Our 29 Best Christmas Cookies

We put together a list of our favorite holiday treats, including peanut butter blossoms, pistachio-lemon bars and frosted sugar cookies.

Peanut butter blossoms, the classic treat is our most popular holiday cookie recipe.Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

By Margaux Laskey and Sharon Attia

Published Dec. 9, 2020 Updated Dec. 1, 2025

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And by that we mean: Cookie season is officially upon us. While we think you should bake and eat delicious cookies year-round, we understand that there’s more attention paid to the little treats come December. Here are 29 of our most-loved Christmas cookie recipes.

(View our complete collection of Christmas cookies here. Also, see tips on how to ship them and how to make the perfect cookie box .)

1. Ginger Cheesecake Cookies

Two round, brown cookies covered in sugar crystals. One cookie is broken in half, revealing its creamy interior. — Credit...Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Samantha Seneviratne’s cookies contain secrets: three types of ginger (ground, fresh and crystallized) and a hidden layer of cream cheese that complements and tempers the warm, spicy flavor. To make these treats sparkle, finish them with a roll in sugar.

Recipe: Ginger Cheesecake Cookies

2. Peppermint Brownie Cookies

Five round, crinkled chocolate cookies are sprinkled with crushed white and red peppermint candy. — Credit...Anna Williams for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Prop Stylist: Sarah Smart.

Vaughn Vreeland captures the spirit of the season with intensely chocolaty cookies crowned with crushed peppermint. This recipe will please all brownie lovers: The cookies have chewy edges and a fudgy, tender center.

Recipe: Peppermint Brownie Cookies

3. Toasted Almond Snowballs

Sixteen round cookies, heavily coated in white powdered sugar, are arranged in four neat rows on a light gray marble surface. — Credit...Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.

These tender cookies are Melissa Clark’s version of the classic treats also known as Mexican wedding cookies, polvorones or Russian tea cakes. Melissa calls for toasting the almond flour before stirring it into the batter, which bolsters the nutty flavor. Feel free to substitute pistachios, walnuts or pecans for the almonds.

Recipe: Toasted Almond Snowballs

4. Rice Krispies Treats With Chocolate and Pretzels

Several Rice Krispies treats topped with chocolate chunks and pretzel bits sit on a white marble surface. — Credit...Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Julia Moskin called these genius salty-sweet bars from Genevieve Ko the best Rice Krispies treats on New York Times Cooking. She’s not wrong. Use butter-flavored pretzels or “butter snaps” if you can find them; they have a delicate crunch and a creamy note that work well in this recipe.

Recipe: Rice Krispies Treats With Chocolate and Pretzels

5. Lemon-Turmeric Crinkle Cookies

Scattered round, orangey-brown cookies with white powdery cracked surfaces rest on a light background. — Credit...Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Full of warmth from turmeric and brightness from lemon, these treats taste (and look) like sunbeams breaking through clouds. Eric Kim describes them as looking like “earthquake tectonic plates” because the yellow dough cracks under the powdered sugar as the cookies bake, resulting in something both visually striking and delicious.

Recipe: Lemon-Turmeric Crinkle Cookies

6. Biscotti

Many oblong, golden-brown biscotti scattered on parchment paper. — Credit...Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

They may not win any beauty contests, but these twice-baked Italian cookies from Molly O’Neill are as classic as they get. Jazz them up by adding mini chocolate chips, dried cranberries or a teaspoon of citrus zest. Dunk half in melted chocolate and let harden on wax paper before wrapping them in a cellophane bag tied off with a big bow.

Recipe: Biscotti

7. Fudgy Bourbon Balls

Thirteen dark, round treats, dusted with white and sitting in fluted paper wrappers, are arranged on a light background. — Credit...Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.

Everyone loves a rum ball, but Melissa Clark’s spin, which calls for chocolate cookies instead of vanilla wafers and bourbon in place of the rum, is really something special. Before serving or giving as a gift, let them sit for a few days so the flavors can mingle and meld.

Recipe: Fudgy Bourbon Balls

8. Gingerbread Blondies

A grid of golden-brown dessert bars, drizzled in white chocolate. One bar is angled, resting on the one behind it. — Credit...Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Samantha Seneviratne.

Chewy brownies meet gingerbread cookies in these festive blondies from Melissa Clark. Brown butter gives them a deep, caramelized flavor while the white-chocolate drizzle on top is purely for looks. They pack and travel well, which is maybe the best gift of all.

Recipe: Gingerbread Blondies

9. Cherry Rugelach With Cardamom Sugar

Golden brown rolled rugelach with red jam filling and sugar crystals on top are scattered on a light surface. — Credit...Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.

These sophisticated cookies from Melissa Clark have a soft cream-cheese crust that is wrapped around a filling of cherry preserves and walnuts. They’re finished with a dusting of cardamom-flecked sugar.

Recipe: Cherry Rugelach With Cardamom Sugar

10. Lemon Meltaways

Three light-colored, round cookies covered in white powdered sugar are on a white surface. One cookie has a bite taken out of it. — Credit...Mark Weinberg for The New York Times

Bright, tangy and tender, Yossy Arefi’s lemon cookies practically, well, melt in your mouth. The dough also freezes well, so you can bake a half-batch and freeze the rest for later, or prepare several batches to bake off the morning of the cookie swap.

Recipe: Lemon Meltaways

11. Honey-Roasted Peanut Thumbprints

Rows of light brown cookies full of chopped nuts, each with a glossy, dark red jam filling in the center. — Credit...Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.

These clever little treats from Melissa Clark start with a combination of honey-roasted and salted peanuts. This recipe calls for store-bought Concord grape jam, but any fruit will do. Just don’t use jelly — it’ll slide right off the cookies as they bake.

Recipe: Honey-Roasted Peanut Thumbprints

12. Best Sugar Cookies

Round cookies, each coated in a single color of brightly colored icing, are arranged in rows on a dark background. — Credit...Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Susan Spungen’s easy sugar cookie dough is perfect for rolling and cutting, and it bakes into cookies ideal for decorating. It holds its shape well during baking, tastes great and is very customizable: Swap out the vanilla and try adding orange zest, lemon zest, finely chopped rosemary or almond extract. Top the cookies with frosting or icing, or roll them in nuts.

Recipe: Best Sugar Cookies | Peppermint Stripe Cookies | Abstract Art Cookies

13. Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread

Five brown baked square bars, studded with bright red fruit, are stacked on a light surface. — Credit...Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

Melissa Clark developed this sticky, spicy, tangy gingerbread to be made ahead, so it tastes just as good two days after baking as it does day-of. (And it keeps for four to five days!)

Recipe: Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread

14. Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies

Three round, golden-brown cookies are arranged on a dark surface. They have a crinkly cracked texture and are sprinkled sugar crystals. — Credit...David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

When Krysten Chambrot added a little white miso to a peanut butter cookie recipe, a practically perfect treat was born (and Instagram went wild). It’s complex, salty and sweet with a crisp exterior and a chewy center.

Recipe: Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies

15. Pecan Pie Truffles

Round dark chocolate truffles with chopped pecans on top, arranged on a light surface. One candy is split, revealing its crumbly brown filling. — Credit...Jim Wilson for The New York Times

Readers adore these easy truffles from Hannah Kaminsky, which call for a handful of simple ingredients like pecans, graham crackers, brown sugar, chocolate and bourbon. (Substitute orange juice if you’re a teetotaler.)

Recipe: Pecan Pie Truffles

16. Pistachio-Lemon Bars

A stack of four baked bars with a cookie base and lemon top with chunks of pistachio inside. To the left are more bars in a single layer, and to the right are scattered pistachios. — Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

What’s a cookie plate without lemon bars? Lacking, we say. Molly O’Neill’s version has vibrant green pistachios folded into the shortbread crust as well as the lemon filling. (For a festive version, try Genevieve Ko’s cranberry lemon bars.)

Recipes: Pistachio-Lemon Bars | Cranberry Lemon Bars

17. Pecan Tassies

Several small, golden-brown pastry cups with chunky, nutty filling are arranged on a black wire cooling rack. — Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

Tiny pies are just more fun to eat — and the crust-to-filling ratio is ideal. Samantha Seneviratne’s miniature pecan pies have a tender cream cheese crust that’s filled with a not-too-sweet maple-pecan filling.

Recipe: Pecan Tassies

18. Stamped Citrus Shortbread

Light yellow, round cookies with embossed patterns and orange specks are arranged in rows on a black wire cooling rack. — Credit...Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

These bright and beautiful cookies from Susan Spungen look harder to make than they are. A basic shortbread dough is flavored with lemon and orange zests and then pressed with cookie stamps and glazed with a simple citrus glaze. No stamps? Roll and cut the dough with cutters, or roll the dough into a log for slice-and-bake cookies.

Recipe: Stamped Citrus Shortbread

19. Magic Cookie Bars

Dark brown baked bars topped with a mix of chopped and flaked nuts sit on parchment paper. — Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

Depending on which spiral-bound community cookbook your mom would bake from, you might know these heavenly treats as magic cookie bars, Hello Dolly bars or coconut dream bars. It doesn’t matter. Just make this delicious version from Samantha Seneviratne.

Recipe: Magic Cookie Bars

20. Italian Ricotta Cookies

Round cookies with white icing and colorful sprinkles cover a light pink surface. One cookie is broken in half. — Credit...Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

When we asked readers to send in their favorite Christmas cookies in 2012, Jessica Hulett submitted her grandmother Dorie’s recipe. According to Melissa Clark, they “taste like the white part of the best black-and-white cookie you’ve ever had.”

Recipe: Italian Ricotta Cookies

21. Peanut Butter Blossoms

Light brown cookies, coated in sugar and each topped with a chocolate kiss, sit on a metal cooling rack. — Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

Our most popular Christmas cookie year after year, these peanut butter and chocolate cookies never disappoint. Some readers like to use a dark chocolate Hershey’s Kiss, a small Reese’s peanut butter cup or a spoonful of dulce de leche in place of the milk chocolate kiss.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Blossoms

22. Gochujang Caramel Cookies

Eight round, crinkly cookies, with swirls of dark reddish-brown in the lighter dough, cover a blue plate. Some cookies overlap with others. — Credit...Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Prop Stylist: Sophia Eleni Pappas.

Eric Kim’s fiery twist on a classic chewy sugar cookie is the answer to all your problems. As one reader wrote: “Bad day? Gochujang Caramel Cookies. Good day? Gochujang Caramel Cookies. Dehydrated? Gochujang Caramel Cookies. Rent due? Gochujang Caramel Cookies. Promised your first born to a mischievous elf? Gochujang Caramel Cookies.”

Recipe: Gochujang Caramel Cookies

23. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Golden brown chocolate chip cookies, some with visible salt flakes, rest on a metal cooling rack. One cookie is broken in half. — Credit...Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

The only chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever need is this one, which David Leite adapted from the chocolatier Jacques Torres in 2008. It calls for a 36-hour chilling period, but the effect that has on the dough is remarkable. (Erin Jeanne McDowell created gluten-free and vegan versions because everyone deserves this cookie.)

Recipes: Chocolate Chip Cookies | Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

24. No-Bake Cookies

Many chocolate cookies, flecked with light nuts, on a baking sheet lined with white parchment paper. — Credit...David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Also known as cow patties or preacher cookies, these chocolate and peanut butter cookies come together in 15 minutes. For the most delightfully chewy cookie, use rolled oats, not instant.

Recipe: No-Bake Cookies

25. Matcha-Black Sesame Shortbreads

Credit...Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.

Toasty black sesame and bittersweet matcha doughs are pressed and rolled together in Sue Li’s colorful shortbread. They’re a cinch to prepare ahead: Make and freeze the logs in advance of the holidays and then simply thaw, slice and bake for easy, breezy hosting.

Recipe: Matcha-Black Sesame Shortbreads

26. Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

Round, light brown ball cookies, partly dipped in dark chocolate, are arranged on a light blue tray, with more in a bowl on the tray. — Credit...Jim WilsonThe New York Times for

Peanut butter and chocolate. What more is there to say? Use good peanut butter and don’t be stingy with the salt. For texture, use crunchy peanut butter or add half a cup of Rice Krispies to the peanut butter mixture.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Balls

27. Gingery Brownie Crinkle Cookies

Dark brown cookies with crinkled surfaces rest on a wire cooling rack. Each cookie is topped with thin strips of candied ginger. — Credit...Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

These fudgy, slightly spicy cookies from Susan Spungen are a big reader favorite, and for good reason: They can be ready in about half an hour.

Recipe: Gingery Brownie Crinkle Cookies

28. Easy Chocolate Fudge

Squares of dark chocolate fudge studded with chopped almonds are aranged on a light surface. — Credit...Jim Wilson for The New York Times

“Absurdly easy” is what Julia Moskin called Michael Chu’s fudge recipe when she wrote about it in The Times in 2010. Butter, chocolate and condensed milk are all you need. (Salt and nuts are optional.)

Recipe: Easy Chocolate Fudge

29. Snickerdoodles

A white oval plate piled with golden-brown, sugar-coated cookies. A broken cookie sits beside the plate. — Credit...Craig Lee for The New York Times

You can never go wrong with a snickerdoodle, and Samantha Seneviratne’s recipe is no exception. Since the ingredient list is short, be sure to use the best-quality materials you can. (Sniff that ground cinnamon to make sure it’s fresh.) For a seasonal variation, try Vaughn Vreeland’s eggnog snickerdoodles or Genevieve Ko’s gingerbread snickerdoodles.

Recipes: Snickerdoodles | Eggnog Snickerdoodles | Gingerbread Snickerdoodles

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