37 Festive Christmas Cookies

For many families, making a festive batch of Christmas cookies each year is a holiday tradition. Whether you're a fan of Scottish shortbread, iced sugar cookies or adorable gingerbread men, these holiday-themed recipes offer some creative ways to shake up your usual Christmas routine.

In addition to including popular icons for the season like reindeer, snowmen, Santa, snowflakes, baubles and ugly Christmas sweaters, these crafty cookies bring out the flavors of warm spices, peppermint and chocolate. While there are some recipes that are definitely more labor-intensive than others, novices in the kitchen can't go wrong with a simple recipe and a shapely cookie cutter. These Christmas cookies are ideal for packing up and bringing to a holiday party, gifting to friends and family, or snacking on yourself.