402 sugar cookie recipes

Buttery melt-in-your-mouth cookies made with cornstarch for an impossibly tender crumb. Rolled in powdered sugar and pressed with a fork, they practically dissolve on your tongue.

Black and white chunk cookies loaded with semi-sweet and white chocolate chunks plus walnuts or pecans in a brown sugar butter dough. Makes 3 dozen.

Walnut snowball cookies rolled in powdered sugar then drizzled with melted chocolate. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crescents made with just six ingredients.

French meringue strips with a buttery shortbread base topped with vanilla meringue, cinnamon sugar, and chopped almonds. Elegant bar cookies that yield 8 dozen.

Spiced cherry biscotti studded with candied cherries and almonds, warmed with nutmeg, and dusted with cinnamon-nutmeg sugar. A ruby-flecked holiday coffee cookie.

Speedy chocolate cookies made with cocoa powder and corn syrup, no chilling needed. Dip in water then granulated sugar for sparkly tops that crackle as they bake.

No-bake snow balls made with peanut butter, crisp rice cereal, and chopped nuts, rolled in powdered sugar and coconut. Holiday-ready cookie tray candy ready in 20 minutes.

Cucidati, the traditional Sicilian Christmas fig cookies, with a rich filling of figs, raisins, nuts, chocolate and rum wrapped in tender pastry, shaped into slashed horseshoes and dusted with sugar.

Moravian Scotch cakes, a 4-ingredient Pennsylvania Dutch shortbread cookie with caraway seeds, topped with boiled icing and colored sugar. A crisp, buttery heritage recipe.

Walnut crescent cookies rolled in powdered sugar, made with ground walnuts, butter, and egg yolks. Delicate, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread that improves with age.

Classic four-ingredient shortbread cookies with just flour, butter, sugar, and salt. Pressed into a sheet pan, pricked with a fork, and baked until set.

Hidden Jewels are brown sugar bar cookies studded with colorful gumdrops and walnuts, lightened with folded egg whites. A retro candy-filled treat kids love.

Mini pumpkin pie cookie cups with a cream cheese pastry shell, spiced pumpkin filling with rum and vanilla, and a crunchy pecan-brown sugar topping.

Brown sugar drop cookies made with buttermilk, shortening, and just seven ingredients. Soft, chewy, and caramelly with a one-hour chill and 10-minute bake.

Old-fashioned honey drop cookies with cinnamon, cloves, and raisins. No refined sugar at all. Soft, chewy, and warmly spiced with a caramel-like sweetness.

Cookie brittle with chocolate chips and walnuts pressed into one pan, baked, then snapped into snappy shards. Sugar-substitute friendly with crisp, candy-like edges.