15 Costco Holiday Treats and Snacks, Ranked Worst to Best

The holidays have arrived at Costco, which means there’s an aisle dedicated to various treats in fancy packaging. And thank goodness for that! Because even though neither you nor I know much about your kids’ teachers, the staff at your doctor’s office or the people who deliver your mail, I think it’s safe to assume they’ll all be grateful for an edible gift. Even party hosts and neighbors will appreciate a store-bought treat.

To find the Costco holiday food worth gifting, I tasted as many treats as I could find. I considered taste and texture as well as the quality of the packaging and the uniqueness of each item. I put more effort into making this list and checking it twice than Santa ever could.

15. Stockmeyer Music Tin Shortbread Cookies

While my hopes were high because the tin plays music and delivers cookies, the result was less than magical. True shortbread cookies should taste like butter, and these tasted more like shortening. The tin plays “Winter Wonderland,” so it’s perfect for anyone who loves a holiday trinket. I, personally, would have preferred “Good King Wenceslas” to make up for the lacking shortbreads.

14. David’s Cranberry Pistachio Cookies

Now, as a disclaimer, this review relies heavily on personal preference. I’ve never seen a cranberry pistachio cookie and gotten excited, but I do think cranberries and pistachios are fantastic, so I was hoping I’d like these. Alas, these did not blow my mind. The tin makes them easily giftable as a stocking stuffer, though, for people who enjoy fruity flavors over chocolaty ones.

13. Hammond’s Snowball Cookies

These would have ranked lower on this list had it not been for the adorable ceramic Christmas tree cookie jar they come in, which is practical, decorative and a great seasonal gift. The cookies themselves tasted more like imitation almond extract than the real stuff. And beware! The confectioners’ sugar coating will make it look like you just walked in from an hour of playing in the snow.

12. Premium Select Fudge Mint Cookies

I’d be perfectly happy with these if they were a Secret Santa gift. If I were shopping for myself, I’d probably pick other A-list Costco sweets before these, but they’re certainly satisfactory. Anyone you know who loves mint chocolate desserts will enjoy these with a cup of coffee or tea after dinner.

11. Madi Gran Panettone

Panettone is part of my holiday tradition since I’m Italian American. I can understand how people from other cultures don’t understand the fuss about a barely sweetened bread with chunks of dried fruit. If you’ve ever tasted a really good panettone, you’d know! Costco’s version is OK, so you’d probably be better off making your panettone.

10. The Silver Crane Speculoos House

I always love a speculoos (or speculaas) cookie, and while these aren’t the most remarkable ones I’ve ever tasted, they’re certainly good enough. What pushed it into the top 10 is the tin, which can and should be used to store homemade Christmas candy once it’s empty.

9. The Silver Crane Chocolate Truffle Nutcracker

Similar to the speculoos cookies from Silver Crane, these chocolate truffles are totally fine. Anyone who likes chocolate will be more than happy to get this as a gift, especially if they have an affinity for collecting holiday tins.

8. Stonemill Kitchen Baked Brie

This DIY kit has everything you need to make a fancy brie en croute for your holiday table: a wheel of brie, a sheet of puff pastry, fig spread and chopped walnuts. Baked cheese is never a bad thing! I will admit, I ate the entire thing myself, and I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone—sharing is caring.

7. Kirkland Signature European Cookies

If these cookies have a fault, it’s that they might have too much chocolate. However, that’s never once been a problem in the history of anything, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’m also a fan of the large, sturdy, reusable tin. It’s practical, and it will evoke the memory of childhood when your grandma stuffed these tins with random sewing supplies or knick-knacks.

6. La Trinitaine les Recettes de Marcel Biscuiterie

These French butter cookies taste like real butter because they’re made with real butter instead of artificially butter-flavored hydrogenated oil. So, hats off to you, La Trinitaine, for keeping it real. I also appreciate that, unlike many American cookie recipes, these French cookies are not too sweet, which makes them all the more enjoyable alongside a seasonal latte.

5. Kirkland Peppermint Bark

The recipe for peppermint bark boils down to the following: melt chocolate; top with crushed peppermints; cool; smash; eat. If you use the microwave, you could easily make a whole pan of the stuff in less than five minutes. But the entire reason you’re buying Costco peppermint bark is that between the shopping, wrapping, decorating, cleaning, a thousand other things and, you know, your actual job, you don’t have five minutes. Instead, you’re going to crack open this plastic clamshell, pour the contents into a decorative tin and pretend you made it yourself. There is no shame in this, and I appreciate Costco for being a willing accomplice to this perfectly acceptable holiday hack.

4. Kirkland Belgian Luxury Chocolates

These are darn good chocolates at a darn good price. I can’t really find a single thing to complain about, except maybe if you don’t want the name “Kirkland” splashed on any gifts you’re giving out. If I knew you went to Costco to get my gift, it would kinda bum me out that you didn’t buy me food court hot dogs.

3. Gudrun Chocolate

These are the chocolates you should buy for gifts if you don’t want people to know you did all your holiday shopping at Costco. (Unless they, too, have a Costco membership, in which case they’re thoroughly acquainted with everything on this list.) This box of chocolates comes pre-wrapped in a good-looking gold gift bag, so it’s ready to rock as soon as you’ve been cleared to leave by Costco security.

2. Pumpkin Pie

Costco’s pumpkin pie is ludicrously large, preposterously cheap and incredibly tasty. Pick up a few cartons of whipping cream to go with it, and you’ve either got dessert for a party or an outrageously fun night ahead of you. If you want to make it extra special, grab a jug of Kirkland maple syrup to drizzle on top before serving.