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Ina Garten Just Shared the Only Cookie Recipe You'll Need for the Holidays

Do you sense a theme here? When it comes to life in the kitchen, Garten knows all.

The author of 12 cookbooks— she most recently released Modern Comfort Food this year—Garten certainly knows her way around the kitchen. With likely hundreds of published recipes to choose from, we can’t say we have one favorite recipe, but we will say it’s her desserts we just can’t get enough of, especially with Christmas mere days away.

Whether you’re expecting guests this holiday season or you want to bake a batch of sweet treats to share with your friends, family and neighbors, ahead we’ve gathered all of Garten’s best Christmas cookie recipes.

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Pecan Sandies

From roasted pecans to sugarcoated pecans, it’s hard to resist this nut during the holidays. And they’re the best on sandies. This pecan sandies recipe is from Garten’s 2012, New York Times best-selling cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof.

Get the recipe from Chana’s Art Room.

Ultimate Ginger Cookies

Straight from the pages of Garten’s 2010 cookbook, How Easy Is That?, Garten writes of these irresistible shortbread cookies: “I love the combination of shortbread, roasted hazelnuts, and chocolate. The shortbread can be baked in advance, wrapped with plastic, and then filled with Nutella just before serving.” This recipe makes 18 cookies and bakes in just 20 to 25 minutes.

Get the recipe from People/Ina Garten.

Shortbread Cookies

Sure, you have to wait an hour and 15 minutes before you can chow down on these shortbread cookies, but they’re 100 percent worth the wait. This recipe makes 20 cookies and comes from the Barefoot Contessa episode titled “Impromptu Dinner.”  These cookies call for vanilla extract, so make sure to use Garten’s favorite.

Get the recipe from  Ina Garten/Food Network.

Fruitcake Cookies

I know, I know — why would I ever include fruitcake in a list of tasty recipes? Believe it or not, Ina has found a way to make this infamous holiday dessert not only palatable but downright delicious. Just trust us on this one, OK? You’ll just need to pick up a few things, including candied cherries, dried apricots, and dried figs.

Get the recipe from Ina Garten/Food Network.

Cherry-Pistachio Biscotti

A cold day calls for a hot cup of joe and homemade biscotti — and Garten’s cherry-pistachio biscotti will be gone before you know it. Considered an intermediate-level recipe, this makes 25 to 30 biscotti and was published in Garten’s 2016 cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey.

Get the recipe from Clarkson Potter/Publishers.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies

They’re the cookies your grandma always set out every Christmas, and Garten’s recipe might just be as good as Meemaw’s. Filled with your pick of raspberry or apricot jam (you can’t go wrong with Bonne Maman), this intermediate recipe makes 32 cookies.

Get the recipe from Maura McEvoy/Clarkson Potter/Publishers.

Mini Linzer Cookies

Another Christmas classic dessert, these traditional Linzer cookies will hit you with a wave of nostalgia. Much like thumbprint cookies, these sugar-dusted, bite-size delights are filled with raspberry preserves. And this particular intermediate recipe yields 36 cookies.

Get the recipe from Food Network/Clarkson Potter.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

We’ve saved the best for last: good, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies. You absolutely cannot go wrong with a freshly baked batch of chocolate chunk cookies, and of course, Garten’s recipe is a reliable one. Making 36 to 40 cookies, this recipe, pulled from Garten’s 2001 cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Parties, calls for walnuts, semisweet chocolate chunks, brown sugar and more.

Get the recipe from James Merrell/Clarkson Potter/Food Network.

A version of this article was originally published December 2018.

Before you go, check out these Ina Garten-Approved holiday gift ideas:

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