Does a big, beautiful tray of cookies ever lose its novelty? No matter your age, the occasion or the selection, being presented with an array of enticing sweets is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. At least that’s how I’ve always felt.
I’ve been a member of the cookie fan club all my life. Spending several months each of the past five years recruiting contributors, refining ideas, testing recipes and sitting in on marathon photo sessions has only amplified my appreciation for this treat beloved the world over in all its many forms.
We’re in our 19th year of holiday cookies at The Post, with a roster of nearly 400 cookies, and yet we still managed to find fresh takes that span a wide array of ingredients, cultures and dietary needs. There is no theme here, just a concerted effort to offer recipes that are accessible, eye-catching and, of course, delicious. Many can be out of the oven in just about an hour, give or take. More time equals more cookies.
We reached out to some of our favorite chefs, cookbook authors and social media food personalities for their best and brightest cookie ideas, and did they ever deliver! In this group of 12 recipes, you’ll find twists on old favorites — Vegan Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, anyone? — and treats you’ve probably never seen before — hello, Lemongrass and Pandan Thumbprint Cookies. The options include recipes suitable for those on gluten-free or vegan diets, as well as one sweetened without the use of refined sugars. Citrus, spice, nuts and dried fruit are featured as well.
In keeping with our tradition of holiday cookie projects, we’re featuring a brilliant but beginner-friendly Pattern Sugar Cookies recipe from food artist and blogger Alana Allred. With just a simple dough rolled into a canvas and covered with decorations in the shapes and colors of your choice, you’ll be churning out wow-worthy treats good enough for gifts.
On behalf of all of our testers, tasters, editors, photographers, designers and stylists, I’d like to welcome you to explore our 2023 holiday cookie collection. The recipe developers introduce their creations below.
Golden Milk Sugar Cookies
My earliest recollection of haldi doodh, or golden milk, is probably when I was 7 and my mom made me a big, piping hot cup to help me get rid of a cold. As I’ve learned to make my own version, I’ve come to enjoy this beautifully simple yet complex drink as a delicious treat, a magic elixir, comfort drink and excellent companion to a cake, as well as a fantastic flavor profile for baked goods. The way my mom used to make haldi doodh was with milk, turmeric, honey, cardamom, saffron, almond and pistachio. She was extra, and it’s what I loved about her.
The version of golden milk that I make includes everything my mom used to add, plus cinnamon and whole peppercorns. I love this flavor profile so much that it was only right to be inspired by it and create baked versions, including these soft, chewy and brightly colored cookies decorated with a rosewater-almond glaze and rose petals.
Pistachio-Coconut Blondies
Meghli is a celebratory rice pudding, spiced with cinnamon and caraway and topped with nuts. It is traditionally made after the birth of a baby. I took the flavors of this traditional Lebanese dish and combined them with the American blondie bar. The flavors and chewy texture are reminiscent of meghli, but served up in a new form.
Pattern Sugar Cookies
I love baking that looks a little extra. That part of me who loves all things extra is at war with the part of me that doesn’t always have time to make everything extra. I love finding something that feels like minimal work with maximum results. I have spent many hours decorating cookies, and I love it. However, I prefer dealing with something other than piping tips, many piping bags for different colors of icing, and then the cleanup. The ideas for these cookies probably came from scrolling videos of people that make clay designs. My curiosity led me to wonder whether I could do the same thing with cookie dough. Could I dye dough, put it on more dough, roll it and have it turn out? Because if it worked, it would save me a lot of time and hand cramps. I tried it and was thrilled to find another shortcut for beautiful sugar cookies that feel a little extra. The cookies themselves aren’t overly sweet, so I like to make them into sandwich cookies and fill them with my favorite buttercream.
Chocolate-Matcha Cookies
When I was presented with the challenge of creating a holiday cookie recipe that is free of gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts and sesame, I immediately realized that I had to rely heavily on texture and lean on gluten-free flour flavors. After all, the beauty of gluten-free baking is that there are many alternative flours that provide much texture and flavor. Oat flour is one of the most versatile, textural and flavor-packed gluten-free flours. It provides chewiness, nuttiness and elasticity to baked goods, especially cookies and bread. The cookie also had to look striking, because let’s face it, everyone loves a beautiful holiday cookie box. The matcha and cocoa not only provide flavor, but also create an interesting pattern of color. The exterior coating of sugar adds a bit of crunch that contrasts beautifully against the chewy interior. I hope you enjoy them.
Pistachio Shortbread With Pomegranate Glaze
During my undergraduate years, whenever I missed flavors from home, I’d search the nearest grocery store for my favorite childhood snacks: pistachios and pomegranates. Twenty years ago, they were either out of my budget or impossible to find, and I’d leave disappointed. Today, thanks to growing practices in California, pistachios are around all year and more affordable. Late fall and early winter brings pyramid stacks of ruby red pomegranates to most stores, and I find I can’t imagine a holiday dish, sweet or savory, not enhanced by the sharp sweetness of pomegranate.
These shortbreads combine so many elements in one thin wedge: a buttery, crumbly cookie with toasty caramelized bits of brown butter and bits of green pistachio, all topped with a bright pink, slightly sharp pomegranate glaze. They are complex in flavor, but an easy bake overall: Everything goes into a bowl, the dough is pressed into a round cake tin and scored, then baked and festively decorated. If you are making these in warmer weather, raspberries or strawberries make a fine substitute for the pomegranate in the glaze.
Tahini Date Squares
How to describe this bar? Imagine you’re an oatmeal cookie, gathered for the holidays with your family, including your distant cousin, the Rice Krispies Treat. In triumphantly struts another member of the clan, fresh from a year abroad, radiating worldliness, and speaking with a new accent. This is the Tahini Date Square. You exchange an eyeroll with Rice Krispies Treat, but despite yourself, you’re charmed; this is one undeniably fabulous relative.
A more grounded description might be: It consists of a crispy-chewy, buttery base of oats, vanilla, tahini and peanut butter, topped with a sweet date jam and a final layer of white chocolate. Dates are the understated star. They’re the only ingredient present in all three layers, in both powdered and the usual dried forms. In addition to its caramel flavor and color, the fruit contributes ample sweetness (there’s no added sugar in this recipe), which is supported by the peanut butter in the base and the milk powder in the white chocolate topping. The squares are more than presentable without any garnish beyond the three layers, but a dusting of something colorful or contrasting adds a note of festiveness.
Lemongrass and Pandan Thumbprint Cookies
In the beginning of quarantine, I was my most ambitious self in the kitchen. There were tons of food projects that I had lined up, and one of them I remember most vividly was making kaya toast from scratch. Kaya is a coconut jam that’s popular in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It’s custardy and rich with the addition of eggs and pandan leaves. I haven’t had quite the same patience to make kaya jam at home since then. It was a game changer when I discovered that I could order an Indonesian brand of kaya jam, Mariza Srikaya, online.
For these cookies, I knew I wanted the jam to shine as a filling, which it does when paired with lemongrass, an aromatic herb commonly used in savory Southeast Asian dishes. During the holidays, I’m usually freezing cold in New York, and I like to imagine myself in warmer places. This quick and easy lemongrass thumbprint cookie’s tropical flavors really bring me there. The mellow green hue of the pandan-kaya jam reminds me of going Christmas tree shopping with my family in California. The dust of confectioners’ sugar on top of the baked cookies adds a bit of sweetness, but is also a decoration reminiscent of snow flurries (without the chill!).
Toong Mai Cookies
Sometime during the holiday season, a representative from the Chinese side of our family would visit and deliver white plastic containers, with peel-and-stick gift bows stuck on the lids, filled with toong mai. Toong mai, as we call it in Hawaii, is a crunchy treat made with puffed grains of rice, peanuts and grated ginger adhered together into a brick-like mass with sugar syrup. The toong mai of my youth were delicious, celebratory and, if I’m being totally honest, difficult to eat. Biting through the densely packed crunchy rice and hardened sugar was dakine — hard. Aside from the challenging eating experience, I loved everything else about toong mai. In this holiday remix cookie, toong mai meets an accompaniment of bold ingredients that stand up to its toughness. Virginia peanuts and bits of crystallized ginger surround crunchy toong mai islands in a buttery, golden dough. Behold the eating experience of my crunchy, chewy, nutty, puffed-rice-filled Hawaii girl dreams!
Saffron and Ginger Macaroons
Coconut macaroons, not to be confused with French macarons or almond macaroons (amaretti), are usually made of just shredded coconut, egg whites and sugar. Some versions require whipped egg whites, while others include a bit of condensed milk for extra creaminess. This recipe is the easiest of the bunch — just mix and scoop. Macaroons are delicious without additional flavorings, but around the holidays I like to take my cookie game to the next level. I added saffron, crystallized ginger and ground cinnamon to my macaroon mixture. Although untraditional for macaroons, saffron and spices are often paired in Persian and Asian recipes, and they work beautifully with coconut.
Chocolate Ginger Cookies With Figs and Walnuts
This adaptable recipe is my take on a ginger-forward chocolate holiday cookie, loaded with whole-grain flavor and nutrition, and textural interest. Soft and slightly chewy from the molasses, the nutty flours pair naturally with cocoa and are an ideal canvas for rich walnuts and dark Mission figs. For even more chocolate, substitute the walnuts or figs for dark chocolate chips. Although the millet topping is optional, it adds a welcome crunch and playful appearance.
Vegan Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Growing up in the tightknit community of San Antonio, family was the comforting rhythm that underscored every beat of my life. There was one object that signified the best times were about to unfold — my mother’s well-worn red Betty Crocker cookbook, a cherished legacy from Grandma Macy. Its presence on our kitchen counter would set my heart aflutter, anticipating the baking adventure that lay ahead. In the African American community, our narratives aren’t just spoken; they’re baked, fried, stewed and roasted. The mixer’s whirring and the chocolate aroma would often transport me to the days when my Grandma Mary Lee and my mother would request their favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.
This year, as a nod to these beautiful memories, I decided to re-create their treasured oatmeal cookie, but with a twist that screams holiday cheer: rich cocoa and chunks of chocolate, embodying the perfect Christmas delight. These cookies are a culinary journey through my family’s history and my vegan baking ethos. Just as the flaxseed binds the ingredients, this recipe binds generations of love and tradition. The crisp edges give way to a chewy center, and the cocoa melds harmoniously with the oats, ensuring each bite is a trip down memory lane.
Orange Spice Cookies
As someone who is not a huge fan of gingerbread cookies but still wants to enjoy the smells of butter and spices engulfing the kitchen on a chilly winter day, I look to these orange spice cookies. They are a tender, shortbread-style cookie, studded with flecks of orange zest and some of my favorite warming spices. Chinese five-spice is a slightly more sophisticated version of pumpkin spice. The five spices vary depending on who is making it, but you will typically find cinnamon, cloves, ginger, fennel and star anise. Extra ground ginger and the addition of cardamom takes the spice blend more into holiday baking territory and melds seamlessly with butter and sugar. The smell and flavor of these cookies makes it feel like the holidays and even reminds me of Lunar New Year, which follows a few weeks later.
While you can easily roll out the dough and cut cookies with your favorite cookie cutter, a mooncake mold takes things to the next level. The molds are essentially an intricately carved cookie press, so naturally, it’s a no-brainer to use them during the holidays. The designs in the mold make your cookies look like artful tiles. The cookies themselves are not very sweet, so a light layer of orange glaze provides a nice sugary bite and accentuates the designs of the mold.
About this story
Photos by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post. Food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post. Photo editing by Jennifer Beeson Gregory. Art direction, design and development by Cece Pascual. Additional development by Carson TerBush. Design editing by Christine Ashack. Editing and recipe editing by Ann Maloney, Olga Massov and Matt Brooks. Copy editing by Jim Webster. Portraits by (from top): Carly Romeo/Keya & Co, Malena Rahal, Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post, Ryan Warner, Sam Rehn, Ben Wiseman, Nico Schinco/The Dusky Kitchen, Taneesha Lucas, Emily Hughston Hoffman, Hetty Lui McKinnon, Lynn Tears/Southern Roots Vegan Bakery, Kristina Cho.
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