The Best Christmas Cookie Recipes We've Ever Tried

Let's share our tried-and-true picks for the best Christmas cookie recipes! What are your family's absolute favorite holiday cookies? Recommend your favorite recipe below and add a review for any others that you try!

Whether you're baking for a cookie swap, curling up to watch holiday movies or leaving a sweet treat for Santa, you can't go wrong with these Christmas cookies that fellow parents make year after year.


 

    Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  These peanut butter blossoms are one of my favorite easy Christmas cookie recipes and are always a huge hit with cookie recipients. Make them even more festive by rolling them in holiday-colored sanding sugars.

    Sugar Cookies With Icing That Hardens

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  Looking for the perfect sugar cookie? This is one of the best Christmas cookie recipes because the dough is easy to work with, and the icing hardens so they can be stacked on a cookie platter or for gift giving. The decorating can be as simple or as intricate as you like with frosting and holiday sprinkles galore.

    Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies

    Kristy Pepping:  If you are looking for the best Christmas cookie recipes to win a family or work bake-off, this one is the ticket! It earned me top honors at my last two office jobs. First of all, these are super easy to make and a drop cookie so no need for a rolling pin. If you are not familiar with snickerdoodles, they are like a sugar cookie with cinnamon. Plus, they remain soft even after being baked so they melt in your mouth!

    Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  These adorable cookies are our new favorite Christmas cookies for kids! They are easy to make, but will impress everyone. Using a peanut butter cookie base, just add some mini chocolate-covered pretzels for antlers, mini M&Ms for the eyes and if you are making Rudolph cookies, a red M&M for the nose!

    Pretzel M&M Hugs

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  These fun salty and sweet Christmas treats are so simple to make but they look great and even more importantly they taste great!

    Candy Cane Cookies

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  Buttery sugar cookies infused with peppermint and shaped into candy canes are the perfect addition to any holiday cookie assortment. This is one of the best Christmas cookie recipes for kids to help make because they are so much fun. They especially like making the "snakes" of dough and twisting them together.

    Buckeyes

    Katie G.:  Living in Ohio, these are a classic Christmas cookie. My kids beg me to make them all year.

    Gingerbread Men Cookies

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  Full of spicy goodness, gingerbread men are some of the best Christmas cookies because they are fun to make and even more fun to decorate. This a great one to let the kids help you with and your kitchen will smell fantastic with these in the oven!

    Oreo Truffles

    Tracy Snyder Molina:  I had never heard of Oreo truffles until a few years ago, boy was I missing out! These decadent delights are ridiculously easy to make and taste amazing. Plus, once you've got the basic recipe down, there are a huge variety of truffles you can make. It's one of those easy Christmas cookie recipes that you will love making every year.

    Saltine Cracker Toffee

    Katie G.:  This sweet, buttery toffee crunch is as easy to make as it is delicious. A few simple ingredients make it my go-to recipe for gift giving. Add some holiday sprinkles instead of pecans to make this kid-friendly. And be sure to watch the "caramel" mixture as it cooks on the stove to avoid burnt toffee. I must warn you, this stuff is addicting and you will find yourself making several batches over the holidays because it's that good!

    Andes Mint Cookies

    Vanessa M.:  While soft-baked chocolate cookies are still warm, top them with whole Andes mints, which melt into a delicious frosting over each cookie. The result is a Christmas cookie that we want to make every year!

    Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

    Dawn Denning:  Peppermint is the flavor of the season and these are special occasion treats. Although a few more steps than usual, the best Christmas cookie recipes are worth the effort! My kiddos love the texture and filling. A double batch allows me to eat some too!

    Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

    Molly Weber:  Who knew that peanut butter cups could be even tastier? Popping them into a delicious peanut butter dough makes these one of the best Christmas cookie recipes ever.

    Speculaas

    Lisa R:  This spicy take on gingerbread is a holiday must in the Netherlands. They are quick to mix, roll, and bake (with a refrigeration step in the middle), but have a surprisingly big flavor. Not overly sweet, they pair well with coffee and can be a nice break from more sugary tasting Christmas cookie recipes. However, don't think that the more 'adult' taste will keep them safe from little hands: they are cookies, after all.

    Butter Ball Cookies

    christadiserio:  My husband is Italian and this is one of their family favorite Christmas cookies! This year, I made them for my family and they were all gone within the hour. They are buttery and delicious. It's the perfect cookie for someone who's craving something sweet but doesn't want anything overly sugary. The best part is - if you're the one making the cookies, you don't have to carve out hours of time to bake. This is an easy and quick recipe that will only take you about 35 minutes from start to finish.

Primary photo:   cottonbro from Pexels

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