126 holiday cookie recipes

Chewy molasses cookies loaded with warming ginger and cinnamon spice, perfect for holiday cookie swaps or cozy winter afternoons with hot cocoa.

Fruit ginger drop cookies made with gingerbread mix, candied fruit, and chopped nuts. A 4-ingredient holiday cookie ready in 25 minutes.

Italian gocci di cioccolata, chocolate drop cookies spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, baked soft and finished with a glaze. Old-world Italian drop cookie with warm holiday flavor.

Pecan rolls are buttery shortbread-style cookies packed with crushed pecans and rolled hot in powdered sugar. The classic five-ingredient holiday cookie also known as Mexican wedding cookies.

Holly Cluster cookies: chewy brown-sugar chocolate chip cookies topped with green marzipan holly leaves and red cinnamon candy berries. Holiday cookie tray showpiece with old-school decorating charm.

St. Nicholas cookies are buttery, spiced Dutch-style holiday cookies loaded with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and chopped almonds. Slice-and-bake or press into carved wooden molds.

Chocolate diamond cookies with unsweetened chocolate, pecans, and vanilla. A fudgy, brownie-like holiday cookie baked in one pan and cut into festive diamond shapes.

Spice and nut thumbprint cookies with ground pecans, cinnamon, and jam filling. Buttery shortbread-style cookies with a fruity center, perfect for holiday baking.

Raisin-spice cookies made with oatmeal cookie mix, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, raisins, and chopped nuts. A quick drop cookie with warm holiday spices that makes four dozen in under 30 minutes.

Sandbakelse, traditional Scandinavian butter cookies with cardamom, pressed into mini tart tins and filled with jam. Delicate, sandy-textured holiday cookies dusted with powdered sugar.

Buttery almond cookies piped into festive wreaths, decorated with red and green candied cherries. A stunning holiday cookie that tastes as good as it looks.

Snowball cookies made with butter, ground nuts, vanilla, and flour, then rolled in powdered sugar while warm. A classic melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie.

Peppermint pinwheel cookies with mint extract, rolled into red and white (or green) spirals and sliced. A festive holiday cookie that's all about the swirl.

Thumbprint snowball cookies with walnuts, cinnamon, and lemon zest in the dough, filled with raspberry jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A festive holiday cookie.

Spiced drop cookies loaded with raisins, candied fruit, dates, and walnuts, topped with a vanilla icing. A fruitcake-style cookie perfect for holiday gift giving.

Classic rolled sugar cookie cutouts with a tender butter-and-cream dough, sprinkled with red and green colored sugar before baking. Holiday cookie-tin staple.