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Over 100 Christmas Cookie Recipes to serve this year: find the best holiday cookies that will make you a star at the cookie exchange and in Santa’s eyes!

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Santas Favorite Cookies on a red plate


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Cookies, cookies everywhere! Thanksgiving might be the pie holiday, but Christmas is the Cookie Holiday! (Well, it’s probably a tie between Cookies and Fudge!)

You need to look no further for your baking inspirations, we’ve collected over 100 Christmas Cookie recipes that will make you the STAR of the office party.

What are your favorite Christmas cookie recipes?

My favorite are sugar cookies and gingerbread but there are so many more on this list, from chocolate to pumpkin, cake mix, and more! Classic Christmas cookies and new ideas – they’re all here.

When should you start baking Christmas cookies?

NOW! I make so many cookies starting early fall and I freeze them. Do you know how to freeze desserts? It’s easy!

Wondering what are the most popular Christmas cookies? Here they are!

plate of peanut butter blossoms

Classic Holiday Cookies

Easy Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe
These are the perfect classic peanut butter cookies with kisses! This easy cookie is soft and chewy and topped with a chocolate kiss. This cookie will remind you of your childhood!
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plate with blossom cookies
Danish Butter Cookies Recipe
These easy Butter Cookies, also called Danish butter cookies, are a holiday season classic. They’re simple but so delicious they literally melt in your mouth.
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Tall stack of easy butter cookies with top two cookies split in half
Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Classic Shortbread Cookies are an easy cookie recipe that is super buttery! You can make these into any shape and they are the perfect shortbread cookie for all year but especially for Christmas.
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Stack of rectangular shortbread cookies on a wood cutting board
Jam Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
Learn how to make classic Thumbprint Cookies with your favorite jam filling! These cookies are always a hit and are very easy to make. Plus, you can customize them with different kinds of jam, so you never have to have them the same way twice!
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stack of cookies on patterned plate.
GOOEY Christmas Cookie Bars Recipe
Christmas Cookie Bars are the best blondies dressed up with holiday M&Ms and sprinkles! These are the best bars for Christmas because they’re easy to make and freezer-friendly. Make a batch to give away to family and friends or save them for your family to enjoy through the holiday season.
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Overhead view of three christmas cookie bars stacked on eachother with m&ms all around
Classic Rugelach Recipe
My Easy Rugelach Recipe are the best holiday cookies! This is a traditional recipe made two ways: classic raisin brown sugar and walnut filling and chocolate chip filling. These are some of the BEST cookies ever!
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stack of rugelach on plate
Christmas Drop Cookies 4 Ways
Make one dough four different ways! These EASY Christmas Drop Cookies are perfect for when you want a lot of cookies fast! No chill time, these sugar cookies come in 4 versions: M&M, sprinkle, blossom cookies, and crunchy sugar coated! They're perfect for the holidays.
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1 dough 4 ways drop cookies
Spiral Cookies Recipe
Spiral Cookies are the perfect easy sugar cookie recipe for any holiday. You can fill these cookies with anything you want! Here are four different pinwheel cookie variations that we love to make: cinnamon sugar, chocolate chip, colorful sugar for any holiday, and lemon curd or jam! You're going to love this easy cookie recipe!
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all types of swirl cookies mixed together
Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe
Cranberry Bliss Bars are white chocolate chip cranberry dessert bars topped with cranberry cream cheese frosting. They’re an easy dessert recipe inspired by the ones you can get at Starbucks but better! 
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Two cranberry bliss bars stacked on eachother
Pecan Pie Cookies
Pecan Pie Cookies are an easy cookie recipe that tastes like pecan pie! This brown sugar cookie is filled with a pecan pie mixture and are perfect for your holiday cookie platters!
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pecan pie cookies
Use one sugar cookie dough recipe to make 3 different Christmas cookies! These easy ideas are perfect for kids!

Fun Flavor Christmas Cookies

Rudolph the Reindeer Cookies Recipe
Use just one dough (either from scratch or from a mix) to make three kinds of Christmas cookies: Rudolph, Christmas lights (aka Stranger Things Cookies), and Christmas Cookie Cups.
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cookie with white frosting and candy on top to make the cookie look like a reindeers face.
Grinch Cookies Recipe
Tis the season for GRINCH COOKIES! I turned my easy sugar cookie recipe into a green cookie for Christmas – decorated easy with a heart sprinkle!! These are such a fun cookie recipe!
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Stacks of green grinch cookies on a metal wire rack

What are Santa’s Favorite Cookies?

Santa’s Favorite Cookies
What are Santa’s Favorite Cookies? These easy brown sugar pudding cookies, of course! Soft and pillowy, these cookies are filled with brown sugar and Christmas candy!
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Santa's Favorite Cookies on a red plate
Boozy White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Cookies
This classic cookie recipe is taken up a notch with boozy whiskey soaked cranberries. This twist on a favorite cookie is soft and chewy and perfectly flavored.
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white chocolate cranberry cookie with pistachios close up
Lemon Poppyseed Thumbprint Cookies
Easy Shortbread Thumbprint cookies filled with lemon curd! These little bites are delicate and almost melt in your mouth – the cookies have lemon and poppyseeds and are filled with an easy lemon curd before baking.
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stack of thumbprint cookies filled with lemon curd on white plate
Plate full of chocolate mint kiss crinkle cookies with hershey kisses

Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookies Recipe
These Chocolate Mint Kiss Crinkle Cookies are a mix between chocolate crinkles and the classic blossom cookie. It’s the ultimate mint chocolate cookie!
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Plate full of chocolate mint kiss crinkle cookies with hershey kisses
Chocolate Mint Cookies Recipe
These mint cookies are perfect for Christmas or whenever you crave chocolate and mint! They are the best chocolate mint cookies that you can make ahead and freeze for up to a month. Make them this year for your cookie platters! 
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Overhead view of double chocolate mint cookies with andes mints scattered around cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
A twist on a classic holiday cookie – make chocolate peanut butter cookies topped with HERSHEY'S KISSES!
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Plate full of chocolate peanut butter blossoms with Hershey kisses sprinkled on plate
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are easy to make, and you can enjoy the cookies plain or dressing them up with chocolate and decorations.
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Stack of chocolate shortbread cookies on a metal cooling rack
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Chocolate crinkle cookies are a classic chocolate cookie and always a holiday favorite! No cookie platter is complete without a few of these crackle-topped cookies coated in powdered sugar. 
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chocolate crinkle cookies covered in powdered sugar.
gingerbread cookies with eyeballs

Pumpkin + Gingerbread Cookies for Christmas

Soft Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
These easy soft and chewy gingerbread cookies are the perfect holiday cutout cookie recipe!
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Snowman-shaped gingerbread cookie with white icing and red, yellow, and green sprinkles on a cooling rack. More cookies are visible in the background.
Gingerbread Cookie Sticks
This is the BEST gingerbread cookie recipe and my absolute favorite. It bakes in a sheet pan and is sliced while it’s still warm. Top it with your favorite candy, like Twix, or drizzle it with white chocolate and sprinkles!
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Three gingerbread cookie bars decorated for the holidays and stacked on top of eachother
Gingerbread Snowballs
Gingerbread Snowballs – this easy snowball cookie recipe tastes like gingerbread! It’s the easiest holiday cookie recipe and perfect for giving.
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Close up shot of bowl of gingerbread snowball cookies with one split in half to show inside of cookie
Molasses Cookies Recipe
These Christmas Molasses Cookies are the BEST drop gingerbread cookies full of molasses and spices, with Christmas M&Ms on top!
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STACK OF 4 MOLASSES COOKIES on brown parchment
Salted Caramel Molasses Cookies
Salted Caramel Molasses Cookies are the perfect Christmas cookie! They’re soft with gingerbread flavor and stuffed with a salted caramel chocolate candy!
Stack of Salted caramel molasses cookies are chewy molasses cookies stuffed with salted caramel dark chocolate candies. The perfect Christmas cookie recipe!
Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Soft and chewy pumpkin cookies are even better with the best cream cheese frosting recipe. These are the best fall cookies!
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stacked pumpkin cookies with frosting on top
Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Cookies
Easy Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Cookies are the BEST pumpkin cookie recipe stuffed with chocolate caramel candy! Gooey cookies that are the best for fall!
Caramel stuffed pumpkin cookies with top one cut in half to show inside caramel filling
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
This Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies recipe is the ONLY pumpkin cookie recipe you'll ever need. Soft and chewy and full of fall flavor, it's my new favorite cookie recipe!
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Stack of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with ingredients around them and more cookies in background
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies are a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie recipe full of pumpkin pie spice! This easy cookie recipe is perfect for fall.
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Hand holding pumpkin spice oatmeal cookie
stack of snickerdoodles with pumpkin pie spice behind

Snickerdoodles for Christmas

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
We love this easy cookie recipe! Make snickerdoodles with pumpkin pie spice! Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles are the best fall cookie recipe!
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stacked cookies on a cutting board next to pumpkin candy corn.
Chocolate Mocha Snickerdoodles
The classic Snickerdoodle, reinvented! Chocolate Mocha Snickerdoodles are full of cocoa, coffee, and cinnamon flavor!
chocolate snickerdoodles stacked on white background
Pumpkin Bread Cookies Recipe
Pumpkin White Chocolate Snickerdoodles – this easy cookie recipe starts with a QUICK BREAD mix if you can believe it! These are the BEST pumpkin snickerdoodles ever!
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Pumpkin White Chocolate Snickerdoodles in on a plate
Frosted Eggnog Cookies Recipe
These Eggnog Frosted Snickerdoodles are the best Christmas cookie! A chewy soft snickerdoodle is topped with eggnog frosting. The best!
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frosted eggnog cookies on parchment paper
BEST Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
Make these easy Snickerdoodles in under 30 minutes – no chill time! These are the perfect snickerdoodle recipe that you can make as cookies or bars!
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stack of cookies.
Apple Butter Snickerdoodles Recipe
This is the ORIGINAL Apple Butter Snickerdoodles recipe. They are an easy snickerdoodle recipe made with apple butter and warm cinnamon. These snickerdoodles soft and chewy and are the perfect fall cookie recipe.
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stacked snickerdoodles on a grey surface.
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Sticks on a stack

Peppermint Christmas Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies Recipe
Soft double chocolate cookies are topped with a peppermint patty after baking and then frosted with chocolate ganache. They’re the ultimate chocolate mint decadence!
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A plate of chocolate-covered cookies is stacked, with one cookie in the center broken in half to reveal a white filling. The cookies have a glossy chocolate coating and sit on a decorative white plate. Some wrapped cookies are blurred in the background.
Peppermint Sugar Cookies Recipe
These Peppermint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Sticks are the perfect Christmas cookie recipe! Chocolate chip filled sugar cookies with a hint of peppermint!
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Peppermint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Sticks
Triple White Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
Peppermint Blossom Cookies is a pudding cookies recipe turned into a blossom cookie complete with a peppermint kiss on top! The cookies are flavored with white chocolate, which pairs perfectly with the peppermint. They are a great holiday cookie recipe!
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Close up shot of peppermint blossom cookies
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Give your cookies a holiday twist, and make these Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies this year! The cookies are soft and chewy with chocolate chips and peppermint chips. They are perfect for cookie platters or keep them for yourself to enjoy through the holiday season.
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cookie with peppermint bark bits on rack
sliced christmas snowball

Snowball Cookies

Mom’s Russian Tea Cakes Recipe
This is my Mom’s famous Russian Teacake recipe! This classic recipe is a family favorite, wether you call them snowballs or teacakes or wedding cookies!
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bowl of snowball wedding cookies
Chocolate Dipped Snowball Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Snowball Cookies – make your favorite wedding cookies and dip them in chocolate for a new easy cookie truffle recipe!
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Chocolate Dipped Snowball Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Snowballs
These Pumpkin Spice Snowballs are a new version of your favorite holiday cookie! Adding warm pumpkin spices to Russian Teacakes makes them perfect for fall and holiday baking!
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Orange bowl of Pumpkin Spice Snowballs
Mint Snowball Cookies Recipe
Mint Snowball Cookies are soft chocolate cookies coated in powdered sugar. They are inspired by traditional Russian tea cakes but with no nuts! They are rich with a hint of mint from Andes baking chips mixed into the dough. Snowballs are an easy cookie to make and perfect for the holiday season!
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Mint colored bowl full of mint snowball cookies with ingredients around the bowl and one snowball cut in half to show filling
Chocolate Snowball Cookies Recipe
These Double Chocolate Snowball Cookies are my most favorite Russian Teacake recipe yet! They’re full of rich cocoa powder and chocolate chips – NUT FREE!
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snowball cookies stacked in blue bowl with one cut open to show the inside
Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies Recipe
Snowball Cookies are the BEST Christmas Cookie! I made these snowball cookies with chocolate chips and no nuts! They're an easy cookie recipe everyone can enjoy.
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A bowl filled with powdered sugar-coated cookie dough balls, some with chocolate chips visible. One dough ball is halved, revealing a soft, chocolate chip-studded interior. The bowl has a colorful rim.
Christmas Snowball Cookies
Christmas Snowball Cookies are my mom’s recipe full of red and green M&Ms! This easy cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays and can be made with any color candy!
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snowballs covered in powdered sugar with red and green m&ms baked in
Stuffed Snowball Cookies
If you love snowball cookies, these STUFFED SNOWBALLS are the perfect addition to any cookie platter. The basic recipe is stuffed with a peanut butter cup!
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snowball cut in half revealing the peanut butter cup inside
Lemon Snowball Cookies
Lemon Snowball Cookies – an easy wedding cookie recipe filled with lemon zest, juice, and extract. These are the perfect tea cake cookies!
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Buttery Lemon Snowball Cookies
snowman sugar cookie

Shortbread and Christmas Sugar Cookies

Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
These are my family's favorite Cut Out Sugar Cookies! This easy cookie recipe holds it's shape and makes soft and delicate sugar cookies!
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tree shaped cookie with frosting decorating the cookies
Cake Mix Sugar Cookies
Use this easy cake mix hack – make Cake Mix Sugar Cookies for an easy but delicious sugar cookie recipe. They're soft and chewy with a homemade frosting and no one will guess they're from a box!
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close up of cake mix sugar cookie
Whipped Shortbread Recipe
These little bites of shortbread are a drop cookie that are buttery and crunchy and soft, and they really are the perfect shortbread cookies! Use your favorite color sprinkles to decorate the top.
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whipped shortbread in a pile with rainbow nonpareils
Soft Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Soft chewy shortbread cookies are made from one shortbread recipe, with 4 cookie recipe variations. Add M&Ms, dip them in chocolate, or make shortbread thumbprint cookies all from one recipe!
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multiple short bread cookies laid all together.
Sugar Cookies Recipe
This is the BEST soft sugar cookie recipe! These drop sugar cookies are chewy and soft and perfect with or without frosting.
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sugar cookie with white frosting and pink and blue sprinkles.
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies Recipe
Lofthouse Cookies are a copycat sugar cookie that’s soft with a thick layer of sweet frosting. These cookies are also called sour cream sugar cookies and they’re perfectly soft!
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blue frosted cookie with bite missing
Sprinkle Cookies Recipe
Sprinkle Cookies – this easy sugar cookie recipe is full of sprinkles with a dairy-free option! Make them colorful for Valentine’s Day or any day!
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stacked sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles baked in.
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread
This is the perfect 5 minute semi-homemade cookie: EASY Chocolate Dipped Shortbread. Perfect for when you only have a few minutes and need dessert or a gift!
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EASY Chocolate Dipped Shortbread is the perfect 5 minute semi-homemade cookie recipe. The perfect shortbread recipe to make when you're short on time and need dessert or a gift!

According to research, peanut butter blossoms are America’s Favorite Cookie! On this website, my Chocolate Chip Snowball Cookies are the favorite.



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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21 Comments

  1. So many cookies, so little time! They all look great, but I think I will add the “I want to marry you” cookies to my holiday baking this weekend (even though I have been married almost 20 years).

    Reply

  2. Oh migosh! Just as I think I’ve narrowed down my selection for baking this weekend, you have to post this! What a great list, thank you for sharing!! Now it’s just deciding which ones to bake 🙂

    Reply

  3. Amazing round up Jen & Dorothy! Tis the season of cookies 🙂 Thanks for including my Red Velvet Cookies!

    Reply

  5. Thanks for linking up to my Soft Molasses Coconut Oil Crinkle Cookies and wow, the choices!!! I am in cookie heaven. I want to try one of each 🙂 pinned

    Reply