Best Christmas Cookies

These super-easy 3-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies are always a favorite! Their simple flavor is irresistible. This cookie dough can be made as cutout cookies, drop cookies, or bar cookies.

Decorated cut-out Sugar Cookies are such a classic for Christmastime. Don't be daunted by making these cookies! This recipe is easy to make, and the cookies look beautiful without intricate decorating.

These White Chocolate Snickerdoodles take the classic cookie, dip them in melted white chocolate, and add a whole slew of toppings. The result is a batch of beautiful, delicious cookies perfect for Christmastime! (Spoiler alert: These won't be the last Snickerdoodles you see on this list!)

Cookie bars don't often get the attention that their scooped, cut, or shaped counterparts do, but I love them for their simplicity and potential for some fun presentation. These Peppermint Sugar Cookie Bars combine a simple sugar cookie with a sweet peppermint frosting. Add some holiday sprinkles for a beautiful treat that's sure to garner some oohs and aahs!

These simple Hazelnut Crescent Cookies are a nostalgic favorite for me. They're a simple, nutty shortbread that's very similar to Christmas cookies I used to bake with my mother.

These simple cookies have a bright, festive raspberry filling, making them stand out on any cookie tray. I love the raspberry jam for its beautiful red color, but you can easily swap another flavor if you like.

These easy Spritz Cookies are sure to invoke plenty of nostalgia. The recipe is so easy to make with basic ingredients, and then the fun happens with using a cookie press to form the cookies. A fun baking project to share with family and friends!

If you love a kick of warm, cozy spices, then Pfeffernüsse are for you! These little cookies feature an irresistible blend of spices, all wrapped inside a simple, sweet coating.

Skip the tin this year and make homemade Danish Butter Cookies! They're really easy to make and so, so much tastier.

Peanut Butter Blossoms are instantly recognizable on any Christmas cookie spread. These nostalgic favorites are a fun and eye-catching addition to your holiday baking!

With their sugar-coated exterior, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies lend themselves well to Christmas cookie time. Beyond their eye-catching appearance, though, is a rich, fudgy cookie that's completely irresistible!

These hearty Winter Fruit Oatmeal Cookies are filled with a variety of dried fruits like cranberries and dates. They're sweet and chewy and flavorful and pretty much irresistible!

Cinnamon Pecan Puffs are another from my mother's recipe collection. These are so, so easy to make. They're meringue cookies at heart, but with lots of brown sugar and pecans.

My favorite no-roll sugar cookies all dressed up with Christmas sprinkles! These are so simple and so fun to make!

Every occasion needs a little chocolate, and these Irish Cream Brownie Cookies are a fantastic way to do just that. They manage to be cookies and brownies at the same time, with a little Irish Cream to give them a bit of a kick.

What better way to dress up vanilla cookies than with sprinkles? Use rainbow sprinkles or holiday sprinkles to make these crowd-pleasing Sprinkle Crinkle Cookies.

These soft cookies melt in your mouth! Add a creamy frosting and crushed peppermint candies, and these are a must for peppermint lovers.

Just like the name implies, these Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Meltaway Cookies will melt in your mouth!

These one-bowl Coconut Macaroons are one of my very favorite treats. They're made simply with a short list of ingredients for a sweet, chewy, delicious cookie. Dip them in melted chocolate for even more flavor!

There's something so appealing about these simple Cornmeal Cookies. They have a subtle sweetness that serves as a nice balance to some of the heavier Christmas cookie fare.

With a short list of ingredients and easy prep, Pignoli Cookies are a cinch to make. These chewy cookies are full of almond flavor and coated with toasty pine nuts.

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I do love hot chocolate. These Hot Chocolate Cookies with Marshmallow Glaze let you have your hot chocolate in cookie form!

These slice-and-bake Pistachio Cookies can be your secret weapon during the holidays. Store the dough in the refrigerator, and then slice the cookies and bake them when you're ready. A drizzle of melted chocolate and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt add a touch of elegance to these nutty cookies.

Spiced Toffee Cookies are sweet and spiced with a toffee crunch. As much as I hesitate to play favorites, these are probably in my top cookies I've ever made. And I've made A LOT of cookies.

These Coconut-Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies are as eye-catching as they are delicious. I love all things coconut and salted caramel, so these are an always welcome treat!

Biscotti always make it onto my Christmas baking list, and these Almond Biscotti are always a hit. They're simple to make and simple in their flavor. They make a great gift, too, packaged with some great coffee, tea, or hot chocolate mix.

These beautiful Pinwheel Cookies feature a mesmerizing swirl of chocolate and vanilla. Dip them in melted chocolate and add sprinkles for a festive addition to your holiday baking repertoire!

I cannot resist spiced desserts in the winter, and these Sugar and Spice Cookies are a perfect example of that. All it takes is a good blend of spices to turn ordinary sugar cookies into something spectacular!

Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies up the chocolate crinkle cookie ante with the addition of Nutella. These have long been a favorite of mine, and I think you'll love them, too!

Cranberry Pistachio Cookies just look like Christmas cookies, don't they? They're wonderful fresh from the oven or with a little dip into some white chocolate.

Sweet and salty fans will love these Potato Chip Cookies. What a fun treat for sharing with family and friends!

I'll take any excuse to make a batch of these Cream Cheese Shortbread-Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies. They're a simple shortbread made even better with cream cheese and a little dollop of dulce de leche.

Not only is this sweet, crispy Triple Chocolate Cookie Brittle amazingly delicious, but it's also a lot of fun to make!

Chai Spice Palmiers are more pastry than cookie, but they're just so good and such a great choice for this time of year. They're made with a homemade puff pastry dough that is ridiculously easy to make.

I'm not one to make lots of Christmas cookies shaped like snowmen and reindeer and such, but I will happily dig out my star-shaped cookie cutter to make these beautiful Zimtsterne. They're a bit like a meringue-macaron hybrid, and they're so, so good.

The flavor combination in Brown Butter Pistachio Cookies is fantastic. There's a hint of orange in these cookies that really makes them special.

For something a little different, these Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie Bites are made in mini muffin cups for a sweet grab-and-go cookie. They package well, too, if you're giving homemade gifts.

These sweet, nutty, simple Snowball Cookies are exactly the kinds of cookies I cannot resist. And perhaps best of all is how easy they are to make with basic baking ingredients!

Pound Cake Cookies are a great example of less is more. With their simple flavor and soft texture, these beauties are always a crowd-pleaser.

Chocolate Oatmeal Biscoff Cookies get their wonderful spiced flavor from cookie butter. Pair that with chocolate and oats, and you've got a real winner.

There is no telling how many batches of Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies I've made over the years. And every time, there's a whole lot of clamoring to get to them. Luckily, the recipe makes a big batch, so you'll have plenty to spare!

As traditional holiday cookies go, it's tough to beat Linzer Cookies. These cutout cookies are filled with your favorite jam for a cookie that's as tasty as it is beautiful.

Snickerdoodles are always a popular Christmas cookie choice. I especially love these Cookie Butter Snickerdoodles with their extra kick of spice from the addition of cookie butter.

Cheesecake-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies are chewy cookies wrapped around a sweet cream cheese filling. These are definitely worthy of some holiday indulging!

I can't resist adding Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies to this collection. Whoopie pies blur the lines of cookies and cake, but I guarantee you that no one will care how you classify them once they take a bite.

Browned Butter Salty Sugar Cookies are one of my go-to recipes for cookie swaps, bake sales, and such. For such simple cookies, they have amazing flavor.

You'll find plenty of cranberry cookies on this list. I love them all for different reasons. These Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies are a great example of how a simple oatmeal cookie can be dressed up for the holidays with pretty, red cranberries and a drizzle of white chocolate.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies are another nod to my mother's baking. Granted, her version of these involved a tube of cookie dough, but the result is still a chocolate and peanut butter dream.

Chocolate Chip Pecan No-Bake Cookies are so fascinating. Just FOUR ingredients, and no baking? That makes these a perfectly quick and easy addition to your holiday cookie list.

Chocolate Shortbread Fingers are buttery, chocolatey cookies that are a serious crowd-pleaser. There's a hint of cinnamon in them to give them a little holiday flair.

If you're a fan of warm, cozy spices, you'll love these Nutty Spiced Snowdrop Cookies! There is cinnamon in the cookies as well as a blend of winter spices in the coating.

If you're looking to go big for your holiday cookie baking, then these Triple Chocolate Pecan Cookies are the ticket. These are some big, beautiful, delicious cookies.

Cranberry Shortbread Cookies are one of those cookies that I only seem to bake this time of year. They're filled with dried cranberries, which makes them a year-round treat if you like.

Salted Double Chocolate Cookies are just the thing for the sweet and salty fans in your crowd. That little sprinkle of salt turns these rich cookies into something amazing.

These soft, sweet cookies are so much fun! They're studded with holiday M&Ms for a festive look that will be a hit with both kids and adults!

If you can't get enough of the season's warm, cozy spices, you must try these Chai Sugar Cookies. A flavorful spin on a classic!

If you're looking for a cookie that will stand out at your cookie swap, try these Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies. They combine two favorites into one delicious cookie mash-up!

These Maple Ginger Cookies may look unassuming, but just one bite will have you singing their praises.

These pretty Cream Cheese Thumbprint Cookies are a perfect addition to your holiday baking. Fill them with different jams to make a beautiful presentation.

For all the chocolate anyone could want in a cookie, try these Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies. That sparkly sugar makes them seem so festive and perfect for the season.

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles offer a really simple twist on the classic cookie. Browning the butter in these cookies gives the a richer, deeper flavor that I can never resist.

For something a bit different from the usual fare, try these Raspberry Sugar Cookies made with freeze-dried raspberries. They're wonderfully delicious and so pretty, too!

Rugelach take a little more effort than most cookie recipes I share, but that makes them perfect for a special occasion like Christmas. The flavors are customizable to your tastes, too.

These Cocoa Macadamia Nut Sanides just look like Christmas cookies, don't they? Their rich flavor and snowy look make them a a holiday favorite.

Simple as they may be, Brown Sugar Crinkle Cookies may very well be my favorite crinkle cookies. All that brown sugar gives them a rich, caramel-like flavor that's pretty hard to beat.

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies are soft, chewy, and oh so delicious! Rolling them in sugar before baking gives them that pretty sparkle that works so well for the holidays.

Double Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies feature a favorite flavor combination in a rich, chewy cookie. These never seem to last very long!

You only need 6 ingredients to make these sweet, chewy almond cookies! This is a great option if you want something just a little different on your cookie tray.

With plenty of cranberries and a sprinkling of sparkling sugar, these Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries are such a pretty Christmas cookie. These cookies aren't made with butter, but rather a quick macadamia butter serves to help hold them together and give them a really great flavor.

These rich, fudgy Outrageous Chocolate Cookies are a long-time favorite around here. The dough is unlike a traditional cookie dough, and you may think you've done something wrong when you mix them. But they'll bake into a fudgy chocolate dream!

Almond Spice Cookies are such pretty little cookies, but don't be fooled. There's big time flavor here! And those flavors are just perfect for the holiday season.

These easy-to-make sugar cookies are just so much fun! They're made drop-style, so there's no rolling and cutting the dough. Just portion, coat in some fun toppings, and bake!