16 Popular Christmas Cookies for the Holidays

Sneak Preview: Sixteen popular Christmas cookies for the holidays are collected here for your consideration. Don’t miss the gingerbread church house at the end.

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What makes a cookie the most popular cookie at your house around the holidays? Is it because…

  • They remind you of somebody who always made them. (What cookie will you be remembered for?)
  • Maybe they are part of a tradition you followed as a child. (Is it a tradition worth passing on?)
  • Perhaps they are too much trouble to make more than once a year. (Cut-out cookies come to mind.)

Whatever it is, there’s always room for another cookie on the tray. Right? Take a look and see what you might like to add to your holiday cookie tradition.


What makes a cookie a popular “Christmas Cookie?”

Do you know what the most popular Christmas cookie is in the United States? According to General Mills, it’s the peanut butter blossom. At least that recipe is visited more than any other, according to them. Interesting. Will you make them this year?

This is my criteria, but each cookie only has to meet one of them:

  • Look interesting or beautiful on a Christmas cookie tray.
  • The cookie is decorated with red and/or green colors.
  • It can be easy, like the Coconut Icebox Cookies, while others are quite a project, like the Gingerbread church house.
  • Cookies are nice to give, like the Powdered Sugar Lemon Cookies or Pfeffernusse.
  • Don’t forget about Santa. Do you leave the same cookies every year, or does Santa get the leftovers?

Whether you’re looking for something new or a better version of a familiar cookie, look below.

Recipe Help at Your Fingertips: For questions or suggestions, email Paula at saladinajar.com. If you need help, I’m happy to troubleshoot via email (faster than leaving a comment). Attach pictures and as many details as possible for the best advice.

Peppernuts (Pfeffernusse) Recipe
These crispy bite-size Peppernut cookies are reminiscent of gingerbread. Also known as Pfeffernusse.
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Thumbprint Cookies with Icing and Nuts
These shortbread-like cookies are covered with chopped pecans and filled with marbleized icing for a festive look that never gets old.
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Raisin Bran Crunch Cereal Cookie Recipe
Slightly crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, these cookies are filled with Raisin Bran Crunch cereal (or your choice of a flaky cereal), coconut, and pecans.
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Greek Yogurt Meyer Lemon Bars: No Grating Required
These Meyer Lemon Bars with Greek yogurt start with a coconut shortbread base underneath a Meyer lemon layer. Greek yogurt makes it creamy. The recipe calls for using the entire lemon (minus seeds)–no grating or squeezing required.
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Microwave Brownie Recipe
You no longer need to keep tempting cookies in the pantry for unexpected company. These Microwave Brownies are easy enough for kids to mix up and bake.
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Soft Greek Yogurt Cookies with Lemon Icing
This recipe makes a cake-like cookie featuring the tanginess of Greek yogurt and the tartness of lemon and topped with a sweet lemon glaze.
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Lemon Snowdrop Cookie Recipe
Whether you call them Lemon Snowdrop Cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, or Powdered Sugar Cookies, this recipe makes a delicious shortbread-type cookie studded with finely chopped pecans and dressed liberally with powdered sugar.
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Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies
This Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookie recipe combines peanut butter dough with a layer of melted chocolate. Roll the dough into a jellyroll shape before slicing.
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Soft Frosted Chocolate Cookies
These will remind you of the top of a chocolate cupcake. A soft, tender cookie with ganache-like, fudgy frosting.
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Heavenly Chinese Chews Recipe with Coconut
If a pecan pie married a shortbread cookie, their offspring might look like these rich and chewy bars with coconut added for chewiness and fabulous flavor.
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Simple Cinnamon Jubilee Jumbles with Brown Butter Icing
Kid-favorites!! These cake-like, cinnamon-spiced cookies are frosted with a browned butter icing.
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Easy Lemon Pecan Cookies: Fancy Enough for a Cookie Tray
The traditional jelly thumbprint cookie gets a makeover with a lemon curd filling in a pecan-studded cookie.
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Easy Slice and Bake Coconut Shortbread Cookies Recipe
These Easy Coconut Shortbread Cookies are simple, buttery slice-and-bake cookies. Keep the dough in the freezer for “sweet” emergencies.
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Iced Shortbread Cookie Recipe
A simple but delicious shortbread cookie with smooth butter icing. Kids and adults alike love these.
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Quick and Easy Toffee Bar Recipe (Chocolate-Covered Shortbread)
These layered toffee bars have a shortbread base covered with melted chocolate chips and chopped pecans.
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How to Make a Gingerbread Church House
Directions for making and decorating gingerbread church house
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Parting thoughts: Our favorite Christmas cookies are the Christmas Thumbprints. Santa would be disappointed if he didn’t find them on the plate next to the fireplace on Christmas eve.

Recipe Help at Your Fingertips: For questions or suggestions, email Paula at saladinajar.com. If you need help, I’m happy to troubleshoot via email (faster than leaving a comment). Attach pictures and as many details as possible for the best advice.

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