Choose from some of the very Best Christmas Cookies that will make your holiday baking extra special. From classic favorites to new and whimsical, these sweet treats are sure to add a touch of magic to any festive celebration.
Best Christmas Cookies
Christmas time is full of traditions, and baking a festive array of Christmas cookies is at the top of the list. With these recipes, you’ll find all the classics, like melt-in-your-mouth buttery snowball cookies dusted with powdered sugar and colorful crinkle cookies with crackly tops.
Of course, what’s Christmas without adding a few new, fun and whimsical cookies to your baking list? There are even some delicious gluten-free and a few sugar-free cookie options included that the whole family is going to love.
Why We Love These Recipes
Great gifts – Easy Christmas cookies are always a great gift idea. Add some to a decorative tin or a clear cellophane bag tied with festive ribbons and give as gifts to your friends, family, or your kids’ teachers.
Fun and festive – Everything from whimsical reindeer and snowman-shaped cookies to vibrant icing and festive sprinkles, these cookies are great for all ages.
Delicious choices – Though these cookies make a pretty presentation on a holiday table, they are also scrumptious desserts that are impossible to resist!
Whether you’re hosting a Christmas party, looking for a new cookie recipe to share at your annual cookie swap, or simply looking for a fun way to spend a holiday afternoon with the family, you’ll find what you’re looking for all in one place! So, dust off those rolling pins, and let’s get started!
1. Frosted Christmas Cookies
Soft and chewy light sugar cookies with creamy Christmas frosting. They're classic Christmas cookies you'll look forward to making every year.
Pillowy soft Italian Christmas Cookies are dipped in a sweet sugar glaze then topped with colorful sprinkles. Made with ricotta cheese and just a few other simple ingredients, this easy melt-in-your-mouth recipe makes soft, cake-like cookies with a delicious buttery flavor.
These rich and decadent Ooey Gooey Butter Christmas Cookies are so deliciously soft they will literally melt in your mouth. They're perfect little confections that are easy to make and are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!
Need a last-minute sweet and easy treat this holiday season? This No Bake Haystack recipe creates delectable little treats by combining crunchy chow mein noodles, butterscotch chips and creamy peanut butter that can be ready in minutes.
These peppermint bark cookies may just be the perfect holiday treat. From the rich and chewy chocolate cookie to the smooth and creamy peppermint frosting topped with crunchy candy canes, these cookies are bursting with sweet and delicious holiday flavor.
Peanut butter blossoms are soft and chewy sugar-coated peanut butter cookie topped with a Hershey's chocolate kiss. They make the perfect Christmas cookie or holiday treat.
Melt in your mouth short bread cookies baked with a sweet chocolate kiss tucked away inside. These Hidden Kiss Cookies are everything perfect Christmas cookies should be.
This easy Chocolate Haystacks recipe makes a simple no-bake cookie that uses rich chocolate chips, peanuts, and crunchy chow mien noodles. It's an old school treat that is always a huge hit!
These soft and chewy old-fashioned Gumdrop Cookies will take you straight back to your childhood. Sugar cookies studded with colorful gumdrops will make the most delicious Christmas Cookies this holiday season.
The holiday season just wouldn't be complete without these timeless Ritz cookies. Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cookies are easy to make starting with buttery Ritz crackers.
Grinch crinkle cookies are an easy cake mix cookie that's soft and delicious! These fun treats have a huge red sprinkle in the center of the soft cookie that kids and adults love.
Snowball cookies are a Christmas classic made with powdered sugar and creamy butter with crushed pecans. All rolled in more powdered sugar for the perfect holiday cookie!
These chocolate peppermint cookies are soft and delicious, dipped in white chocolate and candy cane pieces. It’s a perfect Christmas cookie with chocolate and peppermint flavors.
These nutty, melt-in-your mouth Hazelnut Cookies are a treat for any tea, shower or holiday spread. You can serve them plain or with chocolate and more nuts.
31. Hot Chocolate Cookies with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
These hot chocolate cookies with marshmallow buttercream frosting are a super fun update on the traditional hot chocolate drink! Plus, they are SUPER easy with a fun hack using Toll House cookie dough.
All the flavors of the holidays in one flavor-packed cookie recipe. These Gingerbread Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies will become your most-wanted cookies.
Delicious soft and chewy crushed peppermint cookies will be the biggest hit on your Keto holiday baking list. And no one will ever know they’re sugar free!
The best gluten free sugar cookie recipe. These cookies are perfect for making cut outs and can be decorated for any holiday or birthday. Dairy free option. Make as a drop cookie (lofthouse copycat).
Soft, decadent chocolate cookies topped with homemade creamy peppermint frosting and crushed candy canes. The perfect peppermint frosted chocolate cookie recipe! A delicious peppermint and chocolate Christmas cookie.
Santa Oreo Cookies are a fun No Bake Christmas treat that is easy for the kids to help with for the holidays. They're perfect for holiday cookie trays!
This homemade chocolate dipped biscotti recipe is made with almonds and flavored with fresh orange zest. They're perfect with a cup of coffee on a cold Christmas morning!
These pepparkakor are very easy to make (even with your own icing rather than shop bought), and the longest part is leaving the dough in the fridge for a day or two before rolling it out.
These Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies are an easy dessert perfect for anyone who loves chocolate and cookies! All you need are five simple ingredients: chocolate cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla extract, and chocolate kisses!
Moravian Christmas Cookies are paper-thin, crispy, spiced molasses cookies. Sweet and gingery, they taste a bit like gingerbread but are way more addicting!
These festive oatmeal cookies are easy to make and perfect for the holidays! They’re loaded with white chocolate chips, and their cinnamon-sugar coating makes them irresistible.
This iced Christmas oreo cookie recipe is the perfect addition to your holiday baking! These cookies are loaded with white chocolate chips and crushed Oreos, then topped with festive sprinkles.
These easy no bake Christmas cookies are perfect for kids to help you create. Use graham crackers, marshmallows and a few candies to create Santa’s face!
A heritage recipe passed down through generations! Simple crisco shortening creates the most tender and addictive sugar cookies you’ve ever eaten! Color them, decorate them, and set them out for Santa!
A timeless classic, these delicate oatmeal lace cookies with almonds are the perfect balance of buttery, sweet, and crispy. Ready in under 30 minutes, they are perfect for Christmas time, a shower, or a gift.
These easy and yummy Christmas Snickerdoodle Cookies are so fun and easy to make! These Red and Green decorated cookies are the best and will be the star of the cookie exchange!
Bring the taste of the holidays to your friends with these crispy rosemary chocolate chip cookies. They’re so deliciously good dipped in a nice cold glass of milk.
Cookies and Cream Shortbread Cookies made with crushed Oreos. Easy cookie recipe with just 4 ingredients and made with shortcuts! You'll want to make these for every holiday or when you're just craving a rich, buttery cookie to dunk in milk.
This raspberry filled cookie recipe is simple to prepare but the flavor is extraordinary! They'll make the perfect addition to your holiday cookie platter.
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies are a favorite cookie recipe for the holidays. They're easy to make and can be colored and decorated in red and green for Christmas.
Homemade sugar cookies, baked in different sizes, stack up to form sweet Christmas Trees. A sugar glaze and holiday sprinkles make them festive cookies for Christmas parties or any holiday dessert table.
These Gingerbread Men cookies are a holiday classic cookie. They’re perfectly spiced with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon cookies, with crispy edges, soft and chewy, centers. They’re delicious to eat on their own, and so fun to decorate.
These light and airy Christmas tree meringues are a fun dessert that’ll bring out the holiday spirit in everyone! Made with just five ingredients, this delicious treat will make any dessert table look extra fun and festive!
Hot Cocoa Cookies are the best combination of a soft, chewy chocolate cookie, a brownie, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. They are such a classic Christmas cookie and the perfect dessert for all your chocolate lovers.
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies are a simple, from-scratch, buttery shortbread cookie that's dipped in dark chocolate. Santa won’t be disappointed with these shortbread Christmas cookies!
These Gluten-free and Keto Almond Crescent Cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth delicious and a healthier re-creation of the traditional holiday cookie. This “guaranteed to please” recipe is perfect for the Christmas Season, but you'll love them so much you'll want to make them all year round!
These sprinkle elf hat cookies are the perfect way to add some color to your Christmas cookies this year. This dough can be tinted whatever color you prefer but we chose red and green.
A buttery shortbread, dotted throughout with aromatic, toasted pecans. These Chocolate Dipped Pecan Sandies are a classic Christmas cookie that are perfect for gift-giving and cookie exchanges.
The classic, melt in your mouth, Snowball Cookies just got a major upgrade! They are now in the shape of snowmen and lightly spiced with nutmeg. These Snowman Snowball Cookies are not only cute and fun to decorate, but they are buttery, soft, and so delicious!
Soft, buttery and sweet these snowflake cookies are perfect for the holiday season. These cookies are easy to make, they don't spread and the icing is fool proof.
These brown butter stamp cookies are a simple, but delicious Christmas cookie! They're light, buttery and not overly sweet. Since they aren't too sweet, they're perfect with a big cup of coffee or hot chocolate!
Pfeffernusse cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie in Germany. Made with molasses, anise, pepper and seasonal spices, these chewy cookies are coated in confectioners’ sugar.
These chewy and soft molasses cookies are hands down an all time favorite Christmas cookie. Quick to make, freeze well and taste phenomenal. They're a winner by everyone who tries them!
These Christmas tree shaped sugar cookie sandwiches are filled with Nutella and topped with white chocolate and sprinkles – they are just the cookie to serve at a holiday party or to bring to a cookie swap.
This cookie recipe is incredibly easy and fast. All you need is butter, sugar, flour and some dulce de leche. They make the best Christmas cookies, but you can make them any time of year.
Cinnamon Stars (Zimtsterne) are classic German Christmas cookies. This is a simple and easy recipe that is naturally gluten free, dairy free and delicious.
These Eggnog Linzer Cookies will be the hit of the holiday cookie platter! With a delicious eggnog icing sandwiched between two eggnog cookies, these make a delightful holiday treat.
These No Bake Avalanche Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie for you! Chocolatey, peanut buttery, and crispy, these cookies come together in just 20 minutes!
Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies are just the sweet treat to snuggle up with this holiday season. Soft and chewy cookies reveal a gooey center of marshmallow, tasting just like a warm mug of hot cocoa. These are ideal to nibble on by the fire as you wait to share a plate with Santa.
These White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies are so delicious with oats, sunflower seed butter, and white chocolate chips. They’re like nut free and peanut free monster cookies – soft in the middle with crunchy parts from the pretzels. Perfect for Christmas cookies!
Choose from some of the very Best Christmas Cookies that will make your holiday baking extra special. From classic favorites to new and whimsical, these sweet treats are sure to add a touch of magic to any festive celebration.
Alicia is the creator of Balancing Motherhood, where she shares easy, family-friendly recipes designed for busy home cooks. With over 1,000 original recipes and a background in journalism and photography she ensures every dish is simple, approachable, and delicious. She’s built a community of 800,000+ followers who trust her for stress-free, reliable meal ideas.
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