You’ll love this collection of the best Christmas cookie recipes, easy to make and all so pretty. Sweeten your holiday season with these special cookies that are all simple to shape and bake, and so festive.
They’re perfect for creating a delicious holiday cookie plate you can give to friends, or for sharing at Christmas cookie exchanges and parties.
The best holiday cookies don’t have to be complicated to be beautiful and delicious. You’ll love this collection of simple Christmas cookie recipes from some of our top food blogger friends.
We’ve got your classic favorites like rolled sugar cookies, coconut macaroons, peanut butter cookies, spritz cookies, snickerdoodles, and crinkle cookies, PLUS new recipes like cake mix sugar cookies, pan banging sugar cookies, and peppermint brownie mix cookies.
How Long Before Christmas Should You Make Christmas Cookies?
If you’re baking cookies to serve at Christmas parties or cookie exchanges, you may want to prepare them that day, or no more than a day or two in advance so they are nice and fresh.
In general, most of these treats will stay fresh for 5 to 7 days if stored in an airtight cookie tin or tightly sealed container. But most festive holiday cookies taste best if eaten within 3 days or so.
The parchment paper helps cushion the cookies and also keep them from sticking together. The container protects the cookies from getting crushed when people move things around in the freezer.
You can freeze most baked cookies for up to a month. To thaw, simply move the container to the refrigerator and let them slowly thaw overnight. Then let the cookies come to room temperature before serving.
Let’s bake some easy Christmas cookie recipes, shall we?
1. Snowman Cookies – Belle of the Kitchen
These adorable Snowman Cookies are super easy and fun to make! Cake mix sugar cookies are topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting, then decorated with candies and sprinkles to bring these little frosty friends to life!
This is, without a doubt, the easiest and most delicious Sugar Cookie Recipe. This simple recipe makes versatile vanilla sugar cookie dough that is easy to roll and holds its shape while baked, giving you sharp, beautiful, defined edges (as shown in these Christmas trees) perfect for decorating with your favorite homemade or store bought frosting. In this post, you’ll learn how to make classic sugar cookies for all your holiday baking needs.
3. Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Blossoms – Baker’s Table
Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Blossoms are the ultimate simple cookies to bake this holiday season! Every bite of these chewy peanut butter cookies is sweet, nutty, with just the right amount of gooey melted chocolate. So delicious and festive!
Spritz Cookies are the perfect crumbly cookies with a sweet, buttery flavor. They are baked into intricate shapes or patterns, with colorful decoration, making them the ultimate holiday cookie recipe!
Sweet and chewy with a salty crunch, these coconut almond macaroons with chocolate drizzle are the best cookies for holidays, Christmas and snacking. The recipe is super easy, and you'll love the flavor.
6. Christmas Wreath Cookie Recipe – Salads Soups and Sweets
This Christmas Wreath Cookie Recipe is a favorite holiday treat because it adds a pop of color and is the perfect addition to cookie trays. With their beautiful green color and festive wreath shape, making a batch of these easy Christmas cookies will definitely get you in the holiday spirit!
These Maple Snickerdoodles have the great cinnamon flavor that everyone loves, with the yummy added bonus of maple syrup. Take a beloved, classic cookie and kick it up a notch with this twist on snickerdoodles, perfect for the holidays!
These delicious sugar cookies have chewy centers, crisp edges, sweet icing and festive Christmas sprinkles. Learn how the pan banging technique results in the best chewy cookies!
10. Brownie Snowflake Sugar Cookies – Ottawa Mommy Club
These snowflake sugar cookies have all the flavor of a brownie with the crispy crunch of a good sugar cookie! Everyone will love these easy to make holiday cookies.
11. Easy Italian Pignoli Cookies – Brunch & Batter
These 4 ingredient Italian Pignoli Cookies are a special Christmas treat and come together in no time. Almond paste, egg whites, sugar and pine nuts make these Italian Christmas cookies so tasty, and they're a breeze to make!
13. Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies – Midwestern HomeLife
Easy 4-ingredient Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies are fun to make, delicious to eat, and perfect for holiday goodie trays, Christmas parties, and any time you’re craving a sweet treat.
14. Molasses Crinkle Cookies – Happy Simple Living
Easy Molasses Crinkle Cookies are soft and chewy with delightful crinkled tops. Chopped candied ginger adds bright flavor, and crystal sugar sprinkled on top adds sparkle and crunch.
These Cranberry Bars with White Chocolate are easy to make and so tasty! No rolling required, and it’s simple to cut them in festive triangles after garnishing with sweet tangy dried cranberries.
These classic gingerbread cookies are made with a soft, chewy cookie dough that's loaded with pumpkin pie spices, ginger, molasses and brown sugar. These mouthwatering gingerbread men are the perfect holiday treat!
These Polar Bear Paw Cookies are so adorable and couldn’t be any easier to make! Perfect for a cookie exchange, a cute Christmas cookie for the kids to help make, or even a bear-themed party.
22. Christmas Sprinkle Cookies – 365 Days of Baking
These Cream Cheese Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are so easy to make. No chilling or rolling the dough necessary! A cream cheese cookie dough gets rolled in sprinkles then baked for an irresistible holiday cookie.
23. White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies – Homan at Home
Super simple white chocolate cranberry cookies are a wonderful winter treat! Start with a boxed cake mix and end with a delicious addition to your Christmas menu.
24. Christmas Pinwheel Cookies – Julie’s Eats and Treats
Festive red and green cookies that make the perfect Christmas Cookie for holiday parties! They look fancy, but the dough is so easy to roll up, slice and bake. Guaranteed to become one of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes!
25. White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies – Joyous Apron
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! One that should be filled with lots of joy, fun…and cookies! Or more specifically, these lovely White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies that are perfect for Christmas and holidays, making all things merry and bright!
With just six simple ingredients, these holiday butter cookies are simple and taste absolutely delicious. They are soft, crumbly, and perfect for any occasion!
27. Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies – Our Love Language is Food
These peppermint kiss cookies are sure to be a new holiday favorite! With a fudgy chocolate cookie base and adorable striped peppermint kiss candies, these are a must this holiday season.
This easy, old fashioned orange cookie recipe is perfect for holiday baking. You'll love these slice and bake orange Christmas sugar cookies, made from a recipe that has been passed down for generations!
30. Raspberry Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies – The Fresh Cooky
This easy recipe for 5-Ingredient Raspberry Cheesecake Thumbprint cookies are as beautiful as they are simple to make. A perfect cookie for your Christmas cookie exchange, meltaway and tender.
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
