8 Celebrity Chefs and Foodies Share Their Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipes (2024)

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In our opinion, the following treats are crucial for every holiday season: eggnog, sweaters, at least one Love Actually screening, and the smell of cookies baking in the oven. We asked Curtis Stone, Jessica Seinfeld, Dominique Ansel, and more of our favorite celebs and famous foodies to share their best holiday cookie recipes—enjoy!

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You haven't had a cookie until you've had a cookie from NYC's Momof*cku Milk Bar. The brains behind the bakery, Christina Tosi, shares her own festive update to the popular Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow cookie.

Christina Tosi's Peppermint-Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow Cookies

"We like our cookies to celebrate the holidays too—that's how we came up with our winter holiday cookie, a cornflake-marshmallow cookie with crushed candy canes in it."

Photo: Courtesy of Momof*cku Milk Bar

Ingredients:

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

3 cups cornflake crunch (see recipe below)

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows

40 peppermints or 18 candy canes, crushed in small-to-medium pieces (careful not to make powder!)

Makes 18 to 22 cookiesInstructions:

Combine butter and sugars in a stand mixer bowl and cream together on medium-high using paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides, add egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. (Don't walk away from machine during this step, or you will risk overmixing dough.) Scrape down sides with a spatula.

Still on low speed, paddle in cornflake crunch (recipe follows), mini chocolate chips, and crushed peppermints just until incorporated, no more than 30 to 45 seconds. Paddle in mini marshmallows just until incorporated. Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop (or simply measure 1/3-cup portions), drop onto a parchment-lined sheet pan at least 4 inches apart. Pat down dough to flatten cookies, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake cookies at room temperature—they will not hold their shape.

When ready to bake, heat oven to 375°F and bake for 18 minutes. Cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. At 18-minute mark, cookies should be browned on edges and just beginning to brown toward center. If still pale and doughy on surface, bake for an additional minute. Cool cookies completely before transferring to a plate or airtight container for storage. At room temperature, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in freezer, they'll keep for 1 month.

Cornflake Crunch Recipe

5 cups cornflakes

1/2 cup milk powder

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

9 tbsp. butter, melted

Makes about 4 cups

Heat oven to 275°F. Pour cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of original size. Add milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix. Add butter and toss to coat. As you toss, butter will act as glue, binding dry ingredients to cereal and creating small clusters. Spread clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed. Cool cornflake crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, crunch will keep fresh for one week; in fridge or freezer, it will keep for one month.

NEXT: Curtis Stone's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe >>

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We just love watching chef Curtis Stone in his many TV gigs—because of his talent, obviously! (OK, fine, also because of his good looks. And his accent.) Channel your inner Top Chef Master by making Curtis' simple and sweet chocolate chip cookies.

Curtis Stone's Chocolate Chip Cookies With Cranberries and Walnuts

"I love to make these cookies with my two-year-old son, Hudson. Then we watch Mickey's Magical Christmas on Netflix while the cookies bake."

Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

2 large eggs

12 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao), very coarsely chopped into chunks

2 cups walnuts or pecan halves, toasted

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Makes 18 cookies

Instructions:

Position racks in top third and center of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Line two large (18-by-13-by-1-inch) heavy-rimmed baking sheets with parchment. In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking soda together. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt on medium-high speed about 4 minutes, or until creamy. One at a time, add eggs, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture just until combined. Add chocolate chunks, walnuts or pecans, and cranberries and mix just until nuts break up a bit.

Onto prepared baking sheets, drop dough in 1/3-cup mounds, spacing evenly and placing only 6 cookies on each sheet. These cookies will spread, so don't place them too close together. (The shaped cookie dough can be frozen in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. Bake frozen cookies without thawing, but allow a few additional minutes of baking time.) Bake cookies, switching positions of sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking (about 13 minutes) or until edges and tops are golden brown and centers are still soft and moist. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough, making sure baking sheets are completely cooled before adding dough. Serve cookies warm.

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NEXT: Ali Larter's Candy Cane Crunch Cookie Recipe >>

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You know Ali Larter from favorites like Heroes and Legally Blonde, but did you also know she's also a major food-lover? In her new cookbook, Kitchen Revelry, Ali shares no-fuss recipes meant for sharing with family and friends. This cookie is a must-try!

Ali Larter's Candy Cane Crunch Cookies

*"These cookies are my sister, Kristen's, wintry creation. She is an amazing baker and always makes festive, fun cookies that make you feel like a big kid again. From Easy-Bake Ovens to here, I think we are doing

OK, sis."*

Photo: Amy Neusinger

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

16 tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed golden brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla paste

2 large eggs

12 oz. good-quality white chocolate (preferably Lindt because it melts well), coarsely chopped, divided

1/2 cup coarsely crushed candy canes or peppermint candies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Instructions:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat butter, both sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl, using an electric mixer. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Set aside 2 oz. of white chocolate for melting and drizzling over finished cookies. Add remaining 10 oz. chopped white chocolate to cookie batter. Form batter into golf-ball-size rounds and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 to 2 inches apart. Bake until set and beginning to crack on top (8 to 10 minutes). Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Melt reserved 2 oz. white chocolate in a small metal bowl perched over a small saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a spatula until smooth (try not to overheat or it will seize and will no longer be pourable). Drizzle melted white chocolate lightly over top of cookies (finish 2 or 3 at a time) and immediately press some of crushed candy canes atop each one. Repeat until all cookies are done (it may be necessary to keep bowl with melted chocolate over hot-water bath to keep chocolate melted). Cool cookies completely. (Cookies can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store in airtight containers in a single layer at room temperature.)

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NEXT: Dominique Ansel's Mini Madeleine Cookie Recipe >>

__ Reprinted with permission from Kitchen Revelry by Ali Larter, Copyright © 2013, St. Martin's Press.

New York City-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel (he of cronut fame) knows a thing or two about addictive baked goods. Here, the cronut king himself shares a lighter, easier-to-master recipe.

Dominique Ansel's Mini Madeleine Cookies

"There are few things more heart-warming than a bite of a madeleine straight out of the oven. Just mildly sweet, moist, with a slightly crispy edge—it's right in between a cookie and cake. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like them."

Photo: Courtesy of Dominique Ansel Bakery

Ingredients:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. raw sugar

2 tsp. honey

1/3 tsp. salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3 eggs

1/2 cup (one stick) butter

Zest of 1 whole lemon

Powdered sugar (for serving)

Makes 100 mini madeleines

Instructions:

lt butter and add raw sugar and honey. Separately, mix salt, granulated sugar, flour, and baking powder in a bowl. Add eggs. Next, add butter and sugar mixture, along with lemon zest. Mix until evenly incorporated. Leave batter to rest for a few hours prior to baking.

When ready for service, prepare madeleine mold by spraying it liberally with nonstick cooking oil. Pipe madeleine batter into mold and cook at 375°F until cookies are golden brown and puffed in center, about 4 minutes. To unmold, simply knock madeleine pan against a tabletop. Finally, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar.

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NEXT: Jessica Seinfeld's Oatmeal, Maple, and Raisin Cookie Recipe >>

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In The Can't Cook Book, Jessica Seinfeld provides simple, tasty dishes that even kitchen amateurs can master. This classic cookie wows—and no one has to know how easy it is to make!

Jessica Seinfeld's Oatmeal, Maple, and Raisin Cookies

"An old-fashioned crispy-chewy-sweet treat. My man Jerry Seinfeld is all over these."

Photo: John Kernick

Ingredients:

8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tbsp. maple syrup

1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup golden raisins

Instructions:

Heat oven (with two oven racks toward middle) to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed (or by hand with a wooden spoon) until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides with a silicone spatula as necessary. Stop mixer; add egg and maple syrup, then beat in. Scrape down sides. With mixer on low speed, use a large spoon to gradually add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Stir in oats and raisins.

Drop dough in 1 tablespoon-size mounds 2 inches apart onto prepared pans. Bake, rotating pans 180° halfway through, until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cookies cool on pan 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Once they're cool, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

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NEXT: Zac Young's Drunken Fruitcake and Oat Cookie Recipe >>

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Copyright © 2013 by Jessica Seinfeld from The Can't Cook Book published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

You might remember Zac Young from his famous fried whoopie pies on Top Chef: Just Desserts, but these days he's keeping busy as executive pastry chef for celebrity chef David Burke. The baking genius' secret ingredient for these babies? Bourbon. Need we say more?

Zac Young's Drunken Fruitcake and Oat Cookies

*"I am a rare breed of human—the kind who actually likes fruitcake. I wanted to make these cookies to share the joy with the masses and maybe convert a non-believer or two." *

Photo: Courtesy of David Burke Group

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup chopped candied orange rind

1 1/2 cups good-quality bourbon

Instructions:

For cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 4 baking sheets with parchment. In a medium bowl, stir oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and coriander. In a stand mixer, cream butter with both sugars until fluffy on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. On low speed, mix in flour-oat mixture in two installments, until just combined. Drain bourbon* off fruits and add plumped fruits to dough, again mixing until just combined.

*Pro tip: Save soaking bourbon to make co*cktails!

Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, and bake for about 14 minutes. Center of cookie should be slightly soft, but edges will be lightly browned. Let cool on sheet for 5 to 10 minutes. Run a metal spatula under each cookie to loosen it from sheet and cool completely before serving.

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NEXT: Ellie Krieger's Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe >>

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Trying to keep your cookie calories down this holiday season? Nutritionist Ellie Krieger, host of Food Network's Healthy Appetite and author of Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less, has a classic peanut butter cookie recipe that's just light enough.

Ellie Krieger's Peanut Butter Cookies

*"It's like magic the way a few simple ingredients can turn a basic pantry staple—creamy peanut butter—into this fabulous, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet-salty cookie." *

Photo: Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

12 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

14 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

Makes 42 cookies

Instructions:

The night before (or up to a week in advance): Pour bourbon over dried fruits and orange rind. Let sit in an airtight container until ready to use. Fruits will plump up.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk flours and baking soda. In a separate large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg and beat until well combined. Gradually stir in flour mixture, blending well.

Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls and place on baking sheets. Use tines of a fork to lightly flatten each ball, making a crisscross pattern. Bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before eating.

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NEXT: Sara Moulton's Spice Cookie Recipe >>

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Skipping the gingerbread men this year? Chef Sara Moulton's family recipe is a great sweet and spicy substitute.

Sara Moulton's Spice Cookies

"My sister and I were introduced to baking by our paternal grandmother, Ruth. Together we made bread from scratch, zillions of cookies, and all kinds of pies. (It was Granny who turned us on to the joys of pie for breakfast.) This recipe was one of Granny's signatures. I have embellished Granny's cookies a bit by rolling them in chopped crystallized ginger in honor of my mom, who was a huge fan of anything ginger."

Photo: Courtesy of Sara Moulton

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

__Instructions:

Combine butter and 1 cup of sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg and molasses.

Sift flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt onto a piece of parchment. Add to butter mixture in two batches, beating until just combined. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours or until quite firm.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put remaining ¼ cup sugar in a pie plate. Put chopped crystallized ginger on a separate plate and spread it out. Working in batches of about a dozen at a time, shape dough into walnut-size balls and roll first in ginger, pressing ginger pieces gently into dough (note: ball should be only sparsely covered with candied ginger; do not coat completely), and then in sugar, rolling to coat ball all over with sugar. Arrange balls 2 inches apart on parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake on middle shelf of oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until barely golden but still soft. Cool for 5 minutes on sheet pan before transferring to a rack to cool.