For kids (and adults), cookie baking is one of the best parts of the holidays: gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, thumbprint cookies and more. There’s so many sugary possibilities to enjoy. But baking Christmas cookies with kids is all fun and merry until there’s frosting on every surface of your kitchen and sprinkles in every corner of the room.
Depending on the age of your little one, you’ll want to pick a recipe that’s easy enough for little hands to help with and fun to make. From reindeer cookies that kids can decorate to stained glass window cookies with colorful mini marshmallows, there are so many great (and easy) cookie recipes for kids that are just as fun to bake as they are to eat.
To get you started on your low-mess cookie-baking journey, we rounded up some of our favorite holiday cookie recipes that won’t leave your kitchen in ruins. We’ve got holiday cookie plate classics like peanut butter blossoms and gingerbread men to fun green-hued Grinch cookies and festive rainbow sprinkle cookies.
So grab your cookie sheets, and apron and preheat your oven, it’s time to create some holiday memories in the kitchen with your kids.
Rainbow Confetti Cookies
These bright colorful cookies are so fun and easy to make. Kids will love mixing in fun colorful additions like rainbow chips and lots of sprinkles. There’s also a fun secret ingredient that make these extra special – cake batter flavoring!
Get the recipe from Our Best Bites.
Brownie Mix Cookies
This easy recipe is made with boxed brownie mix and yields the fudgiest, crinkly topped, gooey centered brownie cookie your kids will enjoy making.
Get the recipe from Salt & Baker.
Gingerbread Cookies
Kids of all ages will love decorating these festive gingerbread men cookies. You can make the soft gingerbread cookies and frosting ahead of time so that the kids can just enjoy decorating.
Get the recipe from Tastes Better From Scratch.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Kids will love placing a chocolate kiss in the center of this holiday cookie classic. Soft, chewy peanut butter cookies surrounding a chocolate kiss will be a hit on your holiday cookie platter.
Get the recipe from Preppy Kitchen.
Grinch Cookies
These fun, festive green Grinch cookies are a hit with little ones. The recipe uses a white cake mix and peppermint extract for flavor.
Get the recipe from Mom on Timeout.
Reindeer Cookies
The kids are going to love baking a batch of these festive reindeer cookies! A fun take on gingerbread cookies decorated with an adorable (simple) Rudolph face.
Get the recipe from I Heart Naptime.
Painted Cookies
These painted cookies use an evaporated milk and food coloring icing that’s easy to pain on and has less sugar than traditional icing. It’s also much neater to apply!
Get the recipe from Bren Did.
Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies
Kids love these easy, no-bake peanut butter cornflake cookies. Even young kids can help measure ingredients and drop the mixture onto the pans without making too much of a mess!
Get the recipe from Fun Cookie Recipes.
Icebox Cookies
Instead of hand rolling each cookie dough ball in sprinkles, the entire cookie dough log gets the sprinkle treatment making for a much easier cleanup!
Get the recipe from Sugar Spun Run.
Stained Glass Window Cookies
These no-bake cookies are bright and cheerful with all the colorful mini marshmallows. They take about 20 minutes to make and kids will love mixing the mini marshmallows in!
Get the recipe from Food Folks and Fun.
Red Velvet Cookies
These gorgeous cookies are thin and chewy with crispy edges, studded with creamy white chocolate chips. All you need is one box of cake mix and a few staple baking ingredients to make them!
Get the recipe from Kroll’s Korner.
No-Roll Sprinkle Cookies
This classic tender, buttery holiday sugar cookie recipe uses a no-roll dough with the sprinkles baked right in so you don’t even have to decorate them!
Get the recipe from Averie Cooks.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Four ingredients. No mixer. No flour. No butter. Just peanut butter + three other ingredients. These peanut butter delights are a clean kitchen, kid-friendly cookie slam dunk.
Get the recipe from Joy The Baker.
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