422 christmas cookie recipes

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.

A must on your Christmas cookie tray. Despite the lemony frosting, the cinnamon flavor comes through.

Eggnog cookies with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a splash of holiday eggnog. Soft, cake-like Christmas cookies with the spiced flavor of your favorite seasonal drink.

Thin, crispy oatmeal lace cookies with brown sugar, heavy cream, melted butter, and brandy-soaked currants. Delicate, caramelized wafers that shatter with each bite.

Nut butter cookie dough folds toasted, finely ground pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds into a master holiday butter cookie base. Shape it into Linzer cookies, Viennese crescents, cut-outs, or thumbprints.

Nancy's ice cream kolacky: a three-ingredient Eastern European-style cookie where vanilla ice cream replaces liquid and eggs, creating a tender pastry dough filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar. A Christmas cookie-tray favorite.

Don't leave out the adults during a family reunion. Instead try this snack that contains pecans and amaretto liquer.

Chewy praline cookies with brown sugar, butter, and chopped pecans. Thin, crisp-edged, and candy-like with a soft center. Just six ingredients and 20 minutes start to finish.

Lemon oatmeal cookies bright with lemon juice, zest, and extract, made lighter with oil and egg whites and given extra crunch from crisp rice cereal. A crisp, citrusy twist on the classic oatmeal cookie.

Cream cheese snowflake cookies with lemon zest, topped with powdered sugar icing and edible glitter. Delicate, buttery Christmas cutout cookies that sparkle.

Miniature cookie houses: a sturdy vanilla cookie dough built for construction. Roll, cut, bake, and decorate into tiny Christmas houses. The classic holiday project for kids and crafty bakers.

Melomakarona are classic Greek Christmas cookies, olive oil dough spiced with orange zest and cognac, soaked in honey-cinnamon syrup, then sprinkled with toasted almonds. Holiday tradition perfected.

Topped with sliced almonds and a shiny glaze these cookies look just as fabulous as they taste.

Turned out lovely. I've eaten so much my stomach hurts.

Raspberry gems are delicate sandwich cookies with a sour cream pastry dough, raspberry jam filling, dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with almonds. A gorgeous holiday cookie tin addition.

Buttery shortbread bars topped with pecans, dried cherries, mini chocolate chips, and orange marmalade. A two-step bake that turns simple cookies into festive holiday treats in about an hour.