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44 Christmas Cookie Recipes

When the holiday season rolls around, one of things to look forward to the most is making cookies. Whether you’re making cookies with the kids to leave out for Santa, or packing cookie tins to gift to friends, we’ve got a wonderful list of some of the best Christmas Cookie Recipes. We’ve thrown in some traditional favorites, some super festive decorative cookies, and of course a few basic sugar cookies. You might want to try several and organize your own cookie exchange! But first here’s all the basics about Christmas Cookies.

Christmas Cookie Recipes

Decorating Christmas Cookies Ideas

Christmas is a time when family and cultural traditions are at a high. For many families, making Christmas cookies together is an annual event, and here in the US, sugar cookies are being made and decorated in kitchens across the country. Some people make the sugar cookie dough from scratch, some purchase pre-made dough – whatever your preference, they are still fun to make with your family. Here are some great decorating tips to tackle your Christmas sugar cookies.

Frosting/Icing

  • Buttercream Frosting: Buttercream, whether homemade or store bought, does not harden. It remains soft to the touch. It can easily be altered with food coloring and flavor extracts, and the soft frosting allows for sprinkles and other decorations to be easily applied. You can add it to piping bags to create your own handmade designs as well.
  • Royal Icing: This is a popular icing for sugar cookies. Often used for making different colors of icing, it is easily altered with food coloring. Royal icing will dry hard, but can take up to 8 hours to fully harden. Great for adding to piping bags and creating designs. Not as effective for applying sprinkles and decorations.
  • Fondant: Fondant is an edible dough that can be rolled out and cut and applied to the top of the cookie. You can even cut out shapes or mold your own designs. If you choose to apply a single flat layer to the top of the cookie, you can use the surface to paint on designs with edible paint. Fondant can be altered with food coloring, and can be purchased premade if you prefer.
  • Store-Bought Tub Frosting: You can get it in a variety of flavors and colors. Similar to buttercream, it generally will remain soft but creates a good surface to apply sprinkles and décor. Light colored tub frosting can be altered with food coloring. You can add milk or water to thin it out if necessary, and added to piping bags to make designs.
  • Pouches & Tubes: These store-bought frostings and icings can be purchased in a variety of colors and consistencies, including gels. They usually do not harden, and remain soft like buttercream. Layers of thicker tubed frosting can be applied for adding decorations, while gels and thinner tubes can be used for creating writing and designs.
  • Cookie Icing: Brands like Wilton have prepackaged cookie icing. It will set (but not completely harden) over time, and create a smooth finish. These are great quick alternatives and are perfect for making handmade designs and applying small sprinkles, glitters, and other light decorations.

Best Things To Use To Decorate Christmas Cookies

Here are some fun and creative ways to decorate Christmas cookies:

  • Sprinkles/Nonpareils: Round ball shapes
  • Dragees: Larger ball-shaped sprinkles, note that some are not edible
  • Sugar Pearls: Larger ball-shaped sprinkles, but smaller than dragees
  • Jimmies: Long sprinkles
  • Quins: Sequins or confetti, flat; can often be found in other shapes like Christmas trees, hearts, and stars
  • Sanding Sugar: Dust or glitter, or tiny pieces of colored sugar
  • Sparkling Sugar: Larger grained coarse sugar, sparkles like glitter
  • Edible food colors and paints: Paint designs or use metallic paint to highlight the cookies
  • Edible Glitter: very fine grained sugar dust
  • Small candies: Sixlets, Red Hots and M&Ms
  • Crushed Candy Canes or Peppermint
  • Stained Glass: Crushed hard candies that create a stained glass effect when baked in the center of a cookie
  • Marbled Cookies: Different colored cookie doughs that are swirled together.

Quick tip: Prepare the cookie dough in advance of the holidays, shape it into balls, and freeze them for later use, bake when needed. Most cookie doughs freeze well for up to 3 months!

Christmas Cookie Recipes

Try these delicious Christmas Cookie Recipes to add fun and festive decorative flair and a variety of all your favorite flavors. Whether you are filling your cookie tray at home, participating in a cookie exchange, or filling holiday tins to gift to friends, these Christmas Cookies are a hit!

Traditional Christmas Cookies From Around The World

  • Almond Ginger Cookies (China)
  • Basler Brunsli (Switzerland)
  • Brigadeiro Cookies (Brazil)
  • Brunkager (Denmark)
  • Canadian Cherry Balls (Canada)
  • Cinnamon Ghoribas (South Africa)
  • Cucidati Fig Cookies (Italy)
  • Fattigmann/Poor man’s cookie (Norway)
  • Khrustyky (Ukraine)
  • Kolachy (Slovenia)
  • Holiday Lebkuchen or German Gingerbread Cookies (Germany)
  • Linzer Cookies (Austria)
  • Macrons (France)
  • Mantecaditos de Guayaba (Puerto Rico)
  • Melomakarona or Christmas Honey Cookies (Greece/Cyprus)
  • Mexican Wedding Cakes (Mexico)
  • Mincemeat Palmier (Great Britain)
  • Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Cookies/German Anabaptist
  • Pebber Nodder or Danish Christmas Cookies (Denmark)
  • Pepparkakor or Swedish Ginger Cookies (Sweden)
  • Pinwheels (Finland)
  • Pizelle (Italy)
  • Polvorones Shortbread-like Cookies (Spain/Latin America)
  • Sables or French Christmas Cookies (France)
  • Sandbakkelse (Norway)
  • Šape Bear Paw Cookies (Croatia)
  • Shortbread (Scotland)
  • Spritzgeback (Germany)
  • Sweet Potato Spice Cookies (Malawi)
  • Russian Tea Cakes (Russia)
  • Vanillekipferl (Austria)
  • Zimtsterne (Switzerland)

Try These Holiday Recipes Too!

Christmas Recipes Collection
Christmas Candy Recipes
31 Festive Holiday Cocktails
New Years Foods To Eat For Good Luck

Heidi Deal
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