My 2023 Christmas Cookie Box
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A favorite tradition of mine over the years has been creating a Christmas cookie box filled to the brim with delicious holiday inspired recipes! This year, I was inspired by recipes from my ancestral heritage and recipes from the 19th century. I love learning more about myself through my family’s history as I do not have any close family to pass along recipes. My ancestors came from Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, England, and Scotland. From Spiced Jumbles to Swedish Schackrutor, Classic Springerle and Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies, there’s something inside my 2023 Christmas cookie box for everyone to love.
WHAT IS A CHRISTMAS COOKIE BOX?
During the holidays, you will start to see small boxes and tins of cookies arriving at the stores, ready to be purchased and gifted to loved ones. But this tradition is one with homemade origins, mostly dating back to the early 20th century when it became a tradition to leave cookies out for Santa Claus. Soon, people were giving the gift of homemade cookies and even having cookie swaps to pass along the spirit of the season!
A Christmas cookie box is simply a box with various cubbies for different types of cookies. They can be given away as a gift or kept at home, left on your coffee table for when holiday guests come to visit. Usually, it is a way to showcase several different styles of holiday cookies and sweets!
HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN COOKIE BOX:
Choose a Medley of Cookies. For a visually appealing box, make sure to include cookies of various shapes, styles, and colors. Different textures create a captivating presentation! Feel free to include cookies that aren’t traditionally thought of as Christmas cookies, too.
Use a Color Scheme. It can be difficult to visualize what your cookie box will look like before you make it. If you need a good starting point, it can be as simple as choosing a color scheme or overall theme, like “White Christmas” or “Little Women” and go from there!
Use Ribbon and Twine. If you are giving your cookie box or boxes as a gift, be sure to wrap it with brown paper and beautiful trimmings. Velvet bows, baker’s twine in red and white, linen, or twill will look homespun and historical. Toppers like dried orange slices, sprigs of cedar, or little rosemary wreaths are natural and beautiful.
Find the Perfect Box. It doesn’t have to be expensive to find the perfect cookie box. You can simply use a cardboard clothing box with some strips of heavy duty cardstock or thin cardboard to create dividers for your different cookies. I usually like to use an old drawer for mine!
Add some Extras! If you are having a hard time finding enough cookie recipes to bake, you can always add in some sweet fillers like toffee, chocolate covered pretzels, fudge, or peppermint bark!
THE COOKIE RECIPES:
Below you will find the links to the cookie recipes for the 2023 Christmas Cookie Box! Be sure to check out my cookie boxes from other years, too.
Snickerdoodles are an American cookie inspired by German recipes. With a unique chewy texture and flavor, these apple butter snickerdoodles put an old-fashioned twist on a modern cookie!
2. Ginger Drops
Similar to gingerbread or even gingersnaps, these vintage holiday Ginger Drops Cookies are even better, in my opinion. Soft and chewy, these Christmas cookies contain all of the wonderful flavors of spicy gingerbread without the crunchy texture.
3. Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies
This Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookie recipe is inspired by cookies from the Victorian era, decorated with nuts and dried fruit, and made soft and chewy with sour cream.
4. Striped Schackrutor Cookies
Schackrutor, translating to “chess squares,” are traditional Swedish cookies known for their striking checkerboard or striped pattern. With a delicate, buttery taste and a crisp texture, they provide a perfect balance of flavor and aesthetics.
5. Classic Springerle Cookies
Springerle are a historical cookie of German origins, through they are also linked to Bavaria and Austria. These cookies are shaped or pressed into molds, usually carved from wood, to create intricate shapes.
6. Spiced Jumbles
These truly old cookies, called jumbals or jumballs, were one of the most popular cookies in the 17th and 18th centuries! This recipe is made with the traditional flavors of rose water, anise, almond meal, and fragrant spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
7. Danish Kringler
This Danish pastry is a true treat! These little Scandinavian inspired Christmas cookies taste just like kringler but in mini version. I love their pillowy soft, bread-like texture.
Final Thoughts:
I love seeing a box brimming with homemade holiday cookies! Each treat in my Christmas cookie box— from indulgent historical Spiced Jumbles to festive Striped Schackrutor Cookies— is made with love. I hope that this beautiful box brings some warmth and joy to your season! Whether you are sharing these recipes with family, gifting them to friends, or savoring them yourself with a steaming mug of cocoa, this collection of recipes is a delicious celebration of my ancestry, and perhaps some of yours as well! Happy baking during this magical season.
xoxo Kayla
