We have cookie recipes that use everything from green tea to guava paste, but sometimes you just want to keep it simple. For those occasions we’ve rounded up our favorite holiday and classic cookie recipes, from chewy chocolate chip cookies to nutty gingerbread cookies.
You can’t get much more classic than chocolate chip cookies. In our version of the old-school Nestle Toll House cookie—our Platonic ideal of the chocolate chip cookie—sheets of dough are layered with chopped bittersweet chocolate to make a cookie with crisp edges, a moist center, and a perfect distribution of chocolate. Or try one with a crunchier bite to it. Our chocolate chocolate cookie has layers upon layers of chocolate for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience.
If you aren’t looking for chocolate, we’ve got you covered. Dusted with cinnamon-sugar, snickerdoodles are always a crowd-pleaser. Many of our favorite cookies are sweet, soft, and chewy—our rich peanut butter cookies certainly fit the bill. Spicy linzer tea cookies are great for adding a bit of sweetness and a rush of spiciness from yuzu after having warming holiday drinks.
It just isn’t Christmas without festively decorated sugar cookies. Cut into shapes like trees and stars and decorated with icing, sprinkles, dragées, and more, they’re almost as fun to make as they are to eat. Classic sugar cookies use a buttery flour, egg, and sugar dough. Replacing wheat flour with rice flour lets you make your cookies gluten-free. Danish tin-style cookies are great for preparing for the holidays ahead of time.
We’ve found that rolling these cookies into bigger portions, then refrigerating them for at least 2 hours before slightly under-baking them at 350°, results in incredibly gooey, soft chocolate chip cookies. Get the recipe for The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies test the limit of exactly how much chocolate you can possibly pack into one cookie. Made with cocoa powder and more than one type of chocolate chip, this cookie’s soft dough benefits from at least 4 hours of refrigeration, allowing the disks to stay thick and chewy when cooked. Plus, the dough will keep frozen for several months, so stash a few in the freezer to throw in the oven whenever you’re hit with a craving for chocolate. Test Kitchen Director Farideh Sadeghin developed this recipe based off New York City’s famous Levain Bakery. Get the recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin
Meyer Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Fragrant Meyer lemon zest goes into these shortbread cookies from pastry chef and author Emily Luchetti. She then uses the sweet–tart juice to make a silky citrus curd that sandwiches two cookies together. Get the recipe for Meyer Lemon Sandwich Cookies »Paul Sirisalee | Food Styling: Eugene Jho
Graham Cookies
Chewy cookies made with brown sugar and graham flour and strips of candied ginger play background roles in this simple dessert showcasing the Hachiya persimmon’s floral aroma and flavor. Get the recipe for Graham Cookies »Matt Taylor-Gross
At brunch at the Liberty Bar in San Antonio, a plate of these spicy-sweet cookies is set down on the table at the beginning of the meal—gratis. Featured in our book Best Cookies, they make a perfect cookie for holiday parties, especially when drizzled with a little melted white chocolate. Get the recipe for Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies »Helen Rosner
These generously iced, cakelike cookies are as cherished by New Yorkers as bagels and cream cheese. To quicken the setting of the glazes, place the cookies in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes after each coating. Get the recipe for Black and White Cookies
Soaked in honey syrup and garnished with a spiced walnut mixture, these traditional Greek cookies are often served around the holidays. Get the recipe for Greek Honey Cookies »
Honey and Spice Cookies
Loaded with warm spices—allspice, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon—sweetened with honey, and packed with hazelnuts, these are the only holiday cookies you’ll need. Get the recipe for Honey and Spice Cookies »Anders Schonnemann
Umbrian Snowflake Cookies
Cornflakes—both mixed into the batter and coating the cookies’ exterior—give these crumbly chocolate chip treats a pleasant crunch and a nutty flavor. Get the recipe for Umbrian Snowflake Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin
Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies (Basler Brunsli)
Specialties of Basel, in northern Switzerland, these chocolatey confections are often described as Swiss brownies. Almonds, sugar, and chocolate are ground fine and bound together with egg whites to create a satisfyingly chewy texture, while cinnamon and cloves impart an unmistakable flavor of old-fashioned Christmas cheer. Get the recipe for Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies (Basler Brunsli) »
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
This perfect combination of snickerdoodle and sugar cookie is warmly spiced—just the thing to have with a cup of tea, by a roaring fire. Get the recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Cookies »Anders Schonnemann
Citrus Twist Fritters
Perfumed with cardamom and the zests of both orange and lemon, these holiday cookies are fried to crisp perfection. Get the recipe for Citrus Twist Fritters »Anders Schonnemann
Dusty Bliss Cookies
A sandy, melt-in-your mouth chocolate cookie with a coffee kick—and a dip in more chocolate for good measure. Get the recipe for Dusty Bliss Cookies »Matt Taylor-Gross
Spicy Pineapple Linzer Cookies
These sandwich cookies, adapted from chef Frederico Ribeiro of New York’s Te Company, are an homage to the classic Taiwanese pineapple cake. Here a super-buttery vanilla bean shortbread gets a nutty dose of hazelnut flour, and sweet pineapple-rosemary jam gets balanced by the spicy, fermented, and grassy flavor of Japanese yuzu kosho paste. Be sure to let the cookies rest overnight (or at least a few hours) after assembling so the jam sets in place, and don’t skip the lime zest and flaky salt topping for a sweet and savory cookie that has a nice habit of electrifying your taste buds. Get the recipe for Spicy Pineapple Linzer Cookies »Matt Taylor-Gross
Mexican Butter Cookies with Sprinkles (Galletas con Chochitos)
Folding cornflakes into the dough before baking gives simple chocolate cookies an addictive crunch. Get the recipe for Afghans »Helen Rosner
Coconut “Macaroonies”
With their powerful coconut flavor, chewy texture, and crisp edges, these gluten- and dairy-free all-coconut bar cookies (made with coconut extract, oil, and flour) are the ultimate macaron. Get the recipe for Coconut “Macaroonies” »Matt Taylor-Gross
These classic bar cookies, spiced with cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg and studded with raisins, are adapted from a recipe in the 1880 New Cook Book. Get the recipe for New England Hermits »
Almond Sugar Cookies
These glittering almond squares make a fantastic Christmas cookie on their own, but sandwiched with raspberry jam, they’re even better. Get the recipe for Almond Sugar Cookies »Anders Schonnemann
Vanilla Wreath Cookies
This buttery, vanilla-bean-flecked cookie batter is scraped into a piping bag and can be formed into wreaths, bows, or any shape your holiday heart desires. Get the recipe for Vanilla Wreath Cookies »Anders Schonnemann
Date Balls
Dates, pecans, and Rice Krispies make an irresistible cookie that’s ready in under half an hour. Get the recipe for Date Balls »Matt Taylor-Gross
Shortbread Cookies
Kamut, a strain of wheat that is one of a growing number of alternative grains, makes these cookies extra tender and crumbly. Baker Chad Robertson of Tartine notes to be sure to score the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven; they will be too fragile to cut once cooled. Get the recipe for Shortbread Cookies »Matt Taylor-Gross
Omani Coconut Cookies
A simple combination of sugar syrup and unsweetened coconut cools and hardens into sweet, crunchy treats that are perfect served alongside tea or coffee. Get the recipe for Omani Coconut Cookies »Felicia Campbell
Edouard’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
A French version of the classic American cookie, this recipe adds ground almonds for a result that’s chubby and chewy and just a little soft at the center. Get the recipe for Edouard’s Chocolate Chip Cookies »Farideh Sadeghin
Homemade Mallomars
With a dense chocolate coating and a soft, cakelike cookie base, we think these homemade mallomars are even better than the original. Get the recipe for Homemade Mallomars »Matt Taylor-Gross
Despite peanut-butter’s reputation as a wholesome health-food, these soft, chewy cookies stand up well to the chocolate chip as a pleasurable dessert. Get the recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies »Todd Coleman
This recipe is from Food Editor Ben Mims, and was adapted from an old Southern Living recipe. The combination of salty nuts, sweet, buttery shortbread, and dark chocolate will have anyone hooked. Get the recipe for Butter Turtles »Noah Fecks
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
A blend of white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch makes a perfect gluten-free base for these sweet and spicy cookies that have long been a holiday favorite. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies »Anna Stockwell
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Our gluten-free twist on classic sugar cookies uses rice flour as the base. Gluten-free doughs tend to be more delicate than standard cookie doughs; if the dough becomes too soft to work with, cut out shapes and place unbaked cookies on trays in the freezer for 3-5 minutes before baking. Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies »
Cut into Christmas trees, wreaths, snowflakes, snowmen, candy canes, and every other holiday design imaginable, these are classic holiday treats in the U.S. The cookies themselves are pure buttery comfort, but when decorated with royal icing, sprinkles, dragees, and sanding sugar, they’re elevated to cultural icons, beloved by children and grown-ups alike. Plus, they’re almost as much fun to make as they are to eat. Get the recipe for Sugar Cookies »Todd Coleman
This riff on an Oreo is filled with a creamy white chocolate ganache. Make sure to use white chocolate with at least 35 percent cocoa butter when making the filling to ensure ultra-smooth melting. Get the recipe for TKOs (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies) »Helen Rosner
