A holiday cookie tray works best when the assortment changes shape, texture, and flavor from one batch to the next. These 21 cookie recipes move through pumpkin, oatmeal, chocolate, citrus, pecans, mint, red velvet, caramel, shortbread, and six bakery-style copycats. The lineup includes air-fryer cookies, filled and frosted cookies, chilled doughs, crisp chocolate-coated rounds, and several quick bakes that are ready in under half an hour. That range gives the tray enough contrast to feel intentional without relying on the same chocolate-chip formula over and over.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
Pumpkin purée and rolled oats give Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies a chewy, fall-leaning base with pumpkin pie spice running through the dough. The recipe makes 12 servings in about 35 minutes with brown sugar, white sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, and an optional pumpkin frosting. The cookies are lightly flattened before baking because they do not spread much on their own. Add them to a holiday tray when you want pumpkin flavor without turning every seasonal cookie into a frosted sugar cookie.
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Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Mallow Cupcake Cookies
Marshmallow filling turns Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Mallow Cupcake Cookies into eight thick chocolate cookies with several distinct layers. The 50-minute recipe wraps frozen marshmallow fluff inside cocoa dough, then tops the cooled cookies with semisweet chocolate ganache and a white chocolate swirl. Brown sugar, vanilla, cocoa, flour, and heavy cream round out the build. Put these in the bakery-style section of a holiday box when you want one oversized cookie to bring more drama than a simple drop cookie.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Mallow Cupcake Cookies
Air Fryer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Air-fryer baking keeps Air Fryer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies quick, with 24 cookies built from 10 minutes of prep and about 10 minutes of cooking. Rolled oats, golden raisins, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and baking powder form the dough. The cookies bake in batches without heating the full oven. Use them when the holiday assortment needs a familiar oatmeal-raisin option or when oven space is already tied up with other trays.
Get the Recipe: Air Fryer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies
Cookie butter gives Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies their central flavor, with 12 thick cookies ready in about 20 minutes. Biscoff spread, crushed Biscoff cookies, butter, white and brown sugars, egg, vanilla, flour, and white chocolate chips build the bakery-style dough. The cookie pieces bring extra texture without adding a separate frosting step. Include these beside chocolate and fruit-forward cookies when the holiday tray needs a spiced caramelized-cookie flavor that stands apart from cinnamon or pumpkin.
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Chocolate Linzer Cookies
Sandwich-style assembly gives Chocolate Linzer Cookies a different silhouette from the drop cookies around them. The recipe makes 36 servings in about 40 minutes, pairing cocoa dough with a cream cheese and powdered-sugar filling. Butter, white and brown sugars, egg, vanilla, flour, espresso powder, and baking powder round out the cookie layers. The cutout tops make these especially useful on a holiday platter where visual variety matters just as much as having several chocolate flavors in the same assortment.
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Copycat Crumble Coconut Lime Cookies
Lime juice and coconut extract give Copycat Crumble Coconut Lime Cookies a bright direction in a lineup that leans heavily on chocolate and warm spice. The 40-minute recipe makes 16 servings with butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, oil, egg, flour, and baking powder. A lime frosting made with butter, powdered sugar, lime juice, and zest finishes the tops. Set these between darker cookies on a holiday tray when you want a citrus option with a soft bakery-style finish.
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Double Chocolate Brookies
Brownie texture meets cookie shape in Double Chocolate Brookies, a 24-piece batch ready in about 22 minutes. Semisweet and unsweetened chocolate melt with butter before sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and walnuts complete the batter-like dough. The short bake makes these useful when a holiday tray needs a dense chocolate option without frosting or chilling. Place them beside lighter citrus or oatmeal cookies so the assortment has a clear contrast between chewy chocolate pieces and more traditional cookie textures.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Lemon zest and poppy seeds keep Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies bright and speckled, with 36 cookies ready in about 40 minutes. Butter, sugar, egg yolks, a whole egg, flour, baking soda, and lemon oil or extract form the dough around the citrus. The larger yield makes this batch practical for cookie exchanges or packed gift boxes. Use them between chocolate, caramel, and cinnamon-heavy cookies when the tray needs a clean citrus flavor without frosting, filling, or a chocolate coating.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Browned butter deepens Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies before bourbon, toasted pecans, cinnamon, and chocolate chips join the dough. The recipe makes 36 cookies in about 34 minutes with white and brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, flour, and flaky sea salt rounding out the batch. Pecans and bourbon give these a more layered profile than a standard chocolate chip cookie. Add them to an adult holiday cookie box when you want familiar chocolate chips with a nuttier, richer direction.
Get the Recipe: Browned Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Fresh strawberries give Strawberry Shortcake Cookies a fruit-forward center, while cream and white chocolate keep the flavor tied to the dessert in the name. The recipe makes 30 cookies with 20 minutes of prep, 14 minutes of baking, and a two-hour chill. Butter, sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, flour, and baking powder form the dough. These work well on a holiday tray that needs a berry option among the heavier chocolate, caramel, pecan, and cinnamon cookies.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Chocolate Overload Cookies
Four kinds of chocolate earn Chocolate Overload Cookies their name, with semisweet baking chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, semisweet chips, white chocolate, and dark chocolate chips appearing in the batch. The recipe makes 36 cookies in about 23 minutes with butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour completing the dough. The short total time makes them one of the faster chocolate-heavy options here. Keep them unfrosted on a mixed holiday tray so they contrast with the ganache-topped and caramel-finished cookies nearby.
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Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Brown butter gives Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles a nutty base, while soft caramel centers and flaky salt add a sweet-salty finish. The recipe makes 36 cookies with 20 minutes of prep and about 12 minutes of baking, plus roughly 1 hour for the dough to chill. Cinnamon sugar coats each caramel-filled dough ball before it goes into a 350°F oven. Let the cookies cool before serving so the hot caramel centers have time to set.
Get the Recipe: Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies With White Chocolate Chips
Cake mix keeps Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies With White Chocolate Chips compact in both prep and ingredient count. The recipe makes 18 servings in about 23 minutes using red velvet cake mix, eggs, neutral oil, white chocolate chips, and kosher salt. The red dough and pale chips give the batch natural holiday color without requiring a separate frosting. Put them on a holiday cookie tray when you want an easy red-and-white option that can be baked alongside more involved filled or chilled recipes.
Get the Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies With White Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Toffee bits and caramel finish Chocolate Caramel Cookies with several textures across a 10-cookie batch ready in about 27 minutes. Cocoa dough includes semisweet chocolate chips, while chocolate frosting, melted caramel candies with heavy cream, and toffee bits build the topping. Flour, baking soda, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla complete the base. The small yield makes these useful as a richer accent cookie rather than the bulk of a holiday tray. Pair them with simpler shortbread or oatmeal cookies for contrast.
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Cookies
Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies
Crushed Oreos run through Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies, with 18 cookies ready in about 30 minutes. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and baking powder form the base before a powdered-sugar frosting and mini Oreos finish the tops. The thick frosting gives these the full bakery-copycat treatment rather than a simple cookies-and-cream mix-in. Use them when the holiday assortment needs a black-and-white cookie that looks clearly different from the unfrosted chocolate rounds.
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Copycat Thin Mint Cookies
Mint extract gives Copycat Thin Mint Cookies their signature flavor before the cocoa rounds are coated in dark chocolate. The recipe makes 24 servings in about 30 minutes with butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and dark chocolate melting wafers. The coating sets around the entire cookie instead of sitting on top like frosting. Add these to a holiday box when you want a crisp chocolate-mint option between softer, thicker bakery-style cookies and chewy oatmeal batches.
Get the Recipe: Copycat Thin Mint Cookies
Hot Chocolate Cookies
Hot cocoa mix and marshmallow bits turn Hot Chocolate Cookies into a clear winter-themed choice for a holiday tray. The recipe makes 36 cookies in about 25 minutes with butter, white and brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and semisweet chocolate chips. Vanilla marshmallow bits stay distributed through the dough instead of becoming a topping. Serve these with the darker chocolate cookies when you want one batch to carry a recognizable cold-weather flavor without extra frosting.
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Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies
Cinnamon carries Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies from the dough through the finished topping, with 12 bakery-sized cookies ready in about 32 minutes. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and baking powder form the base before powdered sugar and milk help finish the tops. The larger portion size gives them a different presence from the smaller shortbread and oatmeal cookies. Place them in the bakery-copycat section when the holiday assortment needs a cinnamon-heavy option that is not pumpkin or caramel centered.
Get the Recipe: Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies
Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies
Flaked sea salt balances Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies made with Dutch-process cocoa and finely chopped dark chocolate. The recipe produces 30 cookies with about 15 minutes of prep and 12 minutes of baking, using dark brown sugar, white sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Salt goes into the dough and over the tops before baking. Add these to a holiday tray when you want a dark chocolate cookie without frosting, caramel, marshmallow, or a creamy filling.
Get the Recipe: Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies
Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Chilling time gives Pecan Shortbread Cookies their longest timeline in this roundup, with 16 cookies taking about 4 hours 24 minutes from start to finish. Butter, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, salt, pecans, and turbinado sugar create a simple slice-and-bake style profile. Most of that time is hands-off chilling rather than active work. Make these ahead when the holiday tray needs a buttery nut cookie that can sit comfortably beside louder chocolate, citrus, and frosted options.
Get the Recipe: Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies get an extra cookie-on-cookie finish in Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies, which makes 8 cookies in 27 minutes. Butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips form the base before the cookies bake for about 12 minutes. Vanilla frosting mixed with crushed chocolate chip cookies covers the cooled tops, followed by more cookie pieces for garnish. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting so the topping stays firm instead of melting.
Get the Recipe: Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies