Recipes Holidays + Events 9 Cookies to Make for the Holidays That Aren't Sugar Cookies Including spiced Italian pecan meringues, gingerbread cookies, triple chocolate-peppermint cookies, and more. By Bridget Hallinan Bridget Hallinan As an Associate Food Editor, Bridget Hallinan primarily focuses on home cooking content for Food & Wine.com. She writes and edits recipe content, interviews chefs for helpful tips and tricks, and works on franchises such as our cookbook roundups and taste tests. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 18, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Sugar cookies are definitely a popular choice come holiday season, and they're great, of course! But there are also plenty of other cookies you can fill your tins with this year. Crispy, delicate burnt honey-orange tuiles, made from leftover croissants; pillowy pecan meringues with grappa and warming spices; thumbprint cookies topped with a light white-chocolate espresso ganache. Love s'mores? We have a linzer-inspired cookie that's right up your alley. You can find all of those recipes and five more options below — you just might find a new favorite for this season. Triple Chocolate–Peppermint Cookies Justin Walker For chocolate lovers, these cookies are it. There's white chocolate in the homemade peppermint bark, and the cookies are made with semisweet chips, crushed chocolate wafers, and two types of cocoa powder. Get the Recipe: Triple Chocolate–Peppermint Cookies Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Christine Keely These gorgeous Spitzbuben (German for "cheeky boys") can be filled with all kinds of jam—we recommend apricot, blueberry, cherry, or seedless raspberry. Get the Recipe: Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben Thumbprint Cookies with White Chocolate-Espresso Ganache Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Thumbprint cookies are definitely popular for the holidays, and these are filled with a homemade white-chocolate espresso ganache. Get the Recipe: Thumbprint Cookies with White Chocolate-Espresso Ganache Spiced Italian Pecan Meringues John Kernick Merrin Mae Gray's meringues include a little bit of grappa, as well as ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for spice. Get the Recipe: Spiced Italian Pecan Meringues Chocolate Pretzel Crinkle Cookies Greg DuPree Need a gluten-free option? These crinkle cookies, a twist on the holiday classic, use finely ground gluten-free pretzels instead of flour. Get the Recipe: Chocolate Pretzel Crinkle Cookies S'mores Linzer Cookies Greg DuPree In order to give these linzer-inspired cookies a s'mores-like flavor, Justin Chapple swaps in graham flour and hazelnut meal for the typical all-purpose flour and almond meal. Don't forget that final drizzle of chocolate on top. Get the Recipe: S’mores Linzer Cookies Gingerbread Cookies © Frances Janisch These gingerbread cookies call for butter instead of corn syrup and shortening, and you can cut them into whatever shapes you like (the recipe recommends using a floured three-inch cookie cutter). Get the Recipe: Gingerbread Cookies Burnt Honey-Orange Tuiles Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen If you have any croissants lying around, these burnt-honey orange tuiles (we consider them a cookie-brittle hybrid) would be delicious for the holidays. A sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds adds an eye-catching finishing touch. Get the Recipe: Burnt Honey-Orange Tuiles Triple-Ginger Rye Cookies Greg DuPree Attention, ginger fans: Ground ginger, crystallized ginger, and grated fresh peeled ginger all go into these triple-ginger rye cookies. Get the Recipe: Triple-Ginger Rye Cookies Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit