This 12 recipes for Christmas cookies These include simple classics like roll-out sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, molasses cookies, and other popular cookies for swapping, eating, and gifting. Wondering what’s the best way to store them? Follow these simple storage instructions.
I remember about a million years ago when I was a kid it wasn’t the end of the Thanksgiving parade or Black Friday that heralded the Christmas season. They were Christmas cookies.
Back then, cookie swaps weren’t the search-and-destroy competition they are today. A neighbor or family friend would just show up at your doorstep with a can in hand. The tin consisted exclusively of Royal Dansk or Walker’s Shortbread butter biscuits.
While my mother and father entertained the visitor stiffly, I crept into the kitchen with the can. Inside was a stack of different biscuits wrapped in wax paper. Always wax paper.
Depending on the person, there was biscotti, snowflake cookies, meringue kisses, Pillsbury slice-and-bake dishes, or rum balls (which I wasn’t even allowed to eat). If the baker was particularly talented, there might be Italian flag cookies, also known as rainbow cookies.
Then there was always Mrs. Miranda from next door pushing candied fruit biscuits or date bars on us. They were still there on New Year’s Eve. Too damn healthy. (Sorry, Miranda clan.)
There was a cookie that I negotiated with the Jesus exploding heart candle in my room. If it was in the towers of cans we get every December, I would do what my parents tell me to do for the entire following year. The gorgeous, incredibly fabulous Hershey’s Kiss Cookies, always known as Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies.
I put a face plant in the can and ate them all before my mom—a die-hard peanut butter cookie fan—could even smell them.
Have I obeyed my parents all year? That’s why they invented the confession.
Easy Shortbread Cookies
Textbook shortcrust pastry is one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. My variant contains a little less sugar and a little more butter. Some of the flour is also replaced with rice flour, cornstarch or semolina to make the biscuits even crumblier and shorter. I was looking for the flavor and texture of my favorite shortbread fingers and this recipe comes very close.
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biscochitos
These biscochitos are a classic New Mexico Christmas cookie. Their signature flaky texture and flavor comes from the use of lard in the batter, along with cinnamon, sugar, aniseed and brandy.
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These are so addictive and go great with a cup of hot tea. Bizcochitos have been a must-have in my Christmas cookie selection since a friend gave me her family recipe (which is very similar to this one) years ago.
rene
Molasses Spice Cookies
These Molasses Spice Cookies are no ordinary cookies. Sure, they’re made with flour, butter, sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and molasses, but black pepper gives them a nice flavor. I bet you can’t stop at just one.
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Viennese croissants
Wiener Kipferl have a long tradition in Austria. They are made from hazelnuts, are crescent-shaped and dusted with powdered sugar. One small bite and we think you’ll understand why they’re a classic.
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These cookies were delicious! Perfect for Christmas.
Natalie
Christmas Sugar Cookies
This Christmas cookie recipe has evolved over the years. I’d rather roll out a softer, 1/4″ thick cookie these days than when I was younger and wished for a thinner, crunchier cookie.
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Gingerbread
Lebkuchen are traditional German Christmas cookies that are subtly reminiscent of Lebkuchen. Although we actually prefer to refer to them as “moments of perfectly seasoned, cut-out cookie goodness.”
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This is a wonderful gingerbread recipe… the flavors of the spices, the citrus, and even the chocolate in the frosting all come together in a most appealing way!
Karen H
Gingerbread Man Cookies
Gingerbread man cookies are easy to make and have a subtle flavor. Our Christmas cookie.
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Window pane cookie
These window cookies give the illusion of stained glass thanks to the melted Jolly Ranchers. The appearance of cathedral windows only adds to their suitability for Christmas.
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Christmas snow cookies made from sugar
What can you expect from these Christmassy Sugar Snow Cookies? you are skinny You are sensitive. You are tender. They are very lightly browned at the edges. And they’re filled with the sweet, sweet beauty of butter. Think of them as shortcrust pastries spiced up in the shape of a sugar cookie.
Recipe
Splendid! While the Sugar Christmas Snow Cookies themselves are so simple and tender (icing sugar—who would have thought!), they’re enhanced with a light drizzle of lemon frosting and a hint of vanilla. We added some mother-of-pearl to it, and we’re thrilled that we’ve given the humble sugar Christmas cookie a rather elegant interpretation – both in taste and in appearance.
Ashley A.
Molasses biscuit dipped in chocolate
These chocolate-dipped molasses cookies contain the best of everything: molasses, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and of course, chocolate. Bake, dip and wrap to make an adorable gift.
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Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies
These Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies are a fun twist on a well-known (and easy!) Christmas cookie. Chunks of crystallized ginger and dark chocolate bring a more grown-up experience to a childhood classic.
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An excellent cracker cookie. I got compliments from everyone who tried them for me. A completely different biscuit and very well received. This will become a standard in our Christmas cookie collection.
Theodore W
Christmas tree made of cookies
This cookie Christmas tree is what your holidays have been missing. So stunning to look at. So surprisingly easy to assemble. Sugar cookies and royal icing. Completed.
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Frequently asked questions about Christmas cookies
When stored in an airtight container at room temperature, most cookies will stay fresh for up to a week.
Generally yes. Most shortbread, sugar cookies, gingerbread and all types of roll-on cookies freeze well for up to three months. You can freeze the unbaked dough or baked unadorned cookies in an airtight container between layers of parchment or wax paper.
If your fondness for holiday treats leans more towards the candy or candy side, you’ve come to the right place. From rum balls to Nutella truffles to homemade fudge, there’s something for every sweet tooth. Happy baking!