40 Christmas cookies recipes

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One of the best parts of the holidays is the baking. After all, nothing adds a little sweetness to the season quite like a fresh plate of sugar cookies or a warm yule log.

The practice of baking cookies specifically for Christmas dates back to the 16th century, and can be seen across the world in countless variations today. Most still consider gingerbread to be the ancestor of the modern Christmas cookie. Gingerbread itself originated with the German lebkuchen, a soft, spiced biscuit that dates back to at least the 13th century. Inventions like icing and cookie cutters arrived over the following centuries, opening up new possibilities for Christmas cookie designs

In the years since, professional and amateur chefs have developed hundreds of thousands of different recipes for everyone's favorite holiday treat. Some of them are mind-blowingly delicious, others less than delectable. In order to help you narrow down your options this holiday season, Stacker compiled a list of the best and most unique Christmas cookie recipes from Allrecipes.

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1 / 40

Perfect Thumbprint Cookies

- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Additional: 20 mins
- Total: 50 mins
- Servings: 20
- Yield: 20 to 24 cookies
- Number of ingredients: 11
- Read more about the recipe here

2 / 40

Hedgehog Cookies

- Prep: 1 hr
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 2 hrs
- Total: 3 hrs 10 mins
- Servings: 24
- Yield: 4 dozen cookies
- Number of ingredients: 11
- Read more about the recipe here

4 / 40

Russian Tea Cakes I

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 12 mins
- Additional: 3 mins
- Total: 35 mins
- Servings: 36
- Yield: 3 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 6
- Read more about the recipe here

6 / 40

Chocolate Pecan Sandies

- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Additional: 30 mins
- Total: 65 mins
- Servings: 24
- Yield: 4 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 7
- Read more about the recipe here

7 / 40

Citrus Shortbread Cookies

- Prep: 25 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 4 hrs
- Total: 4 hrs 35 mins
- Servings: 24
- Yield: 2 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 9
- Read more about the recipe here

8 / 40

Crescent Butter Biscuits

- Prep: 30 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 1 hr
- Total: 1 hr 40 mins
- Servings: 100
- Yield: 100 cookies
- Number of ingredients: 6
- Read more about the recipe here

9 / 40

Chocolate Crinkles II

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 12 mins
- Additional: 4 hrs 28 mins
- Total: 4 hrs 60 mins
- Servings: 72
- Yield: 6 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 9
- Read more about the recipe here

13 / 40

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Additional: 15 mins
- Total: 40 mins
- Servings: 18
- Yield: 1 1/2 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 10
- Read more about the recipe here

14 / 40

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Additional: 40 mins
- Total: 80 mins
- Servings: 36
- Yield: 3 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 16
- Read more about the recipe here

16 / 40

Scotcharoos

- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Additional: 1 hr
- Total: 1 hr 30 mins
- Servings: 24
- Yield: 24 bars
- Number of ingredients: 6
- Read more about the recipe here

17 / 40

Soft Christmas Cookies

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 8 mins
- Additional: 2 hrs 32 mins
- Total: 2 hrs 60 mins
- Servings: 48
- Yield: 4 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 7
- Read more about the recipe here

19 / 40

Drommar

- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 12 mins
- Total: 57 mins
- Servings: 25
- Yield: 50 cookies
- Number of ingredients: 7
- Read more about the recipe here

22 / 40

Cranberry Cornmeal Linzer Cookies

- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 1 hr
- Total: 1 hr 55 mins
- Servings: 42
- Yield: 42 servings
- Number of ingredients: 13
- Read more about the recipe here

23 / 40

Meringue Mushrooms

- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 1 hr
- Total: 1 hr 45 mins
- Servings: 36
- Yield: 36 mushrooms
- Number of ingredients: 7
- Read more about the recipe here

24 / 40

Gingerbread Cookies

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Total: 30 mins
- Servings: 30
- Yield: 2 1/2 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 12
- Read more about the recipe here

27 / 40

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

- Prep: 1 hr 20 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Total: 1 hr 35 mins
- Servings: 36
- Yield: 3 dozen cookies
- Number of ingredients: 6
- Read more about the recipe here

28 / 40

Traditional Springerle

- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
- Additional: 8 hrs
- Total: 8 hrs 35 mins
- Servings: 48
- Yield: 48 servings
- Number of ingredients: 7
- Read more about the recipe here

29 / 40

Speculaas Cookies or Spicy Sinterklass Cakes

- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 15 mins
- Additional: 1 hr
- Total: 1 hr 30 mins
- Servings: 30
- Yield: 30 small cookies
- Number of ingredients: 13
- Read more about the recipe here

31 / 40

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 2 hrs 30 mins
- Total: 2 hrs 60 mins
- Servings: 24
- Yield: 4 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 11
- Read more about the recipe here

33 / 40

Chocolate Mint Candies Cookies

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Additional: 50 mins
- Total: 80 mins
- Servings: 40
- Yield: 3 to 4 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 9
- Read more about the recipe here

34 / 40

Eggnog Thumbprints

- Prep: 20 mins
- Cook: 12 mins
- Additional: 28 mins
- Total: 60 mins
- Servings: 48
- Yield: 4 dozen
- Number of ingredients: 11
- Read more about the recipe here

36 / 40

Reindeer Cookies

- Prep: 30 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Total: 40 mins
- Servings: 36
- Yield: 3 dozen cookies
- Number of ingredients: 10
- Read more about the recipe here