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Happy Holidays, friends! I’ve been having such a wonderful time decorating and baking lately, and today, I wanted to share a little guide on how to make beautiful and classic Christmas cookie tins!

Cookie tins or boxes make wonderful, thoughtful homemade holiday gifts, and I love making them for friends and family each year because they combine baking and crafting (my favorites!) into one big, festive Christmas activity.

With a little bit of planning and organization, cookie tin-making is a fun and festive holiday tradition that yields absolutely gorgeous creations. I hope you enjoy this step-by-step guide on how to create beautiful Christmas cookie tins for your loved ones!

Part 1: Bake the Cookies

The secret to a beautiful and festive Christmas cookie tin is variety, so I like to prepare at least 5 different types of cookies.

If you can, I highly recommend preparing as much in possible in advance (i.e. prepping and freezing cookie dough the week before) to avoid baking overwhelm—speaking from experience here!! :)

I like to aim for a variety of textures, colors, shapes, and flavors in each of the following categories:

1. Something chocolatey.

Let’s start with the most important category (in my book): chocolate. Brownie cookies, chocolate shortbread, and chocolate crinkle cookies are delicious options here. Just be careful to avoid anything too fudgey/gooey, as it could melt into the other cookies and end up looking quite nasty!

For my cookie tin, I made these delicious Crisp Chocolate Bites from Williams Sonoma and dusted them with powdered sugar. And they were FANTASTIC! They’re light and crunchy out the outside, chewy on the inside, and they taste like decadent brownies. Yummmmm.

2. Something nutty.

From crispy Italian pine nut cookies to buttery snowball cookies, there are so many amazing holiday nut cookie options to choose from. I decided to make this delicious Walnut and Brown Sugar Rugelach recipe from Martha Stewart. These cookies are perfectly rich and flaky with a decadent walnut and brown sugar filling. And they look so pretty in a cookie tin, too!

3. Something jammy.

Holiday classics like thumbprint cookies and Linzer cookies are essential to any cookie tin. I went for Linzers, and while they’re a bit more time-consuming to make than thumbprint cookies, they were worth every minute.

I followed this classic Linzer Cookies recipe from Williams Sonoma and it turned out amazinggg. The cookies were pillowy soft, buttery, and fragrant (thanks to fresh lemon zest) with a layer of sweet raspberry jam. SO GOOD.

4. Something gingery (and frosted).

Classic gingerbread cookies are a must-have in any cookie tin. I made these delicious Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies from The Kitchn using a snowflake cookie cutter, and then I frosted them with pretty snowflake patterns. They were so much fun to make and decorate, and they tasted amazing!!!

5. Something crunchy.

Crunchy cookies are perfect for adding variety and texture to your cookie assortment. Shortbread cookies are a great option here, but I decided to go with this delicious Almond and Golden Raisin Biscotti from the Food Network. This recipe is similar to a biscotti recipe my Italian mom used to make around Christmas when I was a kid, and my goodness they are delicious. They’re perfectly crisp and crunchy, and the combination of orange zest, anise seeds, golden raisins, and almonds is unbelievably good.

6. Store-bought specialty cookies and candies for a special touch touch.

Store-bought wrapped candies, chocolate-covered cookies, and pretzels (with holiday sprinkles) come in super handy when it’s time to start making your tins. They’re perfect for filling in any empty spaces, and they look so beautiful and festive! For my tins, I used Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Stars and holiday Hershey’s kisses.

Part 2: Assemble the Cookie Tins

Once your cookies are baked and completely cooled, it’s time to start assembling the tins!

For the packaging, you’ll need:

• Red and white baker’s twine

• Jumbo baking cups (either with a cute holiday print or unbleached brown paper)

• Crinkle paper for gift wrapping (either kraft or a holiday color)

• Christmas cookie tins or bakery boxes

First, group flat cookies into stacks and tie them with baker’s twine. Separate the cookies into jumbo baking cups. Layer crinkle paper in the bottom of the tins or boxes, then arrange the cookies in the tins and fill any empty spaces with candies.

Close the Christmas tins or boxes and decorate them with ribbons, bows, or twine. Give away to friends and family, and don’t forget to enjoy some cookies yourself!!

Happy Holidays from my home to yours!! Love, Haley