415 christmas cake recipes

Checkerboard cookies with alternating chocolate and vanilla dough squares in a striking grid pattern. An impressive slice-and-bake cookie for holiday cookie tins and special occasions.

Mocha nut rounds are slice-and-bake icebox cookies flavored with instant coffee and semi-sweet chocolate. Edges dipped in milk chocolate, then rolled in chopped pistachios for a striking holiday cookie tray finish.

Holiday gingersnaps with crackled sugar tops, deep molasses warmth, and a full tablespoon of ground ginger for serious snap. Chilled dough rolls into tidy balls that bake up crisp at the edges and chewy in the center.

Lemony springerle, traditional German embossed cookies stamped from a wooden mold and air-dried overnight before baking. Lemon zest brightens the classic anise.

Holiday sugar cookies rolled and cut into shapes, dusted with colored sprinkles, and baked tender with a quiet hint of cinnamon. The classic Christmas cookie tin staple.

Lemon cookie sandwiches with bright lemon-zest filling pressed between crisp slice-and-bake butter rounds. The tops are brushed with egg white and chopped nuts for sparkle. A classic icebox cookie for the Christmas tray.

Hazelnut chocolate toffee layers crunchy buttery brown-sugar candy with toasted hazelnuts and a melted-on chocolate chip topping. Holiday gift candy that breaks into rough shards.

Christmas cookie slices are old-fashioned icebox cookies: vanilla shortbread dough rolled into logs, chilled, sliced thin, and baked into crisp golden rounds. Make ahead and ready to slice for holiday baking.

Santa Claus cookies decorate flat sugar cookies with red sugar caps, miniature marshmallow tassels, currant eyes, cinnamon candy noses, and coconut beards. A festive holiday craft cookie kids can help build from baked rounds.

Christmas ornament cookies are sturdy rolled sugar cookies cut into large bauble shapes and pierced with a hanging hole. Bake, decorate, and hang on the tree as edible ornaments or gift tags.

Classic Linzer squares and thumbprint cookies with toasted hazelnut dough, cinnamon and raspberry jam filling. Austrian-style Christmas cookie baking from one batch of dough.

Chocolate nut torte: a four-layer sponge cake filled with silky cooked chocolate-buttercream frosting and topped with chopped nuts. An old-world holiday torte for special occasions.

Christmas crackers are sweet honey-wheat holiday cookies stamped with cookie cutters and sprinkled with sugar. Makes 45 crispy-edged rectangles for gifting or dipping.

Swedish Christmas crescent cookies: tender almond shortbread shaped into half-moons and finished with cinnamon sugar. The classic Scandinavian holiday cookie that melts on the tongue.

Fry bread with all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and cornmeal for a hearty, golden crust. Deep-fried until puffy and crisp, served with honey or maple syrup.

Rolled animal cookies made from buttery sugar cookie dough with cream, cut into animal shapes and decorated with colored sugar, chocolate sprinkles, and raisins. Great for Christmas tree ornaments.