25 Christmas Cookies That Empty the Cookie Tin Before December 15

I like to tell myself that the Christmas cookie tin is for the holidays, but apparently my family has other plans.

I can bake a whole batch, arrange everything neatly, close the lid, and somehow find half of it missing the next time I open it. I don’t even blame them.

Between buttery shortbread, chocolate-dipped cookies, spiced little bites, and all the treats that make the kitchen smell like Christmas, it’s hard to exercise much restraint.

These 25 Christmas cookies are the ones I’d bake knowing full well the tin probably won’t last until December 15, let alone Christmas Day.

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Chocolate and sugar cookies are two favorites in one dough. Cut out your shapes, bake, and decorate however you like. It’s the cut-out cookie for anyone who wants something other than gingerbread.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs

Gluten Free Hershey Chocolate Kiss Cookies

A white chocolate chip cookie gets dressed up for Christmas with a peppermint Hershey’s Kiss, and it happens to be gluten-free. A gluten-free flour blend does the work, and a little extra chopped white chocolate gets pressed into the center before the bake ends. Everyone at the table can reach for one.
Get the Recipe: Gluten Free Hershey Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Slice the chilled log and a spiral of sweet date and walnut filling appears inside the vanilla dough. It’s an old-fashioned cookie that still looks pretty on a modern holiday platter. Make the roll ahead, then slice and bake whenever the tin needs a refill.
Get the Recipe: Date Pinwheel Cookies

Chocolate Linzer Cookies

Cocoa dough with little cut-out windows is sandwiched around sweet fruit jam, and it looks like it came from a bakery. Dust the top cookies with powdered sugar so the jam glows through. It’s the cookie that makes the whole platter look fancy.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Linzer Cookies

Chocolate Christmas Cookies

White chocolate coats rich chocolate cookies, and sprinkles make them festive. Swap the sprinkles and the same cookie works for any holiday. It’s a recipe you’ll use all year!
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Butter Pecan Cookies

Toast the pecans in melted butter before they go into the dough, and the cookies taste deeper and nuttier. Crisp edges and tender centers make them cozy and a little fancy. That one extra step is why they beat anything from a store-bought tin.
Get the Recipe: Butter Pecan Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Roll the peanut butter dough in sugar, bake, and press a candy into each warm center the second the tray comes out. They turn soft and chewy, and the candy stays on top for the first bite. Pressing it in is the fun part, so let whoever is hovering in the kitchen take a turn.
Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Italian Cookies (Italian Christmas Cookies)

Anise gives these Italian Christmas cookies a flavor that’s different from the usual vanilla and chocolate. A sweet glaze and sprinkles go on top, and you can make them as swirled little cookies or as simple drop cookies. Pick the shape that fits the time you have.
Get the Recipe: Italian Cookies (Italian Christmas Cookies)

Magical Marshmallow Cookies

Marshmallow hides inside a pocket of chocolate dough and melts into a sweet, gooey surprise as the cookie bakes. The cookie stays soft and fudgy around it. Break one open and see what’s inside.
Get the Recipe: Magical Marshmallow Cookies

Strawberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Years of plant-based baking taught me how cookies age, and these thumbprints are the proof: the crumb stays soft long after baking day. Almond flour, butter, sugar, and strawberry jam bake into little cookies in about 30 minutes. Fill each dent with a full but contained pool of jam, and they sit happily next to your coffee, cocoa, and holiday candles.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Ann’s Snickerdoodle Cookies

Cinnamon sugar on a soft, slightly tangy dough is the whole secret to snickerdoodles. Pull them out just as the centers set, and they stay pillowy and chewy instead of crisp. One batch and you’ll see why the tin empties so fast.
Get the Recipe: Ann’s Snickerdoodle Cookies

Almond Snowball Cookies

Buttery almond dough gets rolled into little balls and coated in powdered sugar, and they melt the second they hit your tongue. There’s condensed milk in the dough, too. Wear a dark sweater at your own risk, because powdered sugar gets everywhere.
Get the Recipe: Almond Snowball Cookies

Gingerbread Linzer Cookies

Soft gingerbread cookies sandwich a creamy white chocolate ganache, and the little windows on top let it peek through. It’s the cookie for anyone who can’t choose between gingerbread and a fancy linzer.
Get the Recipe: Gingerbread Linzer Cookies

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Peanut butter dough bakes into soft golden rounds that stay soft for days, and pretzel antlers and candy eyes turn them into reindeer. Set out bowls of decorations and let everyone make their own. It’s an easy cookie project for a busy afternoon.
Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

Pretzel Christmas Cookies

Salty pretzels, chocolate chips, and M&Ms all go into one simple drop cookie dough. The chopped pretzels add a crunch you don’t expect in a Christmas cookie. Sweet, salty, and gone by the weekend.
Get the Recipe: Pretzel Christmas Cookies

Sparkling Frosted Cranberry Cookies

Frosted sugar cookies with cranberries on top bring a little tart red to the sweet. They look festive on any platter. Make a double batch, because they won’t last.
Get the Recipe: Sparkling Frosted Cranberry Cookies

Spiced Spritz Cookies

Spritz dough goes through a cookie press and comes out as trees, wreaths, and stars in just minutes. Warm spices make every crisp bite cozier than a plain butter cookie. It’s the quickest way to fill a tin that looks like you spent hours on it.
Get the Recipe: Spiced Spritz Cookies

Easy Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookie

Fudgy chocolate dough gets rolled in powdered sugar and cracks open as it bakes into a black-and-white snow pattern. The center is soft and brownie-like. They look fancy, and they’re gone before you can arrange them.
Get the Recipe: Easy Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookie

Amish Lemon Sugar Cookies

Fresh lemon zest in a soft, pillowy dough is a bright surprise on a platter full of chocolate. These traditional country cookies bake up thick and tender. Set them next to the dark, rich ones, and watch both disappear.
Get the Recipe: Amish Lemon Sugar Cookies

Easy No Bake Christmas Cookies

No oven needed: crunchy Ritz crackers get dipped in minty chocolate and topped with festive sprinkles. They taste just like fudge mint cookies. It’s the easiest tray on the list, so make extra.
Get the Recipe: Easy No Bake Christmas Cookies

Caramel Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Press a thumb into rich cocoa dough, fill the dent with soft caramel, and finish with a thin drizzle of melted chocolate. They look like they came from an old-fashioned candy shop. Hide a few for yourself before the tin starts making its rounds.
Get the Recipe: Caramel Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Shortbread Christmas Cookies with Sprinkles

Shortbread only needs butter, sugar, and flour, and the red and green sprinkles do the rest. It bakes into dense, crumbly squares that melt as you eat them. Cut them small, because one square is never enough.
Get the Recipe: Shortbread Christmas Cookies with Sprinkles

Easy And Delicious Classic Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Molasses and ground ginger give this gingerbread dough its deep, spicy smell the second it hits the oven. Roll it out, cut your figures, and you get sturdy cookies that are ready for decorating or a dessert swap. This is the one that disappears first from the tin.
Get the Recipe: Easy And Delicious Classic Gingerbread Cookies Recipe

Kolacky

Cream cheese pastry folded around sweet fruit preserves makes these traditional jam-filled pockets. The dough bakes up golden, tender, and flaky. It’s an old-world cookie worth discovering before the tin is empty.
Get the Recipe: Kolacky

Italian Fig X Cookies

Shaped like the letter X, these Italian cookies have a sweet, figgy filling hiding in the middle. That X shape makes them stand out on a tray full of round cookies. Set a few out next to the gingerbread and see which tin empties first.
Get the Recipe: Italian Fig X Cookies

How long does a Christmas cookie tin actually last in your house? I’m not convinced mine would make it through the week.