182 traditional cookie recipes

Traditional Italian fig cookies (cucidati) with a sweet filling of dried figs, raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon wrapped in a buttery dough. A classic holiday cookie from Italian-American bakeries.

Traditional kolache fillings: ground walnut, dried apricot, coconut-pecan, and poppyseed. Four classic Czech and Eastern European pastry fillings for cookies and yeast buns.

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

Le Bisse are traditional S-shaped butter cookies with lemon zest, made from a simple egg-butter-flour dough. Crisp and golden, these French-style cookies have an elegant shape and delicate crumb.

Kwarezimal, traditional Maltese almond cakes with cinnamon, citrus zest, and orange extract. Baked in logs and sliced into crisp biscotti-style cookies.

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.

Pfeffernuesse are traditional German Christmas peppernut cookies, fragrant with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and a hint of black pepper, studded with citron and almonds and a touch of brandy. A heritage holiday cookie.

Traditional Italian anise pizzelle cookies pressed on a pizzelle iron with orange and lemon zest. A huge batch recipe that makes up to 20 dozen crisp, lacy waffle cookies.

Napoleon's Hat cookies are Scandinavian butter cookies shaped like tricorn hats with a ground almond meringue filling peeking from the top. A traditional Swedish holiday cookie.

Braune Zucker Platzchen, traditional German brown sugar cookies with cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, raisins, and nuts. Spiced drop cookies that store well in airtight tins.

Traditional German Spekulatius Christmas cookies spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, made with ground almonds and butter. Thin, crisp, and warmly spiced, these are a holiday cookie tin essential.

Classic cut-out Christmas cookies with almond and vanilla extract, rolled thin and topped with colored powdered sugar frosting. A holiday cookie-decorating tradition.

Sirups kager are traditional Danish brown spice cookies made with dark corn syrup, cinnamon, and cloves. Crisp, warmly spiced, and ideal for holiday cookie tins and Christmas baking.

Traditional German lebkuchen cookies with honey, molasses, almonds, candied fruit, and five warm spices. Soft, chewy spice cookies brushed with lemon glaze for a classic Christmas treat.

Diabetic-friendly pecan oatmeal cookies made with egg whites instead of whole eggs, plus bran flakes for extra fiber. Crisp edges, chewy centers, and lighter than traditional oatmeal cookies.

Polvorones: traditional Mexican pecan cookies made with butter and lard, spiced with cinnamon and anise seed. Sandy, crumbly, and sugar-coated.