75 traditional cookie recipes

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.

Traditional German Springerle cookies with anise oil, stamped with carved molds and dried overnight before baking to a pale straw color. This heirloom recipe makes 72 delicate, picture-perfect cookies.

Moustokouloura (Greek wine must cookies) shaped into oval wreaths with olive oil, petimezi, honey, cinnamon, cloves, and orange. A traditional vegan Greek cookie with a crunchy, spiced bite.

Traditional Italian taralli cookies shaped into rings, dipped in vanilla icing, and topped with sprinkles. A sweet, old-school Italian American cookie from Nonna's kitchen. Makes 24.

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.

Kolacky cookies made with a tender cream cheese pastry dough filled with fruit spread, pinched into tri-cornered shapes, and baked golden. A Czech holiday cookie tradition.

Traditional Austrian Ischli cookies with ground almonds, sandwiched with raspberry jam and topped with mocha chocolate icing. A classic European holiday cookie worth the overnight chill.

Basler Brunsli are flourless Swiss chocolate almond cookies spiced with cinnamon and cloves, cut into festive shapes. A traditional Basel Christmas cookie, chewy inside with a crackly crust.

Pfefferkuchen, a German honey spice cake with whole wheat flour, coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and rum, glazed while hot. A traditional Christmas cookie bar that stays soft for weeks.

Biscotti Napoletani: traditional eggless Italian almond biscotti with whole and ground almonds, sweetened with corn syrup. Twice-baked Neapolitan cookies built for dunking in espresso or vin santo.

Halloween dead bones cookies are pillowy almond meringue-style cookies spiced with ground cloves, dusted in powdered sugar to look like ancient ghostly bones. A spooky kid-friendly Halloween treat from old European tradition.

Authentic biscotti di Prato (cantucci): the traditional Tuscan twice-baked almond cookies, made with no butter for a hard, crunchy bite built for dunking in coffee or vin santo.

Swiss aniseed and lemon chrabeli cookies with their signature half-moon shape and three slashed edges. Crisp, slightly dry cookies that rest overnight before baking for traditional texture.

Traditional German lebkuchen: honey-and-molasses spice cookies studded with citron and nuts, finished with a brushed sugar glaze. A heritage Christmas cookie that gets better as it ages.