There is no wrong time for a great cookie. Not after dinner, not before dinner, not at 10am with your second cup of coffee.
This list covers twenty of the best! From soft and chewy classics to layered bars and pastry-like treats that belong on every dessert table.
Some of these are weeknight easy and some are weekend projects, but every single one is completely worth it.
Save the ones that catch your eye and let me know which one you start with!
20. Snickerdoodle Cookies
If you’ve ever driven out of your way just to wait in line for a Crumbl cookie, this recipe is your way out of that habit.
These giant, soft cinnamon sugar cookies are topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting and taste just like the real thing.
The dough uses basic pantry staples and bakes up thick and chewy every time.
19. Waffle Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
These soft, buttery cookies are pressed with a waffle iron pattern and topped with a scoop of vanilla buttercream and a drizzle of maple syrup.
They look like tiny waffles, taste like tiny waffles and could absolutely pass for breakfast.
Serve them fresh with an extra drizzle of maple syrup for the full waffle cookie experience.
18. Cherry Almond Thumbprint Cookies with Icing
A buttery brown sugar cookie base is filled with sweet cherry preserves and finished with a delicate drizzle of almond icing.
These thumbprints are as pretty as they are delicious and look like they came straight from a bakery.
They work beautifully on a cookie tray alongside almost anything else on this list.
17. Lemon Ricotta Cookies
These Italian-style cookies are pillowy soft and finished with a bright lemon glaze that makes them seriously hard to stop eating.
Ricotta cheese and butter are what give them that cloud-like, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Lemon shows up twice, once from fresh zest in the cookie and again in the glaze, so every bite is packed with bright citrus flavor.
16. Vanilla Almond Smash Cookies
Crumbly, nutty and coated in powdered sugar, these cookies are made with ground slivered almonds, butter, flour and vanilla for a mildly sweet, shortbread-like treat with serious charm.
Cookies are baked as balls, smashed flat with a fork midway through, then coated twice in powdered sugar once cooled. Perfect with coffee or tea.
They contain no eggs and have a texture similar to buttery Russian tea cakes.
15. Homemade Oreo Cookies
Dark chocolate wafer cookies sandwiched with creamy vanilla buttercream, made entirely from scratch and every bit as good as the original.
Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa gives them that signature deep, almost-black color and rich chocolatey flavor.
Serve them with a cold glass of milk for the full experience.
14. Oatmeal Cookies
These are not your average oatmeal cookies.
Made with vegetable shortening instead of butter and a splash of blackstrap molasses, they bake up soft and chewy with a rich, deep flavor that keeps you reaching for another.
The best part? They stay soft for days, which means no sad, crumbly cookies by tomorrow morning.
13. Iced Gingerbread Cookies
Soft, chewy and warmly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, these no-spread cut-out cookies hold their shapes perfectly in the oven.
A rich vanilla bean frosting made with vanilla bean paste finishes them off and makes every bite genuinely special.
They stay fresh for up to a week and are a must on any holiday cookie tray.
12. Apple Butter Cookies with Cinnamon Vanilla Frosting
If you love warm, cozy flavors, these cookies were made for you.
Real apple butter goes straight into the dough alongside brown sugar for a soft, cakey cookie that stays fresh for days! And the cinnamon vanilla frosting made with vanilla bean paste is the finishing touch that makes them completely unforgettable.
They are great for gifting, great for sharing and obviously great for keeping all to yourself.
11. Eggnog Cut Out Cookies
A favorite holiday drink gets a serious cookie upgrade here.
These soft, buttery cut-outs are flavored with nutmeg for that unmistakable eggnog taste, and the vanilla rum frosting is rich, smooth and completely delicious.
The dough is pliable and easy to roll, making it one of the friendlier cut-out recipes you will ever work with.
10. Peppermint Mocha Sandwich Cookies
Rich chocolate mocha cookies sandwiched with creamy peppermint buttercream, half-dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in crushed candy canes.
The cookies get their mocha depth from espresso powder, while the peppermint filling is sweet, cool and full of candy cane crunch.
These cookies freeze beautifully, so make a big batch and pop them out whenever the craving hits.
9. Lemon Shortbread Cut Out Sugar Cookies
Light, buttery and flaky, these lemon rosemary shortbread cut-outs are made with fresh lemon zest, lemon juice and a touch of fresh rosemary for a subtle, aromatic twist.
There are no eggs and no leavening, just pure buttery simplicity with a bright citrus finish.
The glaze is a simple two-ingredient drizzle of powdered sugar and lemon juice, finished with a sprinkle of coarse sanding sugar.
8. Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies
These oversized chocolate cookies are made with both cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, and each one hides a whole Rolo candy inside for a gooey, molten caramel center in every bite.
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top gives them that perfect salty-sweet finish.
They store well in an airtight container and are just as good the next day.
7. Cinnamon Sugar Cookie
Crispy, buttery cut-out cookies loaded with chopped cinnamon chips and dusted with turbinado sugar for a light, snappy bite full of warm cinnamon flavor.
The texture is delicate and almost shortbread-like, which makes them completely unique on any cookie plate.
They stack and gift beautifully since there is no frosting or decoration to worry about.
6. Caramel Macchiato Cookie Bars
A soft espresso-flavored vanilla cookie base is covered in a thick layer of dark chocolate and finished with a generous drizzle of gooey caramel.
The cookie bakes in a 9×13 pan, gets topped with melted chocolate and goes into the freezer to set before slicing into bars.
These bars are inspired by a classic coffee drink and taste every bit as good as that sounds.
5. Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you think butter is the only way to make a great chocolate chip cookie, this recipe is about to change your mind.
Crisco gives these cookies a texture that butter simply cannot replicate, crispy on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside and chewy all the way through to the last bite.
They are ready in about 25 minutes and stay soft for days, which is honestly the most impressive thing about them.
4. Patriotic Star Sugar Cookies
Star-shaped, boldly decorated and seriously delicious, these sugar cookies bring the party wherever they go.
Sour cream in the dough gives them an extra richness, and fresh lemon zest adds a bright little twist that makes the flavor genuinely stand out.
They are just as fun to make as they are to eat, and the decorating process is a great one to do with kids. Celebrate Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day with these festive treats!
3. Chocolate Rugelach Cookies
These little chocolate-filled pastry cookies are the kind of thing that stops people mid-conversation at a party.
The cream cheese dough is surprisingly easy to work with and bakes up beautifully flaky and golden, while the semisweet chocolate filling and cinnamon sugar topping make every single bite taste like something from a proper bakery.
Once you try one, you will understand why these disappear from the tray faster than anything else on the table.
2. Fluffernutter Thumbprint Cookies
A crumbly, buttery peanut butter cookie with a center piped full of marshmallow fluff and finished with a drizzle of melted peanut butter on top.
The entire dough comes together in one bowl with a hand mixer, making these one of the easiest recipes on the list.
These cookies are nostalgic, a little sticky and completely impossible to eat just one of.
1. Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
Soft, chewy old-fashioned oats, sweet-tart dried cranberries and creamy white chocolate chips are held together with a molasses-kissed dough that stays soft and chewy for days.
These cookies are a personal favorite and it is easy to see why once you take the first bite.
They work beautifully for gifting, holiday trays or just keeping on the counter all week long.
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