There’s something about the smell of a Christmas cookie baking that is totally synonymous with the holidays. Nothing is better than rows and rows of cookies cooling on the counter, Christmas carols playing softly in the background and a mug of warm apple cider. Ah… can you feel it?

Over the weekend my sister, niece, cousins and I had our annual Christmas cookie palooza (full disclosure: we don’t actually call it that). Usually our baking agenda consists of Christmas classics like snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, chocolate chip, etc. But, this year my sister suggested we color outside the lines a bit and try 3 new recipes. She’s an overachiever.

We found these three recipes on Pinterest and I thought it would be fun to do a review of each recipe. That way, you can spice up your Christmas cookie trays this year 😉 Although these are my photos, they are not my personal recipes. I have linked to each recipe to make it easy on y’all!

Churro Cookies with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting by Wyldflour

These are by far my favorite recipe of the day. At first I was skeptical that the “cookie”, which is more of a pie crust, didn’t contain sugar. But OH. MY. GOSH. The caramel cream cheese filling is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. Okay seriously I am going to top everything with this stuff. They are light and flaky and dusted with a little cinnamon sugar. They are absolutely addicting. Not to mention, it makes a TON of bite size cookies. A++ for this recipe. These are a must-try for Christmas this year.

P.S. I am thinking about topping brownies with this caramel cream cheese frosting this weekend. Will report back asap.

Frosted Cranberry Cookies by The Novice Chef

My second favorite Christmas cookie from our palooza was these Frosted Cranberry Cookies. I will admit that my cousin and I did not follow proper directions and flatten the cookies with a sugared glass – that’s why they look like drop biscuits. Ooops. It didn’t matter though, these are cake-like perfection. I only wish they had a little more cranberry flavor. Try adding a bit more cranberry jelly in the dough if you try these. Still an A+ for this recipe.

Jam Heart Biscuits by Nicole at The Pretty Blog

Okay, these are yummy but there are some caveats. The recipe is measured in metric units so if you’re here in the U.S., you will have to adjust accordingly. The second caveat is that these most definitely taste like biscuits. I would recommend them for a brunch type of event or perhaps Christmas morning.

Here’s another jam filled cookie recipe that may work better. Cooking Classy is a great blog, I love all Jaclyn’s recipes. To make these more festive for the holidays, you can use star cookie cutters.  https://www.cookingclassy.com/linzer-cookies/

I hope you enjoy these Christmas cookie recipes as much as we did. I think it’s so fun to mix up the classics! One last comment: the recipe for these Sweet and Spicy Pecans is coming soon to Blue Cheese Bungalow. They are the perfect final touch to any cookie tray. Stayed tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Kelsey Renee