47 Thanksgiving Cookie Recipes to Give Pie Some Competition
Put away that pie plate. These festive, warming Thanksgiving cookies raise the stakes for ways to use pumpkin spice and apple filling. While cookie-baking season might not kick off in earnest until December, there’s no reason to wait to bake a batch of festive cookies. In fact, we can’t imagine a better way to usher in the holiday season than with swirled rugelach, spicy ginger sandwich cookies, and shortbread dusted in sparkling sugar. Of course, we’ve got all the traditional Thanksgiving cookie ideas, like chewy molasses cookies and sugar cookies decorated like turkeys. But we’re also making room for new traditions with fish sauce-flavored shortbread and black garlic chocolate chip cookies. These Thanksgiving cookie recipes aren’t just for dessert: Biscotti and chewy oatmeal cookies can double as breakfast while watching the parade, and coffee-spiked malts provide an extra caffeine boost to power you through the long day.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich1/47Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown butter imparts deep, toffee-like notes to this Thanksgiving cookie recipe, complementing the caramelly sweetness of the brown sugar.
- Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon2/47
Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
This oatmeal cookie is for the purists. It skips the mix-ins entirely (that’s right, no raisins) and puts chewy old-fashioned oats front and center. The simple cookies are delicately flavored with light brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- Photo by Sarah Kieffer3/47
Pan-Banging Ginger Molasses Cookies
Gently banging the sheet pan of almost-baked cookies against the oven rack creates rippled crunchy edges, while keeping the middle slightly soft and chewy.
- Ed Anderson4/47
Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, aka "The Nora Ephron"
The process is key to this peanut butter cookie recipe. It may take a little time, but patient bakers are rewarded with evenly baked, uniform cookies and a creamy peanut butter filling. If you’re looking for an even easier option, consider these 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies instead.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne5/47
Coconut-Sugar Crinkle Cookie Sandwiches
Coconut sugar stars in these sandwich cookies, adding rich notes of caramel and molasses. We’d happily eat the cookies on their own, but you know what makes them even better? A silky white chocolate ganache filling.
- Photograph by Laura Murray, food styling by Sue Li6/47
Coffee-Hazelnut Biscotti
The secret to keeping biscotti tender, yet sturdy enough for dunking? An extra egg yolk—and lots of butter.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Billingskog7/47
Apple Pie Cookies
These portable treats pack all the flavors of apple pie into a flaky cookie crust. They’re one of our very best Thanksgiving cookies.
- Photo by Peden + Munk8/47
Not-Quite-Bonnie's Rugelach
This recipe comes from renowned chef and cookbook author Yotam Olenghetti’s Canadian mother. The delicate, buttery pastries are filled with toasted walnuts and sweet-tart quince paste. The secret to uniformly shaping these fall cookies is to first slice the round of dough into quarters, then triangles.
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Chewy Molasses Cookies
Lightly spiced, chewy, and unapologetically molasses-y, this is our favorite version yet of the classic holiday cookie.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks10/47
Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies
With its fall-forward, cinnamon-sugar flavor, this old-school cookie recipe earns its spot at the Thanksgiving feast.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by M. Pearl Jones11/47
Grated Shortbread Bars With Rose Jam
Freezing, then grating shortbread cookie dough into a baking tray gives these jammy bars an airy, almost streusel-like crumb. Perfect for snacking on a few hours ahead of the big meal, ideally with a cup of tea.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich12/47
Sesame Chocolate Rye Breakfast Cookies
Earthy rye flour, sweet dried cranberries, toasty pecans, and a seedy medley make these breakfast cookies taste like homemade granola bars.
- Photo by Peden + Munk13/47
Soft Gingerbread Tiles With Rum Butter Glaze
Glazed in shiny rum butter, these tender cookies get their terracotta color from molasses and brown sugar. A cookie stamp creates their embossed pattern, giving them the look of antique tiles.
- Photo by Louise Hagger14/47
Tamarind Millionaire’s Shortbread
This classic English bar cookie features the traditional layers of buttery shortbread, rich caramel, and chocolate ganache. The twist? The caramel is spiked with sweet-and-sour tamarind paste.
- Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Eliza Mozer15/47
Rugelach
The cream cheese-based dough helps these swirled cookies come together faster than their laminated counterparts. Feel free to play around with the filling, leaning into fall flavors like pecan, cranberry, or caramel apple.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks16/47
No-Bake Butterscotch-Coconut Cookies
Want festive cookies in a flash? These butterscotch buttons set in just 10 minutes in the fridge. They don’t need to be baked, which means they don’t take up coveted oven space on Thanksgiving.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell17/47
Pannelet Cookies With Sweet Potato and Coconut
These golden-hued yam and coconut cookies are a staple in Spanish bakeries when the fall weather sets in. They’re also full of the fall flavors you're craving on Thanksgiving.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi18/47
Triple-Ginger Cream Sandwiches
For a double ginger punch, this Thanksgiving cookie idea pairs grated, fresh ginger with the ground spice. But we don’t stop there: the cream cheese frosting is spiked with candied ginger too.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone19/47
3-Ingredient Hazelnut Cookies
A whipped egg white makes these hazelnut cookies crispy, yet airy. Wondering what to do with the leftover egg yolk? Here are 37 ideas.
- Photo by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Mira Evnine20/47
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Put a portable spin on pumpkin cheesecake with these pumpkin spice sandwich cookies, complete with bourbon-spiked cream cheese frosting and candied pecans.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova21/47
Salted-Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Using salted butter gives these chocolate chip cookies a savory edge, complementing the sweeter flavors. Mix and match add-ins if you choose, like butterscotch chips, pecans, or dried cranberries.
- Tara Donne, food styling by Liza Jernow22/47
Gluten-Free Lacy Oat Sandwich Cookies
Orange liqueur-spiked chocolate ganache gives these delicate, lacy sandwich cookies a festive flavor. Enjoy with a post-feast digestif.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi23/47
Pistachio Cardamom Butter Cookies
Upgrade standard butter cookies with floral cardamom and toasty pistachios, plus a drizzle of white chocolate for good measure.
- Photo by Davide Luciano24/47
Espresso Chocolate Sablés
Skip the sheet tray and bake these thick, chocolate-flecked cookies in a muffin tin.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart25/47
Stamped Calamansi-Fish Sauce Shortbread
Fish and fruit is a common pairing in the Philippines. In this shortbread cookie recipe, cookbook author Abi Balingit adds a splash of salty fish sauce to the sweet calamansi glaze.
- John Kernick26/47
Molasses Cookies
Chewy, spiced molasses cookies are a staple fall dessert, right up there with caramel apples. Rolling balls of cookie dough in a coarse finishing sugar, like turbinado or demerara sugar, adds crunchy contrast.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton27/47
Canadian Butter Tarts
Stuffed with a gooey brown sugar–maple syrup filling, these adorable mini tarts, might just upstage all the pies lining the Thanksgiving dessert table.
- Photo by David Japy28/47
Ginger and Almond Bars
Looking for a unique Thanksgiving cookie idea? These nutty bars double down on ginger, with both fresh and candied. They can be made with an assortment of dried fruits and citrus zest.
- Tara Donne, food styling by Liza Jernow29/47
Gluten-Free Pistachio Truffle Cookies
The generous amount of hands-off time in this recipe means you can work on other dishes (or, ahem, clean the house before guests arrive) while the cookies bake, chill, and set.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell30/47
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
A cup of peanut butter, a cup of sugar, and an egg are all you need to make this easy holiday cookie recipe. It also happens to be gluten-free.
- Joy Wilson31/47
Melty Chocolate-Truffle Cookies
Rolled in powdered sugar, these chocolaty cookies have the crinkly exterior of the Christmas cookies you know and love.
- Evan Sung32/47
Bacon-Fat Gingersnaps
If you’re frying bacon for Thanksgiving day breakfast, reserve the rendered fat to use in gingersnap dough. It gives the cookies an unexpected smoky flavor.
- Photo by Paige Green33/47
Jam Bars
To make this cookie recipe feel particularly appropriate for Thanksgiving, try swapping the jam for apple butter or pumpkin butter.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova34/47
Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
On a holiday when heirloom recipes shine, this quintessential oatmeal cookie delights all generations. With its simple, time-honored composition of chewy oats, deep brown sugar sweetness, and subtle touch of vanilla and cinnamon, you really can’t go wrong.
- Photo by Dong Kim35/47
Black Garlic Chocolate Chip Cookies
While regular garlic cloves are quite pungent, black garlic boasts a subtle sweetness, making it an unexpected counterpoint to semi-sweet chocolate in a batch of cookies. Bake these cookies, then read more about the culinary traditions of the Canadian prairie.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton36/47
Flourless Almond Cookies With Cardamom, Orange Zest, and Pistachios
Made with almond flour and potato starch, these Thanksgiving cookies have a supremely delicate crumb. For textural contrast, mix crunchy, toasted pistachios into the dough.
- Photo by Squire Fox37/47
Honey Oat Cookies
These honey-flavored, chocolate-topped oat cookies come together in one bowl, no electric mixer required.
- Photo by Sarah Kieffer38/47
Lemon Oat Bars
With creamy, lemony filling and crumbly oat streusel, these lemon oat bars taste like your favorite sunshine-y pie, but in bar form. Make them in advance so that the filling has time to set in the refrigerator—as a bonus, it frees up valuable oven space come Thanksgiving day.
- Photo by Tara Donne, Food styling by Liza Jernow39/47
Gluten-Free Citrus Sugar Cookies
Winter citrus season is fast approaching. Build anticipation with these tender sugar cookies, each glazed with lemon, lime, or grapefruit icing.
- Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell40/47
Black Bottom Brownie Cookies
Freezing the batter overnight might seem fussy, but it helps these brownie cookies hold their shape in the oven. It also prevents the gooey, cheesecake-like filling from oozing out.
- Photo by Tara Donne, food and prop styling by Diana Yen41/47
All-in-One Sugar Cookie Dough
Cut this versatile dough into various leaf shapes, then decorate them in festive fall colors.
- Photo by Jenny Huang42/47
Phyllo Cardamom Pinwheels
Brushed in butter and dusted with cardamom sugar, frozen phyllo dough transforms into these easy slice-and-bake cookies. They require only five ingredients to prepare.
- Photo by Alice Gao43/47
Butterscotch–Potato Chip Balls
Crushed potato chips mixed into the dough and coating each cookie gives these sweets a soft-meets-crunchy texture.
- Photo by Joshua Sarlo44/47
Date Nut Cookie Pies
Confectioner’s sugar gives these chewy, fruit-filled cookies a tender, shortbread-like crumb. The soft sugar also prevents the dough from getting tough when re-rolled.
- Lucy Schaeffer45/47
Brown Sugar Cookies
A variation on the classic sugar cookie, this brown-sugar version is just a little bit deeper and richer than its inspiration.
- Photo by Davide Luciano46/47
Coffee Malteds
Flavored with vanilla, coffee, and malted milk powder, these cappuccino-esque cookies are the perfect midday pick-me-up.
- Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne47/47
Classic Sugar Cookies
A good sugar cookie recipe can be adapted to all holidays, from Halloween to Easter. For Thanksgiving cookies, decorate these with orange and red royal icing. Bonus points if you have a turkey cookie cutter.
