While some may find gift-giving to be the most exciting part of the holidays, we’d argue that baking, decorating, and eating cookies are truly the most magical moments. And over the nearly 10 years of Savory, we’ve collected our fair share of holiday delights. From creative twists like gingerbread men made with cake mix to classics like thumbprint and red velvet goodies, the holiday cookie possibilities are endless. But, this year, we thought we’d make things a little more interesting. For the very first time, we’re thrilled to invite you to join us in deciding the ultimate festive recipe. We’re announcing the Savory Holiday Cookie Bracket!
We’ll kick off the bracket on National Cookie Day (Dec. 4) with 32 of our very best contenders. Then, after three weeks of sweet and sugary competition, we’ll announce our final winner on National Cookie Exchange Day (Dec. 22). This year, the ultimate holiday cookie is up to YOU!
How the Bracket Works
Just like your favorite sporting event, we’ve created a bracket with 32 of our all-time favorite holiday cookie recipes. We’ve divided them into two regions and assigned them a number from one to 16 based on their online popularity. The number one ranked spot will face off against 16, ranking two against 15, three against 14, and so on. After each round, the number of cookies will be cut in half, and we’ll continue with quarter-finals, semifinals, and then the final to find our winner. The cookie bracket is a single-elimination tournament, so once a cookie is voted out, it’s out of the game.
How to Vote
Head to our Instagram page (@savory.online) between December 4 and December 22 to join in on all the fun. The voting will take place on our Instagram stories, and you’ll have 24 hours to vote on your favorite recipes once they’re posted. Then, we’ll tally the scores and post an updated recipe selection twice a week.
Alternatively, you can print your own version of our bracket, fill out your thoughts, post it to Instagram, and tag us @savoryonline!
Meet the Competition
Our holiday cookies are treats that embody the spirit of the season with ingredients or decorations that make you think about holiday cheer. We chose a combination of classics, new recipes, and some all-time favorites Savory readers have loved over the years. Here’s the lineup:
The North Pole
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Mexican Hot Chocolate Bomb Cookies
- One-Bowl 7 Layer Bars
- Cake Mix Gingerbread Men
- Chocolate Crinkles
- Reindeer Cookies
- Easy Chocolate Palmiers
- Cookie Dough Biscotti
- Norwegian Butter Cookies
- Blue and White Cookies
- Red and Green Swirl Cutout Cookies
- White Chocolate Brigadeiros
- Triple-Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Pistachio Pudding Cookies
- No-Bake Millionaire Shortbread Bars
- Melted Snowman Cookies
The South Pole
- Cinnamon-Raisin Rugelach
- Pistachio Wreaths
- Italian Rainbow Cookies
- No-Bake White Chocolate Coconut Snowballs
- 4-Ingredient Butter Cookies
- Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti
- No-Bake Peanut Butter and Chocolate Haystacks
- Fruitcake Sugar Cookie Bars
- Chocolate-Almond Spice Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Bars
- Jammy Thumbprints
- Gingerbread Shortbread
- Marbled Cookies
- Cookie Butter Bars
- Holiday Compost Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Wafer Cookies
The Final Results
Our winner is: Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies!
