Recipes Holidays & Events Christmas Recipes Christmas Cookie Recipes 23 Delicious and Impressive Recipes for Your Next Cookie Swap Make a few batches of these cookies to exchange with friends and family—they’re perfect for sharing. By Rebecca Morris Rebecca Morris Rebecca is a writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines and Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley Wofford is a recipe developer, food stylist, and writer with over 15 years of experience and holds a Professional Culinary Arts diploma from the International Culinary Center. In addition to MarthaStewart.com, Riley's work can be found in TODAY.com, Delish, Food52, and Marley Spoon. Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 6, 2024 Close Photo: Chris Simpson Hosting or attending a cookie exchange party is a time-honored holiday tradition. You bake a few dozen of your favorite cookies and get to take home several different types of treats in return. It's a great way to try new recipes that you may not have tasted before. Gathering friends and family together for one of these parties is also a great chance to catch up, build community, and get creative in the kitchen. Whether you are a veteran of the cookie swap or a first-timer, we have a collection of cookie exchange recipes for you to choose from. Those who are going to their very first cookie exchange should know the unwritten rule of these swaps: First and foremost, the cookies should not only taste good, but they also need to have a polished presentation. Save the more rustic-looking cookies for Santa's plate and go for the gold with any of the recipes here. How to Store Christmas Cookies So They Stay Fresher for Longer—Plus, 2 Genius Ways to Refresh Too-Dry Treats 01 of 23 Fruitcake Shortbread Fruitcake can be a divisive holiday treat, but this shortbread cookie variation is sure to please the skeptics. The buttery triangles of dough are flavored with whiskey and they bake up into a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Each bite has a few pieces of chewy dried fruit. View Recipe 02 of 23 Linzer Flower Cookies Mike Krautter Linzer cookies are a holiday classic, but we like to enjoy them any time of year with all kinds of different jams and marmalades. These beautiful blooms are made with a flower-shaped cookie cutter, so the fruity jam peeks out through each petal. View Recipe 03 of 23 Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Bryan Gardner Peanut butter blossoms (sometimes called peanut butter kisses) are always the most popular cookie at the party. A single chocolate kiss candy perches in the center of each chewy dough ball once they’re baked. Take our advice—make a double batch of these for your cookie exchange. View Recipe 04 of 23 Gingerbread-Espresso Crinkle Cookies Mikkel Vang Espresso powder and a mix of both fresh and dried ginger work together to expertly spice every bite of these deliciously caffeinated cookies. View Recipe How to Use Espresso Powder to Add Coffee (and Chocolate) Flavor to Your Baked Goods 05 of 23 Stained-Glass Sugar Cookies Romulo Yanes You'll dazzle your cookie swap recipients with these deceptively easy sugar cookies. They can be created in several stained-glass-inspired colorways, and they taste as good as they look. View Recipe 06 of 23 Noel Nut Balls Joseph De Leo Whether you call them snowballs, Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, or Noel nut balls, no cookie collection would be complete without this melt-in-your-mouth confection. View Recipe 07 of 23 Tropical Fruit Biscotti Alpha Smoot A departure from traditional Italian biscotti, this twice-baked treat has bright pockets of papaya and candied ginger that flavor every crunchy bite. View Recipe 08 of 23 Pistachio and Dried-Apricot Rugelach Aaron Dyer Rugelach is made with a buttery cream cheese dough, so the flakiness is unmatched. We roll the dough up around a simmered apricot and vanilla mixture to form croissant-like shapes. View Recipe 09 of 23 Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Caramel Cereal Bars Nico Schinco Different and delicious, these bar cookies look like a million dollars but are easy to make—and no-bake to boot. The base is crispy rice cereal and marshmallow; then comes a layer of peanut-butter caramel and a chocolate-shell topping. View Recipe 10 of 23 Bacon Potato-Chip Chocolate Cookie With bacon and potato chips in the mix, these sweet-and-salty treats really need no further introduction. They will be the talk of this year's cookie swap, and guests will undoubtedly request them next year. View Recipe 11 of 23 Meyer-Lemon Shortbread Wreath Cookies Mikkel Vang These wreath cookies look spectacular arranged on a platter. The best part? This on-theme Christmas cookie is made from buttery shortbread dough and is painted with a bright lemony glaze. View Recipe 12 of 23 Iced Chocolate Waffle Cookies Is your waffle maker underused at the moment? Spread this cinnamon-spiked chocolate batter on the grates and wait for it to turn into crisp cookies with a design that will make people wonder how you pulled it off. View Recipe 13 of 23 Lamington Thumbprint Cookies Chris Simpson These modern thumbprint cookies have a chocolate-dipped bottom and a cheery jam center that's inspired by Australian Lamington cake. Needless to say, they'll please a lot of different palates. View Recipe 14 of 23 Chewy Fruitcake Meringues Mikkel Vang These drop cookies are chewy on the inside but have the recognizable crisp outer shell that you see with other meringue-based desserts like pavlova and macarons. The egg white mixture is studded with luxurious maraschino cherries, dried pineapple, candied citrus, and toasted hazelnuts. View Recipe 15 of 23 Snowmen Shortbread Cookies Joseph De Leo Move aside, gingerbread people! These snowman shortbread cookies will steal the show with their pretty powder-white coating and tender, buttery crumbs. View Recipe 16 of 23 Chewy Molasses-Spice Cookies Sugar, spice, and everything nice. That’s the best way to describe these molasses cookies. They are spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and rolled in sugar to give them a crackly outer crust. View Recipe 17 of 23 Crushed Peppermint Chocolate Cookies It couldn't be easier to decorate these sweets. All you need is crushed up peppermint candies. The cookies have a rich, deep chocolate flavor thanks to Dutch-process cocoa powder. View Recipe 18 of 23 Lime Sandwich Cookies Ren Fuller These unique treats deliver a burst of sunshine through the lime custard that is sandwiched between two tender sugar cookies. View Recipe 19 of 23 Gingersnap Palmiers Easy, but impressive, too, these snappy spiced cookies use store-bought puff pastry for the dough. To jazz up the plain puff, a homemade ginger syrup and spiced sugar are painted on before baking. View Recipe 20 of 23 Peppermint Spritz Cookies Louise Hagger Spritz cookies are a fun, easy, and festive way to get into the holiday spirit. With a peppermint-flavored dough and a wreath-shaped cookie press, these treats will look especially cute in a tin with other holiday-themed cookies. View Recipe 21 of 23 Coconut Chip Cookies Bryan Gardner This recipe yields a thin, crisp, and buttery cookie that will become an instant favorite in your repertoire. The whopping 4 cups of rich, coconut flakes melds wonderfully with the buttery brown sugar cookie dough. View Recipe 22 of 23 Crisp Sugar Doily Cookies If you are an experienced baker who loves to make intricate cookies, this is the recipe for you. It's a fun project that calls for punching intricate shapes out of the dough with aspic cutters. View Recipe 23 of 23 Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies Joseph De Leo Is it the combination of fresh and ground ginger or the chunks of semisweet chocolate that make this cookie a favorite of our food editors? Maybe it's both—and the subtle flavor of molasses, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in this egg-free, irresistible treat. View Recipe Should You Use Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate When Making Chocolate Chip Cookies? Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit