53 Best Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes

Updated October 02, 2020
Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Skip the traditional pumpkin pie this year in favor of shareable seasonal cookies. Whether you're looking for something festive and fun (you'll love decorating these Pumpkin Cutout Cookies) or simple and subtly autumnal (we recommend these Chai-Spiced Snickerdoodles or these Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies), you're sure to find a new favorite in our collection of Thanksgiving cookie recipes. 

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Pumpkin Pie Cutout Cookies

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Pumpkin Pie Cutout Cookies Recipe

Bake the cookies up to five days ahead, and store in an airtight container. To make our wind cookies and leaf cookies, we used round cutters and swirly piping to represent the wind, and various sizes of leaf-shaped cutters for fluttering foliage. For more on decorating cookies, visit southernliving.com/cookietips.

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Marbled Sugar Cookies

Credit: Kat Teutsch; Styling: Jerrie-Joy for Pat Bates and Associates

Marbled Sugar Cookies Recipe

Beautiful Marbled Sugar Cookies will make a festive addition to your fall table. 

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Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Coffee Glaze

Credit: Darcy Lenz

Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Coffee Glaze Recipe

Full of warming fall flavors, these easy Pumpkin Spice Cookies are just about the perfect after-dinner treat to pair with a cup of coffee. After all, they’re basically everyone’s favorite seasonal latte delivered in cookie form. If you plan to share these pumpkin spice cookies at any sort of fall potluck and nut allergies are a concern, you can certainly leave the ground pecans out of the batter—simply replace them with 1/3 cup more all-purpose flour.

If you’d rather skip the booze in the coffee glaze, try replacing it with 2-3 tablespoons of cold coffee. Or you can opt for a different glaze altogether; the maple glaze used here or this toasty tahini glaze would both work great for these pumpkin cookies. 

Hungry for more? Check out our 25 Best Pumpkin Spice Recipes next. 

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Cranberry-White Chocolate Cookies

Credit: William Dickey; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

Cranberry-White Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Fans of classic cookies will love these updated Cranberry-White Chocolate Cookies, accented with dried cranberries and gooey white chocolate.

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Pumpkin Chai Snickerdoodles

Credit: Sara Tane

Pumpkin Chai Snickerdoodles Recipe

Perfectly crispy on the outside, while light and fluffy on the inside, these festive, fall treats are your new favorite cookie. Rolled in a chai-spiced sugar mixture, these cookies are basically all of your favorite latte flavors mixed up into one perfect cookie. Best served after a dunk in coffee, if we do say so ourselves.

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Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Recipe

These buttery, salty-sweet slice-and-bake cookies will delight the butter-pecan lover in your life. For extra crunch, evenly coat both dough logs with turbinado sugar before slicing them into rounds. The dough can be made up to two days in advance if stored in the refrigerator.

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Cranberry-Almond Cookies

Credit: Ralph Anderson; Styling: Mary Lyn Hill

Cranberry-Almond Cookies Recipe

Combine tart fresh cranberries and toasted almonds for a fresh twist. You’ll love the texture and combination of flavors in these cookies.

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Fruitcake Cookies

Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Fruitcake Cookies Recipe

Ring in the holiday season the right way with these fun Fruitcake Cookies. Chock-full of dried fruit and pecans, these chewy two-bite nibbles won't be relegated to the re-gift pile.

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Pecan Linzer Cookies

Credit: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Pecan Linzer Cookies Recipe

Use your favorite jams to vary the flavor and color of these beauties.

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Five-Spice Cookies

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Five-Spice Cookies Recipe

Look for five-spice powder on the spice aisle or with the Asian foods in your grocery store. We love the sparkle of sanding sugar used to coat the outside of the cookies; you’ll find it in craft stores. Supermarket turbinado works well, too.

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Cranberry Cookies With Orange Glaze

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall and Kady Wohlfarth; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Cranberry Cookies With Orange Glaze Recipe

Oh, so festive! These cakey cranberry cookies are a perfect holiday snack, dessert, or even breakfast.

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Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Molasses Crinkle Cookies Recipe

These soft, chewy, beautifully spiced gingerbread cookies look like they just took a romp in fresh snow—a holiday look that saves you the trouble of having to ice each one. A dual coat of granulated and powdered sugar will help the slightly sticky dough balls hold their shape and get that crinkled texture.

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Oak Leaf Cookies

Credit: Iain Bagwell

Oak Leaf Cookies Recipe

A cookie cutter and some food coloring are all it takes to turn sugar cookie dough into oak leaves. Wear disposable gloves if you like to keep the food coloring from staining your hands.

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Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites

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Kahlúa Cookie Dough Bites Recipe

If you're only going to have "a bite" of dessert, this is the bite to have.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter

Credit: Sara Tane

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter Recipe

Brown butter takes these rich, seasonal pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to the next level, adding a nutty, fragrant flavor that is absolutely perfect for fall. Canned pumpkin puree lends moisture to these fluffy, cake-like treats while warm chocolate chips fill every bite. Make these for a Halloween party or a fall dinner party, and be sure to store any leftovers in an airtight container.

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Pie-Crust Leaf Cookies

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Pie-Crust Leaf Cookies Recipe

These delicate little cookies crumble easily over fruit as part of our Deconstructed Pie recipe, but they're nice on their own, too. You'll need leaf-shaped cookie cutters (we used a 3-in. size).

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Pie-Crust Currant Cookies

Credit: Thomas J. Story

Pie-Crust Currant Cookies Recipe

Rich and dense, these cookies taste like mincemeat pie, and are very good with fresh fruit (or just on their own). We created them for a recipe called Deconstructed Pie (they stand in for the crust).

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Caramel-Stuffed Ginger Cookies

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Caramel-Stuffed Ginger Cookies Recipe

These spice cookies have ooey-gooey caramel centers and are best served warm, straight from the oven or reheated in the microwave.

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Pumpkin-Orange Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

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Pumpkin-Orange Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

If you're a fan of pumpkin desserts, look no further than these festive cookies. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and orange zest give these naturally colored pumpkin cookies a bright and crisp edge to compliment the deep fall flavors found in pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The milled flaxseed in this recipe provides a binder in place of using eggs and also provides some healthy omega-3's. These cookies are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and can easily be made vegan by using vegan chocolate chips, and just as well can also be made nut-free by subbing the almond milk for water or regular milk.

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Pecan Praline Deep-Dish Skillet Cookie

Credit: Alison Miksch

Pecan Praline Deep-Dish Skillet Cookie Recipe

Add a nutty twist to your classic cookie with pecans and pralines. Garnish with warm caramel salt and flaky sea salt for the perfect sweet-savory combination. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is all this warm skillet needs to be the perfect dessert for a nut-lover's sweet tooth.

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Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies

Credit: Jan Smith

Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies Recipe

Store these frosted cookies between layers of parchment paper or wax paper to keep them from sticking together. You can bake and freeze the cookies up to a month in advance; bring the cookies to room temperature before frosting them.

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Sesamillionaire’s Shortbread

Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Robby Melvin

Sesamillionaire’s Shortbread Recipe

A toasty twist on the traditional Millionaire’s Shortbread, these decadent layered cookie bars feature toasted sesame seeds in the shortbread, a luscious tahini caramel, and more sesame seeds sprinkled over top for good measure. 

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Autumn Maple Cutout Cookies

Credit: Howard L. Puckett; Styling: Lydia Degaris-Pursell

Autumn Maple Cutout Cookies Recipe

These adorable cutout cookies are flavored with maple syrup and classic fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.  Walnuts provide a delicious crunch.

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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Acorns

Credit: Kat Teutsch; Styling: Jerrie-Joy for Pat Bates and Associates

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Acorns Recipe

Creating these chocolate "nuts" couldn't be easier; it's a great assembly-line project for kids (though we can't promise they won't sneak a little chocolate!).

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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall and Kady Wohlfarth; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe

These chocolate crinkle cookies are rich, super chocolatey, and pretty much perfect in every way. Brown sugar and espresso give these cookies a noticeable depth, while granulated and powdered sugar work together to deliver the perfect crinkly crust. From the chewy, brownie-like center to the crisp, creviced exterior, these cookies will satisfy all of your decadent dessert cravings. Besides, who doesn’t love watching as they transform from sugar-coated dough balls into fudgy, crackly, irresistible cookies right before your eyes? These chocolate crinkle cookies might be a holiday favorite, but that doesn't mean we won't be enjoying them year-round.

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Cashew Butter Cookies

Credit: Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey and Elise Mayfield; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke and Laura Evans

Cashew Butter Cookies Recipe

This deeply satisfying, gluten-free take on the classic peanut butter cookie is amazingly toasty and nutty. Swapping rice flour in for all-purpose helps these cookies achieve a delightful textural balance between chewy and sandy.

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Pizzelle Cookies

Credit: Robby Melvin

Pizzelle Cookies Recipe

Despite their intricate appearance, pizzelle cookies are surprisingly easy to make. You’ll just need a special baker (we like the Cucina Pro Piccolo Pizzelle Baker), or at least a pizzelle iron. They’re super crispy and light, much like thin a sugar cone with a hint of vanilla. Pizzelle cookies make a great dessert, but they’re also perfect for holiday snacking.

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Chocolate-Bourbon-Fudge Balls

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Chocolate-Bourbon-Fudge Balls Recipe

These delightfully tipsy, no-bake treats will be a hit at holiday parties. Make the mixture up to two days in advance. Store the fudge balls in the refrigerator for up to five days in an airtight container.

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Hershey's Kiss Cookies

Credit: Ali Ramee

Hershey's Kiss Cookies Recipe

Here’s a really tasty peanut butter cookie with a delightful milk (or whatever you want!) chocolate nugget smack dab in the center. It’s slightly chewy, with a little crunch from the sugar-coating, and a creamy, melty center. These can be eaten warm, but if you’re taking them somewhere, wait until the cookies have cooled completely before transporting.

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Sesame-Almond Lace Cookies 

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Sesame-Almond Lace Cookies  Recipe

This cookie has a lot going on in the best possible way. The melt-in-your-mouth, toffee-like cookie is accented by creamy chocolate and pops of salinity from sea salt. If you prefer dark chocolate over semisweet, melt and drizzle that instead. You can also use chopped pistachios, walnuts, or peanuts instead of almonds. These cookies will spread out as you bake, so keep them small—other ways they’ll be too thin.  

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Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

Credit: Caroline Arcangeli; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Sarah Epperson

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

You’ve probably heard of olive oil cake, and if you’ve ever tasted one, you know how much rich character olive oil can bring to a dessert. And that’s certainly the case for these anything-but-average chocolate chip cookies. With their crispy edges and perfectly gooey center, they’re downright dreamy.

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Chocolate Cookie Cups with Caramel Filling

Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Chocolate Cookie Cups with Caramel Filling Recipe

Holiday cookie baking can be impressive without being stressful. Make this easy cookie dough and store it in the fridge up to two days before you need to bake these fantastic filled cookies. What's great about this recipe is that you'll stand apart at the annual cookie exchange. Not only are your cookies a different shape, but they are filled with ooey-gooey caramel and topped with a crunchy pecan and a little sea salt for the perfect mix of sweet and salty. 

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Caramel Popcorn Cookies

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen

Caramel Popcorn Cookies Recipe

Experimenting with unusual ingredients can produce an irresistible batch of cookies. In this recipe, caramel and popcorn pieces create the ultimate combination of salty and sweet—in cookie form!

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Spiced Rum Balls