Easy no-bakes and shortcut cutouts make Christmas-cookie baking an absolute breeze.
4-Ingredient Christmas Cookies
Updated on Feb. 15, 2024
Buttery 3-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
With only a few ingredients, these butter shortbread cookies are so simple to prepare. —Pattie Prescott, Manchester, New Hampshire
1/28
2/28
Peppermint Puff Pastry Sticks
Total Time
30 min
Servings
3 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
I wanted to impress my husband's family with something you'd expect to find in a European bakery, and these chocolaty treats are what I came up with. The flaky pastry melts in your mouth. —Darlene Brenden, Salem, Oregon
3/28
Christmas Wreath Cookies
Total Time
25 min
Servings
8 servings
From the Recipe Creator:
Cornflakes take the place of traditional rice cereal in these sweet, no-bake Christmas wreath cookies. Dressed up with green food coloring and red candies, they’re a pretty addition to cookie platters and dessert buffets. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
4/28
Shortbread Cookie
Total Time
40 min
Servings
16 cookies
From the Recipe Creator:
With only a few ingredients, these butter shortbread cookies are so simple to prepare. —Pattie Prescott, Manchester, New Hampshire
5/28
Spearmint Thins
Total Time
30 min
Servings
4 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
No time to bake cookies from scratch? Create a tasty treat in little more than half an hour by doctoring butter-flavored crackers with vanilla chips and mint candies.—Kathleen Felton, Fairfax, Iowa
6/28
Pixie Dust Cookies
Total Time
30 min
Servings
about 3-1/2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
These crisp and buttery cookies are based on a favorite Scottish shortbread recipe. They're just the right amount of sweet—and fun to decorate! —Peggy Goodrich, Enid, Oklahoma
7/28
Mint Sandwich Cookies
Total Time
20 min
Servings
3 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Canned frosting, peppermint extract and chocolate candy coating quickly turn crackers into these wonderful little no-bake cookies. My children and I like to assemble them for parties and holidays. I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as we do. —Melissa Thompson, Anderson, Ohio
8/28
Chocolate Caramel Wafers
Total Time
30 min
Servings
7 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
To keep my holiday cooking quick, I’ve come to rely on fast recipes like this one. The crunchy-chewy tidbits are our youngster’s favorite. —Susan Laubach, Vida, Montana
9/28
Homemade Butterfinger Bites
Total Time
30 min
Servings
about 4 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Bent on using up a stash of leftover candy corn, I decided to experiment. Turns out, if you melt it, mix it with peanut butter and coat the balls with chocolate, you get a softer, denser version of a Butterfinger bite. Who knew? They’re delicious! —Melissa Hansen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10/28
Scottish Shortbread
Total Time
35 min
Servings
4 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Scottish settlers first came to this area over 150 years ago. My mother herself was Scottish, and—as with most of my favorite recipes—she passed this on to me. I make a triple batch of it each year at Christmas to enjoy and to give as gifts. —Rose Mabee, Selkirk, Manitoba
11/28
Coconut Macaroons
Total Time
30 min
Servings
32 cookies
From the Recipe Creator:
These chewy cookies are my husband's favorite, so he requests them often. I like to make the macaroons on cold winter days and keep them in an airtight bowl on the kitchen counter. They never last long! —Peggy Key, Grant, Alabama
12/28
Lemon Snowflakes
Total Time
40 min
Servings
4 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
You’ll need just four ingredients to make these delightful lemon snowflake cookies. Confectioners’ sugar highlights the cracked tops to give them their snowflake appearance. —Linda Barry, Dianna, Texas
13/28
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Total Time
30 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
It is amazing how much flavor is in these simple 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies without brown sugar. I make them very often because I always have the ingredients on hand. —Maggie Schimmel, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
14/28
Chocolate Peanut Butter Grahams
Total Time
30 min
Servings
3 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Because so many people seem to love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, I came up with this no-bake cookie recipe.—Geraldine Sliwa, Elgin, Illinois
15/28
Lemon Tea Cookies
Total Time
35 min
Servings
about 4-1/2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
These sandwich cookies taste rich and buttery and have a lovely lemon filling. The recipe has been in our family since the 1950s, when my mother got it from a French friend in her club. —Phyllis Dietz, Westland, Michigan
16/28
Grossmutter's Peppernuts
Total Time
50 min
Servings
about 30 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Before Christmas, my grandmother would bake peppernuts and store them until the big day. When we came home from school, the whole house would smell like anise and we knew the holiday season was about to begin. —Marilyn Kutzli, Clinton, Iowa
17/28
Raspberry Almond Strips
Total Time
35 min
Servings
32 cookies
From the Recipe Creator:
Get ready to pour yourself a cup of tea, because you won’t be able to resist sampling one of these cookies. Almonds add taste and texture to the simple strips that are dressed up with raspberry pie filling. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
18/28
Confetti Cake Batter Cookies
Total Time
25 min
Servings
about 2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Mom and I took up cake decorating. Funfetti was our favorite cake, so we used the mix to make cutout cookies. Plain or decorated, they’re a fave at parties. —Danielle DeMarco, Basking Ridge, New Jersey
19/28
Gluten-Free Almond Cookies
Total Time
30 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
My friend loved these gluten-free almond cookies so much, she had to ask for the recipe! Quick and easy, they taste as good as the decadent treats I make using puff pastry and almond paste. Everyone loves them! —Sherri Cox, Lucasville, Ohio
20/28
Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Total Time
25 min
Servings
15 sandwich cookies
From the Recipe Creator:
You’ll love to give tins of these chocolate-coated cookies to your lucky friends. The shortcut holiday recipe is almost too simple to believe! Here's how to make peanut butter cookies without eggs. —Jackie Howell, Gordo, Alabama
21/28
Rocky Road Cookie Cups
Total Time
35 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Traditional rocky road ice cream has nuts, marshmallows and chocolate. Using prepared cookie dough makes it easy to put the flavors together in these fast, kid-friendly cups. —Charlotte McDaniel, Jacksonville, Alabama
22/28
S'mores No-Bake Cookies
Total Time
15 min
Servings
2-1/2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
There's no easier way to get that s'mores goodness in your kitchen. Mix these cookies together and chill till you're ready to share. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen
23/28
Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks
Total Time
25 min
Servings
3 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
My grandmother used to make this haystacks recipe to give to my cousin Vonnie and me when our parents didn't want us to have any more sweets. —Christine Schwester, Divide, Colorado
24/28
No-Bake Cookie Butter Blossoms
Total Time
25 min
Servings
about 2-1/2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Chewy and sweet, these easy treats mix Rice Krispies, cookie spread and chocolate kisses in an unforgettable spin on an old favorite. —Jessie Sarrazin, Livingston, Montana
25/28
Marbled Meringue Hearts
Total Time
45 min
Servings
about 2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Pretty pastel cookies are a fun way to brighten any special occasion. Replace the vanilla with a different extract for a change of flavor. —Laurie Herr, Westford, Vermont
26/28
Texas Tumbleweeds
Total Time
20 min
Servings
about 4 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
Tumbleweeds blow across the roads in some parts of Texas, and I think these cute stacks look like them. I've been making these sweets with my sister for years. —Karen Lemay, Seabrook, Texas
27/28
Trail Mix Cookie Cups
Total Time
35 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
My granddaughter helped create these cookie cups for the first time by using ingredients from my pantry and fridge. We used trail mix to jazz them up. —Pamela Shank, Parkersburg, West Virginia
28/28
Hazelnut Dream Cookies
Total Time
25 min
Servings
2 dozen
From the Recipe Creator:
I sampled these goodies at a Bible study and knew from the first bite that I had to have the recipe. To my surprise, the rich cookies require just four ingredients. —Julie Peterson, Crofton, Maryland
