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

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."

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.

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.

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

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

No mold needed for these beautiful speculaas cookies -- just a doily, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. Learn how to master the genius technique here.

Our basic sugar cookie recipe makes a great base for any festive shape you please. Start with this adorable red-hooded little girl (we've got you covered with the template), then let your imagination run wild.

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!

A gooey caramel surprise awaits whoever is lucky enough to bite into one (or more!) of these massive chocolate chip cookies.

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

It couldn't be easier to shape these festive coconut trees -- the only tool you need is clean hands!

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

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

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

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

Our take on the beloved elephant ears calls for spreading a homemade sour-cream dough with raspberry jam.

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.

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.

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

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

Rich shortbread is made even more decadent with a layer of hazelnut-studded chocolate truffle. Cut into small squares for the perfect indulgent bite.

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

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

Amp up sugar cookies with two types of ginger -- ground and candied -- then sweeten/tint one half with molasses and the other with honey to create a striped candy-cane effect.