Icebox Christmas Cookies: 12 Slice-and-Bake Logs Grandma Kept in the Freezer So Warm Cookies Were Always 10 Minutes Away

Icebox Christmas cookies are the quiet trick behind every grandma who somehow had a warm tray ready the minute company knocked. She mixed the dough weeks ahead, rolled it into neat logs, wrapped them in wax paper and tucked them in the freezer. When December got busy, she simply sliced a few rounds and baked them while the coffee brewed. That old slice-and-bake method is perfect again this year, because one free afternoon now can fill your cookie tray all season. Below are 12 favorites, from red and green pinwheels and checkerboards to cherry pistachio rounds, salted butter Breton cookies, tiny peppernuts and almond biscotti. Each of these icebox Christmas cookies freezes beautifully and bakes straight from frozen, so fresh cookies are never more than a few minutes away..

Red and Green Pinwheel Icebox Christmas Cookies

These swirly pinwheels are the cookies everyone remembers from grandma’s tin, and they look far harder than they are. You simply tint half of a plain butter dough red and half green, stack the sheets, roll them up tight and freeze. Weeks later, a sharp knife reveals a perfect spiral in every slice. Rolling the outside of the log in sparkling sugar gives each cookie a crunchy, glittery edge. Make two or three logs on a quiet weekend and you will have the prettiest icebox Christmas cookies on the block all month..

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red and green gel food coloring, coarse sanding sugar.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg and vanilla. 2. Mix in flour and salt, split the dough and tint one half red and one half green. 3. Roll each half between parchment into a rectangle, chill 20 minutes, stack and roll up tightly. 4. Roll the log in sanding sugar, wrap and freeze. 5. Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Grandma’s Chocolate and Vanilla Pinwheels

In Germany these black-and-white swirls are among the oldest icebox Christmas cookies, and the idea traveled into plenty of American recipe boxes too. One plain vanilla dough and one cocoa dough are rolled together into spirals, then chilled until firm enough to slice cleanly. Freezing is what makes them so handy: the USDA freezing and food safety guide explains that food kept at 0°F stays safe, and quality is the only thing that slowly fades, so plan to bake these logs within about three months. Wrap them twice and label the date on the paper.

You will need: 1 batch plain butter cookie dough, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon milk, 1 egg white for brushing.

How to make it: 1. Divide the dough in half and knead cocoa and milk into one half. 2. Roll each half into a 1/8 inch rectangle. 3. Brush the vanilla sheet with egg white, lay the chocolate sheet on top and roll up firmly. 4. Wrap and freeze at least 2 hours. 5. Slice and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the vanilla parts are just golden.

Checkerboard Icebox Christmas Cookies

Checkerboards are the showstopper of the slice-and-bake family, and they always get a gasp on a cookie tray. The trick is building the log from long square sticks of light and dark dough, glued with a little egg white, then freezing it so the pattern stays sharp. Once frozen, every slice comes out like a tiny chessboard. Grandma usually made one big log for Christmas Eve and another for New Year, and kept a spare in the freezer for surprise guests. Use a ruler the first time; it makes the squares neat.

You will need: 1 batch vanilla butter dough, 1 batch cocoa butter dough, 1 egg white, a ruler and a sharp knife.

How to make it: 1. Roll each dough into a 1/2 inch thick square slab and freeze 15 minutes. 2. Cut both slabs into 1/2 inch wide sticks. 3. Stack sticks in alternating colors, two rows of two, brushing egg white between them. 4. Wrap the square log tightly and freeze. 5. Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350°F for 11 to 13 minutes.

Cherry Pistachio Slice-and-Bake Rounds

These are the cookies that look like Christmas confetti, with bright red cherries and green pistachios in every bite. The dough is a tender shortbread, so it slices beautifully straight from the freezer without crumbling. Chopping the cherries small keeps the slices tidy, and patting them dry stops red streaks from bleeding into the dough. A roll in coarse sugar before freezing gives each round a sparkly edge. These icebox Christmas cookies also travel well, which makes them a favorite for cookie swaps and neighbor plates.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 2/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup chopped candied or maraschino cherries patted dry, 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, coarse sugar.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter, powdered sugar and almond extract until creamy. 2. Mix in flour, then fold in cherries and pistachios. 3. Shape into two 2 inch logs and roll in coarse sugar. 4. Wrap and freeze. 5. Slice 1/3 inch thick and bake at 325°F for 14 to 16 minutes, until the edges are barely golden.

Sprinkle-Edge Sugar Rounds From a Frozen Log

If kids are helping in the kitchen, these are the easiest icebox Christmas cookies to start with. A simple vanilla dough is shaped into a log, brushed lightly with water and rolled through a pile of holiday nonpareils until it is completely coated. After freezing, every slice wears a colorful ring of sprinkles that crunches like candy. There is no frosting, no cookie cutters and almost no mess, yet the cookies look like they came from a bakery window. Stack them in clear bags with a ribbon for easy last-minute teacher gifts.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup red, green and white nonpareils.

How to make it: 1. Cream butter and sugar, then beat in yolk and vanilla. 2. Mix in flour and salt until a soft dough forms. 3. Shape into a 2 inch log, brush with a little water and roll in sprinkles, pressing gently. 4. Wrap and freeze. 5. Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cranberry Orange Icebox Christmas Cookies

Cranberry and orange is the flavor pairing that tastes like the holidays smell, and it shines in icebox Christmas cookies. Fresh orange zest rubbed into the sugar wakes up the whole dough, while chopped dried cranberries add little jewel-red flecks. Because the dough is mostly butter, the cookies bake up crisp at the edges and melt-in-your-mouth tender in the center. Keep one log in the freezer for Christmas morning; ten minutes in the oven while the presents are being opened makes the house smell wonderful.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2/3 cup finely chopped dried cranberries, coarse sugar.

How to make it: 1. Rub zest into the sugar with your fingertips. 2. Beat in butter and vanilla until fluffy. 3. Mix in flour and salt, then fold in cranberries. 4. Shape into two logs, roll in coarse sugar, wrap and freeze. 5. Slice 1/4 inch thick and bake at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes.

Brown Butter Heidesand Slices

Heidesand is a German Christmas favorite, and it may be the best-kept secret in the whole slice-and-bake world. The butter is browned first, which gives the cookies a toasty, nutty, almost toffee-like flavor. The dough is shaped into logs, rolled in sugar and chilled, then sliced into sandy, crumbly rounds that dissolve on your tongue. German grandmothers often bake them in big batches early in Advent and keep them in tins. Serve them with strong coffee and you will understand why they never last long.

You will need: 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 pinch salt, 2 1/4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons milk, extra sugar for rolling.

How to make it: 1. Melt butter and cook until golden brown and nutty, then chill until it firms up. 2. Beat the browned butter with sugar, vanilla and salt. 3. Mix in flour and milk to a soft dough. 4. Shape into logs, roll in sugar, wrap and freeze. 5. Slice 1/3 inch thick and bake at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes.

Salted Butter Breton Rounds

From Brittany in France come these thick, golden rounds made with salted butter and plenty of egg yolks. Bakers there often roll the dough into a log, chill it and slice it into fat coins, the same way grandma made her icebox Christmas cookies. The texture lands somewhere between shortbread and a crisp butter cake, and the pinch of salt makes them hard to stop eating. If you like these, you will also love our buttery Christmas shortbread twists, made from one simple dough. Score the tops with a fork before baking for a classic look.

You will need: 1 cup salted butter softened, 2/3 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks plus 1 for brushing, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter and sugar until pale, then add 3 yolks and vanilla. 2. Mix in flour and baking powder. 3. Shape into a 2 1/2 inch log, wrap and freeze. 4. Slice 1/2 inch thick, brush with yolk and score with a fork. 5. Bake at 350°F in a muffin tin or on a sheet for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden.

Tiny Peppernuts Cut From Frozen Ropes

Peppernuts are the bite-size spiced cookies that Mennonite and German families in the American Midwest have baked for generations. Grandma rolled the dough into pencil-thin ropes, froze them on trays, then snipped them into tiny pieces with a knife. Hundreds bake at once, and the crunchy little nuggets disappear by the handful. Anise, cinnamon, cloves and a hint of black pepper give them their warm, old-fashioned flavor. Fill a jar for the coffee table and watch everyone walk by and grab a few.

You will need: 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses or dark corn syrup, 1 egg, 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon each cloves, anise seed and black pepper.

How to make it: 1. Melt butter with brown sugar and molasses, then cool and beat in the egg. 2. Stir in flour, baking soda and spices. 3. Roll into 1/2 inch ropes, lay on a tray and freeze until firm. 4. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces. 5. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes until crisp and lightly browned.

Swedish Almond Sticks With Pearl Sugar

Swedish grandmothers set out seven kinds of small cookies for holiday coffee, and these almond sticks, called finska pinnar, are almost always one of them. The rich almond butter dough is rolled into long ropes, brushed with egg, scattered with pearl sugar and chopped almonds, then cut into short fingers. The ropes freeze perfectly, so you can cut and bake a fresh batch in minutes. They are crisp, buttery and lightly sweet, and they look elegant on a tray next to the rounder icebox Christmas cookies in this list.

You will need: 1 cup softened butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 egg beaten, 3 tablespoons pearl sugar, 1/3 cup chopped almonds.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter, sugar and almond extract until creamy. 2. Mix in flour to a smooth dough. 3. Roll into 3/4 inch ropes, wrap and freeze. 4. Brush ropes with egg, sprinkle with pearl sugar and almonds and cut into 2 inch sticks. 5. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes until pale golden.

Almond Biscotti, the Slice-and-Bake Cousin

Italian cantucci are the twice-baked cousin of icebox Christmas cookies, and they are just as make-ahead friendly. The dough is shaped into a log and baked once, then sliced on the diagonal and baked again until crisp and golden. You can freeze the unbaked log or the finished biscotti, and both keep beautifully. Packed in a glass jar with a ribbon, they make one of the easiest homemade Christmas gifts there is. Dunk them in coffee, cocoa or a glass of cold milk.

You will need: 2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1 cup whole almonds.

How to make it: 1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 2. Beat in eggs and extracts, then fold in almonds. 3. Shape into two flat logs on a lined sheet and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. 4. Cool 10 minutes and slice on the diagonal 1/2 inch thick. 5. Lay slices flat and bake 8 to 10 minutes per side until crisp.

Classic Butter Shortbread Icebox Christmas Cookies

Every collection of icebox Christmas cookies needs the plain classic, and three-ingredient shortbread is the one grandma could make in her sleep. Butter, sugar and flour are pressed into a log, chilled and sliced into thick rounds that bake up pale, tender and rich. A few fork holes on top keep them flat and give them that old-fashioned look. Use the best butter you can find, since it is the star. Dip half of each round in melted chocolate or leave them plain; either way they vanish fast.

You will need: 1 cup good salted butter softened, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional 4 ounces melted chocolate for dipping.

How to make it: 1. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. 2. Mix in flour just until the dough holds together. 3. Shape into a 2 inch log, wrap and freeze. 4. Slice 1/3 inch thick, prick each round twice with a fork. 5. Bake at 325°F for 16 to 18 minutes until the edges barely color, then cool and dip if you like.