88 holiday cookie recipes

Kolacky cookies made with a tender cream cheese pastry dough filled with fruit spread, pinched into tri-cornered shapes, and baked golden. A Czech holiday cookie tradition.

Fortune Christmas Cookies, tiny marble-sized dough balls baked into bite-sized holiday treats. A simple, quick-baking variation of the Mysticandy cookie dough for the Christmas tin.

Russian tea cakes (also called Mexican wedding cookies): buttery nut-studded shortbread balls rolled twice in powdered sugar. A classic holiday cookie tin staple in 30 minutes.

Tiny green sugar cookie balls arranged in rings with candied cherry "berries" to make festive Christmas wreath cookies. A fun, easy holiday baking project for kids.

Chocolate snowball cookies rolled in powdered sugar for a craggy, snow-dusted finish. Brown sugar and unsweetened chocolate give these holiday cookies a deep cocoa flavor that's not too sweet.

Italian chocolate nut cookies (mostaccioli) are dense, spiced cocoa cookies with chopped almonds and raisins on whole wheat flour. A traditional Calabrian holiday cookie with deep chocolate-clove flavor.

Rosette cookies fried on a decorative iron with a thin egg-and-milk batter, dusted with powdered sugar. Crisp, lacy Scandinavian holiday cookies with a delicate snowflake shape.

Santa Claus cookies decorate flat sugar cookies with red sugar caps, miniature marshmallow tassels, currant eyes, cinnamon candy noses, and coconut beards. A festive holiday craft cookie kids can help build from baked rounds.

Chocolate chip cherry drop cookies with cream cheese in the dough, maraschino cherries, and a half-cherry crown on each cookie. Holiday-bright bite-sized treats.

Magic window cookies are sugar cookies with stained glass centers made from crushed hard candy that melts during baking. A holiday favorite for tree ornaments and gifts.

Snow cap meringue cookies fold semi-sweet chocolate chips into low-and-slow baked egg-white meringues, then dip the tops in melted white chocolate. Crisp, airy holiday cookies. Makes 6 dozen.

Raspberry gems are delicate sandwich cookies with a sour cream pastry dough, raspberry jam filling, dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with almonds. A gorgeous holiday cookie tin addition.

Refrigerator cookies pack chopped dates, shredded coconut, and walnuts into a buttery slice-and-bake log rolled in extra nuts. Make-ahead icebox cookies for holiday baking or anytime.

Brown sugar cookie dough balls pressed onto pecan halves arranged like tiny turtle legs, then baked and topped with glossy chocolate frosting. Adorable, crunchy, and completely addictive holiday cookies.

French lace cookies bake corn syrup, shortening, brown sugar, flour, and pecans into thin, delicate, caramel-toffee disks. Optional chocolate drizzle. Five ingredients, holiday tray classic.

Buttery pecan shortbread cookie balls dipped in vanilla frosting and rolled in tinted coconut. Melt-in-your-mouth tender, baked low and slow, and perfect for holiday cookie exchanges. Makes 48.