Home Holidays Christmas
ByLisa Kaminski
Taste of Home's Editorial Process
Updated: Feb. 18, 2024
Here are the best new Christmas cookie recipes for 2023, straight from our Test Kitchen. Pair them with traditional Christmas cookies to create the perfect treat tray.
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Triple-Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Santa is sure to stop by your house if you leave these minty triple-chocolate peppermint cookies waiting for him. They’re quick and easy for the whole family to make together. —Teresa Ralston, New Albany, Ohio
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Chocolate-Drizzled Ravioli Cookies
My daughter Madalyn came up with the recipe for these Oreo-filled ravioli. Our family couldn’t stop eating them! Even her teachers were asking her to make them and to share the recipe! —Sarah Sandifer, Bamberg, South Carolina
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Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
Here’s proof that peanut butter and chocolate just belong together. These peanut butter blossom cookies are an easy family favorite and never fail to make my children smile. Take them to the next level for Christmas and pipe green frosting (the canned stuff works!) over the kiss. Sprinkles finish it off and look like ornaments on a tree! —Tammie Merrill, Wake Forest, North Carolina
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Shortbread Ornament Cookies
These buttery shortbread cookie ornaments are almost too pretty to eat! You can use cookie cutters in shapes of your choice. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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Marokanky
These Czech Christmas cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The batter is prepared on the stovetop, then cooled and baked. The original recipe calls for nuts and candied orange zest, but any dried fruit or combination of dried fruits can be used in place of the orange zest. —Cyndee Sindelar, Princeton, New Jersey
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Peppermint Schnapps Hot Cocoa Snowflakes
Mint and chocolate are perfect partners in these cutout cookies! —James Schend, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
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Mincemeat Cookies
You can taste the spirit of Christmases past in these chewy old-fashioned cookies with their sweet caramel frosting. One batch makes 9 dozen cookies that freeze well for the holidays! —Betty Jorsvick, Olds, Alberta
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Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cookies
These peppermint hot chocolate cookies are a variation of the cookies my mother made when I was growing up. Now my 13-year-old daughter and I bake them together. They’re always a huge hit! The taste is like rich hot chocolate baked into a scrumptious cookie. —Larry Piklor, Johnsburg, Illinois
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Christmas Mice Cookies
These whimsical little cuties taste like truffles. Every Christmas, we make sure to have enough for friends and neighbors. —Deborah Zabor, Fort Erie, ON
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Gingerbread Amaretti Cookies
The classic Italian cookie gets a new gingerbread twist! Don’t overbake—they should be slightly chewy. —Tina Zaccardi, Eastchester, New York
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Swedish Spice Cutouts
My sister, Judith Landgren of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, brought this recipe with her when she came to the United States from Sweden in 1928.
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Cranberry Spritz Cookies
Here’s a sure standout on your treat tray. The cheery cookies get their bright-pink color from cranberry-flavored gelatin.
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Dutch Speculaas
In Holland, it’s tradition to mold this Dutch speculaas dough into the shape of St. Nicholas and serve the cookies on Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas Day). —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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Hawaiian Wedding Cake Cookies
Macadamia nuts and pineapple help give this Hawaiian cookie recipe its tropical name. —Darlene Brenden, Salem, Oregon
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TMB Studio
Roly-Poly Santa Cookies
I include these fanciful Santas on every cookie tray I gift. Making these is such a creative way to decorate Christmas cookies! —Mrs. Andrew Syer, Oak Ridge, Missouri
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Horn Walnut Cookies
It takes only a few ingredients to create these elegant and delicious horns. This is a terrific make-ahead recipe because the dough can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to seven days. —Loretta Stokes, Philadephia, Pennsylvania
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Penguin Cutouts
Your children can help decorate these cute Christmas cookies. It’s a great way to get them involved in the kitchen. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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Fudge Bonbon Cookies
These fudgy favorites are double delights—the cookies are flavored with both chocolate chips and chocolate kisses. Drizzled with white chocolate on top, they’re fancy enough for a buffet table. —Janice Smith, Cynthiana, Kentucky
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White Chocolate-Cranberry Biscotti
The original version of this recipe was handed down from my great-aunt. Through the years, my mother and I have tried different flavor combinations…this is a favorite for all. —Brenda Keith, Talent, Oregon
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Stained Glass Cherry Macaroons
Macaroons are a timeless treat and a family favorite in our house. These merry morsels are always the first to disappear from the cookie tray. —Jamie Jones, Madison, Georgia
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Orange Gingerbread Tassies
I make big Christmas cookie plates every year and it’s fun to have something with a different shape to include. These have a delicious flavor with the gingerbread and orange, and they are really easy! This is also yummy with lemon zest if you prefer that over the orange. You can also decorate with some candied orange peel if you have it.
—Elisabeth Larsen, Pleasant Grove, UT
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Rosemary Shortbread Christmas Tree Cookies
These lovely treats are a traditional part of our Christmas cookie platter. Because the scent of rosemary and the shape of its leaves remind me of pine needles, I cut these using a Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter. They are fragile, so handle the dough and baked cookies carefully. —Amy Bartlett, Depew, New York
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Gluten-Free Snowballs
I took a classic holiday cookie and made it gluten-free. It’s now my husband’s favorite Christmas cookie. They’re so buttery, nutty and sweet—and everyone loves how they crumble in your mouth.
—Joan Sarge, Asheville, North Carolina
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Butter Pecan Cookies
When my daughter was a teen, these butter pecan cookies earned her blue ribbons from two county fairs. Then a few years ago, her own daughter took home a blue ribbon for the same cookie. Needless to say, these mouthwatering morsels are winners! —Martha Thefield, Cedartown, Georgia
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Slice ‘n’ Bake Fruitcake Cookies
A cross between classic fruitcake and buttery cookies, these treats are perfect for Christmas. Each one is chock-full of raisins and candied cherries.
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Andes Mint Cookies
Transform your favorite candy into a baked treat! These Andes mint cookies are better than any after-dinner mint. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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Christmas Tree Cookies
Delight family and friends with this holly jolly Christmas tree cookie recipe. Iced with creamy frosting and dusted with sparkly colored sugars, the 3-D cookie trees are as delicious as they are beautiful!—Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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Vanilla-Butter Sugar Cookies
These butter sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies to bake for Christmas. The dough recipe is versatile, so you can use it for other holidays, too. Children like to help with the cookie decorating. —Cynthia Ettel, Glencoe, Minnesota
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Jeweled Coconut Drops
Red raspberry preserves add a festive flair to these tender coconut drops. Perfect for potlucks and cookie exchanges, these shaped cookies never last long when I make them for my husband and two sons. —Ellen Marie Byler, Munfordville, Kentucky
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Hot Chocolate Cookies
Using hot cocoa mix and marshmallow bits in the cookie dough really makes these hot chocolate cookies taste like the cozy drink. —Lisa Kaminski, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
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Butterscotch Shortbread
After sampling these tender cookies in a specialty store, I knew I had to duplicate them. My version has lots of toffee bits and butterscotch chips. I’ve given away dozens as home-baked gifts. —Sandra McKenzie, Braham, MN
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White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
These white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies that I adapted from another recipe call to mind ones my mother used to bake. Instead of stirring in raisins like she did, though, I add bright red cranberries for festive flair. —Marjorie Goertzen, Chase, Kansas
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Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
The holidays are my favorite time of year because I love to bake. These are one of my favorite cookies—they always disappear fast! —Jean Wysocki, Westminster, Colorado
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Chocolate Lebkuchen
Having lived in Germany, I try to keep my German cooking as authentic as possible. This lovely lebkuchen recipe is a culinary Christmas custom. —Cathy Lemmon, Quinlan, Texas
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Mexican Wedding Cakes
As part of a Mexican tradition, I tucked these tender cookies into small gift boxes for the guests at my sister’s wedding a few years ago. Most folks gobbled them up before they ever got home! —Sarita Johnston, San Antonio, Texas
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Chai Snickerdoodles
When I think of winter, I think of two things: warm cookies and chai. My recipe combines the two in my favorite cookie recipe—snickerdoodles! —Evangeline Bradford, Covington, Kentucky
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Chocolate Macadamia Macaroons
This perfect macaroon has dark chocolate, chewy coconut and macadamia nuts, and is dipped in chocolate—sinful and delicious! —Darlene Brenden, Salem, Oregon
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Lemon Snowflakes
You’ll need just four ingredients to make these delightful lemon snowflake cookies. Confectioners’ sugar highlights the cracked tops to give them their snowflake appearance. —Linda Barry, Dianna, Texas
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Originally Published: December 23, 2021
Author
Lisa Kaminski
Lisa is a formerTaste of Home editor and passionate baker. During her tenure, she poured her love of all things sweet (and sometimes savory) into Bakeable, Taste of Home's baking club. Lisa also dedicated her career here to finding and testing the best ingredients, kitchen gear and home products for our Test Kitchen-Preferred program. At home, yo...
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