15 Holiday Cookies to Make When You’re Sick of Sugar Cookies

Holiday season is practically synonymous with sugar cookies—but if you’re tired of your recipe, know that the cookie universe is vast and plentiful.

Ginger! Coconut! Cranberry! Chocolate! Some of our current favorites are riffs on classics, like S’mores Linzer Cookies and Cardamom Thumbprints, and we’re not opposed to maximalist recipes, either. (Once you try our Triple Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies, you’ll never go back.) We’ve listed 15 different options below—you just might find a new holiday cookie tradition.

Fans of shortbread will love these cookies, and the sprinkling of sugar on top almost looks like snow.

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Homemade peppermint bark adds a festive touch to these ultra-chocolaty cookies. We’d recommend making a double batch, because they’ll go fast.

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These buttery cookies are sandwiched with a fluffy meringue, reminiscent of a whoopie pie.

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Jessie Oleson’s adorable cookies are a mini version of the classic French bûche de Noël cake, spread with frosting to resemble bark on a tree.

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Yotam Ottolenghi’s “snowballs” can be personalized with different nuts and aromatic flavorings, like rosewater or cardamom. This particular recipe makes three and a half dozen cookies, so you’ll have enough to feed a crowd.

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Gingerbread cookies are a holiday staple; however, Maria Helm Sinskey likes to make her dough with butter instead of shortening and corn syrup, giving a fresher taste.

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Like sugar cookies, these cookies can be cut into seasonal shapes, but the flavor combination of peppermint, chocolate, and marshmallow crème makes them even more on theme.

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These macaroons only have five ingredients, and yield 40 total, making them an easy option for entertaining.

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Adding cardamom to thumbprint cookies is an instant upgrade, giving them a subtle spiced flavor. You can go the traditional route and fill them with jam—Kay Chun recommends, apricot, seedless raspberry, or strawberry—but chocolate is an option, too.

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Rye flour gives these cookies an earthiness, complimented by the punch of flavor from three different types of ginger—powdered, candied, and fresh.

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S’mores in cookie form? Yes, please? To make the Linzer cookies taste like graham crackers, swap in graham flour and hazelnut meal for the typical all-purpose flour and almond meal.

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Bits of dried cranberries and white chocolate put these cookies right on par with a Christmas color scheme—all you would need is some green.

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Justin Chapple replaces flour with Glutino pretzels in this riff on a holiday classic, making the cookies perfectly salty sweet. As an added bonus, they’re gluten-free.

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Dominique Ansel’s Bakewell tart-inspired biscotti are studded with pieces of dried sour cherry, and have a cherry jam and almond cream filling.

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Salted roasted pistachios give a nice pop of green to these meringues, making them festive and delicious. For best results, Nick Malgieri recommends baking them on a dry day so they stay crisp.

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