Of course Christmas cookies are one of the most delightful parts of the season, especially for those of us who have a secret (or not so secret) sweet tooth. But just because Christmas is over doesn't mean the baking fun has to stop! New Year's Eve presents the perfect opportunity to make tasty, more "adult-oriented," celebratory treats ... like these champagne cookies.

If you love the taste of bubbly and sugar cookies, too -- and let's be real, who doesn't?! -- this recipe is for you.

If you're like me, you've saved most of your holiday baking for this weekend. I'm planning to just hunker down, turn the Christmas carols up, and getting my baking on. At the top of my list of cookies to make are these incredible mini chocolate thumbprint cookies.

From Pinch of Yum, she calls them "fudgy bliss," and she's absolutely right. These are out of sight. They're great for any time of year, but with some festive holiday sprinkles, they are perfect now. I'm thinking Santa would really like a plate of these come Monday night.

Wuh-oh, people. We're entering that week in which it's pretty much impossible to not be inundated -- and perhaps a bit overwhelmed -- with holiday goodies galore. And with so many treats around, sometimes the best thing you can do is prioritize. If you have to choose just one decadent dessert to bring to your family's annual festivities and splurge on, what'll it be?

Well, when you see this recipe for Chocolate-Ginger Cake with Bourbon Sauce, the answer will be clear as day. Oh yes. The rich cocoa cake kicked up a notch by freshly grated ginger and bourbon-spiked sauce is a showstopper.

Will you please look at these cute little guys? I die! These are the sweetest little snowman cupcakes ever. And the recipe for them is pretty simple -- vanilla cupcakes with frosting piped on to look like snow and candy decorations. This adorable confection is from Sharon Bowers' book, Sweet Christmas, which is loaded with other kid-friendly magical recipes for holiday treats and instructions for wonderful decorations. Check out the snowman cupcakes recipe here!

I don't know if you caught this earlier? But I hate holiday baking. I've almost entirely sworn it off, in fact. And one of the big reasons for that can be summed up with two words: Gingerbread house. Or as I like to call it, gingermotherfuckingbread house. Look, there are those of you who are gifted in the gingerbread house arts. Lucky you!

But I'm talking to the rest of us. People who have tried and failed -- numerous times. I've baked gingerbread from scratch and I've bought those kits. And I've cursed and gnashed my teeth as walls warp, roofs collapse, and frosting fails to hold. And don't even get me started on how gingerbread for houses doesn't even taste good.

So here's my 101 on the easy, NO-BAKE gingerbread house. Some call it the graham cracker crack house. I call it saving my sanity.

Have you already had a few too many Christmas cookies? Okay, dumb question as that's impossible, but if you are looking to switch up your sugar fix a bit this season, then these chocolate peppermint cake pops are just the thing.

They're so pretty and festive, and they taste delicious. The following recipe is adapted from Big Oven and makes some amazing treats. You don't need any special pans; the pops are made of cake mixed with frosting (yum!). You can switch out the types of frosting, cake, and adornments as you like, but this combination is particularly fantastic. I love the idea of a bouquet of these for a teacher gift. 

Christmas without Christmas cookies would be like Halloween without candy -- totally pointless. It's the one time a year you actually make some dough, exercise that rolling pin, and use those adorable cookie cutters you've accumulated over the years. It's a joyous, sugary, family fun-filled occasion, and this year, make it extra awesome by following some of these colorful Christmas cookie recipes. Decorating never tasted so good. Happy, happy, merry, merry!

Smart kids know the way to butter up Santa Claus -- with lots of butter-filled cookies, of course. The old guy does a heck of a lot of work in one night, and needs some nourishment. So do his hard-working elves, and let me tell you that by the time that last gift is under the tree, those elves are good and exhausted, and some cookies and milk (or wine) are just what they need.

They can't just be any cookies, of course, they should be cookies special enough for Santa himself. No store-bought cookies will do this time. For the big man, they need to be the work of your own hands and preferably of your own kids'. You never know, they just could be the deciding factor in determining whether you go on the naughty or nice list. Here are six great Christmas cookie recipes to make for Santa Claus, starting with these amazing Santa Hat Brownie Bites.