'Tis the season for sweets! Make your holiday exchange a little easier this year with the best Christmas cookie delivery options.
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7 Best Christmas Cookie Delivery Services of 2024
Updated on Oct. 11, 2024
Most people can agree that many of their fondest holiday memories were created in the kitchen. Mine consist of my dad’s chewy molasses cookies, my sister’s luscious eggnog cheesecake and my mom’s tender cinnamon coffee cake. Every year, those treats were baked by hand with seemingly more love than the last. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to acknowledge that life happens, and homemade cookies and cakes can’t always be in the cards.
Whether you’re far away from loved ones or your schedule is simply too packed, there are a number of equally valid reasons to turn to store-bought goodies, either online or in person. But because we’re not quite willing to forgo that homemade quality, the Taste of Home team made it their mission to hunt down the Christmas cookie delivery services selling sweets that might as well be straight from the oven.
Here, you’ll find our picks for Christmas cookie delivery. There are fancy offerings and homey favorites, inexpensive sweets and over-the-top bites, holiday-themed morsels and year-round winners. We tried all of them ourselves, so they’re guaranteed to satisfy cravings and cure Christmas-induced nostalgia.
Best Overall
Cheryl’s Cookies
Pros:
- Affordable
- Soft and buttery frosted cookies that taste fresh
- Fun colors, flavors and toppers to match the season
- Multiple packaging options
Cons:
- Frosting can get smooshed during shipping
- Boxes contain a fair amount of plastic waste
The only holiday decorations I need in my life are those on Cheryl’s Christmas cookies. Of the myriad gift baskets available on the website, I tried the Bow Gift Box with holiday cutouts, including four frosted tree-shaped cookies, four frosted white circular cookies and four frosted red circular cookies. Each type had its own coordinating sprinkles on top.
Cheryl’s cookies are simple perfection. The famous buttercream frosting contains only vanilla, evaporated milk, butter and confectioners’ sugar. And the base is a straightforward yet incomparably soft and tender sugar cookie dough. The colors and mix-ins shift around to fit the season—I’ve had a pumpkin-shaped cookie for fall and a candy cane-inspired cookie during winter. But despite this customization and the cute packaging to go along with it, costs stay remarkably low. Cheryl’s is one of the most affordable options on this list, but you’d never know it.
If frosting isn’t for you, don’t fret! Cheryl’s also sells unfrosted classics like snickerdoodle, chocolate chip, red velvet and more.
Best Splurge
Levain Bakery
Pros:
- Decadent, delicious cookies that taste homemade (or better!)
- Novelty of the Levain name
- Cute packaging
- Holiday and non-holiday flavors available
Cons:
- Require some preparation for freshly baked taste
Fire up that oven because you’ll want to pop in your Levain cookies as soon as they hit the front porch. These monstrous-in-the-best-way bites bake at 350 degrees for five to seven minutes, but the wait is well worth it for the resulting ooey-gooey goodness inside.
In the Signature Cookie Assortment (available in groupings of either four, eight or 12), there are chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. Or, if you want something more in-your-face festive, try the dark chocolate peppermint cookies, which we also tried. (Senior Shopping Editor Katie Bandurski admits that this flavor is one of the best treats she’s eaten—ever!)
I was lucky enough to take these desserts home with me, and the very cutely illustrated, partly full box is still sitting in my kitchen. And that’s not for lack of trying! Each one of these decadent cookies can feed two people. And of the friends I’ve shared them with, most agreed that they’re some of the best cookies they’ve eaten. NYC’s favorite cookies? Yeah, I get it. There’s something so special about Levain’s offerings—anyone would feel honored to receive a stack of this Christmas cookie delivery.
Best Budget
David's Cookies
Pros:
- Inexpensive, with affordable shipping costs
- High-quality packaging, including reusable tin
- Tasty cookies that come in classic, well-executed flavors
- Freezer-safe for six months
Cons:
- No festive flavors
- Not allergy-friendly
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The thing that first struck Ellie Crowley, Taste of Home Associate Culinary Producer, about this holiday cookie tin from David’s Cookies was the sleek, pretty packaging. “It would be great to regift as is,” she says. This is that much more remarkable when you consider that David’s Cookies is our budget pick. Talk about a beautiful Christmas cookie delivery that won’t break the bank. This particular assortment contains peanut butter cookies, chocolate chunk cookies, double chocolate chunk cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies.
Across the board, Ellie found these cookies to be flavor-packed without tasting artificial or cloying. The peanut butter cookie was her favorite, but she notes that all the cookies touch—a hazard for those with allergies. If that’s not a problem and you’re shopping for people who crave the classics, then this box is perfect for a co-worker, couple or small family.
Best Classic
Mrs. Fields
Pros:
- Reusable tin, with festive options available
- Nostalgic Mrs. Fields flavor
- Mixture of cookies and brownies
- Affordable
Cons:
- Not as fresh as some others
When Mark Neufang, one of our Culinary Assistants, tested this box of Mrs. Fields cookies, he commented, “This is your standard Mrs. Fields cookie. You can’t argue with it. Nice toffee and brown sugar notes and nice chewiness.” And we’d consider that a good thing! Most of us know what a Mrs. Fields cookie tastes like when it’s fresh from the mall food court. As it turns out, that’s what it tastes like from the box, too. An Americana classic.
Although the generic packaging of this specific tin left Mark wanting a little more, Mrs. Fields does offer holiday-themed tins. Regardless, this assortment is great to share with chocoholics and cookie lovers alike, as it contains brownies, blondies, fudge (which Mark says is closer to a standard brownie), triple-chocolate cookies, nutty oatmeal-raisin cookies and chocolate chip cookies. The bars are scored for easy splitting, and the bold sweetness of each bite means you’ll only want a few.
This could easily satiate your whole holiday table! Or, as Mark suggests, pair your Christmas cookie delivery with a bag of coffee and give it as a gift.
Best Untraditional
Milk Bar
Pros:
- Variety of exciting flavors
- Individually wrapped cookies to promote freshness
- Novelty of the Milk Bar name
- Reusable tin
Cons:
- Uninspired packaging
- On the pricier side
The New York-based bakery is best known for its multi-layer cakes and truffles, but it’s no surprise that James Beard award-winning pastry chef Christina Tosi pulls off a mean cookie, too. And they’re not your mother’s chocolate chip and snickerdoodle, either. In her Milk Bar box, Maggie Knoebel, Taste of Home Test Cook and Associate Recipe Editor, received compost cookies, blueberry and cream cookies, confetti cookies, corn cookies and cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies. That’s a mouthful—literally!
She liked some experimental flavors more than others (the confetti was her favorite), but that’s half the fun of trying creative, new-to-you treats—sampling and sharing them with loved ones. This activity is made especially easy because Milk Bar individually wraps all its cookies so they arrive fresh, unscathed and ready to distribute. These trendy, conversation-starting cookies are perfect for your next party with foodie friends.
Best Assorted
Harry & David
Pros:
- Cute, festive box
- 22 cookies total, including 9 different types
- Quality, fresh treats with pronounced flavors
- Lowest price-per-cookie cost
Cons:
- No classic flavors, so picky eaters might not enjoy as much
- No pamphlet/informational guide about the cookies
When you open this adorable, snowflake-sprinkled Harry & David box, it’s hard to know where to begin. There are nine varieties of cookies inside, amounting to 22 cookies total, arranged in separate pleated paper wrappers.
Because there’s no informational printout included, Product Tester Dylan Fischer turned to the website to discover the contents of the box: fruitcake cookies, walnut shortbread, raspberry-filled shortbread, chocolate-covered peppermint cookies, coconut macaroons, gingerbread sandwiches and chocolate-covered cranberry-orange shortbread. (You can also find amazing gift baskets on the Harry & David site.)
According to Dylan, the raspberry-filled shortbread and the chocolate-covered peppermint cookies shine brightest. Of the former, he says, “The flavor, appearance and texture are all spot-on. Both adults and kids would enjoy the flavor, as it’s sweet but not overly so.” And, to him, the peppermint cookie is just as pretty as it is tasty. “The cookie has a dynamic zig-zag pattern that wraps around like garland on the Christmas tree,” he says. The whole family would have so much fun passing around this box of Harry & David cookies and picking out their favorites.
Best Festive
1-800-Baskets
Pros:
- Beautifully decorated in various festive designs
- Soft and buttery cookies
- Good to share
- Individually wrapped
Cons:
- Quite expensive
- Generic packaging with a fair amount of waste
Seeing is believing, or believing is seeing? It doesn’t matter because you won’t believe how cute these cookies are once you see them. Described as homespun and artisan, the 1-800-Baskets iced cookies are gorgeous. Designed to look like snowmen, sweaters, poinsettias, trees, ornaments, gingerbread houses and more, the showstoppers are worth every penny.
Beth Tomkiw, our tester and former Chief Creative Officer, makes it known that these cookies are so much more than good looks, though. She was concerned they’d be hard and bland, but she was blown away.
“With holiday-themed shapes and colorful decorative icing, these charming cookies definitely delight,” she says. “Flip the iced cookie over and the back side is an ideal golden color. The cookies look hard, but wow, was I surprised? These are some super buttery cookies. I couldn’t believe how soft and satisfying they are.” Although she admits she’d splurge on a gift box or tin in which to arrange them before presenting, the treats themselves are nothing short of gift-worthy.
How We Found the Best Christmas Cookie Delivery Services
We rolled up our sleeves and got to sampling. Although we and our sweet teeth would’ve liked to test every Christmas cookie delivery service out there, we needed to narrow down our search beforehand. We did so by noting our audience’s past favorites; scouring the internet for highly rated, sought-out cookie brands; and taking into account price, variety and accessibility.
Once we had the tins, boxes and tubs in our hands, we divvied them up among team members from various departments to nibble at their leisure. They then provided feedback on topics such as packaging, variety, flavor, freshness, appearance, gift-worthiness and monetary value, which was compiled and analyzed to inform this list.
Other Cookies We Tested
- Iced Sugar Cookies from Elegant Desserts: For the price, I was expecting DELICIOUS cookies with impeccable packaging and attention to detail. These fell flat.
Why You Should Trust Us
There’s no shortage of homemade Christmas cookies in the Taste of Home office. Each year, our culinary professionals, a few of whom helped with this piece, develop and test new, creative Christmas cookies to feature on our website and in our print products. So apart from our own personal experiences with baking and eating Christmas cookies, the Taste of Home staff at large has also enjoyed many a Christmas cookie developed and baked by expert bakers. Let’s just say: We know a good Christmas cookie when we see (and taste!) one.
