Friends, it’s here: the season to bake bake bake. Here are 25 Christmas cookie recipes to make and gift this holiday season.

This year I’ve added two new cookies to my Christmas cookie repertoire: white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and lemon-almond snowballs, both of which I find irresistible.

In the weeks ahead I will make a batch of this classic cream cheese cutout dough, which I will set on the table along with rolling pins and cookie cutters, and I’ll let the children go to town.

As always, I could never let the holiday season pass without making Kristina’s Molasses Crinkles, Simple Classic Shortbread, and Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies.

The below selection of cookies is organized as follows:


Classics


Peanut Butter Cookies

A plate of peanut butter cookies.

Soft and Chew Contest-Winning Peanut Butter Cookies: Sugar-crusted, soft and chewy, perfectly salty, and crinkly to boot!


Truffles


Chocolate Cookies


Shortbread

Cut shortbread in pan.

Simple Classic Shortbread: When it comes to effort-to-reward ratio, it’s hard to beat shortbread. This simple recipe calls for 5 ingredients, does not require a food processor, and yields a super delicious, rich and buttery cookie, perfect for gifting (or eating) all season long.

PS: Gluten-Free Lemon-Thyme Shortbread


Dunkers


Two Dorie Greenspan Favorites


Stamped Cookies

Stamped Spiced Brown Butter Sugar Cookies with Maple Glaze

Stamped Spiced Brown Butter Sugar Cookies with Maple Glaze: These cookies are as beautiful as they are delicious. This is not one I would recommend making with children as the process requires a little finesse, but the effort — when you have the time and patience — is well worth the reward.


Chocolate Chip Cookies (+ Variations)

PS: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies


Milk (or Dark) Chocolate Toffee

A stack of classic toffee.

Daley Toffee: A family recipe from a dear friend, this toffee is incredibly addictive. Great for gifting and having on hand around the holidays. If the idea of making toffee is intimidating, don’t let it! Watch this video:


Linzers

Linzer Cookies. I contributed this linzer cookie recipe to King Arthur Flour’s Sift a few years back. These require a little bit of work and patience, but: Is there anything more festive than a tray of confectioners’ sugar-dusted, jam-filled linzers?


Bars