Martha Stewart's 8 Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

One of our favorite ways to celebrate the holidays? By baking up a storm, of course! And there's no better place to start than with Martha Stewart's favorite Christmas cookies, a treasure trove of seasonal classics, beloved family recipes, and fresh takes on tradition.

No wonder they top Martha's list of beloved holiday treats. From sugar cookies rolled and cut into fanciful shapes, like stars, reindeer, and Santa, to old-school gingerbread cookies with rich cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and molasses, to icebox cookies festooned with pistachios, these yuletide delights are sure to tempt every sweet tooth in your circle.

You may want to make some batches for (or with) the little ones in your life, while others, like our festive sandwich cookies dusted with confectioners' sugar, are perfect for gifting or cookie swaps. Let the baking begin!

01 of 08

Sugar Cookies

Christmas-themed cookies such as Santa, Snowman, Reindeer and Tree

These buttery cookies are best for making cutouts in all kinds of festive shapes. Make your dough, chill for at least an hour (or overnight), then you're ready to roll! Martha always turns to royal icing for decorating—and you can too.

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02 of 08

Gingerbread Snowflakes

It just isn't Christmas without gingerbread! Martha uses the spice-forward dough to make snowflakes of all different sizes—those pictured here are made with a large snowflake-shape cookie cutter, but she makes smaller iterations, as well. She pipes her cookies with royal icing and sprinkles them with fine sanding sugar.

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03 of 08

Noel Nut Balls

holiday handbook 2011 noel nut — Joseph De Leo

When she makes these delicious pecan cookies, a Kostyra family favorite, Martha portions the dough into larger balls than her mother's recipe calls for. She prefers her cookies with more nuts and less confectioners' sugar.

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04 of 08

Old-Fashioned Lemon Sugar Cookies

Martha loves lemon (it's one of her favorite flavors), and it's sure to be one of yours, too, once you bite into these crisp, citrusy cookies. To get the crinkly tops, the cookies are sprinkled with sanding sugar, lightly brushed with water, and sprinkled with more sanding sugar before they are baked.

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05 of 08

Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

Rich and robust, these decadent cookies are made with fresh ginger instead of the usual powdered spice. Semisweet chocolate and cocoa powder put a smile on chocolate lovers' faces, while dark-brown sugar and molasses provide that scrumptious chewy texture.

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06 of 08

Shaped Icebox Cookies

Martha has a handy technique for forming logs of cookie dough: She uses a sushi mat, a device usually reserved for forming rolls of rice and fish. Our founder turns to Sicilian pistachios for these cookies, because they have the best color and contrast beautifully with dried apricots, cranberries, and other bright dried fruits.

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07 of 08

Brown-Butter Cookies

Here's another simply exquisite cookie that's sure to become a family favorite. Browned butter—or butter that's been gently cooked until golden brown—seems to enhance anything it's added to, and this holiday treat is no exception.

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08 of 08

Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies

Crisp, buttery hazelnut cookies sandwich apricot or raspberry jam and melted chocolate—a heavenly combination. The cutouts on the cookies are made with tiny star-shaped cutters. (We bet they'll be the most sought-after cookies at any holiday swap.)

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Updated by

Randi Gollin