21 christmas sugar cookie recipes

Christmas sugar cookies are buttery rolled cut-out cookies for decorating. Crisp edges, tender centers. Big-batch dough yields four dozen festive shapes for the holidays.

Old-fashioned sugar cookies made with sour milk, nutmeg, and shortening. A versatile dough that can be dropped soft or rolled and cut into shapes for Valentine's, Christmas, or birthday cookies.

Festive slice-and-bake sugar cookies studded with colorful gumdrop pieces that create a translucent "stained glass" effect when held to light—perfect for holiday treats or kids favorite Christmas cookies.

Czech Christmas cookies rolled paper-thin, packed with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, sweetened with molasses and brown sugar. Crisp, spicy, and not too sweet.

Nancy's ice cream kolacky: a three-ingredient Eastern European-style cookie where vanilla ice cream replaces liquid and eggs, creating a tender pastry dough filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie-tray favorite.

Festive lebkuchen cookies made with honey, brown sugar, allspice, and lemon. A traditional German Christmas cookie decorated with white icing.

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.

Lebkuchen (German honey cakes) blend honey, brown sugar, lemon, almonds, citron, and warm spices into a chewy spice cookie cut into fancy holiday shapes. Traditional Christmas cookie from Nuremberg.

Lemon sugar cookies with fresh lemon juice, rolled thin and cut into shapes for Christmas or any occasion. A buttery cutout cookie with bright citrus flavor.

No-bake rum balls made with crushed vanilla wafers, pecans, cocoa, powdered sugar, and real rum. A classic Christmas cookie tin staple rolled in powdered sugar.

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.

Jelly Christmas Eyes are sandwich cookies with a window cutout showing raspberry or strawberry jelly through the center, coated in sugar. A festive holiday cookie plate classic.

Traditional German lebkuchen: honey-and-molasses spice cookies studded with citron and nuts, finished with a brushed sugar glaze. A heritage Christmas cookie that gets better as it ages.

Bizcochos are traditional New Mexican holiday cookies creamed with lard, scented with orange zest, baked golden, then rolled in cinnamon sugar. The state cookie of New Mexico for Christmas and weddings.

Secret kiss cookies hide a whole chocolate kiss inside a buttery, walnut-flecked shortbread, baked until just set and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite in and the soft chocolate center is the surprise. A Christmas cookie tin favorite.