A homemade cookie assortment makes a thoughtful holiday gift, especially when the plate offers different flavors and textures. These 23 recipes include familiar chocolate chip and peanut butter favorites, seasonal spices, fruit, and sandwich-style treats. Some are quick to mix and bake, while others need chilling or setting time, so there are choices for baking ahead and finishing closer to gifting day.
Peanut Butter Cookies
A crisscrossed top and tender center give Peanut Butter Cookies the familiar look of a classic cookie tin favorite. The dough brings together crunchy peanut butter, butter, two kinds of sugar, vanilla, and a touch of baking soda. The batch takes 26 minutes and makes 12 cookies, a manageable size for a small gift plate or a first round of holiday baking.
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Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
Soft, warmly spiced rounds add a seasonal note to a mixed holiday plate. Vegan Pumpkin Cookies use pumpkin puree with vegan butter, brown and white sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla for a tender cookie with autumn flavor. They take 45 minutes and make 10 cookies. Their modest batch pairs well with larger assortments, especially when you want a plant-based option among classic bakes.
Get the Recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Cookies
Banana Pudding Cookies
A soft, pale cookie with a nostalgic dessert flavor brings something unexpected to a holiday tin. Banana Pudding Cookies combine banana pudding mix, ripe banana, brown sugar, vanilla, and white chocolate chips. The recipe makes 18 cookies in 27 minutes. Their mellow banana flavor and soft texture sit nicely beside crisp shortbread or spiced cookies, giving the assortment a different kind of sweetness.
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Shortbread Cookies
Neat, buttery shapes make these cookies easy to stack in a gift box without smudging frosting. Shortbread Cookies use butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, flour, and cornstarch for a simple dough with a delicate crumb. The recipe takes 42 minutes and yields 16 cookies. Their understated flavor makes them a useful counterpoint to chocolate-heavy or fruit-filled choices on a holiday treat plate.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
Golden edges and soft centers make Chocolate Chip Cookies a familiar choice for sharing across generations. The dough combines butter, granulated and brown sugars, vanilla, eggs, flour, and chocolate chips, with baking soda and powder for lift. They take 18 minutes and make 36 servings. That generous batch gives you plenty to arrange on several plates or keep in the cookie jar after gifting.
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Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
A little bakery-style flair comes from the creamy topping on Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting. The vegan dough uses shredded carrots, almond flour, oats, maple syrup, cinnamon, and walnuts or pecans, with a dairy-free cream cheese frosting. The recipe takes 50 minutes and makes 10 cookies. Keep them chilled if gifting, and place them in a single layer so the frosting stays neat.
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Vegan Amaretti Cookies
Crackled tops and a light dusting of powdered sugar give Vegan Amaretti Cookies their classic almond-cookie appearance. Almond flour, aquafaba, sugar, lemon zest, and a little amaretto build their chewy texture and fragrant flavor. The recipe takes 1 hour and 10 minutes and makes 35 cookies. Their smaller size makes them easy to tuck into gaps on a treat plate or package in a little bag.
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Spiced Apple Cookies
A cinnamon-scented cookie with apple pieces brings a fruit-forward choice to the seasonal spread. Spiced Apple Cookies pair a buttery, brown sugar dough with chopped apple and warm spice, then finish with a simple apple topping. The recipe takes about 1 hour and makes nine cookies. They suit a smaller batch of gifts, and their soft, tender texture stands out among crisp cookies.
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Biscoff Sandwich Cookies
A creamy middle turns two spiced cookies into a polished little treat. Biscoff Sandwich Cookies feature Biscoff cookie butter in both the cookie dough and filling, with crushed cookies adding more flavor and texture. They take 30 minutes and make 10 sandwiches. Pack them in a snug single layer to keep the filling tidy, or add a few to a gift plate of plain cookies for contrast.
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Spiced Pumpkin Roll Cookies
A pinwheel pattern gives Spiced Pumpkin Roll Cookies a decorative look that feels right at home in a holiday assortment. Their buttery dough is flavored with pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla, then rolled and sliced. The recipe takes 2 hours and 40 minutes, including chilling, and makes 12 cookies. Prepare the dough ahead, then bake when you are ready to assemble gifts.
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Easy Whoopie Pie
Soft chocolate rounds with a sweet filling bring a generously sized, hand-held treat to the cookie lineup. Easy Whoopie Pie combines cocoa, flour, brown sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, milk, and powdered sugar. The recipe makes 12 pies in about 22 minutes. Since the filling makes them more delicate than crisp cookies, arrange them in a single layer or use small liners for gifting.
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Marry Me Cookies
Chewy centers and a mix of chocolate make Marry Me Cookies a hearty addition to a holiday plate. The dough includes oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, white chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips. The recipe takes 23 minutes and yields 12 cookies. Their generous mix-ins give each one plenty of texture, so they can stand on their own beside simpler sugar or shortbread cookies.
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Copycat Crumbl Cookie Dough Cookie
A thick bakery-style cookie gets an extra layer of texture from cookie dough pieces on top. Copycat Crumbl Cookie Dough Cookie pairs a brown sugar cookie base with a buttercream-style finish, frozen chocolate chip cookie dough chunks, and mini chips. It takes 27 minutes and makes 12 cookies. These substantial treats work well as a standout item on a gift plate, with smaller cookies filling the rest of the box.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Crumbl Cookie Dough Cookie
Sugar Cookies Without Butter
A tender sugar cookie can still make a neat, simple base for holiday decorating. Sugar Cookies Without Butter use oil, flour, sugar, vanilla, egg, baking powder, and salt instead of butter. The recipe takes 50 minutes and makes 12 cookies. Leave them plain for a lightly sweet addition to a mixed plate, or add a simple glaze once they have cooled completely.
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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep cocoa color and chocolate pieces make these cookies a natural pick for anyone who likes a richer bite. Double Chocolate Chip Cookies bring cocoa powder and chocolate chips together with butter, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, and flour. They take 20 minutes and make 24 cookies. The yield is handy for filling several small treat bags or setting aside a few for a cookie exchange.
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Lemon Cookies
Bright citrus flavor brings a fresh change of pace among the richer holiday bakes. Lemon Cookies combine lemon zest and juice with butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, and a simple confectioners’ sugar glaze. The recipe takes 27 minutes and yields 36 cookies. Their soft texture and lightly tart finish complement chocolate and spice flavors, while the generous batch makes them practical for sharing.
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No Bake Maple Pecan Cookies
When the oven is crowded with other holiday baking, No Bake Maple Pecan Cookies offer a stovetop route to a sweet treat. Old-fashioned oats, pecans, maple syrup, and butter form the base, and the cookies set as they cool. Allow 2 hours and 20 minutes total, with a yield of 24. Their maple-and-pecan flavor feels seasonal, and the no-bake method leaves the oven free.
Get the Recipe: No Bake Maple Pecan Cookies
Lemon and Blueberry Muffin Cookies
A soft cookie with fruit and citrus makes a colorful addition to a plate of traditional holiday shapes. Lemon and Blueberry Muffin Cookies pair lemon zest and juice with blueberries in a buttery dough, then use a crumb-style topping for a bakery-inspired finish. The recipe takes 45 minutes and makes 13 cookies. Handle them gently when packing, since the berries and tender crumb make these softer than crisp cookies.
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Butter Pecan Cookies
Toasted nuts give Butter Pecan Cookies a deep, buttery aroma and a bit of crunch in each bite. Pecans are paired with butter, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. The full time is 4 hours and 30 minutes, including chilling, and the batch makes 16 cookies. Plan ahead for the dough rest, then bake a tray to add a nutty flavor to your gift assortment.
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Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
A pan of soft, sliceable bars is easy to portion for a larger group. Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars use yellow cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, water, and chocolate chips, then bake in a 9-by-13-inch pan. They take about 54 minutes and yield 12 servings. Cool them fully before cutting so the squares hold their shape, then wrap portions or tuck them into a flat treat box.
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Strawberry Cookies
Pink color and a berry-forward flavor make Strawberry Cookies a cheerful change from the usual holiday palette. The dough combines freeze-dried strawberry powder and pieces with butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, and egg. They take 32 minutes and make 24 cookies. Their fruit flavor suits a varied gift plate, especially when paired with chocolate or shortbread for a mix of colors and textures.
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Thumb Print Cookie
A small jam-filled center gives Thumb Print Cookie a bright detail and a tender, buttery bite. The dough uses butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, flour, and salt, with strawberry or apricot jam in the middle. The recipe takes 24 minutes and makes 12 cookies. The simple shape is easy to recognize on a holiday tray, and the colorful centers look inviting beside plain cookies.
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Swirled Marshmallow Cookies
A ribbon of melted marshmallow runs through the cocoa dough of Swirled Marshmallow Cookies, giving each cookie a soft, gooey center. Flour, cocoa, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows make the batch, which bakes in about 35 minutes and yields eight cookies. Their chocolate-and-marshmallow combination brings a fireside flavor to holiday plates, and the small batch can be doubled when you need more to share.
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