Best Holiday Cookies 2016: 10 Recipes To Make For A Christmas Party

Around the holidays, cookie parties are a very real event. This is the time where people lace up the aprons and set to work to attempt to bake the season’s best cookies.

Whether you’re reviving your grandmother’s secret recipe or whipping up a batch of gourmet cookies (bacon cookies, anyone?) showing up with cookies that are unlike the rest is a vital part of this tradition.

Make sure you’re prepared for any upcoming holiday cookie parties and read up on these killer cookie recipes. Five recipes are takes on time-honored recipes while another five feature completely unique and one-of-a-kind treats.

Unique Treats

1. G’s Spicy Tequila Balls: If you have never imagined tequila and chipotle and cayenne-dusted sweets, prepare to have your mind blown. Nadia G’s recipe from the “Cooking Channel” calls for walnuts, cocoa powder, agave nectar, cayenne, chipotle powder and, of course, the tequila of your choosing.

2. PB&J Bars: From the kids’ lunches to your next cookie swap, try out this simple recipe from “Good Housekeeping” for peanut butter and jelly cookie bars. Make a batch of the cookie bars first, and while the bars are still hot, spread some strawberry jam and sprinkle peanut butter chips across the bars.

3. Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Bacon Cookies: This might be the recipe to cure even the strongest cookie and sweets-hater. This “Food Network” recipe calls for peanut butter, cinnamon, chipotle or ancho chili powder, honey-roasted peanuts and five strips of bacon. These cookies are also sure to warm the hearts of bacon-lovers everywhere.

4. Bourbon Tomato Jam thumbprint Cookies: While thumbprint cookies are the calling card of every cookie swap party, guests will be more than surprised when you show up with bourbon and tomato jam cookies. The Flavor Bender makes the case for delicious savory cookies with this recipe which includes cheddar and jack cheeses, jalapeno, onion and cherry tomatoes.

5. Crunchy Peanut Butter S’more Bites: Sunny’s Crunchy Peanut Butter S’more Bites are an ode to the campfire classic. Think crunchy, peanut-buttery versions of tiny macaroons.

The Classics

6. Christmas Light Sugar Cookies: Although the recipe is a classic sugar cookie, this creative spin on the time-honored holiday treat calls for an assortment of hard candies and shoe string licorice to make the cookies look like a string of Christmas lights.

7. Soft Gingerbread Cookie Bars: Gingerbread is a classic cookie for the holiday season, and this recipe will certainly inspire some nostalgia. Warm, chewy, soft gingerbread cookie bars will be richer in taste and texture than the standard gingerbread snap or hard gingerbread cookie.

8. Halva Rugelach: This Jewish pastry gets a sweet update from My Name Is Yeh and will surely be a warm welcome from the traditional Christmas cookies. The honey and tahini-filled goodies are also great for breakfast leftovers (if there are any extras, of course).

9. Valerie’s Neapolitan Holiday Cookies: These festive, red and green cookies will be another welcome addition to the sea of gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies. The “Food Network” recipe promises loads of flavor thanks to the almond paste, apricot preserves and raspberry jam.

10. Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies: It really would not be a holiday cookie party without the thumbprint cookies. This recipe from Taste of Home is for the chocolate lovers and calls for chopped walnuts and milk chocolate kisses for the filling.