These Christmas cookie recipes are the ones on my list for 2022—lots of old favorites with a few new cookies and other holiday snacks mixed in.
It’s the best time of year! Here’s my holiday baking list.
This tradition started with my grandma and has been a highlight of the season ever since. I can’t wait to hear what you’re baking this year. It’s honestly the one time I truly enjoy baking!
For years, Lacy and I have baked together—one holiday staple is a buche de noel, which we often make late at night and somehow always takes longer than expected. We also always make candied citrus peels and homemade amaretto; I usually gift most of the amaretto to friends. These recipes have been part of our holiday routine for a long time and are so much fun to make.
We also make my smoky vanilla bourbon pretzels—everyone loves them, and they make a great gift. I like to prepare a batch of caramel chipotle Chex Mix to share as well.
Finally, I put together a favorite holiday baking playlist. If you follow me on Spotify, you can find that playlist along with others for the season.
MY 2022 HOLIDAY BAKING LIST
Below is my ideal list of what I’d love to make this year.
Chewy sprinkle cookies from last year—love them.
Always: chocolate crinkle sprinkle cookies from The Pretty Dish. They’re unbeatable.
Royal cookies, a newer favorite from a few years back that we adore.
Frosted cranberry drop cookies were a hit last year and are on my list again.
Cashew butter buckeyes, and maybe the classic buckeyes depending on my mood.
My classic peanut butter blossoms—my all-time favorite cookie and a kid favorite too.
Lemon crinkle cookies—everyone goes crazy for them.
Soft snickerdoodles and chewy chai snickerdoodles; I can’t choose between the two.
Soft gingersnaps—sometimes I make a huge batch because everyone loves them, even those who don’t usually choose gingersnaps.
Old-school Oreo balls are always a must.
Bourbon-soaked cherry oatmeal chocolate chip cookies—feeling those this year.
Mother Lovett’s pink and green thumbprints—can’t have Christmas without them; my mom and aunt’s favorites.
Mother Lovett’s orange cookies are another consistently big hit.
Peanut butter M&M cookie bars made with red and green M&Ms add a festive touch.
Peanut butter fudge—I typically try a different recipe each year even though Mother Lovett had a reliable version.
Pretzel peanut butter–stuffed chocolate bark makes a salty-sweet giftable snack.
Perfect cut-out sugar cookies are my go-to for decorated cookies; I often use cream cheese frosting or a dip-icing technique. For some cookies I’ve sprayed them with edible glitter for a little sparkle.
I’ll probably make peppermint bark and chocolate-covered Oreos as quick, easy holiday treats. I sometimes buy white fudge-covered Oreos and drizzle them with dark chocolate and sprinkles as a simple hack.
HOW I MAKE MY COOKIE BOX
Every year I assemble cookie boxes similar to the ones my grandmother made. Her tins and boxes were her hostess gifts and the treats she gave to certain friends and family; everyone looked forward to them.
I’ve kept the tradition alive. She used cookie tins—these can be found at stores like Target, The Container Store and discount shops. My favorite for a large gift is the sugar paper gift boxes from Target. I use rectangle or round boxes and create compartments by cutting pieces of another box to separate different cookies. That’s what I did for the boxes pictured above.
I don’t mail these boxes—I deliver them in person to friends and family within driving distance—so I don’t have many tips for shipping. If I were to mail them, I’d add plenty of bubble wrap, since homemade cookie boxes that have been mailed to me in the past often arrive with broken cookies.
So tell me—what are you baking this season?