If there’s one baked treat that pleases just about everybody, it’s the classic cookie. Soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, buttery and sweet, it doesn’t matter if they’re decorated or not, cookies soothe the soul.
What’s more, cookies are extremely versatile. All you need is a simple sugar cookie recipe that you can tweak with your own spices, nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit — the options are endless.
With the festive season hot on our heels, cookies make the perfect party snack or favor. Here are some fun cookie designs to try out to celebrate the holidays to come.
Choosing the Right Cookie Recipe
While cookies are a simple treat to make, choosing the right type of cookie recipe for the occasion and type of decoration you’re going for is super important.
As mentioned, a sugar cookie recipe is your most versatile and classic choice of cookie. You have a light, golden, buttery cookie to work with that you can spice up if the occasion calls for it. Another great choice is a darker, spiced gingerbread cookie or an oatmeal cookie for a chunkier option.
Here are a few top tips on cookie making and storage to make your life a whole lot easier in preparation for the festive season:
- Always chill your cookie dough before you roll it out and begin decorating
- Divide your cookie dough into smaller pieces, which makes it easier to handle. Keep leftover dough refrigerated until you need it
- Allow your baked cookies to cool completely before decorating otherwise the icing will melt. Ideally, chill overnight
- You can make cookie dough well in advance. You can refrigerate it for a week before you bake it, or store it in the freezer for up to two months
- You can roll, cut, and bake your cookie dough beforehand and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. You can also freeze them for up to a month before decorating
- You can freeze finished and decorated cookies for a month
Now that you have a better idea of cookie options, how to handle the dough, and cookie storage, let’s get into the fun part — cookie designs to impress your guests!
1. Fall-Inspired Leaf Cookies
Now that we’re on our way to celebrating the fall months, why not mark the occasion with these beautiful leaf cookies? All you need is a simple sugar cookie base and a leaf-shaped cookie cutter.
You can create your own edible paint using a simple powdered sugar icing recipe, lemon extract, and food coloring. Have some fun decorating your leaves in all the gorgeous colors of fall. These cookies are great as welcome treats for your next fall get-together or serve them as a party favor at a fall wedding or baby shower.
2. Halloween-Inspired Sugar Cookies
One of the most popular holidays is just around the corner, so this is a chance to get into the spirit of Halloween and try your hand at making these fun cookies. You can serve them as welcome treats at your annual Halloween party or offer them to kids on their trick-or-treat rounds.
For these cookies, stick to the classic color combination of orange and black with your icing. You can use a simple sugar cookie recipe for these and purchase Halloween-inspired cookie cutters from your local store. Think along the lines of Jack-o-lantern, ghosts, bats, eyeballs, and tombstones — you get the picture!
3. Spooky Spider Cookies
Along the same lines as Halloween, these spooky spider cookies are super easy to make. Use a sugar cookie base and decorate them with candy melts for the body of the spider. You can pipe on spider legs with melted candy/chocolate and use candy eyes to bring the spiders to life.
4. Spiced Sugar Cookies for Thanksgiving
If there’s one time of year to make an effort when entertaining, it’s Thanksgiving. This is the best time to experiment with unique cookies and have fun with decorating.
For these Thanksgiving-inspired cookies, you’ll need a spiced dough, such as a gingerbread cookie dough or a sugar cookie dough, spiced with the flavors of fall. Think along the lines of cinnamon, nutmeg, or anise. An oatmeal cookie also works well because of its chunky texture, much like pie dough.
You can make it your own by decorating with fall leaves made from icing, candy corn, or roasted pecans.
5. Holiday Place Card Cookies
This is a lovely cookie idea if you’re hosting a more formal holiday party, such as a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. The place card cookie needs a gingerbread or sugar cookie base, rolled into a basic circle shape.
You can then pipe on a round of icing in the center, adorned with each person’s name. Pop them in a small plastic bag, tie off with some ribbon and place them on each plate when you set your dining table.
6. Melting Snowman Cut-Out Cookies
In the spirit of celebrating Christmas, we can’t pass up the melting snowman cookie design. With a sugar cookie base, you’ll need a basic circle or oval-shaped cookie cutter. Pipe on some white icing, top with a marshmallow snowman head and finish off with some black icing for his arms and buttons.
These cookies are perfect for serving on Christmas morning with a hot cup of cocoa.
8. Delectable Donut Cookies
What’s better than cookies that actually look like donuts? This fun cookie design combines the best of both. For this cookie, you can choose just about any type of dough recipe, but a cookie that’s soft works best. Use a circular cookie cutter and cut out the middle once they’re baked, so they resemble a donut.
Decorate with sugar icing and your choice of toppings — whether it’s sprinkles, glitter, tiny chocolate chips, anything goes.
Looking for Fun Cookie Designs for Your Next Event?
We hope you found some inspiration from these cookie designs for your next event this festive season. If you’re planning on entertaining and want to spoil your guests with delicious cookies, look no further than Batch Cookie Shop.
Check out our online store for all your sweet treat needs!