83 Best Cookie Recipes to Satisfy Any Sweet Tooth
Cookie season is upon us. Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or looking to make something memorable for a swap or a gift, this collection of our best cookie recipes has you covered.
Want to brush up on the classics? Our ultimate sugar, chocolate chip, and peanut butter cookie recipes are present and accounted for. Or if you’re seeking inspiration to really make your cookie plate stand out, consider our crunchy butterscotch-potato chip balls, coconut-sugar crinkle sandwich cookies, or zebra-striped shortbread.
It’s time to clear out the kitchen and let baking inspiration take hold. Here, find 83 of our favorite cookie recipes to make your season merry, bright, and perfectly sweet.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne1/82Classic Sugar Cookies
Some cookie recipes are classic for a reason. The buttery flavors of these delicate cookies will take you straight back to childhood, and provide a perfect canvas for all sorts of decorating projects.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell3/823-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Easy to make and naturally gluten-free, these peanut butter cookies are perfect during the holidays and any time of year. Because this easy cookie recipe doesn’t contain any butter or flour, you can share a batch with friends who keep dairy-free or gluten-free.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Eliza Mozer5/82Molasses Cookies
A festive blend of cinnamon, cloves, and ground ginger makes this a pretty near-perfect Christmas cookie. Rolling them in granulated sugar right before baking gives them just the right amount of holiday sparkle.
Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon6/82Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
Old-fashioned oats give these classic cookies just the right chewy texture, while vanilla extract, granulated sugar, and cinnamon give them warm, comforting flavors that will keep you coming back to the cookie platter for more.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog8/82Apple Pie Cookies
A cross between crisp linzer cookies and apple hand pies, each of these adorable cookies has a dollop of cinnamon-flecked apple filling within a flaky crust. (Pro-tip: They make an excellent cookie for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving.)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne9/82Coconut Macaroons
The tiny dash of almond extract in this cookie recipe really pushes the coconut flavor over the top. If you want to gild the lily, dip the baked and cooled cookies in melted dark or even milk chocolate.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich11/82Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Look for high quality vegan chocolate drops, like the gems made by Hu Chocolate, for these cookies. We promise that these chocolate delights will be a hit with anyone and everyong, dietary restrictions or not.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne14/82Chewy Flourless Pistachio Cookies
Raw pistachios will give these cookies the greenest color, while toasted pistachios will give them the best flavor. Split the difference and use half and half in these nutty cookies.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne15/82Gourmet’s Best Gingerbread Cookies
This old-fashioned cookie dough is made entirely in a saucepan. It's a natural fit for the holidays, but you can also use it to make skeleton cookies at Halloween.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne & Jason Schreiber16/82Peanut Butter Blossoms, but Better
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks17/82Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies
A quintessential holiday cookie, this classic Snickerdoodles recipe gets its pillowy texture from baking soda plus an old-school leavener: cream of tartar.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou18/82Oatmeal Date Cookies
Sticky, chewy, caramelly dates add more intrigue to oatmeal cookies than raisins ever could.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne20/82Spritz Cookies
Buttery spritz cookies date to the 16th century. But the dough isn't always easy to work with. This recipe is easier to handle thanks to a touch of cornstarch. All that’s left to do is decorate to your heart's content.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton21/82Molasses Sandwich Cookies With Coffee Cream
It’s worth seeking out Dulcey, a.k.a. blond chocolate, for the filling of these sandwich cookies, but milk chocolate will also do the trick. Either way, expect a jolt of flavor from espresso or coffee, plus warming spices like cinnamon and ginger.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell22/82Double Chocolate Rye Cookies
Bursting with both dark chocolate chunks and unsweetened chocolate, this is the ideal cookie for chocolate lovers. Best of all, when you pull a baking sheet of these out of the oven, your house will smell amazing.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova23/82Salted-Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne & Jason Schreiber24/82Goat Butter Shortbread
For a subtle shift, try swapping goat’s milk butter, such as Meyenberg, for the usual cow’s milk variety in the batter for shortbread cookies that’ll make your guests wonder what other baking secrets you hold.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne25/82Kingston Cookies
Two oaty, coconutty cookies sandwich a layer of creamy milk chocolate in these golden-hued Australian favorites.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne26/82Ma’amoul Med (Orange and Espresso Date Cookie Bars)
These bar cookies, which are especially popular during Eid, are made with a yeasted semolina dough and have a sweetly spiced date filling.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton27/82Pistachio-Rose Shortbread Squares
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton28/82Cinnamon–Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne & Jason Schreiber29/82Pastel Butter Cookies
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne & Jason Schreiber30/82Iranian Rice Cookies
A humble meat mallet is the secret behind the eye-catching grid pattern on these cardamom- and rose-water-scented cookies. Often served at Nowruz celebrations, these cookies make a pretty addition to every holiday spread.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by M. Pearl Jones31/82Grated Shortbread Bars With Rose Jam
There's a trick in this cookie recipe: The dough is frozen and then grated. The result is an almost chewy shortbread, that's no less buttery and rich, with a streak of bright red jam through the center.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone33/82Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best chocolate chip cookie has flat and crispy sides with oozy, soft centers and luscious pockets of molten chocolate throughout. That’s why this chocolate chip cookie recipe is our top pick, every time. (Cooking for someone with dietary restrictions? Here are our favorite vegan chocolate chip cookies.)
Photo by Kristin Teig34/82Chocolate Dynamite Cookies
These fudgy rye flour cookies are almost more brownie than cookie. They’re also studded with chocolate chips so you get a bit of melty chocolate with every chewy bite.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne36/82Nanaimo Bars
These iconic Canadian bar cookies have a coconut and graham cracker base topped with custard buttercream, and melt-in-your-mouth bittersweet chocolate.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks37/82S'mores Sandwich Cookies
No campfire? No problem! This sandwich cookie contains two toasted marshmallows and melted chocolate between two soft, cinnamon-spiked honey cookies.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen38/82Tahini Billionaire Bars
Millionaire bars have shortbread, caramel, and chocolate. Billionaire bars take things to the next level with tahini and a dusting of sesame seeds. The shortbread is tender, the filling gooey, and the chocolate ties it all together.
Photo by Kim Sentner39/82Classic Thumbprint Cookies With Jam
A Christmas cookie classic, these easy thumbprint cookies are customizable with any type of jam you like—or, you can get creative with pistachio paste or lemon curd.
Photo by Jen Altman41/82Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
The flavor of these chocolate crinkles is dependent entirely on the quality of chocolate you use. Here are our favorite chocolate brands for baking.
Photo by Leigh Beisch43/82Spiced Chocolate Molasses Buttons
A chocolate lover’s answer to gingersnaps, these spiced cookies are rolled in turbinado or granulated sugar and filled with a rich ganache. They’re guaranteed to be one of the prettiest of the cookie tin contenders.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks44/82No-Bake Butterscotch-Coconut Cookies
These no-bake cookies couldn’t be easier to make. With just six ingredients, including butterscotch and creamy peanut butter, they can be ready in less than 30 minutes.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen45/82Giant Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog46/82Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés
Creamy pistachios pair perfectly with semisweet chocolate in these festive icebox cookies. They store easily in the freezer, so you can make them way ahead of the holidays.
Photo by Paige Green47/82Jam Cookie Bars
Whether you have a surplus of jam in your pantry, or are looking for a cookie that’s only lightly sweet, these cookie bars made with brown rice syrup and almond butter are sure to please.
Photo by Carl Kravats49/82Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, and Banana Cookies
Peanut butter, oats, and applesauce are all these vegan cookies need to be perfectly chewy, while ripe bananas and an abundance of chocolate keep things sweet without any added sugar.
Photo by Davide Luciano51/82Coffee Malteds
These coffee-flavored cookies might look humble, but their flavors are anything but. Made with malted milk powder, they’re chewy and delicious, especially with a swipe of dulce de leche.
Photo by Alice Gao52/82Peanut Butter Fingers With Salty Milk Chocolate Glaze
These retro peanut butter bars get their chewy texture thanks to bread flour and are topped with a luscious milk chocolate glaze. Pour yourself a tall glass of milk; you’re gonna need it.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell53/823-Ingredient Brown-Butter Shortbread
Brown butter gives traditional shortbread a boost in this super-simple cookie recipe. Just be sure to let your browned butter cool completely before incorporating it into the batter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell55/82Pannelet Cookies With Sweet Potato and Coconut
Toasted coconut and roasted sweet potatoes (not yams) provide layered texture and earthy sweetness to these cookies, which also happen to be gluten-free.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi58/82Triple-Ginger Cream Sandwiches
Turn up the volume on classic gingerbread cookies with three types of ginger, warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, plus a dash of black pepper. The sweet, tangy cream cheese icing studded with candied ginger takes them straight over the top.
Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton59/82Alfajores With Coconut Dulce de Leche
These elegant, honey-almond sandwich cookies get a tropical twist from an easy, make-ahead dulce de leche filling that's filled with shredded coconut.
Photo by Dayna Smith62/82Babee’s Strawberry Shortbread Valentine’s Cookies
While the heart shapes make these jammy cookies an ideal Valentine’s Day treat, you can use any small cookie cutter you like to make these sweet, festive cookies all year long.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi64/82Pistachio Cardamom Butter Cookies
Photo by Peden + Munk66/82Soft Gingerbread Tiles With Rum Butter Glaze
Scandinavian cookie stamps give these gingerbreads an embossed look, but any ‘ol cookie cutter will do the trick. Don’t skip the rum-butter glaze, which gives these cookies a glossy finish with loads of flavor.
Photo by Tara Donne, food and prop styling by Diana Yen71/82All-in-One Sugar Cookie Dough
If you’re searching for a cookie dough that can do it all, look no further. This easy recipe is ideal for all your favorite cookie cutters, mix-ins, and icing designs.
Ben Fink74/82The Ischler
Looking for a cold-weather baking project? These classic Austrian sandwich cookies are just the thing. The filling is made with dried apricots, sugar, lemon zest, and brandy.
Christina Holmes76/82Nutty Crunch Cookies
This recipe calls for blanched hazelnuts and roasted almonds, but it’s a flexible rubric. You can swap in walnuts, pecans, macadamias, or any of your other favorite nuts.
donna hay magazine, photography by Chris Court77/82Caramel Popcorn, Salted Almond, and Malt Cookies
Store-bought caramel popcorn gets new life in this recipe, which might just become your favorite cookie. Serve with hot chocolate or cold milk.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susan Spungen80/82Zebra-Striped Shortbread Cookies
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susan Spungen81/82Double Pecan Thumbprints
The buttery frangipane in these crowd-pleasing pecan cookies can be made ahead. Box them up pretty to share with friends.
