17 Christmas Cookies That Won’t Crumble in the Mail

Gingerbread Biscotti

Crisp, dense cookies like shortbread, biscotti, and snowballs are sturdy enough to hold up for the long haul. Be sure to let your biscotti logs cool completely after the first baking so they’ll slice without crumbling.

Citrus Shortbread Cookies

“I changed one thing only and that was the amount of cranberries. I reduced them to one cup,” says home cook redcop. Dust the cranberries with flour—this separates them and makes them easier to chop.

Butter Rich Spritz Butter Cookies

“This is my mom’s spritz cookie recipe that she made for all of the holidays and it’s still the best,” says Sheri Lipp. “She even used food coloring for the different designs, like green trees, etc. The kids love to decorate them as much as they love to eat them!”

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

“I seriously wish I could rate this one 20 stars! This recipe is going to be a problem because these were intended to be for office Christmas gifts, but I think I’ll have to make a couple more batches because this one isn’t going to make it till Monday morning,” pinkypink says.

Best Snowball Cookies

Some reviewers recommend chilling the dough after mixing to make it easier to work with. And don’t forget the roll the cookies in confectioners’ sugar twice.

Ashley’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Softer, chewier chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and ginger cookies ship well, but they tend to dry out if they’re traveling for more than a week. It’s worth it to pay a little extra to send these the quickest way you can. “These cookies turned out great! They stayed soft and they had awesome flavor,” reviewer MAXIMOMOF3 says.

Mrs. Sigg’s Snickerdoodles

Home cook ROUVER gathered up these helpful tips from reviewers: “Bake for eight minutes, not until they look done. For easier cleanup, and for immediate removal from cookie sheet to wire rack, bake on parchment paper. Increase the coating mix to 5 tbsp. white sugar and 5 tsp. cinnamon. Put sugar/cinnamon mix in baggie and roll cookies in it. (Do not shake. Too much cinnamon gets on cookies.) You might need to refrigerate the dough, although it will be sticky either way.”

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

The dough can be quite sticky, so let it chill for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle. It’s worth the wait. “Do not make these cookies unless you are on an all cookie diet. You have been warned,” says SWEETNOTHINGS.

Excellent Oatmeal Cookies

You can’t go wrong with sending classic oatmeal cookies for as a holiday treat. “Very tasty and chewy. The cinnamon adds a good kick,” lizk says.

Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies live up to their name. “My husband and kids all loved them and gave rave reviews on taste and how chewy they were,” says RBEKCUMS.

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut macaroons and Italian pignoli cookies not only mail beautifully, but their texture seems to improve after a few days. “I like to refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours which results in a much rounder macaroon that can be dipped in chocolate,” reviewer mjwilly says. “Parchment paper is a must here. ”

Pignoli Cookies

These gluten-free cookies are made with almond paste and pine nuts, but a note of caution from reviews: Read the label to make sure the paste you’re using is indeed gluten free, and you’ll get better results if you use canned paste instead of paste from a tube.

Best Brownies

Dense bar cookies and brownies do well, too, as long as they don’t have cream cheese or custard layers. (Sorry, Nanaimo Bars, lemon bars, and cheesecake bars. You’re not going anywhere.) You can’t go wrong with our Best Brownies.

Peanut Butter Bars

“So yummy and so easy! I took the suggestion from other reviewers to melt the peanut butter with the butter for easier mixing.” — MizzWycked

Brown Sugar Cookies

Dust this cookie dough with powdered sugar instead of flour when you’re rolling it out. And line your cookie sheets with parchment paper for a guaranteed nonstick surface.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Go on and show off your mad decorating skills, but with these caveats. One: Be sure to chill the dough thoroughly for easier handling. Two: Choose shapes without fragile bits that easily snap off. Three: Decorate with royal icing. It hardens as it sets, so your gorgeous work doesn’t smear.

Cranberry-Orange Shortbread Cookies

“An easy slice-and-bake shortbread cookie with plenty of orange and cranberry flavor,” says Kim.

Pizzelle