What to Bake for the Holidays: Our Top Cookies and Treats for Gifting and Hosting

How do you choose from the endless holiday cookie recipes to include in your holiday baking?

Whether you’re prepping for a cookie swap, assembling homemade gift boxes, or heading to a holiday potluck, this episode is your calm, curated roadmap through the season’s abundant baking options.

By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:

1. Which cookies and sweet treats pack and travel well—and how to choose the ones that keep their ideal texture for days.
2. A Martha Stewart must-bake recipe, along with nostalgic classics that delight all ages (especially the kid inside us).
3. Three standout slice-and-bake options: Dorie Greenspan’s iconic “World Peace Cookies,” a mosaic-style pistachio–dried fruit cookie, and a double-chocolate biscotti perfect for pairing with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

Press play now, and bake holiday treats that will fill your kitchen with buttery warmth, sugar, and spice!

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LINKS

Nostalgic Cookies

• Peanut butter blossom cookies by The Gerror Family for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
• Sonya’s marionberry rugelach
• Spoon Cookies from Gourmet magazine

No-Bake

• Rum balls by All Recipes
• Chocolate-dipped pretzels from House of Nash Eats
• Peanut butter balls with rice kispies

Colorful

• Peppermint stripe cookies by Susan Spungen for NYT Cooking
• Confetti cookies by Smitten Kitchen
• Decorated Best sugar cookies recipe by Susan Spungen for NYT Cooking
• Grasshopper brownies by Yossy Arefi for NYT Cooking

Fruity

• Cranberry streusel bars from Bake From Scratch, recommended by Shannon Sarna
• Chewy almond-raspberry sandwich cookies from Bon Appetit
• Orange blossom water crinkle cookies from the Splendid Table, and a similar almond cookie with cherries in the center from Sugar Salted, recommended by Kari’s friend Malin

Slice and Bake

• Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace Cookies
• Pistachio crusted ice box cookies by Charlotte Rutledge for King Arthur Baking
• Double chocolate biscotti from Once Upon A Chef that Malin made in her 2023 box

Chocolatey

• Chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies by Martha Stewart
• Double chocolate crinkle cookies by Sally’s Baking Addiction
• Flourless chocolate walnut cookies by Francois Payard from Food52

Wild Card

• Lemon Ricotta Cookies by Sip and Feast, recommended by Sonya’s friend Sam
• Choc chip cookies with black sesame and seawead by Zoe Kanan for NYT Cooking, recommended by Sonya’s friend Ethan
• Maida Heatter’s Key Largo Cookies as shared by Adam Roberts

Cakes

• Sock-It-To-Me bundt cake by Millie Peartree for NYT Cooking, and a spiced bundt version from Dorie Greenspan.
• Cranberry orange loaf cake by Natasha’s Kitchen and Tastes Better From Scratch

Additional Recs:

• Martha Stewart’s Rosemary Butter Cookies
• Dorie Greenspan Cookie Book
• Last year’s holiday cookie episode with