40 Christmas Cookie Recipes to Treasure

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Sugar cookies, chocolate cookies, butter cookies and more will add a little sparkle, a little dazzle and lots of memories to your holiday season.
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Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies with Watercolor Icing

These crisp, airy cookies taste like old-fashioned bakery cookies-but they're decorated in a totally modern way that's fun and so kid-friendly. The "canvas" is royal icing, and the "paint" is just food coloring! Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies with Watercolor Icing

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Valencia Delights

Orange and chocolate: a holiday cookie match that tempt every Santa to take seconds. This recipe comes from Jill Drury in Milwaukee, who loved to bake cookies with her grandmother. "For the longest time I couldn't decide which cookie I liked best, until one day Grandma had me mix my favorite flavors: chocolate and orange," she says. "We came up with this cookie that I now call my holiday favorite."Valencia Delights

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Oaxacan Mexican Chocolate Cookies

The recipe for these ultra-rich, cinnamon-laced cookies comes from the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, which hosts an annual cookie swap.Oaxacan Mexican Chocolate Cookies

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Sugar Cookies Like You Remember

Nutmeg lends unmistakable holiday flavor to these puffy, old-fashioned cut-out cookies. They do spread a bit, so don't use this recipe for delicate shapes. It's best-suited for circles, bells and the like.Sugar Cookies Like You Remember

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Caramel Heavenlies

Graham crackers form the base for this bar cookie with layers of marshmallows, brown sugar, almonds and coconut. "I've made these cookies since 1984," says Georgine Simmonds of Genesee, Michigan. "They're one of my family's favorites."Caramel Heavenlies

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Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Peppermint extract infuses these crisp, buttery cookies with holiday flavor. Choose between slice-and-bake swirls or candy-cane shape cookies.Peppermint Sugar Cookies

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Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels

These cookies are easier than they look -make one batch of dough, divide it in half, and blend cocoa into one portion and crushed candy canes and peppermint extract into the other. The recipe comes from the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago, which hosts an annual cookie swap.Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels

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Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies

These cookies from the Inn at Cedar Falls in Logan, Ohio, make a colorful treat anytime of year.Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies

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Fanciful Raspberry Ribbons

These festive "bake-and-slice" cookies look stunning on a tray of holiday desserts. Fanciful Raspberry Ribbons

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Butter Dream Cookies

A festive red maraschino cherry tops each cookie in this recipe, contributed by one of our Midwest Living® editors.Butter Dream Cookies

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Tosca Diamonds

These cookies are extremely rich, so cut them into small bars. We love the indulgent flourish of the caramel sauce, but the cookies are delicious without it.Tosca Diamonds

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Fat Molasses Cookies

Packed with flavor from molasses, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar, these cookies look especially nice when cut with a scalloped or round cutter and sprinkled with coarse sugar or crystallized ginger.Fat Molasses Cookies

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Eggnog Sugar Cookies

The eggnog flavor in these buttery cutouts comes from nutmeg and rum extract; it's subtle enough to be a pleasant twist on classic holiday sugar cookies without being overpowering. The recipe comes from the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Chicago, which hosts an annual cookie swap.Eggnog Sugar Cookies

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Mindy Segal's Chocolate Chip Cookies

These to-die-for cookies use special chocolate and two kinds of salt, and they call for an overnight chill-and you can absolutely taste the difference. Because of the expense and time involved, we don't recommend them for any old weekend, but they are incredible for a gift or other special occasion. The recipe comes from Chicago chef Mindy Segal's cookbook Cookie Love.Mindy Segal's Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Lemon-Vanilla Ornament Cookies

Whether you hang theses sugar cookies on a decorative tree like blogger Annie Marshall does or share them at a cookie exchange, these cutouts hold their shape beautifully. A standby on the blog Everyday Annie, it's a great recipe to have in your repertoire.Lemon-Vanilla Ornament Cookies

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Triple Peanut Butter Streusel Bars

Dry-roasted peanuts, peanut butter-flavored pieces and peanut butter bring triple flavor to this make-ahead bar cookie.Triple Peanut Butter Streusel Bars

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Gadettes

Dust off your waffle iron to bake these Belgian-style cookies. The recipe comes from Connie Shaw of Bettendorf, Iowa, who learned it from her grandmother. "As she taught me to make them, she explained that when she lived in Belgium, families served them when neighbors called," Connie says. "I sent them to my son the two Christmases he was deployed in Iraq. They are part of his Christmas memories, too."Gadettes

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Bet You Can't Eat Just One Sugar Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies come from the recipe file of Georgia Morehouse of Columbia, Missouri. Her family insists she bake at least one batch for New Year's Eve. Sprinkle them with colored sugar right before they bake to give them quick-and-easy sparkle.Bet You Can't Eat Just One Sugar Cookies

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Orange-Ginger Cookie Sandwiches

A round cookie cutter with scalloped edges makes a nice shape for these cookies, but bell, tree or star cutters would also be good choices for the holidays.Orange-Ginger Cookie Sandwiches

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White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

Dip these cherry-studded cookies in melted white chocolate, then roll in nonpareils and edible glitter for extra color.White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

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Chocolatey Shortbread Bites and Lemony Spritz Cookies

Finishing touches add a festive flair to these cookies. Dip Chocolatey Shortbread Bites in melted semisweet or white chocolate and top with a chocolate candy. Give extra zing to Lemony Spritz Cookies with Lemon Glaze and colored sugar.Lemony Spritz CookiesChocolatey Shortbread Bites

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Chocolate-Mint Blossoms

Candy cane-flavor candies make these thumbprint cookies look festive for the holidays.Chocolate-Mint Blossoms

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Holiday Cranberry-Orange Slices

This slice-and-bake cookie recipe brings several favorite holiday flavors to the cookie tray. Beverly Olson of Marshfield, Wisconsin, added cranberries and orange peel to her butter cookies along with pecans. Finely chop these additions so they won't get in the way when you slice the dough.Holiday Cranberry-Orange Slices

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Holiday Seven-Layer Bars

Chocolate, nuts, coconut and more fill our easy-to-make bar cookies. Mixed dried fruit bits and candy-coated milk chocolate pieces are among the layers that make this bar cookie distinctive.Holiday Seven-Layer Bars

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Super-Duper Chocolate Kisses

Create these rich, chocolatey cookies from refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough--just add cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles and a candy center. Use colored sprinkles instead of chocolate if you'd like a more festive presentation.Super-Duper Chocolate Kisses

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Lingonberry Hearts

A "window" on the top of these cookies shows off the jam inside, but if you're feeling lazy, just sandwich the preserves between two solid cookies. They'll taste just as good.Lingonberry Hearts

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Ultimate Chocolate-Mint Cookie Sandwiches

These gooey cookies tuck mint filling inside a soft chocolate cookie sandwich, topped with a swirl of fudgy frosting.Ultimate Chocolate-Mint Cookie Sandwiches

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Crispy Gingerbread

This festively spiced recipe (with a hint of orange zest) makes thin, crunchy cookies that work well for gingerbread houses, edible place cards and ornaments. Crispy Gingerbread

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Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroon Cookies

You can make these chewy cookies up to three months ahead of the holidays. Just freeze undipped cookies between waxed paper in an airtight container. When you're ready to serve them, thaw and then dip bottoms in melted chocolate.Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroon Cookies

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Hazelnut-Chocolate Chunk Cookies

We loaded these crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies with white and chocolate chips along with toasted hazelnuts. They taste great with a cup of Christmas Candy-Cane Hot Cocoa.Hazelnut-Chocolate Chunk CookiesChristmas Candy-Cane Hot Cocoa

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Cranberry Date Puffs

These addictive, puff pastry-wrapped cookies have a sweet, nutty filling and are delicious when they're still slightly warm. If you have a food processor, they're a cinch to make.Cranberry Date Puffs

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Buzz Cafe Butter Cookie Cutouts

"We use this recipe year-round for all of the holidays," says Laura Maychruk, co-owner of Buzz Cafe in Oak Park, Illinois (10 miles west of Chicago's Loop). "For Christmas, we make snowflakes and Christmas trees. The cookies are delicious even without the icing."Buzz Cafe Butter Cookie Cutouts

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Colorful Sparkling Sugar Cookies

A Decorah, Iowa, reader passed along the recipe for these much-loved treats, which she enjoys bringing to cookie exchanges.Colorful Sparkling Sugar Cookies

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Vienna Almond Cutouts

These cookies taste great on their own, but if you like, decorate them with royal icing.Vienna Almond CutoutsRoyal IcingHow to Marble Icing on Cookies

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Chocolate-Mint Thins

Half chocolate and half mint, these cookies offer a great flavor combo and a pretty look.Chocolate-Mint Thins 

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Snowballs and Nutjammers

The Cole family of Wadsworth, Ohio, bakes these each year for friends and family. The tradition started more than 50 years ago when Phrania (Fran) Cole and her sister, Ann, began making cookies as affordable gifts. The Coles like the Snowballs' tang of black walnut and the snowy, powdered-sugar coating. You can choose from two fillings when you bake the tiny, turnoverlike Nutjammers.SnowballsNutjammers

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Date Pinwheel Cookies

Minneapolis blogger Alyssa Ruesch says it's not Christmas without these slice-and-bake cookies. It's her grandma's recipe.Date Pinwheel Cookies

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Peanut Butter Temptations

Calling all peanut butter fans! These cookies offer double-the-PB compared to the classic peanut blossom cookie with a chocolate kiss on top. And they couldn't be easier.Peanut Butter Temptations

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Kolackys

Kolackys (also spelled kolaches or kolaces) are a Central European pastry with a sweet center. "These cookies are time-consuming, but so worth it," says an Ohio reader who contributed the recipe.Kolackys

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Almond Spritz Cookies

Almond paste makes these tender cookies so delicious. Leave the dough plain or tint it with red or green food coloring for a holiday look.Almond Spritz Cookies

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