Food and Recipes Desserts Cookies 30 Easy Christmas Cookie Recipes to Bake With Your Kids By Southern Living Editors Updated on June 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis There's nothing like time spent in the kitchen with children to create holiday memories that will last a lifetime. Just think back to rolling cookie dough with Grandma at Christmas time or watching Mom assemble her famous apple pie. Aprons on and family recipe cards out, this is when the real holiday magic happens between generations. But gearing up to bake with kids is no easy feat. Depending on the age of your little one, you'll want to make sure you're attempting a recipe that will make more than just a mess. Luckily, some of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes are as kid-friendly as they come so you can enlist your little elves. From Kitchen Sink Cookies that incorporate some of your kids' favorite snacks right into the dough to Cathedral Window Cookies with colorful mini marshmallows, these easy cookie recipes for kids are just as fun to bake as they are to eat. 01 of 30 Sprinkle Stocking Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Sprinkle Stocking Cookies Perfect for the sprinkle lover in your life, these cookies have classic Christmas fun is baked right in. 02 of 30 Santa's Kitchen Sink Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Santa's Kitchen Sink Cookies Santa won't mind if you steal a cookie or two from his Christmas Eve batch. Plus, the kids will love tossing pretzel pieces, chocolate chips, and marshmallows into this catch-all, sweet and salty cookie. 03 of 30 Peppermint Meltaway Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Peppermint Meltaway Cookies Create some melt-away magic with this family-ready recipe that only takes 20 minutes of active work. 04 of 30 Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Cream Cheese Christmas Cookies Once you've mixed and shaped your batter, the real fun begins. Get the whole family involved in rolling your dough in green and red sprinkles for a festive loaf of dough ready for a simple slice and bake. 05 of 30 Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Recreate the memories of baking holiday kiss cookies with Grandma in your own kitchen with a brand new generation. The kids will love unwrapping and pushing chocolate kisses into each cookie. 06 of 30 Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Jennifer Causey Recipe: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies While the first (very important) step of browning the butter for these cookies is best handled by the adult in the group, your kitchen assistants will love helping with every other step along the way to a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies. 07 of 30 Brownie Cookies Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Prop Styling: Audrey Davis, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Brownie Cookies No need to make too big of a mess with the little ones in the kitchen. These kid-favorite treats start with a box of brownie mix, so half the work is already done for you. 08 of 30 Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Cake mix is the secret ingredient to making these colorful cookies simple and kid-friendly. 09 of 30 Easy Sugar Cookies Carlina Teteris/Getty Images Recipe: Easy Sugar Cookies These simple sugar cookies are ready for your favorite cookie cutters. Let the kids pick out their shape, and let the fun begin! 10 of 30 Cornflake Wreath Christmas Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Cornflake Wreath Christmas Cookies When a recipe calls for mini marshmallows, corn flakes, and green food coloring, you know it's going to be a fun holiday afternoon. 11 of 30 Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies The whole gang will have a blast assembling these colorful, buttercream-filled sandwich cookies. We bet we know some little hands who will volunteer to be on sprinkle duty. 12 of 30 Pecan Snowball Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Pecan Snowball Cookies The kids will love pressing the dough balls into spheres to make these classic snowball cookies, also known as Russian tea cakes. 13 of 30 Butter Cookies Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Recipe: Butter Cookies This kid-friendly creation makes the dreamiest snack scenario–just add a glass of milk. 14 of 30 Cathedral Window Cookies Zoe Denenberg, Styling: Rachel Mulcahy Recipe: Cathedral Window Cookies While you manage the stovetop to melt the butter and chocolate together, the kids can handle the marshmallows. 15 of 30 Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Victor Protasio Recipe: Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Like a brownie in cookie form, these flourless drop cookies are a blast for little bakers of any age. 16 of 30 Kitchen Sink Cookies Jennifer Causey Recipe: Kitchen Sink Cookies Kids will go crazy over these Kitchen Sink Cookies. Not only do they have fun snacks thrown in, like corn chips and chocolate chunks, but they're totally family-friendly to bake together. 17 of 30 Painted Shortbread Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Painted Shortbread Cookies Let out your little one's inner artist with these painted cookies that will have holiday imaginations running wild. Just switch your color scheme, and you can bake these round, frosted treats for any occasion at any time of year. 18 of 30 Slice-and-Bake Sugar Cookie Bites Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Slice-and-Bake Sugar Cookie Bites These buttery sugar cookies are miniature in size, but that doesn't mean the lack in fun or flavor. 19 of 30 Candy Cane Cookies Joy Howard Recipe: Candy Cane Cookies These cookies are flavored with peppermint and are perfect for dipping in hot cocoa. 20 of 30 Spritz Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Spritz Cookies Grab your cookie press and get moving on these classic holiday treats. Preparing the dough couldn't be easier, and once it's done you simply feed it through the press. 21 of 30 Snowy Tree Cookies Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Snowy Tree Cookies Stack star-shaped cookies of different sizes to make these trees come to life. 22 of 30 Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Chocolate-lovers, say hello to your dream treats. These cookies meet somewhere between a brownie and a double chocolate cookie. 23 of 30 No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Photo: Zoe Denenberg; Prop Stylist: Rachel Mulcahy Recipe: No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies These no-bake cookies rival classic Pecan Pralines. 24 of 30 Christmas Pinwheel Cookies Joy Howard Recipe: Christmas Pinwheel Cookies Add unsweetened chocolate to a portion of the dough to create this delicious cookie. 25 of 30 Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro Recipe: Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Conveniently gluten-free and dairy-free for any dietary needs in your play group, these easy peanut butter cookies only require four ingredients. 26 of 30 Reindeer Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Reindeer Cookies These no-bake cookies are a festive and easy way to get kids into the holiday spirit. 27 of 30 Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie Alison Miksch Recipe: Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie Sure, there may be no rolling or dropping involved, but your kiddos can still help stir up the batter (and enjoy the sweet baked results) for these skillet cookies. 28 of 30 Molasses Crinkles Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Molasses Crinkles Introduce the next generation to the Christmas classic you grew up with. They may be skeptical at first, but after one bite into cinnamon goodness, they'll be sold. 29 of 30 Sugar Cookies Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: 5-ingredient Sugar Cookies Five ingredients are all you need to make this tried-and-true sugar cookie recipe. Take your pick of cookie cutters and toppings to make yours look as pristine as these, but it's okay if they're messy, too. 30 of 30 Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Recipe: Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Take the classic sugar cookie recipe to the next level by adding brown butter and cinnamon-sugar. You'll be much impressed—even if you still love the original! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit