Chatelaine

We pored over every winter issue from our 95-year history to find our best-ever favourites—and added a new recipe to the mix, too.

From shortbread to gingerbread, quick and easy to showstoppers. 

Buttery and golden, these jam-filled cookies are a treat no one will be able to resist. Get the recipe.

This classic buttery cookie recipe was published in the magazine’s first-ever Christmas issue in 1928. We’ve dialled down the flour and added more citrus peel for a lightly sweet and crisp treat. Butter and candied orange are the two key flavours in this recipe; try to find the best quality of both.

This marzipan take on empire cookies is labour-intensive but totally worth it. We veered from the original all-white colour scheme with a bit of food colouring and sprinkles for a far-out look.

What makes this Canadian dessert standard a holiday knockout? Toasting the walnuts for extra oomph, adding a little salt to balance the sweetness and cutting it into sleek diamond shapes. These cute little bars appear here exactly as they did in our December 1995 issue.

The original 1957 version of these make-ahead bonbons were billed as a convenience treat. Sprinkling a bit of childhood-favourite sugary cereal overtop adds a bit of crunch, colour and fun.

This is a spicy and versatile version of classic gingerbread that we first published in 1961. Roll it out and cut it into shapes, or press beautiful patterns into it with a cookie stamp.

We’d say candied cherries are deliciously retro, but glacéed fruit happens to be newly cool again, as it was when this roll-and-slice recipe first appeared in Chatelaine in 1949—and we couldn’t be happier about it. Don’t skip toasting the almonds; their nuttiness makes the cherry flavour sing.

A soft and nutty cross between a macaroon and Italian brutti ma buoni, these tender little treats will win over even non-cookie lovers.

These buttery shortbread-like bites from 2005 are the ideal make-ahead cookie, and they travel beautifully. Prepare and bake the dough, then fill with colourful jam or lemon curd just before serving.