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37 Best Easy Cookie Recipes to Make Again and Again

Discover delicious (but easy) cookies to make the next time you're in the mood for something sweet. 
Tahini cookies topped with sesame seeds.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Judy Mancini

Making delicious cookies doesn't have to be a complicated affair. There are plenty of easy cookie recipes that any home cook can pull together without a lot of fuss. What these simple cookie recipes lack in complication they make up for with loads of flavor, and there's something for you, whether you're craving something nutty, something buttery, something chocolatey, or something spiced. Ahead, our 37 best easy cookies, including chocolate chip, molasses, peanut butter, chocolate chunk, snickerdoodles, shortbread, and more.

  • Photo of peanut butter cookies on a rack.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    1/37

    3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

    These naturally gluten-free treats couldn't be easier to make—the three ingredients you'll need are peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. Preheat the oven to 350°F and whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Drop the dough in mounds onto a prepared baking sheet, and you're 12 minutes away from amazing peanut butter cookies.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
    2/37

    Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

    It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it: The Epi Test Kitchen went through 18 batches of chocolate chip cookie recipes to find the perfect one. This—with a soft center, slightly crispy edges, and notes of butterscotch and pockets of molten chocolate—is it. 

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  • Photo by Mark Weinberg
    3/37

    Shortbread Cookies Four Ways

    This easy shortbread recipe from Dorie Greenspan can be made in four equally enticing flavors: lemon-vanilla, whole wheat, chocolate-rye, or spelt with flax and orange.

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  • The New Easy, photography by William Meppem
    4/37

    Chocolate Chunk Share Cookie

    This chocolate wonder is called a share cookie, but it's so good you might not actually want to share it. Press the dough into a 10-inch round and get ready for one massive cookie to come out of the oven 20 minutes later.

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  • Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Erika Joyce
    5/37

    No-Bake Chocolate Oat Cookies

    Make your no-bakes the talk of the cookie circuit by adding in dried cherries, chopped almonds, and a pinch of espresso powder.

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  • 6/37

    Chewy Molasses Cookies

    You know that cookie with the slightly crisp edges, chewy center, and magical ability to stay fresh for days? That's this cookie, which is lightly spiced, addictively chewy, and unapologetically bold with the molasses.

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  • Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Prop Styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi
    7/37

    Classic Thumbprint Cookies

    These easy thumbprint cookies are classic for a reason—but you can jazz them up with any jam you'd like.

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  • Romulo Yanes
    8/37

    Almond-Oat Lace Cookies

    No mixer needed for these irresistibly nutty, chewy cookies: Simply melt butter on the stove-top, stir in the dry ingredients, then spoon the batter onto a baking sheet. 

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    9/37

    Pannelet Cookies With Sweet Potato and Coconut

    These golden orange yam and coconut cookies from Spain are delicate and flavorful. They stay fresh for up to five days when stored in an airtight container. 

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  • Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon
    10/37

    Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

    This easy oatmeal cookie recipe is no-nonsense: no nuts, fruit, or chocolate to deviate from the classic comfort of the vanilla- and cinnamon-flavored favorite.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    11/37

    3-Ingredient Brown-Butter Shortbread

    Traditional shortbread gets an added depth of flavor with the use of brown butter. This recipe results in a rectangular-shaped cookie, but feel free to cut the dough into any shape you like while it's still warm.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    12/37

    No-Bake Pistachio–White Chocolate Cookies

    Want easy cookies you can make in less than an hour without having to run out to buy perishable ingredients—or even turn on your oven? These no-bake cookies rely on nut butter and white chocolate for their creamy, chewy texture, and a combination of oats, pistachio, and cranberries adds a nice, sweet crunch.

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  • Photo by Yossy Arefi
    13/37

    Potato Chip–Crusted Magic Bars

    Whether you call them magic bars or seven-layer cookies, you probably know these treats, in which chunky bits—like chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut—get layered over sticky condensed milk and a crisp cookie crust. The magical ingredient in this recipe, though? The potato chips—a perfectly salty counterpoint to all that sweetness. 

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Hampton
    14/37

    Cinnamon–Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

    This sharable cookie has all the flavors of a latte. And chocolate. Lots of hot, melting milk chocolate.

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  • Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
    15/37

    Chewy Ginger-Rye Cookies

    Rye flour adds an earthy-nutty dimension and absorbs more molasses than all-purpose flour. The result is a cookie with the smoky caramel finish of rye whiskey. Do we smell a cocktail pairing?

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
    16/37

    3-Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies

    These crispy meringue cookies are flavored with toasted hazelnuts. For richer flavor, you can fold in some chopped chocolate, too. They require 18 minutes of baking time—and they are well worth the wait.

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  • Photo by Alice Gao
    19/37

    Butterscotch–Potato Chip Balls

    Potato chips in cookies is nothing new—this is based on a Good Housekeeping recipe from the 1950s. Our modern spin on this retro treat pairs the crunchy, salty chips with sweet butterscotch and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. 

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Judy Mancini
    20/37

    Tahini Cookies

    Think of these tahini cookies as grown-up peanut butter cookies. The tahini lends a creamy, earthy flavor.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks
    21/37

    Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies

    The first step to making these childhood favorites is pulling together the dough. After you've made it, you'll roll the dough into balls and wrap each ball in plastic wrap before chilling it for 30 minutes to firm the dough. Then, you'll roll those balls into cinnamon sugar before popping them into the oven for ten minutes. Cool them on wire racks and enjoy with a tall glass of milk (or oat milk). 

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  • Photo by Davide Luciano
    22/37

    Coffee Malteds

    Inspired by old-fashioned diner-style malted drinks, pastry legend Dorie Greenspan uses freshly ground espresso beans and unflavored malt powder to give these cookies their warm, rounded flavors. They're good on their own; they're sublime with dulce de leche. 

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  • Rinne Allen
    27/37

    Salted Rye Cookies

    This straightforward, versatile dough can be made as drop cookies instead of icebox-style sliced logs—just scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls after chilling. And “rye” might be in the name, but you can substitute just about any kind of flour you've got in the pantry.

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  • Photo by Amy Neunsinger
    28/37

    Chewy Coconut–Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Chewy cookie lovers: these are for you.

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  • Photo by William Meppem
    29/37

    Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

    If you’re baking more than one tray of these delightful chocolate chip cookies at a time, swap their shelf positions in the oven halfway through cooking time to ensure even coloring.

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  • Photo by Kim Sentner
    30/37

    Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

    Easy cookie recipes don't get better than this. Seriously. Is there any combination more winning than chocolate and peanut butter? Opt for a chunky or freshly ground peanut butter to get these cookies just right. 

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  • Photo by Tara Donne, food and prop styling by Diana Yen
    31/37

    All-in-One Sugar Cookie Dough

    You only need a handful of ingredients to make it: all-purpose flour, salt, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, an egg, and one cup of unsalted butter (at room temperature). 

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  • Photo by David Japy
    32/37

    Ginger and Almond Bars

    Cooking guru Patricia Wells uses both fresh and candied ginger in this elegant, sticky-sweet snack, which lends itself to endless adaptation: Try various dried fruits and citrus zests, or even cocoa. 

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  • John Kernick
    33/37

    Molasses Cookies

    Spices may not be seasonal, but the spices in these cookies—cinnamon, cloves, and allspice—always bring fall vibes because they are important ingredients in so many recipes of that season.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog
    34/37

    Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés

    These slice-and-bake shortbreads can be prepped and kept wrapped in the freezer for up to a month before baking. And guess what? No need to defrost before slicing and zipping them into the oven.

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  • 37/37

    Shortbread Cookies

    Ready in under an hour, these shortbread cookies call for just four ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and chilled unsalted butter. They yield a tried-and-true cookie that's a classic for a reason. 

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