40+ BEST Christmas Cookies

40+ of the most delicious and festive Christmas cookies for your holiday baking! Lots of easy and delicious homemade  ideas to make your next party or cookie exchange a success!

Baking is one of my favorite holiday traditions. I like to try new recipes each year, but also always stick with the classics like soft sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and molasses cookies. It definitely doesn’t feel like the holidays without these.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is coming up with new cookie recipes to share with family and friends. I have so many wonderful memories of baking over the years, and love when I find yummy recipes to add to my list.

Looking to host a cookie exchange this year? Check out this post for some helpful guidelines, and don’t forget to print out my FREE cookie exchange printables to help make preparing a little easier.

Now get to baking!!

Easy Christmas cookie recipes

Things get so busy during the holidays, so I’m always looking for easy recipes to quickly whip up. These recipes below are fun, festive, and super simple to make. I especially love the peppermint candy cane cookies. They look fancy, but are so easy to throw together. Plus the flavor is delicious.

My family loves these M&M cookie bars. The drizzled glaze really puts them over the top!

These Peppermint Candy Canes are so fun! Twisting the white and red dough together to make candy canes is so creative!

The peppermint included in these Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies helps to make these perfect for the holidays!

If you’ve never tried pudding cookies, you have to give this double chocolate chip version a try! So moist & delicious. You could add in colored chocolate chips, too!

These Peppermint Oreos are a holiday favorite. The flavor combination is out of this world!

Christmas Sugar Cookies

Whenever I bake for the holidays, I always make sure to include the classic Christmas sugar cookies. A cookie plate isn’t complete without some sort of sugar cookie…they are so fun to decorate, and taste amazing. I love all the recipes included below, however the sugar cookie truffles are my favorite. They take only 4 ingredients and don’t require any baking. My kind of cookie!

These Sugar Cookie Truffles are the easiest Christmas treat! They don’t require any baking, and are made with just 4 ingredients!

These Red and White Cookies are so festive and simple to make!

How fun are these Christmas Swirls?! They will leave your guests raving about how cute they are!

If you’re looking for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, this is it! These Super soft sugar cookies are a tried and true recipe of mine that I’ve made hundreds of times!

My kids absolutely love these jello cookies. During the holidays, we make lots of red & green desserts. They are so easy & yummy!

Aren’t these Easy Reindeer Sugar Cookies just the cutest?! So simple yet so adorable!

Soft and chewy vanilla Angel Cookies with a delicious sugar glaze that looks just like glistening snow!

Cinnamon rolls + cookies = genius, right? Check out these Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies that are topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting!

Traditional recipes

There’s nothing like traditional Christmas cookies. Whether it’s snickerdoodles, butter cookies, shortbread cookies, and more, you can’t go wrong with a traditional cookie recipe! My personal favorites are snickerdoodles because I’m a sucker for the cinnamon sugar coating. And above all, they are so soft and fluffy. Yum!

Nothing beats a classic Snickerdoodle. They are soft, fluffy and rolled in a delicious cinnamon sugar coating.

These Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies have the best combination of flavors! Perfect to share with friends and family this holiday season!

We always made Candy Cane Blossoms growing up. I love the red and green colored sugar, and the festive Hershey’s kisses, too!

I love a good butter cookie! These Red velvet butter cookies are gooey, cakey and have the best red velvet flavor!

If you’re a pistachio lover, you’ll love these Pistachio cherry melt aways. They are soft and have great flavor. Plus the diced cherries add the perfect sweetness!

Eggnog is a holiday staple. These Eggnog cookies are one of the best recipes and are so soft and delicious!

I love the Christmas tree decorations on these Christmas Shortbread. Don’t they look like they came from a bakery?!

We make these Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints every year! One of our favorites!

These chewy Oatmeal Cream Pies are filled with a fluffy marshmallow cream frosting….yum!

Decorated cookies

My favorite part about the whole process is decorating them! There are tons of cute designs and toppings to include…it’s so fun to be creative! Decorated Christmas cookies are perfect for entertaining, and are always a big crowd pleaser. Your guests will rave about how fun and impressive they are. Whether you dip in chocolate, cover with sprinkles or create a fun design, these decorated treats will be a hit!

I make these White Chocolate Dipped Gingerdoodles every year! Everyone always raves about how delicious and festive they are!

These Candy Cane Cookies would be so fun to decorate with the kids!

If you’re looking for an adorable homemade Christmas gift idea, these Oreo Snowmen are perfect!

These Christmas Oreos would be a great party favor for a holiday get-together!

These Snow Globes look professional and taste amazing!

If you’re looking for a red and green decorated cookie, these Cupcake and Candy Cane Cookies are perfect! They are so adorable!

These festive Santa Bellies are always loved by everyone! Aren’t they so cute?!

I love these Melted Snowmen! They are so clever and fun to decorate with your family!

I can’t get enough of these Christmas Lights Cookies! They always stand out and look amazing on a cookie tray!

My kids love these Ginger Melted Snowman Cookies! Such a fun treat!

Chocolate cookies

Are you a chocolate lover like me? I love all things chocolate, and especially love chocolate Christmas cookies! In other words, the more chocolate…the better. :) There are lots of delicious recipes below…many of which include peppermint. If you’ve never had the chocolate and peppermint combination, you are missing out! The pair is a match made in heaven.

These Chocolate mint M&M cookies are chewy, fudgy and topped with peppermint candies.

I’m a fudge lover and always make a batch during the holidays. I love the idea of making this Cookie Cutter Fudge into your favorite Christmas shapes!

These Hot Chocolate Cookies are my kind of cookie! They are super soft with a delicious hot cocoa flavor and a roasted marshmallow on top.

Aren’t these Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies so pretty?! I love the contrast of the dark cookie dipped in the white chocolate!

How adorable are these Chocolate-Dipped Oreo Snowflakes?! So fun and festive!

If you’re a peanut butter lover, you will love these Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies! Isn’t peanut butter and chocolate the best combo?!

If you’ve never made Homemade Oreos, you are missing out! They are so easy and completely addicting!

Baking Staples

Appliances

• KitchenAid Stand Mixer (5-quart)
• Edge Beater for KitchenAid
• Dough Hook for KitchenAid
• Glass Bowl for KitchenAid
• Hand Mixer

Bakeware

• Perfect Cookie Baking Mat 
• Jelly Roll Pan
• Half Sheet Pan

Utensils

• 2A Frosting Tip
• 1M Frosting Tip
• Frosting Bags
• Large Coupler
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Cookie Scoop (small, medium and large)