Christmas Cookie Inspiration

Do you hear that? Christmas music is now in every store, twinkly lights are romantically illuminating streets and houses, and our kitchens are cozy, warm, and ready for action: The holidays are officially here.

We are still early to the game — it is only Dec. 2, after all — but that doesn't mean we can't start scheduling plans for cookie swaps, planning cookie decorating extravaganzas, and crafting holiday gifts for friends, neighbors, and co-workers. So when it is time to bake some delicious cookies up for Santa and his reindeer — because Santa can't have stale cookies — you'll know exactly which holiday cookie is your favorite.

For this week's SWAT (Sharing With A Theme) we reached out to our Culinary Content Network of food bloggers for cookie inspiration. As expected, the inboxes were flooded with so many wonderful-looking holiday confections! Check out our Christmas Cookie Inspiration slideshow to see our tops picks.

"These are the most tender, chocolate blasted sugar cookies you will ever have! [They're] Reindeer Approved!" The Kitchen Whisperer writes. Click here for the recipe. ​

Super simple cookie dough is separated, one-half dotted with color, then twisted to form one of Christmas's most iconic shapes. Click here for A Little Rosemary and Time's holiday Candy Cane Cookies.

"Normally I don't love cookies unless there's chocolate or caramel involved, but I've made an exception here," A Calculated Whisk jokes. "There's something about the rich flavor of molasses in a chewy cookie with a hint of crunch from a coating of sparkling sugar that I can really get into." Click here for the recipe. ​

Delightful Mom Food fills cupcake liners with melted chocolate then squishes her favorite cookie into the center to submerge it and to fill the sides with chocolate. Check out the full recipe here. ​

"It's a simple recipe, but these cookies are far from simple! Big, pillowy, soft sugar cookies with lots of frosting — my kind of cookie!" Sweet and Spicy Monkey says. Click here for the recipe. ​

This line from Oat and Sesame says it all: "Biscotti have many merits. First and foremost, they are acceptable to eat for breakfast. Yay." Click here for the recipe. ​

"No time to make sheets and sheets of cookies?" Souffle Bombay inquires. "I've got the solution! Make these festive Easy Eggnog Biscotti." Fun, easy, and delicious — what a combination! Click here for the recipe. ​

Mon Petit Four explains: "Sablés are pretty much a combination of a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie. They're crisp like a sugar cookie and buttery like a shortbread cookie." Make these French Sablés with this recipe here. ​

"Family recipes are the best and this is never truer than during the holiday season," Platter Talk writes. "These wonderful ginger cookies are made with generations of love and memories." For this recipe, click here. ​

A sprinkle of chopped hazelnuts emphasized that roasted hazelnut flavor in the filling and a dusting of powdered sugar over the top gives these pretty bites just the right amount of adornment," The Kitchen Prep Blog shares. For this recipe, click here.

"These adorable holiday sugar cookies are easy to make, fun to decorate, and a joy to give out to friends and family this season. I show you how to make your own DIY colored sugar, too, so you can get as creative as you want," The View From Great Island says. Click here for her recipe. ​

Tumeric N' Spice makes these gorgeous pistachio-emblazoned lemon cookies for the holidays. The ingredient list is surprisingly simple; see for yourself and check out her recipe here.  

Of Batter and Dough writes, "My Grandma was the absolute queen of homemade Christmas cookies and her jam thumbprint cookies were my favorites. They were tender and buttery and so pretty, with little dollops of jam in the center of each, glittering like jewels." Click here for the recipe.

Savory Experiments writes, "Peppermint twist macarons aren't nearly as hard to make as you might think! Make these easy Christmas cookies and let the compliments flood in!" Find her recipe here. ​

Pignoli cookies are underrated Italian pine nut cookies and Coley Cooks' recipe captures their brilliance. "I bet Santa will be stoked to find something a little different, and a little more magical, than the usual sugar cookie this year," she notes. Click here for the recipe.

These snowball cookies have been in Platter Talk's family for years. Join in on his tradition with his recipe here. ​

What says Christmas more than peppermint and chocolate?" Two Cookin' Mamas ask. These cookies are covered in festive sprinkles then topped with a big holiday kiss. Check out the recipe here. ​

"To ensure softness," Citrus Blossom Bliss instructs, "ever so slightly underbake the cookies. If you're packing these off for friends far, far away, sneaking a slice of bread into the container will help preserve the freshness and softness of the cookie. I don't recall where that tidbit of knowledge came from, but it's saved many a cookie from being 'too hard.'" Click here for the recipe.