Cookies are one of my favorite snacks, and there are so many more flavors to choose from than just chocolate chip. This roundup features 15 brilliant cookie recipes made specifically for the cookie jar.
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This is perfect for parents who need a quick snack without a huge amount of effort. These cookies are perfect for stacking and staying fresh at room temperature. You will not be disappointed by these.
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| Cookie Type | Room Temperature Lifespan | Freezer Lifespan |
|---|---|---|
| Drop Cookies (Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal) | 5 to 7 days | Up to 3 months |
| Sugar and Shortbread Cookies | 1 to 2 weeks | Up to 6 months |
| No-Bake Cookies | 1 week (best in an airtight container) | Up to 2 months |
| Soft or Cakey Cookies | 3 to 5 days | Up to 2 months |
1. Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Let's start with the classic chocolate chip cookie. The key to a good cookie is using good butter. I always tend to brown my butter as it gives it a nuttier flavor. If you opt for creaming your butter instead, this will change the texture of the cookie and make it lighter and more cake-like.
For flour, I tend to use all-purpose, but you can use bread flour, which will give a chewier cookie. An important step is to not forget to chill your dough. This really helps with flavor development, anywhere from 24 to 72 hours in the fridge, and it also helps minimize spreading once in the oven.
If you want your cookies nice and soft in the middle, underbake them slightly, as they will continue to cook once you remove them from the oven. Most recipes use semi-sweet chocolate chips. I like to use chopped chocolate instead, since this gives bigger pockets of melty goodness.
1. Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a large bowl until smooth.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are golden. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.
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Snickerdoodles get a lovely tangy flavor from the cream of tartar, and this also helps to make them nice and chewy. The cream of tartar reacts with the baking soda so that it helps leaven the cookies, but it also gives that tang and chewiness.
Try not to substitute just baking powder, as you will lose the characteristic tang and you will not get the same texture. I always like to try to underbake my cookies by about a minute. Nothing is better than a slightly fudgy, gooey center.
2. Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Mix the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt until a dough forms.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar with the cinnamon.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Monster Cookies
Monster cookies are perfect for using up anything lying around in your pantry. Instead of using flour as the base, oats are used, so this can make them gluten-free, but be sure to check the packet of your oats, as not all of them are guaranteed to be gluten-free.
Peanut butter helps bind everything together, and you can easily swap it for other nut butters. For candy, most people go for M&Ms, any type of chocolate chips, or even crushed candy bars. Use whatever you have and make it your own; that's part of the fun. My top tip would be to use good rolled oats, not quick-cooking oats. These have been processed, and you will notice a big difference in texture.
3. Monster Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in the oats and baking soda until well combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and candy-coated chocolates.
- Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let them cool completely before moving them to the cookie jar.
4. Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Funfetti sugar cookies are lovely to look at, bright and cheerful with their added sprinkles. You can use jimmies, which are rod-shaped and tend to hold their color better in the batter, or nonpareils, which can bleed color and affect the overall appearance. These cookies are stable at room temperature due to the low moisture content, with no cream cheese or butter frosting involved.
You can add the sprinkles to the dough or to the top of the cookie, and each gives a different texture and appearance. My tip would be not to overmix once you have the sprinkles in, since this can bleed color into the mix and tint the dough.
4. Funfetti Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Roll the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet. Flatten slightly with your hand.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
5. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Peanut Butter Blossoms are super popular, with a chocolate kiss center that everyone loves, especially kids. This is a classic American cookie using a peanut butter dough rolled in sugar, then the kisses pressed in immediately after removing from the oven.
It's common to press the kiss in too early, and it melts. If you add them too late, they don't stick and the cookie cracks. Make these your own by using different flavors of kiss, such as dark chocolate, white chocolate, or caramel. These are perfect for kids, but the sweet-and-salty contrast makes them great for all ages.
5. Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Beat the shortening, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
- Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and coat them in the extra granulated sugar.
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool completely.
6. Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Double chocolate brownie cookies are perfect for when you can't decide between a cookie and a brownie. The texture of these comes down to the ratio of fat to flour to give that chewy and crispy edge. I like to use melted dark chocolate as well as cocoa powder to give that deep chocolate flavor.
This batter tends to be very wet, like brownie batter, so you need to give it a good chill, or the cookies will spread when baking. Using granulated sugar gives that crinkly top to the cookie. My top tip is to remove them when the centers are slightly underdone. The carryover cooking will help set the cookie but keep it fudgy.
6. Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Melt the butter and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, and vanilla together. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture.
- Fold in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft but will set as they cool.
7. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Oatmeal raisin is a classic cookie combo; they are chewy and can even be eaten for breakfast. I like to use rolled oats to give the cookies some real texture. You can use quick oats, but there's less chew to them.
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Using brown sugar and molasses helps give the cookie moisture, while white sugar gives the cookie crispness. Soak the raisins in some warm water, and you can even add rum or bourbon for extra flavor. I like to use cinnamon, but you can also use nutmeg and cardamom.
7. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet mixture.
- Stir in the oats and raisins.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
8. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
White chocolate and macadamia nut cookies are simple to make, and the salty nuts balance with the sweetness of the white chocolate. Macadamias have a high fat content, which lends to their buttery flavor. The downside of this is they go bad quicker. Due to this, be careful not to overbeat these cookies, as white chocolate can scorch in the oven very easily.
I always like to make sure I take them out of the oven when they're slightly underdone. Macadamias are a bit more luxurious and a bit more curious, so these cookies are a bit more premium.
8. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing well.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and chopped macadamia nuts.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
9. M&M Sugar Cookies
Everyone should know how to make a quick sugar cookie, and these M&M cookies are packed with colorful candy. The best thing about drop cookies is you don't need to chill them; you can just scoop a portion of dough and bake as is.
M&Ms tend to hold their shape better than chocolate chips and won't melt, so save the batter. You can increase the visual appeal of these by adding some M&Ms to the top before baking. Always make sure you don't overbake, as this will ruin your cookie.
9. M&M Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until a soft dough forms.
- Gently fold in the M&M candies.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely.
10. Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies
Cake mix crinkle cookies are super easy to make using a cake mix that you have in the cupboard. Mix that with some eggs and oil and you have your cookie base. Rolling the dough in powdered sugar before you bake gives it that crack and crinkle. These stay soft for days by using oil as the main fat, not butter. You can vary this recipe easily by using any flavor of cake mix.
10. Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs until a thick dough forms.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, then coat them generously in the powdered sugar.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. They will puff up and crackle on top.
11. No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
The best part about these cookies is they are no-bake and perfect for a heatwave. Boiling the ingredients together, then adding peanut butter and oats off the heat, is a classic technique for these cookies. You need to make sure you boil the sugar to a softball stage, around 235 to 240 degrees Fahrenheit, since this is what helps the cookie set. If you undercook the sugar, the cookie won't set, and if you overcook it, it will become crumbly.
It takes about half an hour to set these cookies, though you can add them to the fridge to speed up the process. The main skill involved is getting the sugar to the right temperature, so I use a thermometer to take the guesswork out. You can swap your peanut butter for any other nut butter. I always use rolled oats as they give much more texture.
11. No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Line a baking sheet or your kitchen counter with wax paper.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa powder.
- Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat and let it boil for exactly 1 minute.
- Remove from heat immediately. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Fold in the quick oats until they are completely coated.
- Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the wax paper. Let them sit at room temperature until firm.
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Molasses cookies stay soft in the jar, and these are always chewy. Black strap molasses is stronger in flavor and more bitter, so pick depending on preference. The classic spice mix uses ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, but you can also use other spices. The key to the softness of these cookies is the molasses, as it tends to hold moisture.
Rolling the cookies in granulated sugar before you bake gives that lovely crinkled, crisp exterior. The most common mistake is to overbake them. Always remove them when they look a little underdone, as they will continue to cook with the carryover heat. Keep these in a sealed container to maintain the chewiness.
12. Chewy Molasses Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar together. Add the molasses and egg, mixing well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
- Roll the dough into balls, then roll each ball in granulated sugar.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
13. Lemon Drop Cookies
Lemon drop cookies are a favorite of mine as they are so different from the standard chocolate variety of cookie. The flavor in these comes from using both the zest of the lemon and the juice, but it's the zest that packs the most citrusy flavor. You can coat these in powdered sugar for that lemon drop candy look.
These tend to be light in texture because the butter is creamed and overmixing is avoided, which prevents gluten formation. I always like to roll these cookies in powdered sugar to get that cracked and crinkled effect. These cookies are visually stunning in their yellow color, which is always different from the darker chocolate varieties.
13. Lemon Drop Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
- Add the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are just starting to turn golden.
14. Thumbprint Jam Cookies
Thumbprint jam cookies are perfect for using up a leftover jam, and they are lovely and buttery. They use our standard shortbread-type dough, with butter and sugar creamed together. I like to always add egg yolk and vanilla to keep them soft and improve the texture and flavor. You can press the thumbprint in before or after baking, and it is used to fill with jam. I always prefer raspberry, but strawberry works too, or any other thick jam or preserve. Just make sure it is thick, as a thin one will not work here.
You can add the jam before baking, and it will set into the cookie. If you want to preserve the flavor and keep the freshness, you can add it after it is baked. My top tip is to be careful when adding the jam if you're baking it in, as it can bubble over if you use too much, ruining the appearance of the cookies. Chill your dough for at least 30 minutes to prevent the cookies from spreading when baked.
14. Thumbprint Jam Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla.
- Add the flour and salt, mixing until a crumbly dough forms. Bring it together with your hands.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet.
- Use your thumb or the back of a measuring spoon to press an indentation into the center of each ball.
- Fill each indentation with about half a teaspoon of jam.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the edges are lightly browned.
15. Kitchen Sink Cookies
Kitchen sink cookies are all about that lovely combination of sweet and saltiness, and they can be very addictive. They're called kitchen sink because you can throw in just about whatever you like, such as chips, chocolate, oats, or even pretzels. Always remember that the sweet and salt contrast is the most appealing aspect of these cookies and helps to balance the sweetness.
Texture is also so important in a cookie, so don't forget to use ingredients that add crunch, too. Just be careful not to use too many wet ingredients, as this can increase the hydration of the dough, which means your cookies will spread.
I love these cookies because they're so easy to customize, and they're a great way to use up leftover ingredients from the pantry.
15. Kitchen Sink Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, crushed pretzels, and toffee bits.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.