Ethnic-Inspired Holiday Cookie Recipes

Dried fruits flavored with orange zest fill these soft cookie pockets. A star-shaped cookie cutter and coarse sugar dresses them up.

Lightly spiced chocolate cookies and dulce de leche, a caramel sauce popular in Central and South America, make delightful mini cookie sandwiches.

We've added lemon glaze and a candied fruit topper to Germany's famous spicy Lebkuchen honey cakes.

"Melomakarona," a traditional Greek Christmas cookie, is made in a rounded shape so it retains its soft texture. After the cookies cool, they are dipped in a mixture of honey and spices.

We've given this crunchy Italian cookie a bit of extra flair by adding banana to the batter and dipping it in chocolate.

No need to make homemade dough -- these Baklava (a Greek favorite) start with purchased phyllo dough cups. The classic honey and walnut filling is irresistible.

These rich sandwich cookies, filled with dark, satiny ganache, are adapted from an Italian celebration cookie called Bocca di Dama -- or Lady's Kisses

These traditional Argentine cookie sandwiches feature a creamy dulce de leche filling with a caramel flavor.

The creamy splendor of Irish coffee bursts from these coffee-flavor treats topped with an Irish Creme frosting.

Topped with toasted coconut, this Spanish shortbread cookie features an infusion of citrus flavors, including chopped candied pineapple and a lemon glaze.

Named for the enchanting Austrian capital, this raspberry-almond cookie looks fancy but it starts with a sugar cookie mix.

A powdered sugar drizzle adds an extra touch of sweetness to these cinnamon-spiced cookies. Orange peel adds a touch of zest.

These nutty oatmeal-coconut cookies are inspired by the variation that soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp were gifted during World War II.

Rose water, a distillation made from rose petals, blesses these cookies with a distinctive fragrant, floral flavor.

A simple and sweet pineapple filling tastes delicious inside the cookie crust rolled in cinnamon and sugar.

Gently flavored with amaretto, these Italian macaroons pair beautifully with espresso.

A rich chocolate-rum frosting makes these moist bar cookies irresistible. Serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.