It's so fun to try out a new cookie recipe every holiday season. Below we've listed dozens of Tested Till Perfect favourites, categorized by ingredients and how they're made so you can find just the right cookie recipe to complete this year's baking repetoire.

Butter cookies
Walnut White Chocolate Snowball Cookies - Snowy white, double-rolled in icing sugar, melt in your mouth and, if you don't watch out, will deliciously dust your holiday outfit.
Snowball Cookies - These are truly pop-in-your-mouth delicious. If you like, roll them in more icing sugar for a thicker coat.
Thimble Cookies - You can substitute jam for the red and green cherries but don't fill the centres until just before serving.
Orange Butter Cookies - When making a large batch, there's no better way to bake more than one rack at once than in a convection oven. The heat and air circulation makes them golden every time without having to switch and rotate the baking sheets.
Icebox Cookies - Shaping dough into logs, ready to slice and bake, is an ideal way to have these ready to enjoy quickly whenever you need them or crave them.
Checkerboard Cookies - This patterned cookie from Canadian Living Cooks 2003 is so easy to make.
Festive Shortbread Cookies - Decorate these with chocolate chips, candy-coated chocolate pieces and lots of colourful candy sprinkles.
Glazed Almond Spritz Rosette Cookies - An almond-scented glaze adds shimmer to these delicate, pretty treats. Decorating with silver dragees or candied cherries adds a festive touch.
Almond Crescent Cookies - Memories of baking in the kitchen with mom focus on this irresistible, almond-flavoured crescent.
Peanut Butter Shortbread Sliced Cookies - Wrap a few of these shortbread logs in foil, then festive paper, for the lover of baked good on your Christmas gift list.
Chocolate Chestnut Finger Cookies - Canned chestnut puree adds European chic to these elegant desserts. If you want to freeze the fingers, do so before dipping them in chocolate.
Pecan Crescent Melt Away Cookies - Sugar-coated and pretty, these melt in your mouth.
Peanut Butter Pinwheel Cookies - Made with smooth peanut butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips, these pinwheels are a family delight.
Two-Tone Twister Cookies - Candy cane-striped peppermints in a variety of shapes add fun and flair to the platter.

Cut out cookies
Eggnog Sugar Cookies - Familiar eggnog flavours of nutmeg, cinnamon and rum make these baked Christmas ornaments taste and look festive.
Sugar Cookies - Baking is the perfect way to get the family together in the kitchen. With this easy dough, it takes no time to cut the dough into festive shapes and decorate as desired.
Gingerbread Cookies - A classic treat! Flavoured with molasses, cinnamon, cloves and ground ginger, these are sure to be a hit.
Christmas Cutout Cookies - Leave them plain, or frost with white decorator icing. Try adding coloured sprinkles, silver shots, or dragees too.
Stained Glass Christmas Tree Cookies - With the glorious colours of stained-glass windows, these look beautiful when hung with ribbon as decorations.
Sparkling Eggnog Sugar Cookies - Sparkling sugar granules heighten the appeal of these holiday goods that you can cut into any shape you like.
Lebkuchen Cutout Cookies - These invitingly spicy glazed German treats, which can be baked ahead, are what many holiday cooks like best.
Vanilla Sugar Mitten Cookies - Mittens or festive cutters give this vanilla-flavoured recipe a touch of whimsy.
Cinnamon Star Cookies - These crisp star-shaped cutouts, or zimtsterne, are a tradition during the German festive season.

Page 1 of 3 - Find a new favourite from our selection of drop cookies and bars on page 2.

This article is part of Canadian Living's 60-Day Holiday Countdown. Don't miss a day of our exclusive holiday recipes, baking and organizing tips, decorating and gift ideas, and more.

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Drop cookies
Holiday Hermit Cookies - These are chock-full of colourful fruit and crunchy toffee nuggets. Bake the cookies and offer them ready-to-eat in a festive cookie tin, if you like.
White Chocolate Butterscotch Oatmeal Chipper Cookies - Coconut and oatmeal lend a crunchy texture to these irresistible drop cookies. For a nut-free variation, omit the pecans or walnuts.
Ginger Cookies - This delicious recipe wins on all counts — quick to make, nutritious and economical.
Dark and Dangerous Triple Chocolate Cookies - These dark, delicious, intensely choco-laty cookies are just the thing when you want a chocolate fix. Team them up with your beverage of choice: milk, tea, chai or cappuccino.
Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies - Sandi Fiolka of Okotoks, Alta., just loves cookies – reading about them, planning to make them, shopping for ingredients, baking them and especially eating them!
Mud Pie Cookies - Made with bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate and lots of yummy marshmallows, this recipe will be a hit with the family!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Classic cookies are always a summer weekend favourite and easy for even a non-baking guest to make.
Tropical Coconut Macaroons - A holiday selection of cookies is all the more inviting when it includes a chewy one, and here it is: the ultimate macaroon, dense and colourful with a coconut and tropical fruit combo.
Lemon Glazed Ricotta Cookies - Donatina Zampino of St-Leonard, Que., says these melt-in-your-mouth cookies are as traditional as the wedding cake in her family.
Apricot Sugar Plum Cookies - Treat these pretty sugar-rolled cookies like truffles and serve them in place of dessert with after-dinner coffee or tea.
Ginger Molasses Crinkle Cookies - Recipes in early cookbooks show that ginger cookies have been a favourite for generations.

Squares and bars
Monica's Mocha Bars - These take so little time to make and are so delicious that they're worth making any time of year.
Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Bars - So simple to prepare, these chewy chocolaty bars with hazelnuts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Black Forest Cookie Bars - Candied cherries and chocolate chips add colour and richness to these bars.
Noel Fruit Bars - These sweet, rich, dense treats taste somewhat like Christmas cake with icing.

Page 2 of 3 - Find more recipes for squares, plus other popular cookie collections, on page 3.
More squares and bars
After Dinner Nanaimo Bars - A recipe that gives traditional nanaimo bars a refreshing, minty twist!
Marzipan Bars - Fruitcake lovers will enjoy the dense, chewy texture that comes from the combination of dried fruit and marzipan.
Cranberry Almond Bars - Dotted with chopped red berries and white nuts, these make toothsome taste treats that look great, too.
Irresistible Turtle Bars - This popular recipe is topped with a chopped pecan and chocolate syrup filling.
Walnut Shortbread Bars - Fresh California walnuts add a new note to this classic shortbread recipe.
Brownie Truffle Bars - The extra chocolate layer on top makes these brownies a true treat.
Chocolate Cherry Macaroon Bars - Capture the coconutty essence of macaroon cookies in an easy-to-slice bar. They're just as tasty without the chocolate drizzle on top.
Pecan Butter Tart Bars - These offer all the pleasures of butter tarts but with less fiddling with the pastry.
Triple Sec Apricot Bars - A funky twist on bars! Find almond icing in bulk food stores and supermarkets.
Puckery Lemon Bars - For those who prefer a tangy treat, serve these citrusy tidbits.
Caramel Pecan Cookie Bars - With a crunchy top and too-good-to-be-true shortbread base, these buttery bars are guaranteed to become a part of your traditional Christmas repertoire.
Blueberry Lemon Glazed Shortbread Squares - Julie Bensch of Hamilton, loves to mix tradition with a new twist – and this square is the result. She adds a drop or two of yellow food colouring to the icing for a lemony look.

Related cookie collections and articles
The 12 days of cookies - They're all easy to make, and perfect for entertaining, exchanging with pals, and giving as gifts of love and caring.
Cookies: The best of the best - Here's a selection of best-ever recipes that will deliver the most popular flavours - chocolate, spices, nuts and seeds, fruit - in every bite.
How to bake better cookies bars and squares - We've compiled the Test Kitchen's best tips and tricks to better baking.
Festive cookies - Amid a sea of Christmas shortbread, these tasty creations will be an extra special treat.
Cookie baking basics - Discover how to get professional results when baking homemade cookies with these professional tips.

Page 3 of 3 - Discover our best recipes for holiday baking on page 1.


This article is part of Canadian Living's 60-Day Holiday Countdown. Don't miss a day of our exclusive holiday recipes, baking and organizing tips, decorating and gift ideas, and more.

Sign up for our e-newsletter today!