20 Holiday Nut and Spice Cookies You'll Make Every Year
From pistachio pinwheels to spicy ginger snaps, these flavorful treats are sure to become part of your family tradition.
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Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
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Photo By: Tara Donne ©Tara Donne
Photo By: Tara Donne ©Tara Donne
Photo By: Tara Donne ©Tara Donne
Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Holiday Spice and Everything Nice
When it’s time to fill those holiday cookie platters, look beyond the sugar cookies, frosted treats and chocolate goodies. We love them all, there’s no denying that, but adding a bit of spice to your dessert life will be a welcome surprise. Warm things up with cinnamon cookies, or quadruple the spices and make Ina's ginger cookies. Marrying nuts and spices is also a fantastic, holiday-worthy idea. Pignoli cookies, topped with pine nuts, are standard at any Italian bakery. But they are the simplest of cookies to make at home, mixed in one bowl and ready in under an hour. Anne adds a pinch of ground cinnamon and a bit of honey to these festive treats, making them even more special.
Get the Recipe: Pignoli Cookies
Gingersnap Stackers
Sandwich vanilla ice cream (or your favorite holiday flavor) with gingersnap cookies for a big bite of dessert.
Get the Recipe: Gingersnap Stackers
The Spiciest Gingerbread Cookies Ever
This gingerbread cookie is super-spicy from the very first bite. Molasses makes it chewy and white sugar rounds out the spices. Cayenne, allspice and a hefty dose of black pepper result in a complex, lingering heat that is surprising and pleasant.
Get the Recipe: The Spiciest Gingerbread Cookies Ever
Macadamia-Coconut Cookie
You'll wish every holiday cookie recipe could be as easy to make as these tropical-inspired sweets. They start with store-bought sugar-cookie dough!
Get the Recipe: Macadamia-Coconut Cookie
Ginger Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Cocoa crinkle cookies are made even more delicious with a generous helping of warm baking spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Get the Recipe: Ginger Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Pistachio Biscotti
Get the Recipe: Pistachio Biscotti
Cherry Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies
Get the Recipe: Cherry Pistachio Pinwheel Cookies
Cinnamon Stars
Cinnamon Stars are a classic German cookie; you'll find them in most every German household as soon as St. Nicholas' Day rolls around. These gluten-free cookies are a cross between a macaroon and a meringue, with a hint of nutty spiciness.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Stars: Zimtsterne (Germany)
Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Get the Recipe: Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Melomakarona
These Greek cookies, scented with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, are traditionally served around Christmas. The dough, made with semolina flour and olive oil, has a tender, crumbly texture. Once baked, the cookies are soaked in an aromatic orange honey syrup which makes them even more delicious. Most recipes for melomakarona don’t call for salt so it's not included here. However, some call for brandy while others just add orange juice. Melomakarona keep well for a long time and can be prepared well in advance of serving. As an added bonus, they just happen to be egg- and dairy-free.
Get the Recipe: Melomakarona
Ultimate Ginger Cookie
Get the Recipe: Ultimate Ginger Cookie
Chocolate-Almond Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Almond Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Molasses Cookies
Get the Recipe: Molasses Cookies
Macadamia-Almond Christmas Cookies
Get the Recipe: Macadamia-Almond Christmas Cookies
Spiced Gingerbread Piggies
Pat and Gina love the complex spicy flavor of these gingerbread cookies. They added a little kick in the form of cayenne pepper to classic gingerbread and came up with a new family favorite.
Get the Recipe: Spiced Gingerbread Piggies
Cinnamon-Spiced Hot Chocolate Cookies
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon-Spiced Hot Chocolate Cookies
Ginger Snaps
These crisp spiced cookies are irresistible, but even Alton can't pinpoint the reason. "I don't know why I like them so much, but when I start eating them I tend to have a very, very hard time stopping," he admits.
Get the Recipe: Ginger Snaps
Sherry Butter Nut Drops
Get the Recipe: Sherry Butter Nut Drops
Kentucky Pecan Bars
Get the Recipe: Kentucky Pecan Bars
Mixed Nut Honey Baklava
Get the Recipe: Mixed-Nut Honey Baklava