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Our All-Time Favourite Holiday Cookies
Over the years, we've come across a good many delicious holiday cookie recipes. This year, we're rounding up the best of the best to bring you our 23 all-time favourites. From traditional standbys (like Gingerbread, Candy Cane Bark and Snowballs) to modern spins on golden oldies (Chocolate Espresso Shortbread or Fruitcake Cookies, anyone?), these are the bite-sized treats we crave year after year.
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Maple Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
These maple gingerbread cookies—a Canadian twist on a holiday classic—have a milder, less spicy taste that we're betting is going to be a huge hit with your kiddos.
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Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies
Classic sugar cookies plus a fairly easy method of decorating your favourite snowman—the hardest part of this yummy recipe, shared with us by Carol from simplybeautifulnow.blogspot.ca, will be watching the kids scarf down your perfected Frosty design.
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Millionaire’s Shortbread
A crisp cookie base is topped with soft caramel and creamy chocolate to make shortbread worthy of sharing. Box up bite-sized pieces for your neighbours, serve with hot chocolate for the kids or eat them yourself as a reward for all that you do.
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Dark Chocolate and Cherry Cookies
These rich, festive cookies make excellent gifts. Package up the portioned, raw dough so that the cookies can be baked and eaten on the recipient's own time, or keep some dough in the freezer for quick baking to serve to friends who pop by unexpectedly over the winter holidays. This dough comes together quickly in the food processor and is so tasty you just might find it hard to give away.
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Mom's Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sugar Cookies
We're pleased as punch that we can add this recipe by Jo-Anna from aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com to our family recipe box. It's one that we're sure we'll return to in years to come.
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Vanilla Bean Shortbread: 3 Ways
While shortbread is often chilled and cut into holiday shapes using cookie cutters, the dough can also be pressed into a pan and scored into pieces, rolled into balls or shaped into a log and sliced. One simple recipe can easily yield three or more different cookies that look as though you spent hours baking. Here are three of our favourite variations, made using one recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Bars, Shortbread Snowballs, and Vanilla, Cranberry and Clementine Shortbread Cookies.
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Sticky Toffee Date & Chocolate Chunk Cookies
We know that the timeless chocolate chip cookie will never get old, but if you're ready for a gussied-up version of the classic cookie that packs a flavour punch, we highly recommend these divine little morsels by Julie from Dinner with Julie. Serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on date night.
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Christmas Oreo Pops
If baking isn't exactly in your bones, then you're gonna love this easy cheat. All you need is a box of Oreos and you're more than half way to the final product: a cute homemade edible gift.
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Allergy-Free Shortbread Cookies
These wheat-free, egg-free and nut-free cookies are great for parties or little ones with allergies (and a sweet tooth).
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Snowman Buttons
These clever cookies are almost too cute to eat, but nearly impossible to completely resist. Package them up in cello wrap and baker's twine for an adorable edible gift or leave some on a plate for Santa to thank him for the thoughtful gifts this year.
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Peanut Butter Balls
It's a fact: kids love peanut butter balls. We love that this version, by Kristine from busybuthealthy.com, uses healthier ingredients, like natural peanut butter and coconut oil.
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Peppermint Chocolate Candy Cane Bark
Looking for the perfect edible gift this holiday season? We've got you covered with this two-tone peppermint chocolate candy cane bark. A cinch to whip up, simply pack pieces into a cellophane bag and tie with some festive twine or ribbon and you're good to go.
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Chocolate Pretzel Christmas Trees
This homemade sweet treat disappears quickly, so be sure to make plenty. Serve them as is, or turn them into the cutest decoration in town by sticking them into cupcakes topped with swirls of vanilla icing (snow banks!).
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White Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
A little bit nutty, a little bit spicy, and a little bit sweet—we love that this spelt flour and cinnamon cookie by Liz from emmaeats.com is anything but ordinary.
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Healthy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
There will be a twinkle in your kids' eyes when they see the plate full of these crinkle cookies, shared with us by Kristine at busybuthealthy.com.
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Reindeer Cookies
Pretzels, chocolate and cookie dough—this bite-sized holiday recipe by Angie from echoesoflaughter.ca had us hooked before we could even say Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
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Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies
Want to make things a little bit more nutritious, without going overboard? Go whole wheat. Those chia seeds will keep just fine until January.
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NYC-Style Black and White Cookies
If you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary, then look no further than these classic black and white cookies, shared with us by Laura from sweetpotatochronicles.com. They've long been a favourite of savvy New Yorkers, and we can see—or rather, taste—why.
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Snowballs
Snowballs are a holiday fave—and is it any wonder why? Chocolate, mint, nuts, graham crumbs and coconut? Oh my! The classic version may be fab, but we're betting that this lightened-up, healthier version by Kristine from busybuthealthy.com will have your taste buds—and your waistline—thanking you.
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Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Combine two delicious flavours (chocolate and ginger, anyone?) together this season for a healthier cookie that everyone will love.
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Fruitcake Cookies
Do you love fruitcake but find a whole cake is too much of a commitment—especially if you're a little lacking in fellow fruitcake fans? We're loving that this cookie-fied version by Julie from dinnerwithjulie.com takes the classic cake and makes it bite-sized. You bet we're going to have our cake, and eat it too.
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Christmas Sugar Cookies, 3 Ways
One ultimate sugar cookie recipe, and instructions for three unique, easy, and pretty designs, from Stacy at 27thandolive.com.
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chocolate_espresso_shortbread
When most of us think of classic shortbread, we imagine those small round buttery biscuits (often found with a slice of red or green maraschino cherry on top) just like Grandma used to make. Well this ain't your Grandma's shortbread. Coming to us from Lindsay at RecipeGeek.com, these crumbly, yet decadent, wedges of chocolate shortbread are spiked with espresso, making them an ideal choice for late night holiday party goers. The best part? They really couldn't be easier to make.