Introducing your holiday cookie jar must-haves. Check out these highlights from our Holiday Cookies Special Issue, co-produced with feedfeed (the amazing online food community). We’re even releasing some exclusive recipes from the issue! Featuring peppermint snowflakes, red raspberry-swirled meringues, candy cane-flecked sugar cookies, and more, these cookies bring some much-needed holiday cheer to the table.
- Snowflake Sandwich Cookies with Peppermint Buttercream Filling
These cookies are sure to transport you to a winter wonderland. The buttery cookies have an unexpected crunch and a touch of saltiness from the sea salt. Judy Kim (from The Judy Lab) likes to crush the flakes by hand so there are slightly uneven bits that disperse through the dough. The cookies are filled with peppermint buttercream, and the tops are piped with delicate snowflakes that sparkle like jewels.
2. Halva and Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies
Amisha Gurbani considers pinwheels to be the quintessential Christmas cookie. Here, she swirls halva and pistachio dough into a cookie log, then rolls them in dried rose petal sugar.
3. Spitzbuben (Linzer) Cookies
There’s no other cookie that looks more festive than these jam-packed, classic Spitzbuben. The famous buttery Austrian Linzer sandwiches literally melt in your mouth. They make a perfect cookie for the big holiday swap. For more recipes from Sarah Brunella of Fragola e Limone, get our Holiday Cookies Special Issue, co-produced with feedfeed.
4. Raspberry Swirl Pistachio Meringue Cookies
These light and fluffy cookies, slightly swirled with a fresh raspberry syrup and sprinkled with pistachio, take traditional meringues to a whole new level.
5. Chewy Chai Spiced Cranberry Molasses Cookies
Full of warm spices and studded with tart dried cranberries, these Chewy Chai-Spiced Cranberry Molasses Cookies by Kristie Pryor of The Sweet and Simple Kitchen are a treat you’ll want to enjoy throughout the holiday season. Cozy up with a few by the fire, or wrap a stack up with some twine to give as the perfect homemade holiday gift.
6. Embroidered Ornaments
Gingerbread cookies baking in the oven will fill your home with the delicious aroma of the holidays. Soft and chewy, these cookies are perfectly paired with the crispy texture of the Vanilla Royal Icing. Amber Spiegel of Sweet Ambs, takes this classic formula and turns it into an epic presentation of Embroidered Ornament cookies! Find Amber’s visual tutorial of How to Ice Embroidered Ornament Cookies here.
7. Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Rich with double the chocolate and a festive sprinkle of crushed candy canes, these Double Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies are the perfect way to ring in the holidays!
8. Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
No need to free up oven space for Rachel Conners’ (of Bakerita) Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars. These “cheesecake” bars are made with soaked cashews to replicate cheesecake’s creamy texture—no dairy or baking necessary. With an easy pecan-and-date crust and tons of warm spices, these Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars are packed with the holiday season’s warm flavors. You won’t miss the dairy one bit in these gluten-free, vegan bars.
9. Three-Dimensional Reindeer Cookies
These fanciful reindeer cookies may look too cute to eat, but don’t let that stop you. Fun to bake and assemble, these cute bites from Lisa Tutman-Oglesby (of Celebrate Creativity) deliver a delightful three-dimensional effect that will have cookie lovers looking twice. Get the tutorial for assembling the cookies here and the recipe in the Holiday Cookies Special Issue, co-produced with feedfeed.
10. Browned Butter Cranberry Orange Streusel Bars with Brown Sugar Streusel
Browned butter is the answer for anything and everything, especially when paired with cranberry. These bars from Amy Ho (of Constellation Inspiration) have three parts: a rich orange browned butter shortbread base, a tart cranberry and jam filling, and a generous topping of Brown Sugar Oat Streusel. How can you not bake these this season?
