25 Easy Christmas Cookies With Few Ingredients

Updated October 05, 2020
Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Short on time and supplies? Don't panic! Each of these festive and easy cookies calls for less than 10 ingredients. Whether you're baking for kids (they'll love these 4-ingredient Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Cookies) or adults (these Chai Tea Eggnog Cookies are subtly spicy and impossibly tasty), you'll find a new holiday favorite in this collection of Christmas cookie recipes with few ingredients. 

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Peanut Butter Wreaths 

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Peanut Butter Wreaths  Recipe

Looking for the ultimate easy cookie? These no-bake peanut butter wreaths should do the trick. The oats and peanut butter add buttery and salty notes, making these almost like a praline. Toasting the oats beforehand really enhances the flavor and prevents the oats from getting soggy. Since these cookies are so easy and make a huge batch, you can get creative with your toppings—try other candies, like chocolate chunks, or fun holiday sprinkles to give these some serious spirit. 

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Sugar Cookies

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Sugar Cookies Recipe

There is nothing better than the buttery taste of a golden sugar cookie. Sure you can decorate them, but why mess with perfection?

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3 Ingredient Cookies

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3 Ingredient Cookies Recipe

There’s no reason to wipe out your pantry supplies when this effortless, 3-ingredient cookie recipe exists. Plus, boxed cake mix yields the softest, fluffiest cookies that everyone will enjoy.

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Chai Tea Eggnog Cookies

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Caroline Murphey

Chai Tea Eggnog Cookies Recipe

The chai gives this cookie a kick while the eggnog topping shows a sweet side.

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Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

These flourless cookies are a dream if you're going gluten-free, especially with the perfect pairing of peanut butter and chocolate. Our readers can't get enough of this easy recipe: "These are awesome," says one 5-star review. "So yummy and really easy to make!" Hungry for more? Check out How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Chewy, Gooey, Crunchy, or Cakey next. 

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Pizzelle Cookies

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Pizzelle Cookies Recipe

Despite their intricate appearance, pizzelle cookies are surprisingly easy to make. You’ll just need a special baker (we like the Cucina Pro Piccolo Pizzelle Baker), or at least a pizzelle iron. They’re super crispy and light, much like thin a sugar cone with a hint of vanilla. Pizzelle cookies make a great dessert, but they’re also perfect for holiday snacking.

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Snowball Cookies

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Snowball Cookies Recipe

Toasty pecans, a crispy cookie, and powdered sugar unite to form one of our all-time favorites: These classic snowball cookies have all the crispy, nutty flavors you want. They’re easy and quick to prepare, and sure to please everyone. Be sure to roll the cookies in powdered sugar while they’re still warm so it’ll stick. After the cookies cool off, dust them with some more powdered sugar to make them look even better.

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Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites

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Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites Recipe

If you're only going to have "a bite" of dessert, this is the bite to have.

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Edible and Bakeable Cookie Dough

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Edible and Bakeable Cookie Dough Recipe

If you’ve ever been scolded for eating raw cookie dough straight from the mixing bowl, get ready to enjoy the satisfaction you were once denied. This edible cookie dough eliminates the fear factor of eating raw cookie dough by following similar safety protocols as manufactures who produce cookie dough that is intended to be eaten raw (like that used in cookie dough ice cream and the cookie dough served at the increasingly popular dessert spots like NYC’s DŌ). The 2 key details of this recipe that give you a pass to enjoy the dough in a raw state is using pasteurized eggs and toasting your all-purpose flour before using it to make the dough. That said, unlike a number of the edible cookie dough recipes out there, which oftentimes do not include an egg at all, this dough will also produce a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies when baked. So if eating cookie dough by the spoonful isn’t exactly your thing, you can treat this recipe as you would any cookie recipe—except that you can “clean” the bowl with no worries. 

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Glazed Condensed Milk Cookies

Credit: Jessica Colyer; Styling: Jessica Colyer

Glazed Condensed Milk Cookies Recipe

Need to throw together a last minute treat? Make a batch of fluffy and buttery, cream cheese-glazed cookies using 1 whole (14-ounce) can of sweetened and just a handful of other staple ingredients you probably already have in the fridge and pantry. You will use 2/3 cup of the condensed milk in these melt-in-your-mouth cookies (which eliminates the need for additional sugar or eggs), then simply combine the rest of the can with softened cream cheese to create a tangy-sweet glaze. After you glaze the cookies and add sprinkles (if desired), leave them on the wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes so that the glaze can set so that you don't end up with a mess. 

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Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies

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Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

This fabulous cookie requires only four ingredients, making these quite possibly the easiest peanut butter cookies ever! Most of these ingredients you probably already have on hand in your own kitchen, which makes whipping up a batch of these beauties a snap. The classic recipe requires no flour, which makes these cookies perfect for those looking for a gluten free dessert option. Be sure to press the tops of the cookies with a fork for that "classic peanut butter cookie" look! 

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Sugardoodle Cookies

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Sugardoodle Cookies Recipe

Girl Scout cookies are great, but these cookies are better! Tip: for consistent measurements when rounding and shaping your dough, use a mini ice cream scoop for the perfect size every time.

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Sparkling Ornament Cookies

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Sparkling Ornament Cookies Recipe

These richly colored vanilla and almond-flavored cookies are perfect for little hands--the more sprinkles, the better!

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Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies

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Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies Recipe

"I call these the 'backache' cookies because I always make a double batch, sitting hunched over at the table," says Fran Pepoon of Roseville, California. She has been baking these chocolate cookies, which have a subtle hit of orange and vanilla, every Christmas for 30 years, adapting them over time from a recipe given to her by a friend. Two tips: The cookies tend to stick and spread, so be sure to use a nonstick baking-sheet liner or parchment, and don't bake more than 12 cookies on each sheet.

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Easy Macarons

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Easy Macarons Recipe

This simplified method for making classic French Macarons is the perfect recipe for a first-timer to practice with. Just be sure to wait for a day that isn’t rainy or humid to embark on this baking adventure, as the delicate cookies need dry air in order to set.

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Two-Ingredient Macaroons

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Two-Ingredient Macaroons Recipe

Requiring only two ingredients, these easy coconut macaroons are almost too good to be true. Whip up a batch in just 20 minutes for sweet and simple treat.

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Peanut-Chocolate Macaroons

Peanut-Chocolate Macaroons Recipe

Most French-style macaroons are made with almonds, but these chocolate ganache sandwich cookies shine with peanuts.

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Elsa's Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

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Elsa's Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons Recipe

These macaroons are the most delicious we've ever tasted in the Sunset Test Kitchen. The recipe comes from Karen Dannenbaum of Topanga, California, who inherited it from her mother, Elsa, an outstanding cook. Of all the recipes Elsa left behind in her handwritten notebooks, "this was one of her best, and a family favorite," Dannenbaum says. She also included an option for double-dipping the cookies in melted white chocolate over the dark. We loved them as-is, but if you'd like to double-dip, feel free!

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Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

"Mashed ripe banana adds sweetness and flavor to these chocolate chip cookies. I found I could reduce the usual amount of sugar and butter." --Cathy Brixen, Phoenix, Ariz.

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Wreath Macaroons

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Wreath Macaroons Recipe

Use your fingers to make a small hole in the center of each cookie.

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Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies

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Rudolph's Christmas Sugar Cookies Recipe

Start with refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these adorable reindeer cookies. Kids can help place Rudolph's eyes, mouth, and antlers.

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Lemon-Coconut Snowballs

Lemon-Coconut Snowballs Recipe

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!

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Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Barr, Jan Gautro

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies Recipe

Brown sugar and butter underscore the tawny sweetness of the almond toffee bits in these oatmeal toffee cookies.

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White Christmas Dream Drops

Credit: Alex Farnum; Styling: Robyn Valarik

White Christmas Dream Drops Recipe

Unlike traditional meringues, which are crisp all the way through, these are still chewy on the inside, like mini pavlovas—but with white chocolate chips and plenty of peppermint. For an elegant touch, dip the edges in melted dark chocolate.

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Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

Credit: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies Recipe

Don't let your eyes fool you; these "candies" are anything but. They're red and white cookie dough rolled into a spirals and topped with creamy peppermint frosting.

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