It’s officially the holiday season and we’re in the mood for sugar and spice and everything nice! For us, that means COOKIES. Check out these 20 Goodtaste-approved holiday cookies that are perfect for gifting, sharing with Santa or snacking on by the fire.
M&M’s Christmas Cookie Bars
These bars from Number 2 Pencil are so simple to toss together, bake and serve without the hassle of baking dozens of cookies. You can bring as an entire tray or cut ahead of time and individually wrap them for single treats or gifts.
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies
We love a good peppermint treat this time of year, and these extra-fudgy cookies sure do hit the spot! These soft, minty cookies are perfect to pair with a cozy drink and a holiday movie. The gooey mini marshmallows make them taste and look like a mug of peppermint hot chocolate.
Eggnog Frosted Chai Snickerdoodle Snowmen
How cute are these spiced snowman cookies from Half Baked Harvest? The cookies are scented with eggnog, a chai blend and cinnamon! They truly taste and look like Christmas.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Christmas Trees
These will be the talk of a holiday party! Lovely Little Kitchen created a cookie to look like a decoration in itself while still offering a fresh strawberry and chocolate goodness. The oreo “tree stand” stabilizes the entire Christmas tree treat. This recipe is a little more involved, but oh so worth it.
Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
House of Nash Eats swirls together all the Christmas colors with these pinwheel cookies. Cut-and-bake cookies are beyond easy and have a nice uniform shape. These are ideal for adding a pop of color to your Christmas cookie tray! Make sure to chill the dough before baking for easy cutting and the best shape.
Pecan Pie Cookies
Pecan pie but in a cookie? Umm yes! Crazy for Crust brings you an easy alternative to pecan pie without the extra hassle. These thumbprint cookies are filled with a toasty, nutty, brown sugar-sweetened filling just like the classic pie.
Biscochitos
Biscochitos are a New Mexico Christmas tradition scented with star anise. Passed down from family to family, these are always enjoyed during any holiday party throughout New Mexico. Many families make extra to freeze and enjoy throughout the year. Delish has the best recipe to recreate this traditional buttery cookie.
Cream Cheese Cookie Wreaths
These cookie wreaths from Southern Living are so gorgeous and festive you’ll want to keep them around all season long, not to mention they taste just as delicious as they look. This is the perfect cookie for your older kids to make as well!
Brown Butter and Pistachio Sablés
This gorgeous cookie from Bon Appétit is inspired by Greek kourabiedes, a buttery shortbread-style cookie. Here, it is updated with bay leaves, toasted pistachios and a sleek glaze.
Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies with Dulce de Leche
Gingerbread cookies are a Christmas must, but add a dulce de leche filling, and it becomes a holiday necessity! The Pioneer Woman shares these not-too-sweet and not-too-spicy ginger cookies. Make them the day of your holiday party and your house will smell like Santa’s workshop.
White Chocolate Peppermint Patties Recipe
These peppermint patties from Country Living are a refreshing combination of peppermint bark and chocolate peppermint patties. They taste incredible frozen or broken into warm hot chocolate. Be careful, they are addictive!
Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
These soft and chewy cranberry cookies from Ahead of Thyme have a lovely tangy bite. Make them as-is, or switch it up with dried blueberries and dark chocolate chips!
Italian Christmas Cookies
The Recipe Critic shares these light and buttery Italian Christmas Cookies for the holidays. These are fun and simple to decorate without too much fuss. Better yet, they pair perfectly with your morning cup of coffee or tea—a great start to Christmas morning!
Christmas Vanilla Cake Cookies
These festive little cookies are a perfect combo of a cookie and a tender vanilla cake. Made with all things vanilla and topped with your choice of sprinkles, chocolate or nuts. They’re crispy on the edges, but soft and chewy on the inside. These soft-baked cake batter cookies are the perfect excuse for you and your family to get creative in the kitchen, all while getting in the holiday spirit!
Gingerbread Sugar Cookies
These adorable gingerbread people have everything you love about a spiced gingerbread cookie, but without the hard texture. A tender sugar cookie is seasoned with warming spices and then glazed with a silky cream cheese and maple frosting. This is a cookie we plan on making every holiday season.
Crinkle Cookies with Peppermint Cream
Remember those powdered sugar-speckled chocolate cookies Grandma used to make every Christmas? These Crinkle Cookies with Peppermint Cream from The Modern Proper are like that, but (dare we say) better thanks to a decadent peppermint-cream frosting used to sandwich two cookies into one.
Oreo Christmas Cookie Ornaments
A quick and easy four-ingredient holiday sweet? Sign us up. We love how simple—and festive—these icing-dipped and decorated Oreos from Sugar Hero are. Perfect for last-minute holiday get-togethers, cookie exchanges, and gifts.
Easy Reindeer Cookies
Um, how cute are these little Rudolphs?? Darling and delicious (we mean, who doesn’t love Nutter Butters and pretzels), these rosy-nosed reindeer cookies from Create Craft Love are perfect to whip together when you’re on dessert detail but the oven’s already occupied.
Ugly Sweater Cookies
The perfect accompaniment to an ugly sweater party? Some festive cookies to match! The molasses-sweetened refrigerator dough gives these cookies from Taste of Home a fun gingerbread-like twist, and the royal icing sweater designs on top are limited only to your imagination.
Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies
The only way to improve upon the classic chocolate chip cookie snacker? Why, adding bacon and maple, of course! A recipe from our own Goodtaste test kitchen, these salty-sweet treats are also one of Santa’s favorites, so we’ve heard…
Make sure you have the right tools to tackle your holiday baking! Find our picks here:
USA Pan Nonstick 3-Piece Cookie Baking Set, $50
Holiday Treat Toppers Candy Sprinkle Tackle Box, $10
Classic Porcelain Rectangular Platter, Large, $29
Cookie Dough Scoop Small, $13
Santa’s Reindeer Porcelain Rectangular Serving Platter, $70
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