Easy Christmas Cookies 2025: 7 No-Fail Recipes I Actually Make (and Eat… a lot)#

So if you’re anything like me, December turns into this cozy blur of butter, sugar, random flour on my sweatpants, and a playlist that stubbornly cycles between old Mariah and that one Sufjan track. I bake the same cookies pretty much every year, and then tweak them slightly because I can’t not mess with a recipe. But 2025’s holiday vibe? It’s totally pistachio-forward, tahini is still everywhere, and there’s this whole olive-oil-in-desserts thing that went mainstream. TikTok keeps screaming about miso chocolate chip cookies. I know, sounds weird, tastes ridiculous.

I learned Christmas cookies in my grandma’s kitchen, standing on a wobbly chair, stealing dough like a sugar gremlin. We didn’t do fancy — just simple cutouts and ginger crinkles my grandpa liked with tea. Years later I went to New York and finally tried a big bakery cookie — a peppermint-y seasonal one at Levain, all gooey middle and melty bits — and it kinda reset what I thought a holiday cookie could be. Still, when I want no-fail at home, I go soft, easy, one-bowl where possible. Minimal dishes. Maximum magic.

Basically: pistachio everything, tahini sweet bakes, olive oil desserts, and little umami hits like white miso in chocolate cookies. Air fryer small-batch cookies blew up because, yes, you can bake two at a time and not heat the whole house. People are also doing dessert boards with shortbread squares and glittery sprinkles and micro marshmallows. And bakery pop-ups are everywhere again this holiday season — I swear I’ve seen three in my neighborhood alone, all bright neon signs and tiny boxes tied with too-cute twine.

My hot take: measuring by weight is the real “no-fail.” A $15 kitchen scale will save your cookie sanity. Also, chill your dough when the recipe says to. Don’t ask questions. Just chill.

Ingredients in plain english: 2½ cups all-purpose flour (about 315g), 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, 1 cup unsalted butter that you’ve browned and cooled (225g), 1 cup granulated sugar (200g), 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla, tiny splash almond extract if you’re into it. For decorating, I do an easy glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 2–3 tsp milk, ½ tsp vanilla, pinch of salt.

How I do it: Brown the butter till it smells nutty and is toasty amber, then cool till opaque but soft. Beat butter and sugar till light, add egg and vanilla. Whisk flour, bake powder, salt in a bowl, fold into the butter mix. Roll between parchment to like ¼ inch — chill 20 minutes because it helps keep shape. Cut into stars, trees, blobs that look like trees. Bake at 350°F 8–10 minutes. Cool. Brush with the lazy glaze and add sprinkles that will get everywhere forever. Flavor note: brown butter + vanilla = nostalgic but like glow-up.

Ingredients: 2¼ cups AP flour (280g), 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp cloves, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda. Wet stuff: ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (170g), 1 cup packed brown sugar (200g), 1 large egg, ¼ cup molasses (about 80g). Granulated sugar for rolling.

Method that never fails me: Cream butter and brown sugar till fluffy, add egg and molasses. Stir in dry mix just till combined. Scoop into balls, roll in sugar. Bake at 350°F for 9–11 minutes till the tops crack and your entire place smells like spiced heaven. They set as they cool, so don’t overbake. If you want extra chew, slightly underbake and let them sit on the sheet a couple minutes.

3) Pistachio Snowball Cookies (aka wedding cookies, tea cakes… whatever, just melt-in-your-mouth)#

Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (225g), ½ cup powdered sugar (60g), 1 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp salt, 2 cups AP flour (240g), 1 cup finely chopped pistachios. Extra powdered sugar for dusting. If pistachios are pricey, you can split with toasted almonds and it’s still fab.

Make them like this: Beat butter with powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, then pistachios. Chill dough 20–30 minutes. Roll small balls, bake at 325°F for 18–20 minutes till set but not browned too much. While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Let cool, roll again. The double roll is the real trick — it sticks better and looks snowy.

4) Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (classic, but with candy cane crunch)#

Ingredients: 1 cup AP flour (125g), ½ cup cocoa powder (50g), 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt. Wet: ½ cup neutral oil or melted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g), 2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla. Also crushed candy cane and powdered sugar for rolling.

How I handle sticky crinkle dough: Stir wet and dry separately, then combine. Fold in candy cane bits. Chill 30–45 minutes so you can actually scoop it. Roll in powdered sugar and bake at 350°F for 10–12 minutes till crackly. They’ll look soft — that’s perfect. Cool a minute before transferring so they don’t break. Peppermint bark vibes, but easier than tempering chocolate.

5) Peanut Butter Blossoms (the ones with a chocolate kiss candy pressed on top)#

Ingredients: 1¾ cups AP flour (220g), 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt. ½ cup unsalted butter (113g), ½ cup creamy peanut butter (about 130g), ½ cup granulated sugar (100g) + more for rolling, ½ cup brown sugar (100g), 1 egg, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tsp vanilla. Chocolate kiss candies — unwrapped, obviously.

What works: Beat butter, peanut butter, sugars till fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla. Stir in dry stuff. Roll balls in sugar, bake at 375°F for 8–10 minutes till puffed. Immediately press a chocolate candy in the center so it gets that little shiny melt. They’ll crack and look adorable. These never not vanish first at parties. Me and him ate six before dinner last week and didn’t never feel sorry.

6) Jam Thumbprints (shortbread base, your favorite jam, done)#

Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter (225g), ½ cup granulated sugar (100g), 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch salt, 2 cups AP flour (240g). Jam of choice — raspberry is classic, but this year I’m obsessed with sour cherry. Optional ¼ cup almond flour for a slightly nutty vibe.

Thumbprint rhythm: Beat butter and sugar, add yolk and vanilla. Stir in salt and flour. Roll balls, press a thumb or the back of a teaspoon to make a well. You can bake 350°F for 12–14 minutes and then fill with jam while hot, or fill before baking for a sticky center. I sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky salt on top after they cool. Looks fancy, tastes balanced.

7) Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies (with optional miso for that tiny umami glow)#

Ingredients: ½ cup tahini (120g), ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (113g), ½ cup brown sugar (100g), ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g), 1 egg + 1 yolk, 1 tsp vanilla, 1¾ cups AP flour (220g), ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, 6 oz chopped dark chocolate, sesame seeds for sprinkling. Optional 1 tsp white miso whisked into the wet mix — I swear it heightens the chocolate, you actually don’t taste “miso” per se.

Quick method: Beat butter, tahini, sugars till creamy. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and miso if using. Stir in flour, soda, salt, fold chocolate. Chill 30 minutes because tahini dough spreads more. Scoop, sprinkle sesame. Bake at 350°F for 10–12 minutes. Let them settle on the sheet. These are bakery-level with very little effort, and feel super current since sesame desserts are totally having a moment this year.

- Use room-temp butter unless the recipe says melted. Cold butter makes chunky dough, too soft butter can turn greasy. I learned that the annoying way. - Weigh flour. If you’re scooping from the bag, fluff first. Heavy flour = dry cookies. - Chill dough when it’s high in fat or when you want sharp edges in cutouts. Twenty minutes makes a difference, trust me. - Sheet pan choice matters — light colored pans for even baking, dark pans brown faster. Parchment solves a lot of drama. - If your oven runs hot — many do — drop temp 10 degrees. An oven thermometer is like thirty bucks and pays off immediately.

Air fryer small-batch cookies, because sometimes it’s 11pm and you only want two#

I’ve been air-frying single cookies like a gremlin. Scoop a couple balls from the fridge, flatten slightly, 300–315°F for about 6–8 minutes depending on your air fryer. Works best with chocolate chunk or peanut butter cookies. Let them sit in the basket so they set. It’s not a professional bake, obviously, but late-night cookie situations don’t need perfection. 2025 is full of these tiny hacks in home kitchens, and honestly, I’m here for it.

I still love the big chunky style from Levain when I’m in NYC — especially anything seasonal with mint. Milk Bar holiday boxes are fun if you’re mailing treats, they just keep that playful vibe. Where I live, a couple new pop-up bakeries did olive-oil shortbread with citrus glaze and pistachio dust — zingy and rich and not too sweet, my kinda cookie. Tartine-style shortbread squares are still the gold standard to me. If you want inspiration, hit a bakery, eat two cookies, take notes, try to recreate the texture at home. Fail a little and laugh. That’s kind of the point.

Ingredients and gadgets I’m weirdly into right now#

European-style butter around 82% fat makes shortbread so tender. Good vanilla paste if you can swing it, you can feel the flavor bump. Sesame seeds lightly toasted before sprinkling on tahini cookies, tiny detail that adds a lot. For tech, a cheap digital scale, an oven thermometer, and a cookie scoop that actually matches the size you want. I don’t do fancy smart ovens, but a few friends love app-connected ones that nudge temp tweaks. Honestly, I still just rotate my pan halfway and it works.

If you bake one thing, make the ginger molasses. If you bake two, add the pistachio snowballs. And if you’re feeling modern, tahini chocolate chunk, optional miso, will impress your uncle who says he “doesn’t eat dessert” and then eats three. Don’t stress the perfect shapes or the camera-ready icing. Holiday cookies are about the smell in your house and people wandering into the kitchen to steal a warm one. If you want more cozy food rabbit holes, stories, and recipes that actually get made in real kitchens, I keep saving articles on AllBlogs.in and it’s a chill place to scroll with cocoa.