15 Nut-Free Holiday Cookies Anyone Will Love
You won't miss a thing with these gorgeous, delicious treats, which feature dried and candied fruits, warm spices and other fantastic flavors.
By Lynn Andriani
Glazed Holiday Cookies
Rather than frost after baking, Ree Drummond, host of the Food Network show The Pioneer Woman, brushes on a colored egg wash before the cookies go in the oven, which creates a stained-glass effect.
Get the recipe: Glazed Holiday Cookies
Holiday Butter Cookies
These colorful cookies take on the pattern of whatever decorative glass, like a vintage water tumbler, you use to press them out. The bottom of a crystal bowl or vase works well, too.
Get the recipe: Holiday Butter Cookies
Ginger Cookies
These ginger cookies are made with whole grain flour instead of white, but they also include a generous portion of chocolate chunks to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Get the recipe: Ginger Cookies
Peppermint Stick Cookies
Ever wish you could make all your cookies look as good as they taste? In the book
Art of the Cookie, food stylist Shelly Kaldunski teaches tricks of the trade to making professional-looking treats like these ethereal candy-cane-inspired tuiles.
Get the recipe: Peppermint Stick Cookies
Sweet and Salty Cookies
Classic chocolate chip cookies get updated with pumpkin seeds and a hint of red chili pepper.
Get the recipe: Sweet and Salty Cookies
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Roll sugar cookie dough in cinnamon-sugar to get a treat that's both a little sweet and a little spicy.
Get the recipe: Snickerdoodle Cookies
Gingersnaps with Orange-Ginger Cream Filling
What could make a zingy gingersnap even better? Sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between two gingersnaps!
Get the recipe: Gingersnaps with Orange-Ginger Cream Filling
Red-and-White Cookies
This version of the classic New York black-and-white cookie takes inspiration from candy canes, splitting the treat into red and white halves (you could also use green-gel food coloring for the white portion).
Get the recipe: Red-and-White Cookies
Dried-Fruit Cookies
With jewel-toned flecks of fruits like cranberries, dates, prunes and apricots running through a cinnamon dough, they'll win your heart—and a place in your holiday cookie roster.
Get the recipe: Dried Fruit Cookies
Cream Cheese-Chocolate Chip Cookies
These delicious cookies have two unexpected ingredients: cream cheese, which helps keep them soft; and orange zest, which lends a bright note and helps bring out the chocolate flavor even more.
Get the recipe: Cream Cheese-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Take these cookies out of the oven just when they are starting to crisp on the outside for extra chewy deliciousness.
Get the recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Poppy Seed Squares with Chocolate Tips
Poppy seeds add both a nutty flavor and a crunchy texture, bringing a savory depth to this shortbread-style dough. Balance it all out with a healthy dunk into sweet melted chocolate.
Get the recipe: Poppy Seed Squares with Chocolate Tips
Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Cookies
Ever wanted to mix all your favorite treats in to one cookie? Here's your chance. If the thought of a crunchy, salty bite blended in to a soft, sugary dough doesn’t speak to you, well, you have some thinking to do.
Get the recipe: Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink Cookies
Gingerbread and Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Combine gingerbread and delicious lemon filling for a festive version of an Oreo cookie.
Get the recipe: Gingerbread and Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Aunt Baby's Checkerboard Cookies
Interior designer Sheila Bridges shares her favorite dessert, buttery checkerboard cookies, from her great-aunt "Baby."
Get the recipe: Aunt Baby's Checkerboard Cookies
Published 12/21/2015
