124 holiday cookie recipes

Jelly Christmas Eyes are sandwich cookies with a window cutout showing raspberry or strawberry jelly through the center, coated in sugar. A festive holiday cookie plate classic.

Mocha mint crisps roll buttery cocoa-coffee dough in sugar before baking into crackle-topped chocolate cookies with a cool peppermint finish. A holiday cookie tin essential.

Soft, cake-style pumpkin spice cookies built on egg whites and pumpkin puree with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, baked tender for a lighter holiday cookie tin.

Kolachkies are flaky Polish cream cheese cookies with thumbprint centers filled with apricot jam. A buttery holiday tradition that melts in your mouth.

Chocolate sandwich cookies filled with melted Andes mint candies. Crisp chocolate wafers rolled in sugar with a creamy mint center, perfect for holiday cookie tins and gift platters.

Nut crescents: buttery shortbread cookies shaped into crescents, dipped in egg white and a nut-sugar coating, baked golden, then dusted with powdered sugar. A holiday cookie classic.

No-bake butterscotch haystacks coat corn flakes in melted butterscotch and peanut butter, then fold in mini chocolate chips. Crispy, sweet-salty, and freezer-stable. A 20-minute holiday cookie that needs no oven.

Soft drop cookies made with mashed cooked carrots and shredded coconut, topped with a bright orange butter icing. Makes 4 dozen, great for holiday cookie trays and bake sales.

Butter cookie press poinsettias for Christmas with red flower shapes and hand-formed green leaves topped with silver dragees. A beautiful, festive holiday cookie with almond and vanilla flavor.

Italian gocci di cioccolata, chocolate drop cookies spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, baked soft and finished with a glaze. Old-world Italian drop cookie with warm holiday flavor.

Holiday harlequin fudge stacks dark chocolate-walnut over white chocolate-cherry in one loaf pan. A two-toned, brandy-laced Christmas fudge for cookie trays and tins.

Soft chocolate drop cookies packed with maraschino cherries and topped with a glossy chocolate frosting. Buttermilk keeps them tender. Makes 4 to 5 dozen in about 30 minutes, so they're built for holiday cookie trays and bake sales.

Italian Christmas cookies (Patina di Natale) studded with toasted pine nuts and brightened by lemon zest. A buttery, golden-glazed cookie-cutter classic from the holiday tables of southern Italy.

Pecan thumbprint cookies, the classic shortbread-style holiday cookie. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth dough rolled in finely chopped pecans with a thumbprint well ready for jam, chocolate, or icing.

Buttery rolled sugar cookies with lemon zest and vanilla, made with cake flour for a melt-in-your-mouth tender crumb. A classic cut-out cookie recipe that's ideal for decorating and holiday baking.

Pfeffernüsse-style German spice cookies with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, and allspice, finished with a drop of brandy before baking. A traditional holiday cookie that keeps for weeks in a tin.