Whatever the season looks like this year, it wouldn't be the holidays without plates of cookies. Use this year to depart (ever so slightly) from tradition and try something new. Let this be the year you say so long to boring sugar cookies and dry gingerbread once and for all. Whether it's Linzer cookies with citrus-plum jam or Belgian spice cookies, we've got a host of recipes that shed tradition while honoring the classics you hold near and dear.
Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies
A loose interpretation of the Swiss chocolate-almond holiday cookie known as Basler brunsli, these chocolate cookies are intensely rich and happen to be gluten-free, too.
Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
Here, brown butter brings a modern twist to a 19th century cookie recipe.
Speculoos
In these Belgian cookies, crispy little bites get big, complex flavor from a mixture of warming spices.
Gingerbread Pepper Cookies (Pierniki)
Infuse dark honey with spices for a toothsome cookie that can be rolled in turbinado sugar or drizzled with espresso glaze.
Sour Cherry Rugelach
With a cardamom-inflected dough that’s folded three times for puff pastry-like lightness, this is what we call next-level rugelach.
Rosemary-Pine Nut Cookies
Inspired by a hazelnut-rosemary biscotti from Claudia Fleming, the former pastry chef of New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, this cookie has savory notes that make it a great match for a cheese plate, perfect at any stage of your holiday party.
Spiced Citrus-Plum Linzer Cookies
In place of the traditional almonds, these Linzer cookies are made with hazelnuts, which lend a rich flavor that stands up to the jam filling.
Spiced Orange Shortbread
Ground coriander and freshly grated orange zest turn simple buttery shortbread into a festive cookie fit for the season.
Swedish Ginger Snaps (Pepparkakor)
Ground dry ginger is all well and fine, but here, the addition of fresh ginger, black pepper and cayenne (optional but we recommend) make for a much more dynamic ginger snap.
Semolina Polvorones
These crumbly cookies known by different names around the world (Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, snowballs…) get an upgrade with semolina flour and walnuts that have been toasted for a rounder, more complex flavor.
Maple-Glazed Hermits with Cranberries
All hermit cookies should be moist and chewy. Our version, shaped into rounds instead of bars, is drizzled with a maple syrup glaze that puts it a cut above the rest.
Venetian Cornmeal and Currant Cookies (Zaletti)
These crispy Italian cookies traditionally contain fruit that’s been soaked in grappa, but here, we’ve swapped in orange liqueur, which is matched by sweet orange zest.
