Martha’s Most Popular Holiday Cookies—All the Classics Everyone Bakes Year After Year

Cookies may just be the best holiday dessert on Earth. They can be baked in large quantities, last a long time, and are easy to share. Not only that, they are charming to behold and a delight to eat—simply put, they are magical. And for anyone who relishes time in the kitchen stirring dough and coaxing sweet, sugary aromas from the oven, nothing beats making holiday cookies.

As the ultimate authority on seasonal baking, Martha knows a thing or two about creating the perfect cookie. And with that in mind, we’ve gathered her most popular recipes so that you, too, can bake your way through the season. All that’s left is to choose your first batch and let the holiday magic begin.

Gingerbread, Spice, & Everything Nice

What's more quintessential "holiday" than gingerbread?! From people and houses to (checks notes) the Downton Abbey estate, Martha has clearly mastered the art of gingerbread. But why stop there? Our most popular spiced treats include recipes that think outside the cookie box, along with the tried-and-true.

Christmas Classics

Some cookies simply belong to Christmas. They’re the treats that appear year after year—rolled in powdered sugar, studded with fruit, or brightened with peppermint. These are the recipes that anchor a holiday cookie plate and define the season—comforting, traditional, and undeniably merry.