Every holiday cookie tray has its favorites and its leftovers. Iced sugar cookies, cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodles, gingerbread men and peanut butter blossoms with a chocolate kiss on top are four of the most common. This One Gotta Go card asks which cookie you would take off the tray forever.
Think about the cookie you reach for first, the one you love to bake and decorate, and the one that's always left on the plate at the end of the party. Then make your pick and see who agrees with you.
The 4 choices on this card
A. Sugar cookies with icing
Sugar cookies with icing are the decorating cookie, cut into trees and stars and covered in frosting and sprinkles. Decorating them is a tradition in many homes. The case against them is that they often look better than they taste, which makes them a fair cut.
Keep it if: Decorating sugar cookies is your favorite holiday activity and you love a thick layer of icing.
B. Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are soft cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar, with a slightly tangy flavor. They're cozy and easy to love. The case against them is that they're simple and less festive looking than the others, so they can get lost on a crowded tray.
Keep it if: You love soft, cinnamon-sugar cookies that taste like a warm kitchen in December, especially fresh from the oven with a glass of milk.
C. Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread men are spiced, shaped cookies that are part decoration, part dessert. They're iconic and fun to make with kids. The case against them is that the spicy, firm cookie isn't everyone's favorite to eat, so many end up as decorations.
Keep it if: The smell of ginger and molasses means Christmas to you, and you always eat the head first.
D. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Peanut butter blossoms are peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss pressed into the middle. Fans say they're the best cookie on the tray. The case against them is peanut butter: if you're not a fan or have an allergy at the table, they're out.
Keep it if: Peanut butter and chocolate together is your favorite flavor, and you grab one before they're gone.
Our take
We'd cut the gingerbread men. They're iconic and fun to decorate, but they're the cookie on this card most likely to be admired and not eaten, while sugar cookies, snickerdoodles and peanut butter blossoms usually disappear first. Expect the most fun debate between the sugar cookie decorators and the peanut butter blossom fans. For a bonus round, have everyone vote on which cookie they'd leave out for Santa. And whoever brings the cookies gets to break any tie.
How to play this card with friends
- Read the four choices out loud.
- Everyone picks the one they'd eliminate at the same time.
- Explain your pick. This is where the fun starts.
- Use the follow-up questions below to keep it going.
Follow-up questions to keep the debate going
- Which Christmas cookie is on every tray but rarely the first one picked?
- Which cookie would you leave out for Santa?
- Is decorating cookies more fun than eating them?
- Which Christmas cookie deserves a spot on this card instead?
Want more debates like this? Get the One Gotta Go card game for game night, family dinners and road trips. Shop the decks.
Christmas Cookie Types: quick answers
What are the most popular Christmas cookies?
Sugar cookies with icing, gingerbread men, snickerdoodles and peanut butter blossoms are some of the most traditional Christmas cookies in the United States, along with shortbread, thumbprints and chocolate crinkle cookies. Every family has its own favorites, which is what makes this card fun.
What is a peanut butter blossom?
A peanut butter blossom is a soft peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar and baked with a chocolate kiss pressed into the center while it's still warm. It's a classic holiday cookie in many American homes and often one of the first to disappear from the cookie tray.
