Christmas Cookie Recipes

Jam Filled Wreath Cookies

These pretty jam filled wreath cookies look festive on Christmas dessert trays and cookie exchange platters. Kids can help cut shapes, dust powdered sugar, and assemble the sandwich cookies.

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
Bake Time: 10-12 minutes
Yield: About 18 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• 1/4 cup red jam of choice

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
2. Stir in flour until dough forms.
3. Shape dough into a ball, wrap, and chill for 2 hours.
4. Roll dough onto a floured surface.
5. Cut round cookies. For half the cookies, cut a small center hole.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.
7. Cool completely.
8. Dust top cookies with powdered sugar.
9. Spread jam on solid cookies and top with wreath cookies.

Try raspberry, strawberry, cherry, or cranberry jam for festive holiday colors.

Mice Cookies

These adorable mice cookies are made from peanut butter cookie dough and decorated with candy noses, chocolate chip eyes, peanut ears, and licorice tails.

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
Bake Time: 8-10 minutes
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Peanut halves for ears
• Mini M&M candies for noses
• Mini chocolate chips for eyes
• Red shoestring licorice for tails

Directions

1. Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugars together.
2. Add egg and vanilla.
3. Mix in flour and baking soda.
4. Chill dough for 1 hour.
5. Roll dough into balls and taper one side into a nose shape.
6. Add peanut ears, candy noses, and chocolate chip eyes.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
8. Add licorice tails while cookies are still warm.

For nut-free classrooms, use a sugar cookie dough instead of peanut butter dough.

Reindeer Cookies

These easy reindeer cookies can be made using peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies, or chocolate cookies. Kids love decorating them with pretzel antlers and candy noses. Find the cookie recipe here.

Easy Decorating Ideas

• Pretzel twists for antlers
• Chocolate chips or candy eyes
• Red M&M candies or red hots for noses
• Mini marshmallows for muzzles

Press pretzels into warm cookies after baking, then decorate with frosting and candies after cooling.

Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread men are one of the most traditional Christmas cookie recipes for kids. These warmly spiced cookies are fun to decorate with icing, raisins, candies, and frosting details.

Prep Time: 25 minutes plus chilling
Bake Time: 8-10 minutes
Yield: About 2-3 dozen gingerbread cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups dark molasses
• 2/3 cup cold water
• 7 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and water.
2. Mix in flour, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
3. Mix until dough forms.
4. Chill dough for 1 hour.
5. Roll dough onto a floured surface.
6. Cut shapes using gingerbread man cookie cutters.
7. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
8. Cool completely before decorating.

Decorate with royal icing, raisins, candies, mini chocolate chips, or buttercream frosting.

See more ideas on our Gingerbread House Recipes & Ideas page.

Cornflake Wreath Cookies

These classic no bake Christmas wreath cookies are easy for younger kids and classrooms. Kids can help shape the wreaths and decorate them with candies.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 10 wreath cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup white corn syrup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 8 cups corn flakes cereal
• Green and red candies for decorating

Directions

1. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper.
2. In a saucepan combine sugar and corn syrup.
3. Heat to boiling while stirring.
4. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
5. Pour mixture over corn flakes and stir gently.
6. Drop spoonfuls onto wax paper and shape into wreaths.
7. Add red and green candies for holly decorations.
8. Cool completely before serving.

For classrooms, lightly butter hands before shaping the wreaths to reduce sticking.

Candy Cane Cookies

Candy cane cookies are festive twisted cookies made with red and white dough. Kids love rolling the dough ropes together and shaping the candy canes.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 7-9 minutes
Yield: About 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring

Directions

1. Cream butter, sugar, powdered sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla together.
2. Add flour and salt.
3. Divide dough into two portions.
4. Add red food coloring to one half.
5. Roll small ropes from each color.
6. Twist one red and one white rope together.
7. Curve tops into candy cane shapes.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-9 minutes.

Twist the Dough:  Kids can roll and twist dough ropes together for candy cane stripes.