Holiday Cookie Ideas: Festive Flavors for Gifting, Hosting, and Leaving Out for Santa
Published: Nov 26, 2019 | Modified: Oct 21, 2026
The holidays deserve cookies that taste the part: warmly spiced gingerbread, bright peppermint, coffee-kissed Irish cream, and fudgy chocolate mint. Whether you are gifting, hosting, or setting out a plate for Santa, there is a flavor here worth celebrating.
Featured holiday cookie ideas
From warm spice to cool peppermint, here are some favorite festive picks.
Warm and spiced: Buttercream-Frosted Gingerbread Cookie
Soft and warmly spiced, this cookie builds its flavor from brown sugar, molasses, crystallized ginger, and cloves, then finishes with a layer of classic buttercream frosting.
Cool and minty: Buttercream-Frosted Candy Cane Flavored Cookie
This soft peppermint sugar cookie is topped with pink peppermint buttercream frosting, colorful sprinkles, and edible glitter. It's festive from first bite to last.
Coffee-kissed: Irish Cream and Coffee Buttercream-Frosted Cookie
Our coffee-flavored cookie is topped with smooth Irish cream buttercream frosting and mini white chips for extra sweetness.
Classic and sprinkled: Holiday Sprinkle Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookie
This classic sugar cookie has red and green sprinkles baked right into the dough and a dusting of sugar on top. It's soft, buttery, and effortlessly crowd-pleasing.
Don't forget the bars!
Fudgy and minty: Chocolate Mint Layer Bar
Fudgy chocolate brownies are layered with cool, refreshing mint for a holiday indulgence that lands somewhere between a brownie and a candy.
Cozy and chocolaty: Hot Cocoa Bars
Curl up and get cozy with these scrumptious brownie bars. Created to taste like a comforting cup of hot cocoa, each brownie is generously topped with our classic buttercream frosting.
Can't pick one: Premier Buttercream Cookies
When one flavor isn't enough, this curated mix of buttercream-frosted cookies delivers variety in every box.
Tips for gifting and serving holiday cookies
Mix two or three flavors on one plate for variety: Pair Buttercream-Frosted Gingerbread with Candy Cane Flavored, or Irish Cream and Coffee Buttercream-Frosted Cookies with the Chocolate Mint Layer Bars. Our Christmas cookies collection has plenty more to choose from.
- Individually wrapped cookies stay fresh and are easy to share.
For a gift they'll remember long after they've munched the goodies, send the cookies in a keepsake tin.
- Our Choose Your Own cookie and brownie boxes let you select only the flavors you want in the quantity you want.
What is the best cookie assortment for gifting?
The best gifting assortment usually offers a mix of flavors so there's something for every taste, arrives in keepsake or gift-ready packaging, and matches the size of your recipient's household or group.
Are there nut-free holiday cookie options?
Check each product page for full allergen details before ordering, as ingredients can change. Cheryl's broader assortment also includes options suited to a range of dietary needs. See product pages for current information.
How long do holiday cookies stay fresh?
Individually wrapped cookies stay fresh throughout the season, and proper storage can extend that even longer. For tips, see our guide on how to keep cookies fresh.
