A delightful holiday tradition, baking cookies is a great way to get family together and make lasting memories. The very first Christmas cookies are said to have German and Dutch origins. Germans have the term “Weihnachtsplätzchen,” which broadly refers to all Christmas cookies and treats, as well as the tradition of Christmas baking itself. The word “cookie” stems from the Dutch word “koeptje” and was created following the Dutch people’s arrival to New England in the 1600s. 

Whether you’re baking to share or collaborating on a recipe, cookies cultivate togetherness. Here are some of the most iconic and delicious cookies to try this holiday season.

1. Classic Chocolate Chip

An absolute classic, chocolate chip cookies have been around for quite some time. In their now 80 years of existence, their simple deliciousness has made them an absolute staple in all holiday baking. The chocolate chip cookie was first invented in the late 1930s by Ruth Wakefield, the operator of the Toll House restaurant at the time. While baking a batch of cookies, Wakefield added the semi-sweet chocolate chunks into the mix to be melted. But when the chips did not melt as expected and instead created little pockets of chocolatey goodness throughout the cookie, the beloved chocolate chip cookie was born. 

To bake this treat, I loosely followed Wakefield’s original recipe, which is printed on Nestlé Toll House’s chocolate chip packages to this day. I made slight alterations to the vanilla, butter and dry ingredients. To enhance the flavor of the chocolate chips, I doubled the vanilla extract added alongside the wet ingredients. Any time vanilla is added to chocolate, it serves the purpose of balancing sweetness, countering acidity and bitterness and creating a creamier texture. So the more vanilla in your chocolate chip cookies, the merrier. 

In addition, I melted and browned the butter instead of using softened butter. Brown butter adds nuttiness and notes of caramel that make for an elevated cookie experience. To brown butter, take the required amount of butter for your recipe and add it to a saucepan on medium heat, letting it melt. Then, stir continuously until the butter changes color and becomes golden brown. Once the foam that formed during the melting process has dissipated, you will start to smell the richness of the browned butter. This smell is the result of the milk solids toasting at the bottom of the saucepan. Once your butter is browned, it is ready to be used in your recipe.

To give my cookies a bit of a seasonal kick, I added pumpkin pie spices to the dry ingredients. Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves all pair excellently with the existing flavors in these cookies.

2. Fudgy Chocolate Crinkle

The chocolate crinkle cookie that families across the country have come to love is an altered version of an old-time favorite: molasses crinkle cookies. The recipe for the molasses crinkles was first published in 1957 in Betty Crocker’s cookbook, “Cooky Carnival.” Since then, they’ve evolved into these fudgy, brownie-like chocolate cookies dusted with powdered sugar. 

The cookies get their name from the cracking effect achieved by coating the cookie dough in powdered sugar prior to baking and allowing the cookies to spread in the oven. The dough, as it expands, cracks the layer of sugar above it, making the cookies appear crinkled. 

I used a recipe from Preppy Kitchen to make my chocolate crinkle cookies. As I did with the chocolate chip cookies, I doubled the vanilla used to underscore the flavor of the chocolate. These chocolate crinkle cookies came out tasting like brownies in cookie form. They are especially delicious when served alongside a warm winter beverage.

3. Chewy Gingerbread

The warm, spiced and chewy gingerbread often seen on holiday dessert tables has been traced back to 2400 B.C. Greece. In the time of their existence, these cookies have been served at Medieval fairs, decorated by English queens to resemble their royal guests and formed into elaborate gingerbread houses in Germany. Because of their warm and spicy flavor profile, they are a favorite around the winter holidays. 

Prior to their introduction in America, they were primarily crunchy rather than chewy. Once they were brought over by English colonists, a version of the dessert made with more molasses became popular. Incorporating more molasses enriched the flavors of the ginger cookies and created a unique and gooey texture. Nowadays, gingerbread is still appreciated both as a crunchy cookie used to build gingerbread houses and also in its chewy form. 

To bake my chewy gingerbread cookies, I worked with a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. To amplify the autumnal flavors of my gingerbread, I measured the required spices with my heart, adding just a bit more of each ingredient than was required. I also doubled the amount of vanilla, which added warmth and further enhanced the ginger and molasses flavors.

4. Spiced Snickerdoodle

Snickerdoodle cookies have been an American classic ever since their introduction to the states near the end of the 19th century. The cinnamon and sugar cookie is said to have its origins in New England, where cooks and bakers had a knack for giving their recipes nonsensical names just for the fun of it. “Snickerdoodle” is a prime example of that tradition. 

An alternative explanation for how these cookies came to be is that they were derived from German and Dutch cookies with similar flavors and textures. Their name would have been extracted from “Schneckennudeln,” a German word directly translating to “crinkly doodle.” Regardless of the snickerdoodle’s true origins, it has become a favorite for many during the winter holidays.

To make my snickerdoodles, I used a recipe from Betty Crocker. Since no cookie is complete without vanilla extract and this recipe did not call for any, I stirred about one teaspoon into my wet ingredients. This recipe does not include a cinnamon measurement to incorporate into the dough, so I added a few dashes into mine before rolling them into balls and coating them in a cinnamon and sugar mixture. The inclusion of more cinnamon not only added color, it also more evenly distributed the cinnamon flavor. 

Cookies, because of their rich history of bringing people together and their bite-sized deliciousness, are the ideal dessert to serve at any holiday party. Try out any of these four recipes and you are sure to impress your friends and family.