Where to get gooey, decadent holiday cookies in North Jersey

Does Santa leave better presents if you leave him better cookies?

Not sure, but now's the season to figure out. With Christmas fewer than 25 days away, it's officially time to start placing your holiday cookie orders.

Or, you know, just start eating Christmas cookies (and I don't mean the tiny Pillsbury Snowman ones).

Across New Jersey, local bakeries, cottage kitchens and ghost kitchens are already whipping up all of your favorite seasonal treats, as well as some innovative plays on classic flavors. At rotational-style shops, whose menus are always changing, we've seen everything from sweet potato casserole cookies to egg nog cream-stuffed snickerdoodles. And as for the delivery services? It's all about frosted sugar snowflakes and green M&Ms.

So, if you're thinking about wooing Saint Nick with an artisan, 5-ounce horchata banger this year, you've come to the right place.

Here are 6 of our favorite places to get Christmas cookies in North Jersey.

Chip City, Ridgewood & Montclair

Chip City is known for making some of the biggest cookies in Jersey, and their holiday treats are no different. Weighing in at over five ounces a piece, the cookies are about as hefty and gooey as they are festive. The catch, however, is that their flavors change every week.

Operating the business on a rotational menu model, the team behind the sweet shop — whose Instagram following has now surpassed that of Chips Ahoy — is constantly dropping innovative new varieties of cookies inspired by the seasons. So, though we can't say exactly what will be offered on the day you visit, we do know that December's weekly lists will be largely influenced by the 25th (and will probably include plenty of red velvet).

Buying a box, then, is almost like playing a Christmas white elephant: you just don't what you're going to get.

Order: Nationwide shipping available at goldbelly.com/chip-city-cookies.

Go: Various Jersey locations, northern stores include Ridgewood and Montclair; chipcitycookies.com.

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Dee's Cookies, Union

When we asked our @northjerseyeats followers where to find the best cookies in Jersey, this Union-based hidden gem was one of the top answers we received. Boasting massive, soft-baked cookies — made by sole proprietor Diana Benavides — the little spot, we quickly learned, had gained quite a reputation in the little over a year it'd been open.

The hype around Benavides's cookies stems from their texture. Despite being crispy on the outside, the middle of each is almost raw and doughy. That juxtaposition makes them irresistible, and (in flavors from Chocolate Mint Andes to Xmas Funfetti) the perfect holiday treats.

Order: Visit deescookiess.wixsite.com/deescookies/shop. Delivery also available on UberEats, DoorDash and Grubhub.

Go: 1331 Magie Ave., Union; 908-588-3439, deescookiess.wixsite.com/deescookies.

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Bad Cookie Co., Delivery

We hate to choose favorites, but we will; Bad Cookie Co. makes our favorite cookies in Jersey. Dense, buttery and loaded with fillings, these delicious showstoppers taste just like your Grandma made them. Here's why.

Bad Cookie Co. is owned by married couple John Nachlinger and Rafael Gavarrete, who make every order by hand in their cottage kitchen. The company has no storefront, no lines out the door, no commercial influence at all; it is sheerly a passion project — and you can taste it in their cookies. Filled with care as much as they are sugar, the desserts have that intangible "mother's (or fathers') touch" to them.

Warm up one of the team's Reese's Tree-topped peanut butter cookies, or a 'Bad Santa' with M&Ms, and your tastebuds are sure to be transported home for the holidays.

Order: Nationwide shipping at thebadcookiecompany.com/shop.

Go: Delivery only; 609-757-9930, thebadcookiecompany.com.

The Cookie Connect, four North Jersey locations

Offering a fun seasonal menu of hot and gooey cookies, The Cookie Connect is one of our go-to festive dessert destinations. When we visited recently, the spot was already serving flavors such as Molten Lava Cake and Double Chocolate Dutch Cocoa Brownie, with future plans — as the dates get closer to the 25th — to start naming treats after TV's most iconic holiday characters (last year, we loved the Rudolph's Red Velvet Cheesecake).

Besides having soft cookies, a creative flavor list and a wicked Instagram game, The Cookie Connect is different from the aforementioned sweets purveyors on this list. For one, its cookies are flat, rather than massive mounds, and remind us of fancier versions of Nestlé's Toll House treasures. Each one is also offered with the option to add ice cream, and we highly recommend jumping on that.

Order: Preorder 'Santa's Special Box of 8' for pick up on December 24th; thecookieconnect.com/online-store.

Go: Seasonal cookies available daily at any of the company's four locations (Bloomfield, Morristown, Ridgewood, Hoboken); thecookieconnect.com.

Bakes by Brit, Delivery

No dessert makes us think of Christmas like a frosted sugar cookie (though the Gingerbread Man has a strong case). Sweet, rich and melt-in-your-mouth delicate, the holiday staple is an absolute must — whether for Santa, or for your after-dinner table.

Based out of Jersey City, Bakes by Brit makes some of the most intricately designed Christmas sugar cookies in the area. Hand-decorated to the tiniest detail, each one is incredibly impressive. If you're looking to test our theory that Santa may leave better presents if he got better cookies, therefore, these pieces of art are definitely the way to do it.

Order: Message @bakesbybrit_ on Instagram.

Go: Delivery/pick-up only.

Rispoli Pastry Shop, Ridgefield

Because, in New Jersey, sometimes all you need for Christmas is a good-old platter of Italian cookies.

Order: Visit rispolipastryshop.com/shop.

Go: 824 Broad Ave., Ridgefield; 201-943-6002, rispolipastryshop.com.

Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can't find her in Jersey's best restaurants, she's probably off running a race course in the mountains. Catch her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeats, and sign up for her North Jersey Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Christmas cookies in NJ: Best bakeries for decadent, beautiful ones