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Each year, I set aside a day to bake loads of cookies for Christmas cookie gift boxes for friends and family! It’s become sort of a yearly tradition for me to bake 3 or 4 different types of cookies and then box them up for others. They make a great gift for family, friends, or co-workers. Plus, it’s so fun to turn up the Christmas music and bake all day while eating more than your fair share of sugar!
Choosing Your Cookies
Like I said, I usually try to bake 3 or 4 different types of cookies for my gift boxes. I typically do a decorated sugar cookie, some sort of chocolate cookie, and then my mom’s snowball cookies or, as she likes to call them, “Poofer Snoofies”. It’s really the perfect name! I mean, just look at them…

When choosing your cookie recipes for your Christmas cookie gift boxes, try to have a variety of types of cookies so that you aren’t decorating/frosting all day, or waiting for tons of dough to chill! Here are my tips for picking cookies for your Christmas cookie gift boxes:
- Choose one decorated cookie. I like to go with a classic decorated sugar cookie with royal icing.
- Choose a cookie that is no chill. In this case, I chose to make my mom’s snowball cookies! They’re really easy to make and are always a hit at Christmas time!
- Always add in a chocolate cookie! I like to have this as an option for anyone who is partial to chocolate.
How to Choose a Box for Your Gift
I’ve seen so many amazing and creative ideas for giving holiday cookies in a gift box! Some people like to use recycled boxes with cardboard separators which I think is adorable! I typically look for fun and festive cookie tins at Walmart or Target so that the recipient has something that they can store the cookies in and re-use, but use your creativity to come up with a box that works for you! Here are a few of my recommendations:

To make the cookie gift boxes a bit more festive, you can always add a gift tag with the types of cookies in the container or wrap up the box with some pretty ribbon! I sometimes add a bit of tissue paper to the bottom of the tin to make it look a bit nicer.
Helpful Tools and Ingredients for Making Christmas Cookie Gift Boxes
Here is a list of some of the tools and ingredients that I used to make these cookies! I love many of these products because they make the baking process so much easier and produce a higher quality cookie that tastes delicious!
- Pink KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Pink Cuisinart Mini Food Processor – Great for quick chopping! Comes in other colors as well.
- Rodelle Vanilla Extract
- Gel Food Coloring – I love these because they provide such a vibrant color without watering down your recipe.
- Rodelle Almond Extract
- Meringue Powder – This is a perfect substitution for raw egg whites that are typically used in royal icing. This powder is much easier to use and safer to eat!
- Rodelle Dutch Processed Baking Cocoa
- Frosting Gun – I got this as a wedding present and I LOVE it! This makes frosting anything a breeze and it comes with a variety of frosting tips.
2019 Cookies for Christmas Cookie Gift Boxes
Below are the three recipes that I used this year for my Christmas cookie gift boxes! These cookies are all delicious and are loads of fun to make with others. So, set aside a day to turn up the Christmas music and bake with your family, kids or friends. It’s such a fun tradition to start and these cookie gift boxes are something special that your recipient will appreciate!

I’d love to see what kinds of creative Christmas cookie boxes you are making this holiday season! Share with me in the comments below or on social media. I always enjoy seeing what others are baking!
And if you are looking for other gift ideas, check out my other posts below. Happy baking!
Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookies
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional for extra flavor)
For the Royal Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- 9-10 tbsp room temperature water
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookies
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract if using. Beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. If dough is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour as needed.
- Remove dough from bowl and wrap in plastic wrap in a ball. Chill for 1-2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Once dough is chilled, remove from refrigerator. Let dough come to room temperature and then divide into two pieces. Lightly flour a table top or piece of parchment paper and roll 1st dough ball out until it reaches 1/4 inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to create cookies. Repeat with remaining dough. If cookies become to warm, you can refrigerate them for 20-30 minutes before baking. They will hold their shape much better this way!
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cut out cookies about 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, decorate with royal icing.
Instructions for Royal Icing
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the icing ingredients together on high speed for about 5 minutes. You will know when the icing is done when you lift the whisk and the icing drizzles down into the bowl and melts into the rest of the icing within 5 – 10 seconds.
- If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon of water to the icing until it is the desired consistency. If it is too thin, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar to the icing until it is the desired consistency.
- Add gel food coloring as desired to batches of icing. When not using the remaining icing, keep a damp towel draped over the top of the bowl. Icing dries within about 2 hours.
Notes
Snowball Cookies aka “Poofer Snoofies”
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Powdered sugar for rolling the cookies in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla together on high speed until creamy.
- Stir in the flower, nuts and salt until the dough holds together. Do not over mix or cookies will be tough. Mix just until combined.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown and cookies are set. Remove cookie sheet from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar. Cool on rack. Roll in powdered sugar again until coated well.
Notes
Dark Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Hazelnut Cream
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened, dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Hazelnut Ganache
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup 85% cocoa dark chocolate (I use Lindt)
- 2/3 cup Nutella hazelnut spread
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar (optional to make ganache thicker)
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In another large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix on high speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. I like to do this in 3 batches.
- Place dough on a flat surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a 9 inch long and 1 1/2 inch diameter log.
- Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.
- Once dough has chilled through, preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the logs into thick slices and place on baking sheet. You can place them fairly close as the cookies will not spread much.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then remove from the oven. Cool on baking rack.
For the Hazelnut Ganache
- Place heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Heat cream until barely simmering, do not boil.
- Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate in a heat safe bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then add the Nutella and stir to combine.
- Allow ganache to sit until room temperature, stirring occasionally. You can also put this in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Once cooled, use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the ganache on high speed until light and fluffy.
- If you'd like a thicker, more frosting-like ganache, add 3 tbsp. of powdered sugar and beat on high speed until fluffy.
- Place ganache into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (or a frosting gun) and pipe onto one half of the cookie. Sandwich another cookie onto the top of the frosted cookie.
- You can also scoop a tablespoon of ganache onto a cookie half and top with another to make a sandwich.