Table of contents for Holiday Cookies 2025 in Bake from Scratch

Ten years ago, Bake from Scratch began with a simple mission: to celebrate the spirit of baking. Today, we honor that journey with our largest Holiday Cookies special issue yet, a tribute to the joy, creativity, and connection that cookies bring to every celebration. It’s hard to believe we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary. When I started Bake from Scratch, I couldn’t have imagined the hundreds of recipes, countless shared bakes, and—most of all—the community that would grow around them. This year’s Holiday Cookies is our biggest yet, made to be scribbled in with notes, butter-stained, and brought out again and again. We begin with “From Our Family to Yours,” where folks from the Bake from Scratch editorial and test kitchen teams and our larger Hoffman Media family, plus our 2025…

SALTED ESPRESSO SHORTBREAD Makes 18 cookies Think of these as your favorite butter cookies but all grown up. The dough itself is a classic sablé style—sandy, tender, and unapologetically buttery. Beating the butter, sugar, espresso powder, and salt until light and creamy isn’t just about aeration; it creates a uniform emulsion that ensures a melt-in-your-mouth crumb. There’s no egg—just flour folded in gently so as not to develop too much gluten, resulting in that classic shortbread texture. Shaping the dough into a compact log before chilling allows for easy slicing later—and a cleaner edge in the bake. It’s also freezer-friendly, making it a baker’s best trick for impromptu guests or late-night cravings. As for the final touch, the cookies are finished with a drizzle of dark chocolate—an echo of the…

BIZCOCHITOS Makes about 42 cookies Bizcochitos, New Mexico’s state cookie, are traditionally served at holidays and celebrations such as weddings and baptisms. With Spanish roots, they’re known for their spicy, buttery flavor and spiced sugar topping—think snickerdoodles but with a more distinct crunch and a subtle hint of sweet licorice flavor from anise. Although they’re most often star-shaped, other common shapes include fleur-de-lis, cross, or circle. 1 cup (227 grams) lard (see Note)1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar, divided1½ teaspoons (3 grams) crushed anise seeds1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon, divided1 large egg (50 grams), room temperature1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract2¾ cups (344 grams) all-purpose flour1½ teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder¾ teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.…

Makes about 20 cookies Browning the butter is the soul of this recipe—slowly cooked until nutty and amber and then cooled until solid before creaming with the sugars. This method preserves that toasty complexity while still allowing proper aeration for a tender, chewy crumb. A mix of chunky chocolate and crushed red and green candies brings a satisfying interplay of melt and crunch, with a final sprinkle of crushed candy for instant festive color. These cookies began life during the first spring of the COVID-19 pandemic, originally made with pastel chocolate eggs, but I adapted them for the holidays—and I hope you’ll make them your own, too! 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar2 large eggs (100 grams)1…

MILK PUNCH COOKIES Makes about 30 cookies Inspired by the creamy cocktail that can be found all over New Orleans, Louisiana, these boozy cookies combine bourbon or brandy and a blend of warm spices with condensed milk-infused dough. Rum and dry sherry are good alternatives if you don’t like brandy or bourbon. Cookies: ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar1 large egg yolk (19 grams), room temperature⅓ cup (118 grams) sweetened condensed milk2 teaspoons (8 grams) vanilla extract2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour2 tablespoons (16 grams) cornstarch½ teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder½ teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt½ teaspoon (1 gram) ground cinnamon¼ teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg¼ teaspoon ground cloves Glaze: 2 cups (240 grams) confectioners’ sugar¼ cup (60 grams) brandy or…

BROWN SUGAR Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies 88 Cookie Butter Blondies 124 Pecan Praline-Topped Sweet Potato Cookies 22 BUTTER Browned Butter-Chocolate Chunk-Candy Cookies 7 French Salted Butter Cookies 112 Maple Buttercream 92 Pizzelles 19 Toasted Hazelnut Sablés 120 CHOCOLATE Beggars’ Bars 75 Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies 88 Bûche de Noël Cookies 66 Chocolate-Covered Cherry Thumbprints 104 Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies 82 Chocolate-Peppermint Marble Cookies 27 Cookie Butter Blondies 124 Crème de Menthe Brownies 59 Dark Chocolate-Orange Cookies 38 Dubai Chocolate Sandwich Cookies 97 Ganache Filling 88 London Fog Cookies 46 Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies 50 No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oat Cookies 121 Nussecken 15 Old-Fashioned Gingersnaps 30 Peppermint-Glazed Black Cocoa Cookies 70 Red Velvet Pinwheels 51 Reindeer Kisses 116 Rocky Road Cookies 113 Salted Espresso Shortbread 35 Spumoni Checkerboards 42 Tante Erika’s Creamy Chocolate…

NUSSECKEN Makes 24 bars Nussecken, or “nut corners,” are a traditional German dessert consisting of four layers of perfectly balanced flavors and textures: a tender and buttery shortbread base, a thin layer of apricot jam, a crunchy topping of roasted nuts caramelized with butter and sugar, and a finishing drizzle or dip of rich chocolate. I make cookie boxes centered around my family heritage every year, and I always include these Nussecken, which have been handed down from my great-grandmother. They’re easy to make and always a hit! —Amanda Stabile, recipe developer, Bake from Scratch Crust: 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (151 grams) all-purpose flour⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar½ teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder⅓ cup (75 grams) unsalted butter, softened1 large egg (50 grams), room temperature1 teaspoon (4 grams)…

PIZZICATI Makes about 20 cookies Pizzicati—literally “pinched” in Italian—are delicate, jam-filled butter cookies with their sides gently folded and pressed together like a kiss. These nostalgic treats have long graced Italian holiday tables, especially in the central and southern regions of Italy, where simple pantry ingredients transform into something extraordinary. Cornstarch lightens the crumb, softening the flour’s protein and lending the cookies that short, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Vanilla bean paste adds fragrant complexity and gently grounds the brightness of the fruit, whether you’re spooning in raspberry, apricot, or fig jam. A brief chill firms the dough for cleaner shaping and prevents spreading in the oven—an essential step to preserve the distinctive “pinch.” 1¼ cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour⅓ cup (40 grams) confectioners’ sugar¼ cup (32 grams) cornstarch¼ teaspoon (1 gram) baking powder¼ teaspoon kosher salt½ cup (113…