Ready for holiday baking? Find our best Christmas cookies below! They include easy recipes for sugar cookies, spice cookies, cut outs, and more.
I’ll be baking Christmas cookies on repeat for the next few weeks! They’re one of my favorite parts of the holiday season—sweet, festive, and perfect for making with family and sharing as a gift. If you ask me, there’s no better way to spread holiday cheer.
In case you’re ready for holiday baking too, I’ve rounded up my best easy Christmas cookie recipes below. They include traditional Christmas cookies like gingerbread as well as fun shortbread variations, classic chocolate chip cookies, and more. They’re all great for holiday parties, cookie tins, and baking with loved ones (kids included!). I hope you find some you love!
Our Best Traditional Christmas Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
With over 300 5-star reviews, these gingerbread cut outs are our most popular Christmas cookies! They’re some of my personal favorites too—soft, richly spiced, and perfect for decorating.
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Sometimes called snowballs, these buttery pecan cookies practically melt in your mouth.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
These classic cut-out cookies have lightly crisp edges, soft middles, and a warm, buttery flavor. Top them with royal icing and sprinkles for a festive holiday treat!
Thumbprint Cookies
These thumbprints are one of the Christmas cookie recipes I make every single year. They have a delicious almond shortbread dough that I fill with sweet, tangy apricot and raspberry jam.
Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ready in just 30 minutes, this recipe is a quick and easy way to get your Christmas cookie fix. These have crisp edges, fudgy middles, and a deeply spiced molasses flavor.
Spritz Cookies
These buttery cookies keep well for a week at room temperature and freeze well for months, so they’re great Christmas cookies for gifting. My family has been making them since my sister and I were kids!
Pignoli Cookies
Crusted with pine nuts, these cookies will add an elegant Italian spin to your holiday cookie spread.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Top them with the traditional Hershey’s Kisses, or use mini peanut butter cups for extra peanut butter flavor.
Holiday Shortbread and Sugar Cookies
Shortbread Cookies
These slice and bake cookies are tender, buttery, and easy to make with 5 ingredients. They’re the best Christmas cookies to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!
Easy Sugar Cookies
Roll these simple drop cookies in colored sugar to make them extra-festive for the holidays.
Lemon Cookies
With lightly crisp edges and chewy, fudgy middles, these zesty cookies are bakery-worthy perfection. I love them all year round, but especially at Christmas.
Orange Shortbread Cookies
Orange zest and a simple orange glaze brighten these delicate shortbread cut outs.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
I add fresh thyme to this lemony shortbread dough for an unexpected herbal twist.
Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes for Chocolate Lovers
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies might not be traditional for Christmas, but no chocolate lover will complain about them on a holiday cookie plate. This recipe is my go-to—they’re chewy, flavorful, and easy to make. No stand mixer required!
Cranberry Cookies
Dried cranberries and pistachios give these soft-baked cookies some red and green holiday flair.
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Essentially brownies in cookie form. L&L reader Alyssa wrote, “Just made these—such a hit! Definitely will make them again!” Try adding a drop of peppermint extract to the cookie dough for minty depth of flavor.
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
These delicious cookies have lightly crisp edges, soft middles, and plenty of chocolate in every bite. No one would guess they’re made without butter and eggs!
Soft, Spiced Christmas Cookies
Snickerdoodles
I add an extra egg yolk to these cookies to perfect their soft and chewy texture. Though you could enjoy them at any time of year, I think their cinnamon coating makes them especially perfect for the holidays.
Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
For a holiday spin on these classic cookies, replace the raisins with a mix of dried cherries and white chocolate chips.
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
These moist, cake-like cookies are delicious plain, but a slather of tangy cream cheese frosting really takes them over the top.
Nutty Christmas Cookies
Best Peanut Butter Cookies
Made with more peanut butter than most, these cookies are a peanut butter lovers’ dream. They have a perfectly balanced sweet and salty flavor.
No-Bake Cookies
If you’re spending a day baking Christmas cookie recipes, your oven might end up maxed out. Free up some space by making these no bakes! Super dense and fudgy, they’re crowdpleasers on a cookie plate.
Almond Butter Cookies
An almond-y twist on classic peanut butter cookies. Try them once, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t start making them sooner!
Creative Christmas Cookie Recipes
Tahini Cookies
Topped with pretty pomegranate arils, these gluten-free cookies have been some of my favorite holiday treats for years. The tahini gives them a rich, nutty flavor, while cardamom and ginger add warm, spiced notes.
Matcha Cookies
No food coloring here! Matcha tea gives these cookies their bold green color. I love to dip them in white chocolate and top them with black sesame seeds when I make them for Christmas.
Best Christmas Cookies: Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Serves 30
These cut out sugar cookies are one of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes!
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix to combine, then mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
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Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until combined. The dough will be soft.
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Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a ball, then flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until about ¼-inch thick. If the dough is too firm to roll right away, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes, then transfer the cut-outs to the prepared baking sheets, re-rolling the scraps as necessary.
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Bake, one sheet at a time, for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just beginning to turn golden brown. The cookies will seem underdone in the middle, but they will set up as they cool. The exact timing will depend on the size of your cookie cutters.
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Let cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, decorate as desired.
