Dessert, Christma Recipes

Mother's Christmas cheese cakes: cream cheese pastry tartlets with two fillings, one pecan-brown sugar and one coconut-vanilla. A classic holiday cookie tin stalwart.

Filled butter ring cookies sandwich apricot preserves between two shortbread rounds, the top one cut with a thimble window, dusted with powdered sugar. Linzer-style holiday classic.

Butter cookie press poinsettias for Christmas with red flower shapes and hand-formed green leaves topped with silver dragees. A beautiful, festive holiday cookie with almond and vanilla flavor.

Scotch shortbread is a 5-ingredient buttery Christmas cookie cut into festive shapes. Powdered sugar gives a melt-in-the-mouth crumb; tender, sandy, and made for sprinkling with colored sugar.

Mazurka cookie bars with an almond shortbread base topped with a fruity filling of apricots, figs, raisins, walnuts, and candied orange peel, finished with powdered sugar icing.

Try this decorative cookie that uses date and walnuts to give it a scrumptious taste.

Old-fashioned Christmas drop cakes with currants, lemon zest, and butter pressed thin and baked crispy. A heritage holiday cookie recipe with a delicate, lace-like texture.

Scotch shortbread with just five ingredients: butter, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. A classic, buttery, sandy-textured cookie that melts on the tongue.

Peanut butter bears: cinnamon-spiced peanut butter cut-out cookies shaped like teddy bears with detailed dough faces. A holiday baking project that's as fun as the cookies are good.

Peppermint candy cookies with a buttery walnut shortbread shell hiding a pink cream cheese filling inside. Rolled in crushed peppermint and powdered sugar after baking.

These raspberry almond bars are not only good during Christmas...

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Soft spiced raisin drop cookies made with cookie mix, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, topped with a smooth vanilla butter frosting. A semi-homemade shortcut for holiday cookie trays.

Spumoni slice-and-bake cookies with three layered doughs: cherry pink, chocolate, and pistachio green with rum flavoring. A colorful Italian-inspired Christmas cookie.

Mexican wedding cakes are always a holiday favorite but this recipe takes it up a notch or two, writes Mary Wilhelm of Sparta.

Sweet onion and ricotta cheesecake with cranberries and sage!