credit: Anita Calero
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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."

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Peppermint-Spritz Cookies

Credit: Louise Hagger
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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.

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Gingerbread Cookies

Credit: Sang An
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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.

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Salted-Caramel Whoopie Pies

Credit: Will Anderson
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Cinnamon-and-allspice cookies are filled with caramel buttercream and rolled in pink rock salt and sanding sugar for this perfectly balanced treat.

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Birch-Bark Tuiles

Credit: Louise Hagger
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Streaks of cocoa powder in the dough gives these crisp cookies the appearance of bark when baked.

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Glazed Spiced Snowflake Cookies

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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No mold needed for these beautiful speculaas cookies—just a doily rolling pin, and cookie cutters.

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Coconut-Pistachio Biscotti

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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.

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Sugar-Cookie Cutouts

Credit: Anna Williams
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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.

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Streusel Jammies

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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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!

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Anise Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

Credit: Louise Hagger
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We love the combination of sweet-tart apricot with aromatic anise in these shortbread stars.

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Sugar-Dusted Macaroon Trees

Credit: Seth Smoot
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It couldn't be easier to shape these festive coconut trees—the only tool you need is clean hands!

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Peppermint-Candy Sugar Cookies

Credit: Sang An
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Peppermint candies can be so much more than an after-dinner treat. Use them to amp up your sugar cookies this holiday season.

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Pistachio and Dried-Apricot Rugelach

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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Dried apricots simmered with vanilla make an addictive filling for these crescent cookies. Pistachios add just the right amount of crunch.

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Spicy Chocolate Cookies

Credit: Armando Rafael
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Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, these cookies combine an intense cocoa flavor with fiery cayenne pepper and fragrant cinnamon.

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Russian Tea Cakes

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Let wintry weather serve as baking inspiration—make a batch of these snowball-like almond cookies smothered in powdered sugar.

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Raspberry Palmiers

Credit: Sang An
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Our take on the beloved elephant ears calls for spreading a homemade sour cream dough with raspberry jam.

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Coffee-Meringue Acorns

Credit: ANITA CALERO
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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.

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Shortbread Swirls

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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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.

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Citrus Sugar Cookies

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Lemon zest brightens these otherwise classic sugar cookies. Stamp out all kinds of shapes, then decorate with royal icing and colored sugars.

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Double-Chocolate Peppermint Sandwiches

Credit: Aaron Dyer
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Like a peppermint patty in cookie form! The chocolate filling gets its bracing flavor from peppermint extract as well as chopped peppermint candies.

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Fruitcake Shortbread

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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.

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Cinnamon-Log Slices

Credit: ANITA CALERO
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Everyone will ooh and ahh over the bark-like effect cinnamon and chocolate give these slice-and-bake cookies.

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Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies

Credit: Romulo Yanes
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A quick turn in the oven transforms crushed hard candy into beautiful stained glass windows in these ornament-shaped cookies.

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Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing

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Gingerbread triangles become festive trees with the help of some lemony icing and sanding sugar.

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Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Cookies

Credit: Con Poulos
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Lemon and bittersweet chocolate temper the richness of buttery macadamia nuts in these simple holiday cookies.

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Gingered Sugar Cookies

Credit: Will Anderson
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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.

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Almond and Apricot Thumbprint Cookies

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Rich almond butter cookies are the perfect canvas to showcase dollops of apricot jam.

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Gingerbread-Espresso Crinkle Cookies

Credit: Mikkel Vang
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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.

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