Holidays & Occasions Christmas Christmas Recipes 20 Fun Cookie Recipes To Bake for Your Christmas Potluck By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 16, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Iain Bagwell This holiday season, be prepared for every potluck with these easy Christmas cookie recipes. These are the best Christmas cookie ideas for a crowd, because many of these recipes yield dozens of cookies. If you're assigned to bring a Christmas potluck dessert, cookies are the smartest way to go. You can bring these homemade Christmas cookies in one container, and they're an easy dessert for guests to pick up and eat while they mingle. With cookie recipes, you don't have to stand by and serve like you might with a cake or pie. Our collection of holiday cookie recipes include the cutest, most festive treats to have at your Christmas potluck. Your kids will want to help with fun Christmas cookie recipes like reindeer cookies or melted snowman cookies. These delicious holiday cookie recipes might even inspire you to host your own Christmas cookie swap. So don't stress about what to bring to the Christmas potluck—the sweetest answers are all here. 01 of 20 No-Bake Chocolate Mint Snowballs Southern Living Recipe: No-Bake Chocolate Mint Snowballs These no-bake chocolate truffles are the easiest way to add to the potluck dessert table. Blend chocolate sandwich cookies and cream cheese, form into balls, poke a chocolate mint candy inside, and coat with yet more chocolate. With layer upon layer of chocolate goodness, everyone will be popping as many as they can into their mouths. 02 of 20 Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Leaving flour out of this recipe doesn't take away from the rich chocolate flavor. Whipped egg whites make the cookies airy and crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside, like a brownie in cookie form. These will definitely satisfy the chocolate lovers out there. 03 of 20 Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Bring the Christmas spirit to your potluck with a holiday twist on the chocolate chip cookie. This simple recipe combines white chocolate chips and a few other ingredients with a red velvet cake mix. The result is perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. 04 of 20 Dark Chocolate Sablés Iain Bagwell Recipe: Dark Chocolate Sablés If you're going to a large potluck event, this dark chocolate dessert is the recipe you need—it makes over 4 dozen cookies. These become even more sophisticated when you dip the top half of each cookie in melted chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt or chopped pecans. Chill and then layer between wax paper to preserve the pretty chocolate layer. 05 of 20 Sprinkle Stocking Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Sprinkle Stocking Cookies This recipe makes three dozen cookies, enough to satisfy every sweet tooth. Plus, the whole family can participate in the fun of decorating. To get this look, dip the lower part of each stocking in sprinkles. 06 of 20 Candy Cane Cookies Joy Howard Recipe: Candy Cane Cookies These whimsical cookies are flavored with peppermint and make a sweet accompaniment alongside a cup of hot cocoa, coffee, or tea. Creating their signature shape is easy, but a nicely chilled dough is easier to shape. Make a double batch for a large party. 07 of 20 Dark Chocolate-Ginger-Molasses Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Dark Chocolate-Ginger-Molasses Cookies This cookie recipe checks off all the boxes for a winning holiday treat: rich, dark chocolate flavor, a hint of spice from crystallized and ground ginger, and the deep smoky sweetness of molasses. The dough is rolled in granulated sugar for an extra sweet, sugary crust. Bake until crackly but still soft to the touch for a crunchy exterior and chewy interior. 08 of 20 Reindeer Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Reindeer Cookies The kids will have a blast making these adorable Nutter-Butter treats. The store-bought peanut butter cookies are decorated with white frosting, pretzels, and M&Ms. So easy, so fun, and so little mess in the kitchen. 09 of 20 No-Bake Dark Chocolate-Peppermint Sandwich Cookies Recipe GREG DUPREE; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL; PROP STYLING: AUDREY DAVIS Recipe: No-Bake Dark Chocolate-Peppermint Sandwich Cookie Here's another no-bake recipe that dresses up store-bought cookies for the dessert table. Sandwich two chocolate wafers around peppermint cream filling, coat in milk chocolate, and sprinkle with festive peppermint bits. Adding coconut oil into the dark chocolate boosts its shine and allows for easier dipping. 10 of 20 Gingerbread Biscotti Photographer: Frederick Hardy II, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Recipe: Gingerbread Biscotti These traditional Italian cookies are baked twice to give them the perfect gingery snap. A touch of orange zest adds another traditional holiday flavor. Dip or drizzle with white chocolate icing for a mellow sweetness that pairs perfectly with coffee. 11 of 20 Ambrosia Macaroons Hector Sanchez Recipe: Ambrosia Macaroons The classic coconut macaroon gets all the flavors of your favorite fruitcake with this big-batch holiday recipe. Orange zest and crushed pineapple are blended with flaky coconut and baked until lightly browned. Then, press a maraschino cherry onto each cookie for a glow that would make Rudolph proud. 12 of 20 Brown Sugar Cookie Stars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Brown Sugar Cookie Stars This recipe uses brown sugar for a richer tasting sugar cookie. Pipe the cookies with Royal Icing, a simple recipe using powdered sugar and water. For decorating, we like the elegant glitter of gold sprinkles, balls, and jimmies, but choose any color you think will please the crowd. 13 of 20 Cheesecake Cookies Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Cheesecake Cookies These mini cheesecakes in cookie form are topped with a bright red maraschino cherry for holiday cheer. As a plus, these are as easy to bake as any drop cookie. A sprinkle of powdered sugar makes the snowy white cookies practically pop off the plate and into your mouth. 14 of 20 Christmas Pinwheel Cookies Joy Howard Recipe: Christmas Pinwheel Cookies The bright green and red flourish may look like it took a lot of effort, but you'd be wrong. Layer two tinted sheets of dough, roll into a tube, and refrigerate. Once well-chilled, all you'll need to do is slice and bake. 15 of 20 Belgian Spice Cookies Linda Pugliese, Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Buffy Hargett Miller Recipe: Belgian Spice Cookies Use a stencil and powdered sugar to create the beautifully intricate decoration on these cookies flavored with pumpkin pie spice. Lay them out in a single layer on platters to preserve the lacy designs. Everyone will ooh and aah when they see them. 16 of 20 Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Recipe Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies These buttery, salty-sweet slice-and-bake cookies will delight the pecan fans out there. The pecan-shortbread dough is formed into logs and rolled in turbinado sugar for a sweet and crusty edge. Then each cookie is topped with a pecan half and perfectly browned in the oven. 17 of 20 Holiday Present and Star Shortbread Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Holiday Present and Star Shortbread Cookies Gift every guest at the potluck with one of these adorable shortbread cookies. Create two colors of Royal Icing to pipe on the wrapping paper and bows. Use a ruler and a dough scraper to cut flawless square and rectangular shapes. 18 of 20 Benne Seed Thumbprint Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Benne Seed Thumbprint Cookies This recipe uses benne, or sesame, seeds to add texture and flavor to a classic thumbprint cookie. Powdered sugar makes the cookie dough super light—the cookies practically melt when you bite into them. You can get creative and spoon on a variety of jams in Christmasy colors. 19 of 20 Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies Recipe Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sprinkle Sandwich Cookies These colorful cookies include sprinkles in the batter and rolled around the edge of a vanilla buttercream filling. And the colors can be customized for any holiday or event. These can be made up to a week in advance, allowing you to do all your holiday baking at once. 20 of 20 White Chocolate Peppermint Blondies Iain Bagwell Recipe: White Chocolate Peppermint Blondies Give the classic bar cookie a holiday makeover with the addition of pretty crushed peppermints and a creamy mint icing. The recipe makes more than four dozen cookies, perfect for your next holiday potluck or cookie exchange. Use parchment paper to make these easier to lift from the pan. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit