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Christmas Cookie Box: 12 Recipes and a Styling Guide

December 13, 2020 by Heather Smoke 4 Comments

Cookie season is in full swing, and if you haven’t planned your baking list yet for your Christmas cookie boxes, then I have 12 delicious cookie recipes for you today. Starting on December 1st, I’ve been sharing a recipe a day for my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies series. And to conclude the series, I’ve styled our Christmas cookie box with all 12 tempting treats. From biscotti, to delicate shortbread snowflakes, to homemade caramels to sparkling almond Christmas trees, there’s something for everyone in this box.

In addition, I’ve included a guide to planning and organizing your recipes and baking schedule, as well as styling your own Christmas cookie boxes.

Looking for more Christmas cookie recipes? Don’t miss these Christmas tree sugar cookies with buttercream, cranberry pecan shortbread cookies, and Linzer cookies with bourbon cherry jam.

A Christmas cookie box filled with 12 different cookies.

This site contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links.  This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services.  All opinions expressed on this site are my own.

What’s in My Christmas Cookie Box?

All 12 cookie recipes are linked at the end of this post, so be sure to scroll all the way down so you don’t miss any! For this year’s cookie box, I included a variety of flavors, spices and textures. There are soft cookies and crunchy cookies, shortbread cookies and sugar cookies and drop cookies and sandwich cookies and chocolate dipped cookies. Our freezer has been so full of cookies the last few months, there has hardly been room for anything else!

Ginger molasses lemon sandwich cookies in a box of Christmas cookies.

When it comes to baking this many cookies, whether you have a large family to feed over the holidays, you like to entertain, or are planning on giving them away as gifts, organization is key.

Organizing and Planning

Select Your Christmas Cookie Recipes

  • Assorted Cookie Box. When choosing what kinds of cookies to include in a Christmas cookie box, there’s really no right or wrong combination of cookies. You can just make what you like, or if you’re giving them away, make all of your family’s favorite cookies.
  • Themed Cookie Box. A themed Christmas cookie box makes a thoughtful and beautiful gift to present to someone. Think of a box with nothing but different flavors of biscotti to serve with coffee for a simple holiday breakfast or to accompany a hot chocolate bar. Or an all chocolate cookie box for the chocolate lovers in your life (chocolate chip cookies, cookies that are drizzled or dipped in chocolate, iced chocolate sugar cookies, fudge, chocolate bark, truffles…) A box with a variety of shortbread cookies would have my heart. Or if you love nuts, incorporate an assortment of toasted nuts into each cookie recipe.

Organize the Recipes and Shop for Ingredients

  • Read the Recipes, Thoroughly. Then read them again, to make sure you fully understand the steps involved, and how much time each cookie takes from start to finish.
  • Organize the Recipes. Personally, I write recipes down in a notebook, so that as I’m baking, I can cross each ingredient off as I use it and make notes about the recipe. Otherwise, I get too distracted by my little boys running around the kitchen, and I forget what I’ve already done.
  • Make an Ingredients List. After you’ve organized your recipes, you can tally up all the butter, flour, sugar and eggs that you’ll be needing, and shop for it all at once. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting ready to make cookie dough, only to realize you don’t have enough butter, or you ran out of powdered sugar.
  • Gather All the Equipment and Tools. Do you have baking sheets and parchment paper? Cooling Racks? Rolling pin, pastry cutter and bench scraper? Cookie cutters and cookie stamps/presses? Meringue powder for royal icing? Piping bags, piping tips and food coloring? Check, check, check.
A box of Christmas cookies tied with a ribbon.

Make and Freeze the Dough in Batches.

  • Batch Process the Cookie Dough. Put your stand mixer and food processor to work, and make all the batches of cookie dough, one right after the next. If I’m making both vanilla and chocolate shortbread, I’ll start with the vanilla, and finish with the chocolate, so I don’t even need to wash my food processor in between batches.
  • Label and Freeze the Dough. Can cookie dough be frozen? Most of the time, yes, it can! For dough that needs to be rolled out and cut, shape the dough into flat disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and label. For drop cookies, go ahead and shape the dough into balls, and freeze the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or a labeled freezer bag. Unbaked cookie dough can be refrigerated for 5 days, or frozen for 3-6 months.

Bake the Cookies.

  • Drop Cookies. Drop cookies (chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, soft ginger molasses cookies, etc.) can usually be baked frozen. I will often just bake the frozen balls of dough, and simply add a few extra minutes of bake time. The chill also helps greatly in preventing the cookies from spreading too much as they bake.
  • Cut Cookies. For dough that needs to be rolled out and cut, you should thaw the wrapped disks of dough in the refrigerator overnight. Then set them out on the counter to warm up for a bit, until they’re still cool, but pliable enough to roll without too much difficulty.

Cool and Store the Cookies.

  • Cookies, Cookie Bars and Biscotti. Most cookies need to be cooled completely before they’re decorated. The exception to this would be something like these stamped cookies, which need to be warm from the oven when you brush on the warm glaze. But if you’re dipping cookies in chocolate, or sprinkling with powdered sugar, or decorating with royal icing, you need a cooled cookie. Cool the cookies completely on a cooling rack. Then store in an airtight container until ready to decorate, or freeze the cookies if decorating them much later.
  • Chocolate, Caramels and Candy. You’ll need to pay attention to the specific recommendations on each recipe for making ahead and freezing, since not all candy can be frozen. Some will need to be cooked fresh and stored at room temperature, so plan accordingly. My soft salted vanilla caramels can be cooked, cut, wrapped tightly and frozen until you’re ready to enjoy!

Decorate the Cookies.

  • Besides eating your Christmas cookies, decorating is the most fun part! So shower those snowflake cookies with powdered sugar. Drizzle your biscotti with chocolate, and fill your sandwich cookies with buttercream. Or put your royal icing skills to work and create something unique and stunning.
  • Be sure to let all of the icing and chocolate set and harden completely before you stack or store your decorated Christmas cookies.
A Christmas cookie box filled with 12 different cookies.

Styling a Christmas cookie box is so much fun. Whether you’re putting a box together for a photo shoot, or gifting boxes to your loved ones, there are so many ways to make your box beautiful, tempting and abundant.

Styling Tips

Choose a Pretty Box.

  • Buy a doughnut at your grocery store and grab a rectangular bakery box to go along with it. The shape and size should be just right for arranging your Christmas cookies.
  • Use a pretty gift box. For my Christmas cookie box last year, I used a gorgeous cardboard gift box from my local craft store.
  • Order a pack of divided treat gift boxes for gifting multiple recipients with your home-baked cookies and treats.
  • Check out the wooden boxes with the Christmas decorations at local craft stores. For today’s post, I found this beautiful hunter green, large wooden box with 3 dividers. After photographing my cookies, I filled it with ornaments and other Christmas decorations to use as a centerpiece on my dining room table.

Use Filler.

  • If your box is very deep, add some filler to raise everything up to make it look more abundant. I filled my box with shredded brown craft paper to add texture, visual interest and height.
  • For photography purposes, this also lifts the cookies up out of the box where they can catch the light. This way, they’re not shadowed by the tall sides of the box.

Look for Items to Divide the Box.

  • If your treat box isn’t pre-divided (and even if it is), you’ll need to find ways to divide it up, both for visual interest, and to separate the different cookies.
  • Small treat cups or mini loaf cake pans (disposable), crumpled wax paper, small gift boxes, or even just pieces of card stock all work to divide your box into sections.

Make the Cookies Abundant.

  • For food photography, an abundant Christmas cookie box looks the prettiest. Let the cookies fill the space. It also looks nice to vary the way that you arrange the cookies in the box. Place some in stacks if you want to see the top design of a cookie, and others on their sides.
  • For gifting cookie boxes, then you’ll need to pack them into the box in a way that you can still get the lid on.

Add Christmas Cues.

  • To make things really festive and fun, add Christmas cues such as candy canes or peppermints, a beautiful sparkly ornament, Christmas cards, red and white striped baker’s twine, tiny treat bags, a ribbon, or a few packets of homemade hot chocolate mix.
Butter pecan biscotti drizzled with white chocolate.

You Might Also Like

  • Gingerbread village Christmas house, decorated with chocolate sugar cookie houses and buttercream trees.
    Gingerbread Village Cake with Iced Chocolate Shortbread
  • Starry nights stamped chocolate cookies glazed with icing, arranged in a silver dish.
    Stamped Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
  • A cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.
    Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
  • Milk and cookies cake for Santa, with chocolate chip polkadots, chocolate chip cookies, and a glass of milk.
    Chocolate Chip Milk and Cookies Cake for Santa

Favorite Products


12 Days of Christmas Cookies for a Christmas Cookie Box


Day 1: Butter Pecan Biscotti

Brown butter, crunchy toasted pecans, a drizzle of white chocolate, and the perfect amount of salt make a sweet and salty cookie that’s totally acceptable to eat for breakfast.

High Altitude Brown Butter Pecan Biscotti
Perfect for dunking in coffee or hot chocolate, this butter pecan biscotti is made with brown butter and dark brown sugar, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and drizzled with white chocolate.
Check out this recipe
Butter pecan biscotti next to a Christmas mug.

Day 2: Cranberry Oatmeal Toasted Almond Cookies

Toasted almonds and bursts of sweet and tart cranberries add texture and flavor to these hearty oat cookies. They are perfect for dunking in a cold glass of milk.

High Altitude Cranberry Almond Oatmeal Cookies
Thick and chewy cookies with a hearty oat texture, full of toasted almonds and sweetened dried cranberries.
Check out this recipe
A cranberry almond oatmeal cookie, resting against a coffee cup.

Day 3: Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate and peanut butter is the ultimate treat. These cookies don’t disappoint with the soft peanut butter oatmeal cookies dipped in dark chocolate.

High Altitude Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Soft and chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookies, dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt for a delightfully sweet and salty treat.
Check out this recipe
A stack of peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate.

Day 4: Maple Cookies

A little cardamom nicely complements the flavor of the maple syrup in these soft maple cookies.

High Altitude Soft Maple Cookies
Soft and chewy maple cookies, made with real maple syrup, and spiced with a pinch of cardamom.
Check out this recipe
A stack of maple cookies.

Day 5: Soft and Chewy Salted Vanilla Caramels

When your friends and family taste these soft and buttery caramels, they’ll be begging you for the recipe! Or begging you to make a whole batch just for them.

Soft Salted Vanilla Caramels
This easy recipe for soft salted vanilla caramels is made quickly in the microwave! They're soft, chewy and buttery – the perfect homemade candy.
Check out this recipe
Vanilla salted caramels on wax paper.

Day 6: Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies Sandwiched with Lemon Icing

Ginger and molasses are perfectly paired with tart lemon in these sweet and spicy sandwich cookies.

High Altitude Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies
The softest ever ginger molasses cookies, sandwiched with tart lemon icing, for a cookie that's the perfect balance of spicy and sweet.
Check out this recipe
Soft ginger molasses cookies arranged on a baking sheet.

Day 7: Almond Crumb Bars

If you love almond pastries, you’ll LOVE these almond crumb bars. They’re quick and easy to make, but big on almond flavor.

Almond Crumb Bars
Buttery shortbread crumb bars, filled with sweet almond paste.
Check out this recipe
Almond crumb bars with a cup of coffee.

Day 8: White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint

A Christmas cookie box wouldn’t be complete without a little peppermint! Sprinkle it on top of these white chocolate dipped chocolate cookies for a pretty finish.

White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint
Chocolate sugar cookies, dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint, stamped with Christmas messages.
Check out this recipe
Chocolate sugar cookies, dipped in white chocolate and peppermint, stamped with Christmas messages.

Day 9: Snickerdoodle Shortbread Cookies

This cookie is a delightful mashup of a classic snickerdoodle and rich shortbread.

High Altitude Snickerdoodle Shortbread Cookies
All the flavors of snickerdoodles in a rich, buttery shortbread cookie. Stamp the cookies with a cookie stamp for a beautiful presentation, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar!
Check out this recipe
A stack of snickerdoodle shortbread cookies, the top one with a bite taken.

Day 10: Snowflake Shortbread Cookies

No need to worry about your snowflake cookies spreading with this recipe. This no-spread shortbread cookie recipe will beautifully preserve every detail of your snowflake cookies.

Snowflake Shortbread Cookies
Buttery vanilla bean shortbread, cut into beautifully delicate snowflakes and dusted with powdered sugar.
Check out this recipe
Snowflake shortbread cookies, dusted with powdered sugar.

Day 11: Almond Sugar Cookies

If decorating Christmas cookies with royal icing isn’t in your skill set, it’s easy to decorate these almond sugar cookie Christmas trees with a crunchy layer of sparkling sugar baked right on top.

Almond Shortbread Sugar Cookie Christmas Trees
Soft and buttery almond shortbread sugar cookies, with a crunchy, sparkling sugar crust on top.
Check out this recipe
A basket of Christmas tree shaped almond shortbread sugar cookies.

Day 12: Chocolate Coconut Cream Sandwich Cookies

With this decadent sandwich cookie, you get two eat two cookies, plus frosting, but it only counts as one cookie. What could be better?

Chocolate and Coconut Cream Sandwich Cookies
Soft and rich dark chocolate sugar cookies, filled with fluffy coconut cream frosting.
Check out this recipe
A stack of chocolate sandwich cookies filled with coconut cream frosting.

Filed Under: Christmas and Thanksgiving, Christmas Cookies, Cookies

Previous Post: « Chocolate and Coconut Cream Sandwich Cookies
Next Post: Millionaire’s Shortbread (Caramel Bars with Ganache) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. monique

    December 13, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    its FABULOUS!

    Reply
  2. Carol G

    December 13, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    Thank you SO much Heather for putting this together. I’ve pinned it to reference later on. I hope to get some of your recipes made for gift giving this year and if not for that, then as a “treat” in the new year. I’ve had so much fun reading your daily posts on Instagram too. Merry Christmas to you and yours and here’s to a happy and healthy 2021!!!

    Reply
    • Heather

      August 28, 2021 at 7:02 pm

      Thank you so much, Carol!

      Reply
  3. Donna

    December 7, 2021 at 7:14 am

    Oh my goodness, the tips you have given us are great. Thanks so much for ideas and recipes.

    Reply

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I'm Heather, and welcome to my Colorado kitchen, where you will find high-altitude tested recipes for beautifully photographed cakes, baked goods and sweets. I believe that the kitchen is the heart of a home, and everyone is welcome in mine. So stay a while, sip a cup of coffee, and bake something delicious with me!

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