50 Fabulous Holiday Cookies

As our gift to you, we've gathered 50 of our all-time favorite cookie recipes of the holiday season. Like having options? Then this first recipe is for you! Stick with classic sugar cookies, or add spices, lemon zest, or cocoa for fun variations. Cut the dough into lovely holiday shapes and decorate with Royal Icing for a truly original cookie.

Rolling red and plain-colored dough gives these cookies their fun look. Sandwich them together with a layer of peppermint-cream cheese frosting.

Prepare to abandon all restraint when you try one of these cookies, made with melted chocolate and chocolate chips in the batter and layered with a chocolate ganache filling.

Mini marshmallows melt into this walnut-topped brownie during baking, giving it a gooey, fudgy texture.

The almond base gives these cookies a wonderfully nutty flavor.

These moist pumpkin cookies are wonderful plain or sandwiched with cream cheese filling.

Maple syrup gives these cookies a subtle sweet flavor. Spice them up with cinnamon and nutmeg, and top with toasted walnuts.

These cookies are simple to make and ready in less than an hour. Dust with a little cinnamon or cocoa powder for a pretty presentation.

Edges tipped with unsweetened chocolate and white chocolate enhance the coffee flavor in these cookies.

Also called Seven Layer Bars, this treat combines coconut, chocolate morsels, pecans, butterscotch bits and graham crackers into a sticky-sweet delight.

A crumbly, butter cookie bottom is the perfect partner to smooth lemon filling and powdered sugar.

With their rich, indulgent flavors, these layered brownies are a definite crowd-pleaser.

Classic sugar cookies get a lift when you add a bit of lemon zest to the dough and fresh lemon juice to the frosting. Let your imagination soar and add food coloring to some of the frosting or use colored sugar to decorate the cookies.

Put a twist on classic blondie bars by adding chocolate morsels and baking them in muffin tins.

Put a twist on classic oatmeal raisin cookies by adding white chocolate morsels and a bit of orange extract.

These coffee and almond cookies topped with chocolate kisses are easy enough to make that your children can help you prepare them.

Caramel bits and chopped apple are the perfect autumn substitute to raisins in these crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside oatmeal cookies.

You'll love how these scrumptious double-chocolate cookies are similar in texture to thick and fudgy brownies.

Two layers of crumbly oatmeal topping sandwich a layer of sweet dates in these super moist bars.

Get your milk ready! A dash of coffe intensifies the luscious flavor of cocoa powder and three types of chocolate.

Caramel lovers rejoice! A crunchy brown sugar base holds a gooey layer of caramel topped with chopped pecans.

Mashed banana adds rich flavor and moistness to these cookies.

These showy brownies are nice and tall with pockets of caramel goo. They are wicked enough on their own, but for an over-the-top dessert, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.

These gingery rounds bake up moist thanks to a bit of applesauce and the sugar on top gives them a beautiful presentation.

These nutty cookies get a buttery, caramel-y touch when you add butterscotch bits to the dough.

With only a few ingredients, you can transform shredded wheat cereal into these whimsical holiday wreaths. Let the kids help shape and decorate them with cinnamon candies, M&Ms, or crushed peppermints.

Just hearing the word snickerdoodle makes us excited to take a bite of these chewy, buttery cookies dusted with cinnamon.

These aren’t your typical oatmeal cookies! Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper give these crispy cookies a wonderful kick. Line your pan with parchment paper to make it easier to remove the cookies.

Jazz up traditional shortbread with luscious bits of chocolate and salty toffee.

Mix toffee bits and chopped pecans right into the cookie dough and after baking, top with caramel and a chocolate drizzle.

Let your kids get in on the action with these colorful cookie pops. They can roll cookie dough balls in their favorite sprinkles and colored sugar and help you stick each cookie on a craft stick to complete the look.

Buttery, crumbly shortbread gets a flavor boost when you add vanilla bean.

We love the mix of coconut, red cranberries and zesty orange in these chewy delights.

We love these thick, satisfying cookies. The lightly spiced batter and dried cranberries provide a great counterpoint to the macadamia nuts' richness.

If you are of the school that thinks chocolate chip cookies should be soft and chewy, you'll love this recipe. Add 1 cup chopped pecans if you like a little crunch.

These delicate, buttery cookies are flavored with bright orange peel and rich amaretto liqueur. Arrange slivered almonds in a star pattern for a striking presentation.

If you're a fan of the classic flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter, you'll love these bars.

Dip one side of these crispy oatmeal cookies into melted white chocolate for a “frosted” effect. Sprinkle red or green sugar on top for a fun Christmas look.

Lemon and coconut add a new twist to the traditional wedding cookie. Don't be shy when rolling these in powdered sugar -- the more powdered sugar, the bigger the snowball!

If you mixed cheesecake and pumpkin pie, this is the dessert you’d come up with. Perfect for any autumn get-together, you can store these bars up to 3 days before your party.

Two of the most popular cookies combine forces to create these chewy cookies perfect for company or a holiday snack.

Coffee and toffee give these rich chocolate brownies a unique twist. If they haven't all been gobbled up, store leftover brownies in an airtight container for up to a week or wrap tightly in aluminum foil and freeze for up to four months.

Fudgy brownies get a decadent top layer of swirled cheesecake and brownie batter in these over the top bars. Raspberry extract also works well as a flavoring.

With less than 10 ingredients you can make a pan of gooey pecan bars. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for an over the top holiday dessert.

These gooey brownies are buttery and taste slightly like caramel from the brown sugar. Toffee bits melt during baking to create a crunchy topping.

This recipe contrasts the tartness of the cherries with the cocoa and semisweet chocolate chips for an elegant, and delicious, addition to your holiday table.

Roll cookie dough in sweetened flaked coconut and sandwich them together with a white chocolate filling.

Oatmeal cookies get a holiday boost when you add pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice to the dough.

These beautiful cookies feature traditional sugar cookie dough dressed up with tart lemon juice and grated lemon peel.

Cornstarch gives these cookies a delicate, sandy texture. You could also fill them with thick caramel or frosting.