It’s the holiday season, so you know what that means…FOOOOOOD!

Okay, we know the holidays actually means a LOT of different things, but it’s safe to say that food is a very important part of the season. And, there are a lot of fun foods to check out at Disney World! From turkey to gingerbread, there’s a little something for everyone. But, if you can’t make it to Disney World for the holidays, no worries — you can bring the Disney to your home! We’ve gathered some of our favorite Disney cookie recipes for you to make this holiday season, so let’s take a look!

Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich

This absolutely DELICIOUS treat is from Karamell-Küche in EPCOT’s Germany pavilion, and it’s technically TWO cookies that you get to eat at once, so, you’re welcome. We made these at home and they turned out awesome, so we gotta share the recipe with you!

Ingredients

• Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cake & Cookie Mix 
• Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting
• Werther’s Original Soft Caramels 
• 3 tbsp of butter
• 1 & 1/2 tsp milk
• 1/4 cup water

Directions

1. On the back of the Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cake & Cookie Mix, you’ll find instructions for making gingerbread cookies.
2. Dump the cake mix into a mixing bowl and add your water and butter. The box calls for the butter to be melted, but for a denser dough texture, just use softened butter.
3. Use a mixer to blend the dough together until smooth. 
4. Place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 375°.
6. Scoop out a tablespoon of dough and roll it between the palms of your hands to create a small ball.
7. Place your dough balls on a cookie sheet with a decent amount of distance between them so they can spread while they bake
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes (but this can vary depending on your oven)
9. Remove cookie sheet from over and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.
10. After 20 minutes or when cookies are cool to the touch, you can start frosting your cookies with your store bought buttercream OR with homemade buttercream.
    1. If you want to make homemade buttercream, combine 4 sticks of unsalted butter and around 8 cups of powdered sugar until a frosting is formed.
11. Match up your cookies in pairs so they are similar in size.
12. Frost the bottom, flat side of one of the cookies with as much frosting as you like (but keep in mind that the more you put, the messier your sandwich will be!).
13. Unwrap about 15 caramels and place them in a microwavable bowl. Add your milk and microwave for 30 seconds. Mix the caramel and milk together until smooth.
14. Use a spoon to drizzle over the frosted half of your cookie sandwiches. Use as much caramel as you desire.
15. Apply then cookie tops and let the sandwiches rest on the cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. Then, dig in!

Mickey-Shaped Linzer Cookies

You can find Linzer cookies at the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. We’ve seen them in a few different places, and this year, they’ll be at Bavaria Holiday Kitchen in Germany. These are similar to the ones at the festival, but we made ours Mickey-shaped!

Makes 1 dozen cookies, depending on the cookie cutter used

Ingredients

• 14 tbsp softened unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp butter extract
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 & 1/2 cups raspberry jam
• Non-melting powdered sugar (also known as donut sugar)
• 2 cookie cutters (one of which is a smaller shape to cut out those windows in select cookies). Note you can search online for Linzer cookie cutters — like these — and find lots of fun options or use a small bottle cap to cut the centers. If you have a 3D printer and want the same ones we used, the file can be found here.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust rack to middle of oven.
2. Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment in a mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer or do this by hand (it’ll be a workout!). Cream on high until pale and fluffy looking — about 4 minutes.
3. Scrape down bowl and add egg and both extracts. You likely have vanilla extract hiding in your pantry, but butter extract? Maybe not, unless you bake frequently. This is a secret many bakeries use to add an extra layer of buttery flavor to doughs and batters. Most grocery stores sell it in the spice aisle. Mix on high until well incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, add dry ingredients — all-purpose flour, almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a whisk by hand until well blended. Almond flour is just finely ground almonds. Again, most stores sell this in the baking aisle. If not or if you have someone with a nut allergy, feel free to substitute an equal amount of flour here (it just won’t taste quite the same!).
5. Pour dry ingredients into mixer and mix, on low/medium, until dry ingredients are just incorporated.
6. Form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 60 mins.
7. While dough chills, pour 1 & 1/2 cups of jam into a heatproof container and microwave for 1-1.5 minutes until jam is bubbly and hot.
8. Pour jam through a strainer into another bowl. Use a spatula to stir and press the jam through the strainer. This will remove the seeds and make your jam slightly thicker once it sets up. (Seeds in jam are rarely fun to chomp into!)
9. When ready to cut cookies, liberally flour your surface and place dough on top. Flour the top of the dough and roll, gently, with a rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick.
10. Used 2 different Mickey-shaped cookie cutters — one that is larger and one that is smaller (to cut out Mickey shapes on select cookies — more on that in a second).
11. Cut your dough and carefully use a spatula to transfer to a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet. This is a finicky dough to transfer and ours stuck a good bit to our work surface. Just take your time and add flour as needed to prevent sticking.
12. For ONLY half of the cookies, use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a window in the center of the cookie. Do this AFTER cookies are transferred to the cookie sheets to prevent warping the cookies.
13. Chill cut cookies for 30 minutes before baking. This is key to prevent the cookies from over-spreading. You want crisp cutouts, not blobs.
14. Bake cookies in preheated oven until just slightly golden. In our oven the whole cookies took 9 minutes and the cookies missing the centers took 7 minutes. EVERY oven is different keep your eye on the cookies. When you see the edges juuuuust starting to golden, pop em out!
15. Let cookies cool completely before assembling.
16. When ready to assemble, either use a knife to smear jam on the bottom cookies or fill a piping/ziplock bag with the jam. If you use a piping bag, gently squirt jam on the cookie. Avoid getting too close to the edges.
17. Pour a bit of the non-melting powdered sugar into a small mesh strainer. Hold it over the top cookies and gently tap the side of the strainer with your hand. Powdered sugar should gently shower down on the cookies. You do this first so you don’t cover the pretty jam on the completed cookie!
18. Take a top powdered sugar-covered cookie and carefully place it on a jam-covered cookie.Repeat with remaining cookies.
19. Once the cookies are assembled, you can add an extra bit of jam in the center window of each cookie if you want it really jammy.

Gingersnap Cookies

This recipe comes straight from a Pixar pastry chef and is inspired by Merida and Elinor from Pixar’s Brave.

Ingredients

• 9 oz butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 & 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 & 1/4 cups flour
• Demerara sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 & 1/2 tsp ground clove

Directions

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, salt, and spices.
2. Mix in the molasses, then mix in the eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together baking soda and flour, then add to the dough and mix.
4. Scoop the mixture with a 1 oz ice cream scoop, roll it in demerara sugar, and flatten it slightly.
5. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes until golden and slightly cracked.

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Can’t get over to Ghirardelli in Disney Springs? No worries! If you’re looking for a cookie that has a lot of richness, look no further! These Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies use 72% Cacao Chocolate Chips.

Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bag (10 ounces) of 72% Cacao Chocolate Chips (divided)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking soda.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter on low heat until browned.
4. In a large bowl, add 3/4 cups chocolate chips. Pour the browned butter over the chips and mix until melted.
5. In the large bowl, with the melted butter and chocolate chips, add both the granulated and brown sugar, the vanilla, and the salt. Stir.
6. Add eggs one at a time to the wet mixture.
7. Fold in dry ingredient until just combined, and stir in remaining chips.
8. Drop by rounded tablespoon on to parchment-lined cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are firm but the center is still soft.
10. Cook cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Original Carrot Cake Cookies

One of our favorite Disney desserts was the original Carrot Cake Cookie from Writer’s Stop in Hollywood Studios. But sadly, that spot is gone and has been replaced by BaseLine Tap House (we love BaseLine — but we miss Writer’s Stop, too!). There are still versions of this at Trolley Car Cafe, but the recipe has changed. However, we have the original recipe so that you can recreate it in your kitchen!

Ingredients

• 1 box Carrot Cake mix
• 3/4 cup of water (per box instructions)
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil (per box instructions)
• 3 large eggs (per box instructions)
• 8 oz of cream cheese
• 8 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup of crushed and drained pineapple
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F and grease a cookie sheet.
2. Place your eggs, vegetable oil, measured water, and Carrot Cake mix into a large bowl (or follow the instructions on your box if they are different).
3. Blend your cake mix, water, oil, and eggs at a low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds). Then, beat the mixture at medium speed for about 2 minutes.
4. After this, drop off rounded spoonfuls onto your cookie sheets, then place them into the oven for about 10 minutes.
5. Take them out of the oven once they’ve been baked and set them aside to cool.
6. In another large bowl, sift your powdered sugar.
7. Then, place your butter and cream cheese inside the bowl.
8. Drain your crushed pineapple in a sifter the sink before adding it and the vanilla extract to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.
9. Blend the ingredients together until the frosting is creamy.
10. Place a tablespoon (or more!) of icing on each cookie and sandwich them together. Enjoy!

Jack-Jack Num Num Cookies

It’s no secret that we loveee some Jack-Jack Num Num Cookies around here! The cookies from the Incredible baby are truly…incredible (we’re corny, we know). The cookies can usually be found at both Disney California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. But, if you can’t get there, make them at home!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 & 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 & 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Brown your butter and let it cool until it begins to solidify.
2. Cream butter, sugars, and salt in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
4. Combine your dry ingredients and mix them with the batter.
5. Add the chocolate chips.
6. Scoop your batter into balls and chill thoroughly, for at least an hour (preferably overnight).
7. Bake at 350° F for 7-10 minutes or until your cookies are a nice golden brown on the edges but still soft in the center.

There ya go — the cookies that you’re friends will ask you for the recipes of if you bring them to a holiday party!

For more on the holidays in Disney World, check out a NEW light show that will debut in EPCOT tor the Festival of the Holidays, the FULL MENUS for the 2022 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays, and a look at the 2022 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays merchandise.

Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney food news, reviews, and recipes.

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Which recipe are you the most excited to try? Tell us in the comments!