24 Fruity Holiday Cookies That Are Sure to Be a Hit

When it comes to holiday cookies there is no shortage of options. You can indulge in chocolate cookies or ones that are loaded with nuts and spices. You whip up a quick and easy cookie recipe or go all-out with festive decorating ideas. And do you know what? Every one of those options is wonderfully delicious. But, if you ask us, it’s just not the holidays until a fruitcake-inspired treat takes center stage. That’s why we love these sweet treats. They’re loaded with jams, jellies and dried fruit for the sweet flavor that makes fruitcake a holiday tradition—but without the overly dense texture that gives fruitcake its bad reputation. Every cookie recipe in this roundup is a winner but we can’t help but make a batch of Sunny’s dressed–up peanut butter thumbprints. She rolls them in sparkly sugar and finishes them with a dot of strawberry jam for a treat that no one can say ‘no’ to!

"Many years ago Lee Bailey, the wonderful cookbook writer, asked me to make 600 pounds of these cookies to sell at his store and I still love them," says Ina. "They're not only totally delicious (don't think fruitcake — think cookies) but you can make rolls of the dough, refrigerate them and just slice and bake them off as you need them all throughout the holidays."

Thumbprint cookies just got a lot easier with this bake and slice version. Instead of pressing divots into multiple mounds of cookie dough and filling each with jam, we shaped the dough into a log with a trough and flooded the center in one go. We used raspberry and apricot jam, but it's easy to swap out for whatever you have on hand. Once the cookie logs are baked, let them cool and then slice into strips.

Trisha has a cookie party with her friends every Christmas. "Everybody shows up with their favorite recipe, we bake all day, then everybody goes home with a delicious variety of holiday cookies. My sister Beth adapted this recipe from her church cookbook. I like to chop the cranberries and nuts finely so you get lots of flavor in every bite."