126 holiday cookie recipes

Linzertorte fingers with a buttery ground almond pastry layered with raspberry jam and topped with sliced almonds. An Austrian-inspired bar cookie for elegant holiday baking.

Holiday almond wreath cookies piped from a star tip and decorated with red and green candied cherries. Buttery almond shortbread in a festive Christmas-tin shape.

Swedish ginger cookies (pepparkakor) made with dark corn syrup, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. A spiced roll-and-cut dough that bakes thin and snappy for the holidays.

Holiday harlequin fudge stacks dark chocolate-walnut over white chocolate-cherry in one loaf pan. A two-toned, brandy-laced Christmas fudge for cookie trays and tins.

Tender rolled sugar cookies made with Neufchatel cheese, brown sugar, and butter-nut flavoring. Cut into shapes and decorate with a simple powdered sugar icing. Great for holidays.

Surprise-center butter cookies with 4 hidden fillings: Andes mints, cherries, chocolate chips, and pecans. Each batch gets its own color-coded icing. A fun holiday baking project.

Traditional New Mexican biscochitos made with lard, egg yolks, anise, and vanilla. Rolled, cut into shapes, and baked until tender. New Mexico's official state cookie and a holiday staple.

No-bake coconut candy balls with a melted chocolate center, made from just 5 ingredients. A prize-winning recipe that's freezer-friendly and looks stunning on holiday cookie trays.

Festive cocoa cards are large chocolate-molasses cookies cut into rectangles and decorated with frosting to look like greeting cards. A fun holiday baking project for kids and adults.

Maple pecan balls are buttery brown sugar cookies infused with maple extract and rolled around chopped pecans, each topped with a toasted pecan half. Tender, nutty, and built for holiday tins.

Molasses ginger snaps with the classic crackled tops that form as the dough balls melt and spread. Warmly spiced with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, these crisp-edged cookies are a holiday baking staple.

Spells & Bells are festive Christmas cookies cut into holiday shapes and deep fried until golden and puffed, then served plain, sugared or glazed. A cream-rich fried dough that's crisp outside and tender within.

Rolled ginger cookies with whole wheat flour, molasses, and a warming mix of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Chill the dough overnight for clean cut-out shapes that bake up crisp with spicy, old-fashioned holiday flavor.

These delicate, buttery spritz cookies are infused with almond flavor, shaped into crisp wafers, and dipped in a smooth semi-sweet chocolate glaze. Finished with optional almond slices, they’re perfect for holiday trays or an elegant treat any time of year.