Best Wine Pairings for Popular Christmas Cookies

The Best Wine Pairings for 10 Popular Christmas Cookies,
According to Sommeliers

“The holidays are a wonderful time to socialize with family and friends, and you’d be surprised just how well wine can pair with cookies and dessert,” explains Anthony Bilwin, general manager and sommelier at von Stiehl Winery, Cidery, and Distillery in Algoma, Wisconsin.

Sugar Cookies

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Chardonnay

Bust out that oak-aged Chardonnay. The wine’s subtle sweetness and buttery roundness will play nicely with the sugar, butter, and vanilla that take center stage in these classic Christmas cookies, Popescu says. Aging a wine in oak imparts a hint of vanilla flavor, which only makes this pairing even better.

Although you might think of Chardonnay more typically as a partner for pasta or seafood, the popular white wine will complement the simple, nostalgic flavors and tender texture of the sugar cookies, Kakalios and Bilwin agree. Sommeliers often suggest Chardonnay with nutty dishes, so if your sugar cookie recipe or its icing happens to be spiked with almond extract (like our Christmas Sugar Cookie Cutouts), you’ll unwrap an extra level of deliciousness.

Gingerbread

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Moscatel

With punchy flavors like molasses, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, gingerbread isn’t shy. To make each bite of the powerful cookie really shine, enjoy your Gingerbread Cutout with a glass of wine made with Muscat  grapes (which also happens to be one of our top Thanksgiving wine picks).

“Muscat-based wines often evoke a gentle, candied ginger flavor, making for a fun and complementary match for the spicy warmth of gingerbread,” Popescu says.

Moscatel is one of many types of Muscat wines. The dessert wine is floral, sweet, and tastes even more like butterscotch, figs, or raisins the longer it ages. Most Moscatels offer some orange essence, which is a delight with gingerbread’s spice.

Thumbprint or Linzer Cookies

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Sparkling Rosé

When it comes time to consider the best wine pairing for fruit jam/jelly-preserve-stuffed goodies like Linzer or Thumbprint Cookies, let the spread take the lead.

“With fresh red fruit notes, a young, semi-sweet sparkling rosé sets off the fruit preserves in thumbprint or Linzer cookies while adding a touch of brightness to each bite,” Popescu explains.

The effervescence of a semi-sweet, often labeled as “demi-sec,” sparkling rosé acts as a nice counterpart to cut through the richness of the buttery cookie dough base.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon

Although they’re just as appropriate for bake sales and summer potlucks as they are for the winter holidays, we can’t go through a Christmas season without at least one batch of CCCs.

Remember our dark with dark scheme? That’s the focus here, thanks to the bittersweet and bold dark chocolate chips that are the hero ingredient in every chocolate chip cookie recipe.

While other fruit-forward red wines would also work, Bilwin believes that “not much is better than a piece of dark chocolate and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon by the fire, but this pairing comes close! Dark chocolate chips with the buttery flavor of the cookie help to highlight the fruit and nutty flavors in the Cabernet, adding a little vanilla undertone as well.”

Shortbread Cookies

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Moscato d’Asti

Ted Lasso’s signature cookie recipe is a lesson in editing and execution. Flour, sugar, and a lot of shortening or butter are all that’s required to make the most traditional shortbread. From there, vanilla extract and salt often join the party. While buttery shortbread is a treat as-is, come holiday season, we like to spiff things up with bonus ingredients like almond butter, maraschino cherries, and dried cranberries.

Whatever shortbread variation you bake up, Kakalios is keen on another Muscat-based wine: Moscato d’Asti. This low-alcohol, sweet, and bubbly vino is an elegant pairing that won’t overpower shortbread’s delicate flavors.

Plus, “shortbread’s high fat content begs for a light and slightly effervescent sweet foil, with understated flavors that permit the subtle tones of the cookie to shine,”  Kakalios says.

Peanut Butter Cookies or Peanut Butter Blossoms

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Merlot

Peanut butter and jelly is another dynamic and delicious duo that’s gratifying for kids and adults alike, and a similar approach is what we’re taking here: peanut butter and fruit.

For classic criss-cross-topped Peanut Butter Cookies or Kiss-crowned Peanut Butter Blossoms, Bilwin says your best bet is a popular red wine: Merlot. A full-bodied red with silky tannins “will pair perfectly with chocolate and help wash down the peanut butter,” according to Marcy. And with notes of plum, cherry, and chocolate, “Merlot offers incredible fruity qualities, reminiscent of peanut butter and jelly with chocolate,” Bilwin says.

Chocolate Truffles or Buckeyes

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Tempranillo

There’s nothing bashful about Triple-Chocolate Truffles, Peanut Butter Truffles, and Buckeyes. (In case you are unfamiliar, the latter is Ohio’s signature chocolate candy recipe that’s essentially a ball of peanut butter fudge partially dipped in melted chocolate.)

So once again, you’re going to want to go dark and open up a bottle of Tempranillo, a medium- to full-bodied red wine from Spain.

“The deep, dark fruit flavors of a Tempranillo, combined with its easy-drinking character make it a perfect match for the intensity of chocolate truffles or Buckeyes,” Popescu says. (Lucky enough to have extra? Transform it into a Tinto de Verano to enjoy later in the evening or week!)

Coconut Macaroons

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Sauternes

They look like snowballs and taste like a tropical vacation, so Coconut Macaroons are always a welcome addition to our dessert boards come holiday season.

That being said, the forceful coconut essence can make for a challenging pairing. Popescu says the fix can be found in the dessert wine section.

“French Sauternes, a Bordeaux dessert wine known for its lush tropical fruit and warm baking spice notes beautifully accompanies the sweetness and texture of Coconut Macaroons,” Popescu says.

Fudge

Christmas cookie wine pairing: Port

As one of the sweetest, most dense, and richest Christmas candies, Fudge asks for a wine with a similar luxurious build. Enter: Port, a Portuguese fortified dessert wine.

Popescu, Marcy, and Kakalios agree that Port is the perfect match, since the drink’s “layered sweetness harmonizes with the rich, intense flavor of fudge, creating an indulgent experience,” Popescu tells us.

Where other wines might get lost, Port’s fairly high alcohol content (18 to 21%), silky texture, and innate sweetness, mean that it can stand up to the boldness of the fudge. Try a Tawny Port, renowned for its nutty flavors, or a Vintage Ruby Port, with chocolate, warm baking spice, and dark berry notes.