The Ultimate Alcohol Cookies

Cocktail Cookies — Photo:
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Celebrate the holiday season with these playful, gift-worthy cookies, each based on the flavor profile of a well-known cocktail. We reached out to 12 of our favorite brilliant bakers to create an arsenal of cookies fit to delight any occasion or connoisseur. From crisp and buttery Margarita Shortbread with Tequila-Lime Glaze to chewy and spiced Cranberry Moscow Mule Gingersnaps, we have you covered with biscotti, meringues, and more. Packed with make-ahead tips, storage suggestions, sparkling sugar, and booze, these recipes are sure to stir up a buzz at your next cookie swap.

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Bushwacker Bars

These decadent bars from Preppy Kitchen’s John Kanell have a rum-spiked, macaroon-like layer of shredded coconut on top of coffee shortbread.

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Sorrel Thumbprints

Chef Ramin Ganeshram’s recipe combines West Indian spices like nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with hibiscus spread in a bite-size cookie.

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Mudslide Meringues

Dark chocolate batter and espresso meringue are swirled together for a chewy and crisp marbled cookie in this recipe from baker Laurie Ellen Pellicano.

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Margarita Shortbread with Tequila-Lime Glaze

Esteban Castillo’s buttery, lime-infused cookies are topped with a sweet-and-sour glaze and finished with flaky sea salt and lime zest.

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Bee’s Knees Snowballs

These delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cookies from cookbook author Leah Koenig combine fresh lemon zest and orange blossom honey to play off the flavors of the Bee’s Knees cocktail.

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Negroni Cookies

Angela Garbacz’s recipe for Negroni Cookies lean on orange zest–infused sugar and Campari icing to pay homage to the Negroni cocktail.

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Cranberry Moscow Mule Gingersnaps

These soft and cakey cookies from cookbook author Vallery Lomas are packed with freshly grated ginger, ginger syrup, and dried cranberries rehydrated in vodka.

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Old-Fashioned Sablés

Old-Fashioned SablÃ©s — Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver

Cookbook author Jerrelle Guy’s sweet, earthy cookies get their amber flow from an Angostura bitters egg wash; a crystal rocks glass pattern is imprinted on the cookie’s surface.

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Fudgy Grasshopper Sandwich Cookies

Soft chocolate cookies are sandwiched with mint and dark chocolate ganache to create cookbook author Jesse Szewczyk’s eye-catching treats—a riff on the grasshopper cocktail.

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Hot Buttered Rum Biscotti

Blogger Jonathan Melendez’s interpretation of a buttered rum cocktail use browned butter, warm spices, and rum extract to yield crispy cookies perfect for dunking in hot coffee or tea.

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Mai Tai Swirls

These pinwheel-style cookies from Bay Area food blogger Kristina Cho are made with almond-scented dough spiraled around an orange marmalade and rum filling.

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