This is my 2025 Christmas baking list — everything I’ll be baking this year. These Christmas cookie recipes are tried and true: many old favorites, a few new cookies, and some extra holiday snacks.
It’s the best time of year. My holiday baking list is ready!
This tradition began with my grandma and has grown into one of my favorite parts of the season. I can’t wait to hear what you’re baking this holiday — it’s honestly one of the only times I truly enjoy baking.
For years, Lacy and I would work together on special projects. Every holiday we’d tackle a buche de noel — usually starting late at night and taking far longer than expected. The Bon Appétit version is our go-to. We also always make candied citrus peels and homemade amaretto; if I make the amaretto on my own, most of it becomes gifts for friends. We’ve been making these same treats for many years, and it’s become such a fun ritual.
We also make my smoky vanilla bourbon (or whiskey) pretzels — a fan favorite that’s great for gifting — and a big batch of caramel chipotle Chex mix to share.
Holiday Baking Playlist
Here’s my favorite holiday baking playlist. If you follow me on Spotify, you can find other seasonal playlists I make.
MY 2025 HOLIDAY BAKING LIST
Below is my ideal list of what I’d love to make this season.
Chewy sprinkle cookies from last year — I still love them.
Always included: the chocolate crinkle sprinkle cookies from The Pretty Dish — they’re unbeatable.
Royal cookies are a relatively new favorite and always welcome.
Frosted cranberry drop cookies were a hit last year and are on the list again.
Cashew butter buckeyes — and maybe the classic buckeyes, depending on my mood.
My perfect peanut butter blossoms are a must; they’re a longtime family favorite and the kids love them.
Lemon crinkle cookies always get rave reviews and are a bright addition to the tray.
I can’t choose between the soft snickerdoodles and the chewy chai snickerdoodles, so both usually make an appearance.
Soft gingersnaps are sometimes made in quadruple batches because everyone devours them — and I’m not typically a gingersnap person!
Old-school Oreo balls are a nostalgic favorite and always included.
This year I’m really craving the bourbon-soaked cherry oatmeal chocolate chip cookies — they’re rich and delicious.
Mother Lovett’s pink and green thumbprints are essential — I can’t imagine Christmas without them. My mom and aunt always expect them.
Mother Lovett’s orange cookies are a perennial hit and perfect for gifting.
Peanut butter M&M cookie bars made with red and green M&Ms add color and convenience to the box.
Peanut butter fudge is a holiday staple; I usually try a new recipe each year even though Mother Lovett had a classic one.
Pretzel peanut butter–stuffed chocolate bark is a salty-sweet treat I love to include.
Perfect cut-out sugar cookies are essential for decorating. I favor foolproof recipes and either cream cheese frosting or a dip-icing technique, plain or marbled. For decorated cookies like the photos, I sometimes finish them with a light spray of edible glitter.
I’ll likely make peppermint bark and chocolate-covered Oreos as quick, crowd-pleasing additions. For an easy hack, I buy white-fudge-covered Oreos and drizzle them with dark chocolate and sprinkles.
HOW I MAKE MY COOKIE BOX
I keep a consistent approach to cookie boxes each year, a tradition inherited from Mother Lovett. She packaged her cookies in tins and boxes as hostess gifts and for special friends and family, and everyone looked forward to them.
I enjoy preserving that tradition. She used cookie tins, which I still find at stores like Target, The Container Store, and discount shops. My favorite large-box method is using sugar paper gift boxes in both rectangle and round shapes. I’ve used them for several years and create internal dividers from other boxes to organize cookies and keep them from shifting.
One important note: I don’t mail these boxes. I deliver them in person to friends and family within driving distance. If mailing were necessary, I’d pack with plenty of bubble wrap; in my experience, many homemade cookie boxes arrive broken when shipped.
So tell me — what are you baking this season?