Whether you’re baking just for fun or planning to give cookie boxes as gifts around the holidays, remember that variety is essential. With that in mind, you’ll want to make a bunch of different recipes. Chocolate chip and gingerbread will always be a safe choice, but how about festive red velvet, spiced snickerdoodles, and classic linzer cookies? No matter which of these 37 recipes you choose, you won’t be disappointed.
1. Fudge Crinkle Cookies with Cake Mix
Cake mix cookies are such a time saver, and that’s something you’ll love when Christmas rolls around. Instead of spending hours weighing ingredients, then rolling and cutting the dough, these babies need just a handful of ingredients and work best when scooped into balls. Roll each portion in powdered sugar before baking to get that classic crackle look.
2. 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Here’s another easy prep cookie recipe that won’t break the bank. They’re tender, chewy, and packed with nutty goodness. Regular smooth peanut butter works best here, as the organic kind is often quite oily, though crunchy would work, too. These are terrific as is, but if you want to jazz them up for the holidays, feel free to dip them in chocolate and sprinkle some chopped nuts over the top.
3. Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread cookies are quintessential Christmas staples, and they’re so fun to make and decorate. Since the dough is so sticky, you’ll need to let it chill before rolling. This is easiest if you roll between two sheets of parchment. Top tip: roll the dough while it’s soft and fresh between parchment sheets, then chill on a baking tray to keep flat. This way, you can cut right away rather than trying to roll the firm dough. Once it’s chilled, you can make any festive shapes you like. I personally love gingerbread tree ornaments!
4. Red Velvet Cookies
Red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips are super cute and are the perfect color to serve for the holidays. They’re soft and chewy with pops of creamy and sweet white chocolate and make such a nice change to the standard chocolate chip recipes. Of course, nothing is stopping you from making half of these green velvet!
5. Perfect Oatmeal Cookies
Even if oatmeal cookies aren’t your favorites, they’re still worth making for those of us that happen to love their yummy taste and texture. Warmly spiced with cinnamon and full of caramel notes from the brown sugar, they’re even better with dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips.
6. Italian Wedding Cookies
Also known as snowball cookies and Mexican wedding cookies, these delicate little shortbread bites are way easier to make than they look. Similar to shortbread, you only need a few ingredients to make these. The biggest difference is that you’ll use ground almonds in place of flour for cookies that are lightly sweet and perfectly nutty.
7. Heath Bar Cookies
The only thing better than a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie is a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie loaded with sweet toffee bits. Add a touch of sea salt to the top, and these will fast become your new favorites!
8. Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
Snickerdoodles are the perfect cookie to make around the holidays. They’re light and sweet and full of yummy cinnamon spice. The simple sugar cookie recipe is the perfect base for the cinnamon sugar coating, which adds a lovely light crunch to the edges. I like these with butterscotch chips, too.
9. Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies
If you’re on the hunt for a chocolate cookie that melts in your mouth and leaves you reaching for more, look no further. These are insanely fudgy and come together in one bowl, just like a batch of brownies. I suggest you go ahead and double this recipe! Trust me, you’ll need it.
10. Samoa Cookies (Copycat Recipe)
Samoa cookies are famously hard to resist. So why spend all year waiting for the Girl Scouts to start making their rounds? With this recipe, you can have your favorite cookies whenever you like. And that combination of caramel, coconut, and chocolate is sure to be a hit. To save on time, I recommend making Samoa cookie bars, which are much easier to put together.
11. Cowboy Cookies
Cowboy cookies aren’t your average oatmeal cookie. Instead, they’re crazy thick and flavorful and can contain everything from pecans and coconut to caramel and chocolate. True to their Texas origins, these should be made big! Don’t be shy with the add-ins, and sprinkle some sea salt over before baking for the best cookie ever!
12. Amish Sugar Cookies
These Amish cookies are slightly different from what you’re used to making, and it’s all in the sugar. You’ll use granulated and powdered for something sweet yet perfectly crisp. Remember to use real butter for a richer flavor, and feel free to add chocolate chips or glaze to the top.
13. Sweet Potato Cookies
Looking for a cookie that’s insanely chewy, wonderfully sweet, yet a little bit healthier? This sweet potato recipe has you covered. Like bananas add flavor and moisture to baking, so do sweet potatoes. It’s a terrific way to ensure these stay tender, and as an added bonus, it makes them a lovely orange color.
14. Key Lime Pie Cookies
I have a deep love for Key lime pie, so if I can eat it in cookie form, you know I’m rushing to the kitchen. Between the graham cracker crumbs in the shortbread cookie and a lusciously zesty Key lime filling, these will transport you right to the beach. If you can’t find real Key limes, you can get the juice online or just use regular limes. They’ll still be scrumptious.
15. Salted Caramel Cookies
I should warn you that these salted caramel cookies are dangerous. Somehow, they’ll just disappear off the plate. Not only do these have salted caramel drizzled over the top, but it’s also mixed right into the dough. Talk about delicious!
16. Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
Here’s another terrific and easy cookie recipe, and all you need is a box of lemon cake mix, a couple of eggs, and some oil. They come out with a pleasant yellow color and if you want some extra flavor, add lemon oil. These would be extra good with some dried blueberries, too.
17. Chocolate Icebox Cookies
If you need a cookie recipe you can make ahead; these chocolate cookies are ideal. Make the dough up to three months in advance, then just slice and bake when you need them. These will save you so much time around the holidays. Try rolling the edges in crushed candy canes before baking to make them extra festive.
18. Kitchen Sink Cookies
These kitchen sink cookies are the ones you should make last. After you’ve made chocolate chip, nutty cookies, and recipes with fun extras, this cookie dough can use up all the extra yummy ingredients. Throw in everything from pretzels and chips to dried fruit, coconut, and M&Ms.
19. Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
Speaking of M&Ms, they make lovely cookie extras. Not only are they chocolatey and readily available, but they’re also super colorful to boot. Better still, they come in all kinds of colors, so you can tailor these for the occasion. For example, Christmas cookies will look great with red and green M&Ms. I like to find and store holiday M&Ms throughout the year, from red, white, and blue, to fun green bags for St. Patrick’s day.
20. White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
I love the subtle and pretty color of these cookies. You get that delicate look by ensuring the candy canes are crushed rather than just chopped. Not only do they look better that way, but they’re easier to eat than bigger chunks. Another option would be to only add peppermint oil to the cookie dough then add candy cane bits to the top after they’ve baked.
21. 3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies
All you need to make these rich and tasty cookies is Nutella, flour, and eggs. That’s it! Of course, if you wanted to throw in some chocolate chips, that would only make them even more delicious. Alternatively, try adding pure Nutella right in the middle. Just freeze some discs on a baking tray and wrap the cookie dough around it. When it bakes, it will melt, leaving you with an ooey-gooey center.
22. Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
No matter the occasion, chocolate chip cookies will always be a welcome sight. And for me, they have to be soft and chewy. The trick is to use an extra egg yolk and slightly more brown sugar than white. Also, take them out of the oven when they still look a little bit undercooked. Don’t worry; they’ll finish setting up on the tray and will be perfectly gooey.
23. Easy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
If you’ve ever bitten into a peanut butter cup and wished it had a cookie layer, you’re in luck. This recipe sits a whole mini-peanut butter cup right in a cookie shell. You’ll need a mini muffin pan to make these, and then it’s as easy as pressing the chocolate into the ball of cookie dough as soon as they come out of the oven. Make half with regular and half with white chocolate peanut butter cups for more variety.
24. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
These bakery-style cookies are super buttery and loaded with fantastic texture. If you want these to really stand out, try toasting the nuts before adding them to the dough. It helps to release the natural oilers and boost their flavor.
25. Twix Cookies
I have a real weak spot for Twix cookies because they have everything I love about cookies all in one. It starts with a beautifully rich and tender shortbread cookie. Then, it’s topped with dreamy caramel and just the right amount of chocolate. Add a light sprinkle of sea salt to the top and try to stay strong! These are addictive.
26. Linzer Cookies
One of the most well-known and festive cookies around, these Linzer cookies have to be on your baking list this year. There’s a subtle sweet almond flavor to the cookies, which pairs so well with that bright raspberry filling. Of course, you could fill these with anything from chocolate to lemon curd.
27. Strawberry Cookies
If you’ve ever baked with strawberries before, you’ll know that they’re excessively juicy. That’s great for added flavor, but not if you want firm cookies. What’s the secret to these perfectly crisp and tender cookies? Strawberry cake mix! White chocolate cookies add a lovely creamy taste, but dark chocolate chips would be just as tasty.
28. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Apple cinnamon anything is always a winner in my house, be it cake, pie, or these chewy and spiced cookies. They’re wonderfully puffy, and the apple guarantees they stay ridiculously moist. Add some dried cranberries if you want a pop of color, and consider a cinnamon glaze for added sweetness.
29. Pumpkin Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting
These might not be ideal for cookie boxes, but I can assure you they’re worth making. That layer of cream cheese frosting means you can’t stack them. So, I guess you’ll have to eat them all yourself! Ok, I suppose you could share if you really want to. Though after one bite of these rich and spicy cookies, I think you’ll change your mind.
30. Devil’s Food Fudge Cookies
Did you know that devil’s food cake is the chocolate version of angel food cake? They’re both insanely light and airy, though this version is super rich and chocolatey. What more could you ask of a cookie? Add to that big old chocolate chunks and butter walnuts, and these will fly off the plate in seconds.
31. Peanut Butter Blossoms Cookie Recipe
If you need a simple recipe to make with the kids, this one is for you. Not only is the cookie dough nice and easy, but they’ll love adding the Kisses to the top. Just make sure they’re careful as the cookies need to be hot when you nestle the chocolate in the top. Otherwise, it won’t stick. You could also make these with other flavors, too. For example, try using sugar cookie dough and adding caramel Kisses. Or how about chocolate cookie dough with white chocolate and peppermint Kisses?
32. Funfetti Cookies
Funfetti cookies are some of my favorite things to make for kids. They’re so fun and colorful, not to mention effortless to whip up. The best sprinkles to use are jimmies, as they hold their shape and color better. And although you could add sprinkles to any cookie dough, sugar cookies will show them off the best. Try using holiday sprinkles to make these extra fun!
33. Carrot Cake Cookies
Carrot cake is known for its light and spicy crumb. It’s also always super moist and holds well for days on end. These carrot cake cookies are no exception. You’ll use oil to ensure they stay nice and soft, plus almond butter for some lovely added taste. Did I mention they’re also vegan and gluten-free? Even the cream cheese glaze is dairy-free, making them perfect for everyone.
34. Soft and Chewy Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snickers are chewy, sweet, salty, and just what you need when a sugar craving hits. Now imagine all that in a cookie! These are thick, rich, and jam-packed with chopped Snickers bars for maximum yumminess. I recommend freezing the candy bits before adding them to the cookie dough, so they won’t melt too much.
35. Blueberry Muffin Cookies
I don’t know about you, but I love starting my day with a soft and fruity blueberry muffin. I love them so much that when I saw this recipe, I tried it right away. The flavor combination of lemon and blueberry is fresh, sweet, and perfectly zesty, and it’s all held together with a tender, buttery cookie. The glaze might be optional, but I think we all know the difference it makes.
36. Cinnamon Roll Cookies
I love how these look, and these taste just like your favorite cinnamon roll. But, of course, these are much easier to whip up! Start with a simple sugar cookie recipe and add a layer of cinnamon sugar. The critical step is to roll these tight enough to hold their shape. Also, they must be chilled before baking.
37. Pink Lemonade Cookies
Pink lemonade isn’t just for summer, you know. These cookies are light, bright, zesty, and a fun addition to any cookie box or plate. One unique way to make these would be to make half with pink lemonade and half with regular. Roll each cookie dough into logs and gently twist them together. Slice and bake, so each cookie is half yellow and half pink. Click on a star to rate it!
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