40 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes

‘Tis the season for baking batch after batch of the best Christmas cookies! I don’t know about you, but the holiday season is when I’m the most excited to bake, and my list of Christmas cookie recipes to make is long. So I’m sharing them all with you in hopes that every one of these recipes gets a chance to shine. From the traditional cookies that everyone loves down to my personal festive favorites, these easy Christmas cookie ideas are sure to fill your belly with joy!

Easy Christmas Cookies to Make for the Holidays

There are so many different types of cookies out there, and Christmastime is the time to make them. Between Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, and homemade gifts, I spend most of December near my oven baking up batches of homemade cookies. I’m not complaining though–I sneak a cookie from every batch as a reward!

When I think of Christmas cookies, my mind immediately goes to the classics: shortbread, gingerbread men, spritz cookies, snowballs, and all the sugar cookies that are ripe for decorating. But I have my own personal list of favorite holiday cookies that are a simple mix of quick, easy, delicious, and festive.

So whatever your vibe is this holiday season, these easy cookie recipes are just perfect for Christmas!

Traditional Christmas Cookies

Classic cookies always have a place on my Christmas wishlist–they’re classics for a reason!

• Linzer Cookies: The sweet raspberry jam in the center of these sandwich cookies adds a pop of color and mouthful of flavor. This is one of those cookies that needs to be at every Christmas party!
• Gingerbread Cookies: A classic gingerbread cookie is a must for celebrating Christmas! These are crisp and perfectly-spiced, and can be cut into any shape.
• Christmas Pinwheel Cookies: These red and white swirled cookies are deliciously butter with a subtle peppermint flavor. They look extra cute in a tin of cookies.
• Butter Cookies: This traditional Christmas cookie is made with just a few basic baking ingredients, so it’s easy to make a batch for gifts and cookie exchanges.
• Snickerdoodles: The warm cinnamon sugar flavor makes these one of my favorite cookies ever, especially during the holidays.
• Gingersnap Cookies: Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves give these cookies a warm spiced flavor that always satisfies after Christmas dinner.
• Pecan Shortbread Cookies: I added pecans to classic shortbread for an extra bit of crunch and flavor!
• Peanut Butter Cookies: Filled with rich peanut butter flavor, this simple recipe deserves a spot on every cookie list.

Family-Favorite Christmas Cookies

These are my favorite cookie recipes to make for Christmas celebrations because they have the best flavors of the season.

• Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies: I adore red velvet anything, and Christmas is one of the best times to indulge. The powdered sugar on top looks like a beautiful dusting of wintry snow!
• White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies: the tartness of dried cranberries and the richness of white chocolate chips make a festive combo for Christmas cookies.
• Hot Chocolate Cookies: Eating these cookies makes me feel like I’m drinking a cup of hot cocoa, so they’re perfect for snow days.
• Ginger Molasses Cookies: The mix of spices, ginger, and rich molasses make these cookies taste so warm and cozy. They pair well with a cup of coffee on Christmas morning!
• Andes Mint Cookies: I’m obsessed with those little chocolate mints they hand out at restaurants, and they taste even better in a cookie! The mint-y flavor always makes me think of Christmas, so of course I crave them this time of year.
• Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies: This is a family favorite that I never skip around the holidays. They’re so easy to make and always look good on a Christmas cookie tray.

Festive Holiday Cookies

Decorating for Christmas means pulling out all the red and green, Christmas trees, and wreaths…and yes, I do mean decorating cookies.

• Christmas Wreath Cookies: These cutout cookies are sweet and buttery, and decorated with icing and sprinkles to look like mini Christmas wreaths!
• Christmas Sprinkle Cookies: Red and green sprinkles adorn these simple cookies and I can bake them up in just 30 minutes.
• Christmas M&M Cookies: I always buy a few bags of the Christmas M&M’s when they come out, and I love to use them in these extra sweet chocolate chip cookies.
• Cornflake Wreaths: These crunchy cornflake and marshmallow cookies are so easy to make as a fun Christmas craft project. And they taste good too!
• Grinch Sugar Cookies: A bit of food coloring turns these cookies the perfect Grinchy shade of green, and little heart candies finish them nicely. These cookies are so fun for Christmas movie night with the kids!

Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipes

I have no shortage of sugar cookie recipes to make this Christmas season, and they all have their own special place in the cookie rotation.

• Frosted Sugar Cookies: These soft and chewy sugar cookies are my favorite kind, with a hefty helping of frosting on top. Use food coloring to make the frosting red or green for Christmas!
• Peppermint Sugar Cookies: When I need cookies for Christmas that are sure to please, I make these simple sugar cookies with a peppermint twist!
• Chocolate Sugar Cookies: Sometimes I just prefer a chocolate cookie instead of the traditional vanilla flavor. It’s easy to change out the icing color and sprinkles for something more Christmas-y when decorating!
• Lofthouse Cookies: These are the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie ever! Making them homemade is so much better than the store-bought kind.
• Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies: A crisp chocolate sugar cookie dipped in white chocolate and finished with crushed peppermints. These have the perfect Winter Wonderland look.
• Brown Sugar Cookies: Using brown sugar adds a deeper, richer sweetness and molasses flavor to these cookies.
• Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookies: Dipping sugar cookies in melted chocolate adds the best of both worlds, and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar adds a nice little crunch!

Chocolate Cookies

As your resident chocolate-lover, I made sure to add plenty of chocolate recipes to this Christmas cookie list.

• Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies: At the center of these chocolate shortbread cookies is a creamy chocolate ganache, and the sea salt sprinkle adds the perfect final touch.
• Marshmallow Stuffed Cookies: The gooey, melty marshmallow bursts out of the middle of these soft chocolate cookies and it tastes so amazing. There’s something about these that I crave on a snowy day.
• Brownie Mix Crinkle Cookies: All the flavor and texture of a brownie but in a cookie? Yes please! And don’t forget the powdered sugar.
• Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies: Remember I said I love those Andes mints? Yeah, I like to add them to delicious chocolate cookies too!
• Chocolate Pudding Cookies: These are actually made with instant pudding mix to give them an extra thick, chewy, chocolate-y, and melty center.
• Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies: I love making cookies with cake mix, and these chocolate ones might be my favorite. They’re quick to whip up for holiday parties!
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies: Chocolate and peanut butter is an unbeatable combo, so I like to make these for a surefire hit.

Christmas Bar Cookies

Cookie bars are the perfect type of Christmas cookie for crowds of hungry guests at parties, because they’re easy to slice and share.

• Christmas 7 Layer Magic Bars: Filled with M&Ms, coconut, butterscotch chips, and more, this recipe truly brings the Christmas magic!
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars: A chewy, peanut-buttery cookie bar is topped with a thick layer of chocolate peanut butter and it is oh so yum!
• Monster Cookie Bars: Packed with oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&MS, these bars come out unbelievably soft and chewy.
• Buckeye Bars: I love gifting buckeyes for Christmas, but this dessert bar version is a little bit easier to make. Plus it’s so tasty!

No Bake Christmas Cookies

Why turn on the oven when you don’t have to? These cookie recipes are quick and easy to throw together before a Christmas gathering, and they don’t require baking!

• Christmas Crack: These aren’t your typical cookies, but no one will complain if you bring these to the Christmas cookie exchange. Trust me when I say these sugary, buttery, chocolate-covered crackers are addicting!
• Chocolate Covered Oreos: Grab a bag of Oreos and dip them in melted chocolate for a super easy dessert idea. These really make a splash at holiday parties, and kids always love them.
• Nutella No Bake Cookies: These only take 25 minutes to make and the Nutella flavor is unbeatable. So if I ever forget to make something for a Christmas potluck, these are my last-minute (but no one will know it) recipe!
• Oreo Truffles: Crush up some Oreo cookies, mix it with cream cheese, dip it in melted chocolate, and suddenly a fancy little treat appears!

I never run out of Christmas Cookie ideas to make, and this list should keep you pretty busy with baking this holiday season too!