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30 Classic Christmas Cookie Tray Ideas

Looking to fill your Christmas cookie tray with pure nostalgia? We’ve handpicked the best classic Christmas cookies that you may or may not remember! All of these deserve to be on that tray this season!

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Christmas Pinwheel Cookies

With festive green swirls and crunchy red sugary edges, these fun holiday cookies are show-stopping and will add a festive flair to your Christmas cookie tray.

Christmas Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

Christmas Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies are a delightful, tasty, and simple treat to bake with your family this holiday season.

Easy Snickerdoodle Recipe

Searching for an easy and tasty snickerdoodle recipe? These cookies are soft, flavorful, and quick to make. Prepare them in advance and freeze them for a convenient treat later.

Holiday Cookie Box – Easy Festive Christmas Cookies

If you have made some different kinds of cookies, presenting them in a holiday cookie box always looks so charming and festive. So instead of swapping your cookies at a cookie exchange, why not make several different kinds, arrange them using DIY cookie box ideas and give them as festive gifts.

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Date Pinwheel Cookies have a buttery brown sugar cookie dough filled with a gooey date filling and chopped pecans. These cookies are crisp, tender, crunchy, and gooey…all in one bite!

Orange Shortbread Cookies with Cranberry Glaze

Orange Shortbread Cookies with Cranberry Glaze are the most flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread you’ve ever tasted! Flavored with orange zest and orange oil, with a beautiful glaze made from fresh cranberries, these cookies are sure to be a new family favorite!

RELATED: 19 Fun and Festive Christmas Treats for Toddlers

Easy Nutter Butter Reindeer, Snowman, and Santa Cookies

These Nutter Butter reindeer, Santa, and snowman cookies are fun for kids to decorate. No baking needed!

Twix Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Twix Thumbprint Cookies are deliciously buttery, with a mouthwatering shortbread cookie base. They’re little bites of bliss. You might proclaim these cookies even better than Twix candy bars.

Perfect Cut-out Sugar Cookies

Cut-out Cookies are easy, keep their shape well after baking, and are tender and buttery. They are light in color even after baking, which makes them a great canvas for your decorating whims.

Old Fashioned Spritz Cookies

Old Fashioned Spritz Cookies are a festive addition to your Christmas cookie tray! They’re soft and buttery, and perfect for giving.

Corn Flake Candy

This classic Corn Flake Candy can be made into mounds or shaped into Christmas wreaths. It’s a fun and easy no-bake treat.

Peanut Butter Blossoms (Gluten-Free)

All peanut butter chocolate lovers have to try these peanut butter kiss cookies (peanut butter blossoms.) They are wonderfully satisfying and happen to be gluten-free. Talk about a real classic!

3-Ingredient Buttery Shortbread Cookies

These buttery shortbread cookies are simply divine. They are melt-in-your-mouth amazing, bursting with the goodness of butter, and easily dressed up or down.

Healthy Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies {Gluten-free}

Festive shortbread cookies that only require 5 ingredients! Similar to traditional shortbread cookies but they’re a good source of fiber and protein.

RELATED: 49 Fun and Festive No Bake Christmas Treats

M&M Cookies

M&M cookies are festive, soft and chewy, and loaded with goodies. Bonus: both the dough and baked cookies freeze beautifully.

Chewy, Soft Gingerbread Cookies

Gingersnap cookies are chewy, soft, and stay that way for many days. They are perfect for gift giving and holiday cookie trays. They look basic, but they taste amazing.

Lofthouse Cookies (Soft Sugar Cookies)

Made with a secret ingredient, these Lofthouse cookies are extra fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and topped with a sweet buttercream frosting for a truly decadent soft sugar cookie dessert. Whip them up for birthdays, holiday parties, and more!

Shortbread Hershey Kiss Cookies Recipe

Simple buttery shortbread cookies with a milk chocolate kiss are a classic nut-free option for your Christmas cookie tray.

Crispy Ginger Molasses Cookies Recipe

Ginger molasses cookies feature the perfect combination of crispy edges with a chewy center that everyone will love. Talk about nostalgia!

Strawberry Jam Cookies

Similar to the thumbprint cookies, I think we would classify jam cookies…as well, a classic! I remember my grandma making these when I was little! Plus, you can swap out the jam and make tons of different flavors.

Cocoa Blossom Cookies

I love the crinkles in the chocolate blossom cookies! They are rich, decadent, and I promise there won’t be any leftover!

RELATED: 42 Christmas Activities for Kids

Mexican Christmas Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies are nostalgic treats that melt in your mouth. These buttery shortbread cookies are packed with finely chopped nuts and generously coated in powdered sugar—twice, to ensure a perfect sweetness. This classic Christmas cookie recipe is a must-have for your holiday cookie platter.

Zimtsterne: German Cinnamon Stars

These classic German Christmas cookies are perfect for cookie trays and gifting because they last for months! Cinnamon stars are naturally gluten free and so tasty, it’s no wonder they’re a favorite every year!

Snow Cookies

Snow cookies are a delightful addition to a Christmas cookie tray or box. Two butter cookies are sandwiched together with jam and topped with icing and coconut to resemble freshly fallen snow!

Reindeer Cookies

Chewy peanut butter cookies decorated to look like Santa’s favorite reindeer. Super fun to make with the kids to leave for Santa.

Christmas Oreos

Christmas Oreos are a festive and fun treat for the holiday season! This quick and easy recipe takes just 15 minutes to make. They can be decorated and frosted in various ways and will add a pop of color to your Christmas cookie tray!

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Rich Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are loaded with semisweet chocolate chips and a refreshing peppermint flavor, topped with crushed candy canes for an extra burst of flavor and texture. These cookies are easy to make and add a festive touch to your holiday cookie trays.

Grinch Cookies

Green Grinch heart cookies, coated in powdered sugar, have become a beloved staple on holiday dessert trays. They bring a classic vibe from one of our favorite movies.

Homemade White Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti Recipe

White chocolate drizzled gingerbread biscotti are easy-to-make spiced cookies for the holiday season. They store and ship well, making them perfect for holiday gifts and cookie swaps, and they go perfectly with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa.

Gingersnap Cookies

This easy cookie recipe will remind you of your nana’s recipe and you can have a batch on your tray in less than 30 minutes.

We are in love with all of these classic cookie tray recipes! Which one was your favorite?