These Christmas cookies recipes fill a whole cookie box: 25 recipes from Pin Desserts, from soft gingerbread men and chocolate peppermint crinkles to marbled shortbread, maple thumbprints and no-bake haystacks. Every one links to a full recipe card with weights, times and yields.
The trick to a box that looks generous is mixing textures and colors: something dark (crinkles), something spiced (gingerbread), something buttery (shortbread), something filled (thumbprints) and one showpiece (decorated cut-outs). Most of these doughs make 24 cookies and several wait in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, so you can mix on the weekend and bake one tray a night.
Choose 5 or 6 kinds for a family box, or 2 big batches for a cookie exchange.
At a Glance
- Recipes: 25 cookies in 7 groups, 1 no-bake
- Typical yield: 24 cookies per batch (12 to 60)
- Fastest: gingerbread chocolate chip cookies, 20 minutes
- Make-ahead doughs: gingerbread (3 days), crinkles (2 days), shortbread logs
- Fridge-only: red velvet cheesecake and eggnog cheesecake cookies
Gingerbread and Molasses Cookies
Molasses gives these cookies their chew and their dark color, and ginger, cinnamon and cloves give the smell everyone connects with December.
1. Soft Gingerbread Cookies
The box anchor: 1/2 cup (170 g) of molasses and a tablespoon of ginger, dough rested 2 hours to 3 days. Pull them at 8 to 9 minutes at 350°F (175°C), centers still puffy. Makes 24.
2. Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
The fastest cookie here, 20 minutes, no mixer, no chilling. Stir 1/4 cup (60 ml) of molasses and 1 cup (170 g) of chips into the dough and bake 9 to 11 minutes. Makes 18.
3. Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Gingerbread in crinkle form: 2 teaspoons of ginger and a thick powdered sugar coat that cracks wide in 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F (175°C). Makes 24.
4. Molasses Cookies
Chewy and crackled. Dark brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of baking soda make the deep cracks; a sugar sprinkle adds sparkle. Bake 9 to 11 minutes. Makes 24.
Crinkle and Snowball Cookies
Crinkles get their cracks from a double roll, granulated sugar first and powdered sugar second. The first coat dries the surface so the second one stays white in the oven.
5. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Cocoa and oil, one bowl, no mixer. Chill the soft dough 3 hours (up to 2 days), roll in granulated then powdered sugar, and bake 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 24.
6. Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
The richer crinkle, with 4 oz (113 g) of melted bittersweet chocolate. Press crushed candy cane on within 2 minutes of baking so it sticks without melting. Makes 30.
7. Lemon Crinkle Cookies
A bright break from chocolate and spice. Rub 1 tablespoon (6 g) of zest into the sugar, chill 1 hour, and roll 30 g balls in two sugars. Makes 20.
8. Chocolate Snowball Cookies
Dark cocoa cookies with a white chocolate chunk hidden inside, rolled in powdered sugar once completely cool. Makes 24.
Cut-Out and Decorated Christmas Cookies
Both use a 1/4 inch (6 mm) rolled sugar cookie and royal icing set with meringue powder. Bake the cookies a day before you decorate. For the icing itself, the royal icing recipe covers outline and flood consistency.
9. Decorated Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
Rolled 1/4 inch thick, baked 9 to 11 minutes so the edges set without browning, then flooded with green royal icing. Dry overnight before stacking. Makes 24.
10. Grinch Cookies
The most hands-on cookie here and the most fun to decorate with kids: five icing colors set with meringue powder and a #1 or #2 tip for the faces. Makes 24.
Eggnog and Hot Chocolate Cookies
Use full-fat eggnog here; light eggnog thins the dough and the glaze.
11. Eggnog Snickerdoodles
Cream of tartar tang plus 1/4 cup of full-fat eggnog and nutmeg. No chilling and done in 45 minutes, so they suit a busy weeknight. Makes 24.
12. Eggnog Latte Cookies
Brown sugar cookies with 2 teaspoons of instant espresso, an eggnog glaze and an espresso drizzle. Leave them uncovered to firm the glaze before stacking. Makes 24.
13. Hot Cocoa Cookies
Hot cocoa mix in the dough. Bake 8 minutes, press in 4 to 5 mini marshmallows, and finish baking so they puff and toast. Makes 12 big cookies.
14. Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Dutch-process cocoa, 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne under a cinnamon sugar top. Chill 30 minutes, bake 9 to 11. Makes 24.
Shortbread, Meringues and Fruitcake Cookies
The keepers. Shortbread and meringues have almost no moisture, so they last the longest in a tin and travel well.
15. Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
Red and green with no food coloring. Seven ingredients, sliced from chilled logs and baked 14 to 16 minutes at 325°F (160°C). Makes 24.
16. Marbled Shortbread Cookies
One butter dough, half of it mixed with 2 tablespoons of cocoa, twisted together so every cookie has its own swirl. Makes 22.
17. Christmas Meringue Kisses
Four egg whites make about 60 kisses. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 200°F (95°C), then leave them 1 hour in the closed oven. Pack them on top.
18. Old-Fashioned Fruitcake Cookies
Loaded with 1 1/2 cups (225 g) of candied fruit and 1 cup (100 g) of pecans, chilled an hour and baked 13 to 15 minutes at 325°F (160°C). Makes 36.
Thumbprint, Filled and Dipped Cookies
These are the cookies that make a box look finished. Two have a cream cheese filling and need the fridge, so plan them for hand delivery.
19. Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies
Frozen cream cheese balls wrapped in red velvet dough, baked 10 to 12 minutes. Store them in the fridge and add them on giving day. Makes 14.
20. Eggnog Cheesecake Cookies
Mini cheesecake bites: biscuit base, cream cheese layer and eggnog custard, baked 12 to 14 minutes at 325°F (160°C). Fridge only. Makes 24.
21. Maple Brown Sugar Thumbprint Cookies
Bake 8 minutes, press the centers, bake 4 to 5 more, then fill with warm maple caramel and a pinch of flaky salt. Makes 24.
22. Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
The classic plus a half-dip in semisweet chocolate. Use regular creamy peanut butter, not natural, and press the kisses in straight from the oven. Makes 24.
23. Chocolate Dipped Toffee Cookies
Chewy brown sugar cookies with toffee bits inside and on the chocolate dip. Chill the dough an hour so the edges hold. Makes 36.
Soft Sugar Cookies and a No-Bake Option
One soft cookie that stays tender for days and one that needs only a saucepan.
24. Cream Cheese Cookies
Four ounces (113 g) of cream cheese keeps them soft for days. Bake 10 to 12 minutes and pull them while the tops are matte. Makes 24.
25. Haystack Cookies
No oven: melt 11 oz of butterscotch chips, stir in 1 cup of peanut butter and 4 cups of mini cornflakes, then let the mounds set 30 minutes. Makes 24.
How to Plan a Christmas Cookie Box
- 2 weeks ahead: Bake and freeze sturdy cookies without icing or dip: gingerbread chocolate chip, molasses, snickerdoodles, toffee cookies before dipping, fruitcake cookies. Freeze flat in airtight containers.
- 1 week ahead: Make the shortbread logs and slice and bake them. Pipe the meringue kisses on a dry day, because humidity makes them sticky.
- 3 to 4 days ahead: Mix gingerbread and crinkle doughs and chill them. Bake the cut-outs.
- 2 days ahead: Decorate the trees and Grinch cookies and let the icing dry overnight. Bake the crinkles and thumbprints.
- Packing day: Dip the toffee and blossom cookies, thaw frozen cookies in their containers, and add fridge cookies last if you are handing the box over in person.
Packing Cookies So They Arrive Whole
Put the heaviest, flattest cookies on the bottom (shortbread, molasses, toffee) and the lightest on top (meringue kisses, crinkles). Separate layers with parchment.
Keep crisp and soft cookies apart. A soft cookie gives moisture to a crisp one within a day, so shortbread and meringues go into their own cellophane bag or cupcake liners inside the box.
Storage and Freezing
Most of these cookies keep 5 to 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Shortbread and meringues last up to 2 weeks if the tin stays closed. Cookies with a cream cheese filling or custard stay in the fridge and are best within 3 to 4 days.
Baked, undecorated cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the closed container so condensation forms on the lid and not on the cookies. Do not freeze iced cookies or meringues: the icing can bleed and the meringues soften.
Christmas Cookie Questions
How many kinds of cookies go in a Christmas cookie box?
Five to seven kinds fill a standard box without it looking thin. Pick at least one chocolate, one spiced, one buttery and one decorated cookie.
Which Christmas cookies last the longest?
Shortbread, meringue kisses and molasses cookies. They have little moisture, so they stay good for 1 to 2 weeks in a closed tin.
Which cookies are best for mailing?
Sturdy, flat cookies with no filling: cranberry pistachio shortbread, marbled shortbread, molasses and gingerbread. Skip anything with cream cheese.
Can I make Christmas cookie dough ahead?
Yes. Gingerbread dough keeps up to 3 days in the fridge and chocolate crinkle dough up to 2 days. Shortbread logs go straight from the fridge to the oven.
More Christmas Baking
For fudge, bark, toffee and brownies to go with the cookies, the easy Christmas desserts list has 15 more recipes, six of them no-bake.
