My 10 Best Christmas Cookie Recipes

I always to love get in the kitchen and crank up the oven but there’s something about baking in December that feels extra special to me.  It’s all the chocolate, and all the sprinkles, and all the giving.  I bake so I can GIVE and GIVING is the vibe every December so this might just be my favorite season.  If you’re like me (and you’re here because you surely are) my offering today will serve you. It’s a collection of my very best Christmas cookie recipes. Gather your flour and ingredients. Here’s a taste of the holidays!

First up: Gingerbread People Marshmallows – a double trouble holiday treat of homemade marshmallows and mini, chocolate-dipped gingerbread people as decorations.  These are a labor of love but so rewarding to gift.  I especially like these marshmallows in a mug of hot cocoa. Just fish the molasses ginger cookie out before the marshmallow melts so you have little gingerbread cookies to dip! These aren’t plain ol’ sugar cookies. We’re really going for it.

Let’s talk about the best Christmas cookie recipes that are also peanut butter cookie recipes because for me, the two categories overlap seamlessly.

•  Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Cookies are a variation of my mom’s Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies made with peanut butter cups because more is more when it comes to peanut butter candy. Either way we’re talking about perfect peanut butter cookies.

•  Speaking of MOM!  She really shines come Christmas as evidenced by Mom’s Famous Peanut Butter Balls. Name a better flavor combination. I’ll wait.

•  What could be better than a classic chewy gingersnap cinnamon spice cookie than one made with… you guessed it: peanut butter!  See: Peanut Butter Gingersnap Chews.

•  I LOVE a holiday shortbread cookie during the holiday season and here’s my favorite way:  Confetti Holiday Shortbread. An easy and reliable vanilla shortbread is studded with festive sprinkles (they’re even rolled into the top of the cookies) and cut into small squares.  We’re essentially making shortbread cookies as easy to eat as popcorn!  These cookie bites tuck very nicely into a cupcake paper inside a holiday cookie tin!

For a gluten-free sprinkle cookie, see: Rainbow Cereal Cookies!

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting a classic like Dad’s Best Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies into your holiday baking routine but… ya know, we could jazz it up a bit.

•  These Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of the most popular cookie recipes on the site because we’ve baked actual Oreo cookies into chocolate chip cookies with no apologies. It’s cookie inception! (Are we still into that movie?)

•  Browned Butter Cappuccino Cookies  with white chocolate chips are both bitter and sweet which I think is all of life. These cookies have a depth of flavor thanks to brown sugar and instant coffee powder!

•  In terms of Christmas cookie recipes it doesn’t get more wealthy than Spiced Mulled Wine Fruit Bars.  Pair a buttery press-in crust with red wine soaked dried fruit.  Each slice is rich and indulgent and honestly, my favorite way to enjoy mulled wine because of the jam and cloves. It’s an impressive dessert.

•  This Chocolate Almond Ginger Bark is actually impossible to stop eating one you make it so let this serve as your warming. Make a double – nope – make a triple batch.  You’ll need one batch to consume while you pack the others for gifting. Sliced almonds are my favorite way to add nuts to chocolate bark. They toast so evenly!

•  Classic Black and White Cookies might be my favorite of all the cookies (though it’s impossible to choose). I’ve turned the classic into a little holiday treat with peppermint for these darling Chocolate Peppermint Black and Marble Cookies.

Bonus!  This year I want to make Jon’s Churro Cookies and you might want to scroll through Cup of Jo’s What’s Your Holiday Cookie Showstopper? The comments are full of everyone’s favorites!

And if you’re playing Santa and packing cookies to gift and ship this year, check out how I package my cookie tins for some helpful tips!

Happy Holidays and happy baking, friends!

xo