There are few better feelings than opening a cookie tin in the middle of December and finding it still full. Getting there takes a bit of planning, which is why we are firmly on the side of baking early. Gingerbread, spekulatius, lebkuchen, pepernoten, taaitaai, whatever your family fights over… they nearly all keep. Christmas cookies are the one holiday baking project we would start before Thanksgiving, since half the doughs freeze raw and the rest keep for weeks once baked. Gingerbread is the workhorse, its dough doubling as the base for loaves, muffins and even a bundt cake. Spekulatius and lebkuchen need their spice blend to rest overnight so the flavor actually blooms, while Dutch pepernoten and taaitaai trace back to Sinterklaas traditions in early December, well ahead of the main event. One tip we would pass on: freeze the dough, not the baked cookie. It holds its shape better that way. Here are the ones we would clear a shelf for.
Jump to: Gingerbread & Classic Doughs · Decorated & Iced · International Cookie Tin
Gingerbread & Classic Doughs
1 · Homemade AIP Digestive Cookies
Ground almond flour replaces the wheat in a traditional digestive, so the cookie snaps cleanly instead of crumbling the way most grain-free versions do. It’s the one to set out when someone at the table can’t do gluten but still wants a proper cookie, not a consolation prize.
Get the recipe: Homemade AIP Digestive Cookies
2 · Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
A flaky sea salt finish on top really matters here, since the caramel bits inside need something sharp to cut against all that sweetness. Skip the flaky salt and you’ve basically made a plain chocolate chip cookie with a few extra steps for nothing.
Get the recipe: Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Decorated & Iced
3 · Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill Kentucky’s Sugar Cookie
This sugar cookie holds a crisp edge under royal icing, which matters more than flavor once you’re piping detail onto two dozen of them. It’s the dough to reach for when the cookies need to survive decorating, not just taste good plain.
Get the recipe: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill Kentucky’s Sugar Cookie
4 · Holiday Cookies With a Kick: Chili Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Roll the dough in powdered sugar while it’s still cold, not after it warms up, or the crackled top won’t form in the oven. The chili is subtle at first bite and builds slowly, which is the trick that makes people ask what’s actually in these.
Get the recipe: Holiday Cookies With a Kick: Chili Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
International Cookie Tin
5 · Kerstkransjes – Dutch Christmas Cookie Recipe
These wreath-shaped almond cookies get their crackled sugar top from an egg wash brushed on twice, once before baking and once halfway through. The almond flavor is stronger than a plain sugar cookie, which is why they hold their own on a tin crowded with gingerbread.
Get the recipe: Kerstkransjes – Dutch Christmas Cookie Recipe
6 · Festive New Year’s Cookies
Ground walnuts do double duty in this dough, adding both texture and enough natural oil that the cookies barely need butter. They’re less sweet than most cookie-tin regulars, so they’re the one to set out next to coffee rather than after dinner.
Get the recipe: Croatian Festive New Year’s Cookies
7 · Lebkuchen – Central European Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Real lebkuchen actually improves for a week in an airtight tin, since the honey and spice need time to soften the crumb. Bake these first among the whole tin, before anything else, so they’re ready right when the rest of the cookies come out of the oven.
Get the recipe: Lebkuchen – Central European Soft Gingerbread Cookies
8 · German Spekulatius Cookies
A speculaas mold gives these their embossed pattern, but a fork pressed into the dough works nearly as well if you don’t own one. The dough needs an overnight rest in the fridge before it will hold that pattern once baked, so plan a day ahead.
Get the recipe: German Spekulatius Cookies
9 · Holiday Gingerbread Honey Medenjaci Cookies
Honey replaces most of the sugar in this dough, which is why medenjaci stay soft for weeks instead of going hard like a typical gingerbread. Bake a batch in early December and it’ll still be good on Christmas Eve, no reheating required.
Get the recipe: Medenjaci – Croatian Holiday Honey Gingerbread Cookies
10 · Taaitaai – Dutch Holiday Cookies
Aniseed and white pepper give this dense Dutch cookie its bite, and the dough needs an overnight rest before it will roll out without cracking. It’s an acquired taste next to a soft gingerbread, but the ones who grew up with it will go looking for it on the tin first.
Get the recipe: Taaitaai – Dutch Holiday Cookies
11 · Pepernoten – Dutch Holiday Cookies
These tiny spiced cookies are meant to be eaten by the handful during Sinterklaas, so the dough gets rolled into pea-sized balls rather than cut. They’re the one to set out in a bowl instead of a plate, since portion control was never really the point.
Get the recipe: Pepernoten – Dutch Holiday Cookies
12 · Nieuwjaarsrolletjes: A Crisp New Year’s Cookie for the Tin
Nieuwjaarsrolletjes are a thin, crisp wafer rolled around a cinnamon filling while still warm, so speed matters more than technique here. Have a towel and a steady hand ready, since the window to roll them closes fast once they cool on the pan.
Get the recipe: Nieuwjaarsrolletjes – Dutch New Year’s Rolls
13 · Dutch Sugar Loaf: A Bread Break from the Cookie Tin
Suikerbrood layers pearl sugar right into the bread dough, and those pockets caramelize into a crackly top as the loaf bakes. Slice it thick for breakfast alongside coffee, since it reads more like a sweet bread than a dessert once it’s cooled.
Get the recipe: Dutch Sugar Loaf
14 · How to Make Authentic Italian Anise Biscotti
A double bake is what gives biscotti their snap, and slicing the log while it’s still warm keeps the edges from crumbling. These keep for weeks in a sealed tin, which makes them the practical choice for shipping in a holiday care package.
Get the recipe: How to Make Authentic Italian Anise Biscotti
15 · Alfajor Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling
The shortbread-style cookies here are meant to be soft, not crisp, so the dulce de leche filling can be piped on generously without cracking them. Roll the edges in shredded coconut for the traditional finish, and they hold well in the fridge for the better part of a week.
Get the recipe: Alfajor Cookies with Dulce de Leche Filling
The post Christmas Cookie Recipes for the Holiday Tin appeared first on Honest Cooking and Travel.
