Our Favorite Fall Cookie Recipes (2024)

Whether you make them for an afternoon snack or a weekend tailgating party, these 20 cookie recipes will bring autumn's scents and flavors into your home.

01of 20

Caramel Apple Cookies

Chopped apple, pecans, apple juice, apple pie spice and more combine for a hearty, delicious cookie. The frosting and nuts add just the right touch of sweetness and crunch on top.

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02of 20

CCCC Cookies

In the Middle East, cardamom often flavors coffee. Here, that duo teams up with cloves and chocolate shards in a bakehouse-style cookie with cozy chai vibes. (Trust us: The extra step of melting chocolate, spreading it out and breaking it into shards, rather than use chips, is worth it for a totally elevated cookie.)

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03of 20

Mood-Booster Cookies

Gray fall afternoon, as the season slowly slides toward winter? Slip yourself one of these insanely rich morsels, which fall somewhere between a truffle and a cookie.

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04of 20

Miss Rosa Lee's Oatmeal Cookies

Nothing fancy here; this is the perfectly chewy lunchbox classic, pebbled with walnuts and plump raisins. A combination of vegetable oil and butter ensures a chewy texture and rich flavor. This recipe comes from Patty Pinner's cookbook Sweets.

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05of 20

Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

Fall means back-to-school, and that means peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...right? These easy, nostalgic-tasting cookies are a favorite of Stephanie Simmons, the Wisconsin blogger behind Blue Bowl Recipes and author of the cookbook, The One-Bowl Baker. Use your favorite preserves—Stephanie likes raspberry.

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06of 20

Rene's Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Coconut adds chewiness to this full-of-chips cookie. The recipe is from Rene's Bakery in Indianapolis, one of the most popular Indy bakeries.

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07of 20

Jumbo Cherry Chocolate-Oat Cookies

These huge cookies (5 inches in diameter!) will satisfy any fall cookie cravings. But if you want smaller ones, use a 1/3-cup measure to portion the dough for 15 or 16 cookies.

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08of 20

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix pumpkin and chocolate and you have...fall! These cookies make a great after-school treat or any-time snack.

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09of 20

Molasses Cookies

Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside: This spice cookie has it all. Trust us, it will fill your house with all the fall scents while it's cooking.

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10of 20

Avalon's Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Avalon International Breads in Detroit sells these delicious drop cookies.

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11of 20

S'more Cookies

Fall is camping season, and camping means making s'mores. Recreate those autumn vibes at home with this cookie; cinnamon, brown sugar, oats and finely crushed grahams cradle a thumbprint filling of marshmallow creme and an upside-down milk chocolate candy.

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12of 20

Peanut Butter Apple Cookies

Looking for a healthier cookie? Shredded apple, whole wheat flour, canola oil and wheat germ reduce saturated fat and add whole grains and flavor to peanut butter cookies.

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13of 20

Chocolate-Cranberry Biscotti

Whether your autumn brew is coffee or tea or just a glass of milk, take a break with a tempting homemade biscotti.

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14of 20

Quadruple Ginger Cookies

To make ginger juice, Patty Erd of the Spice House in Evanston, Illinois, squishes coarsely chopped fresh ginger in a clean garlic press.

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15of 20

Crisp Cherry-Almond Bars with Marshmallows

Dried fruit and crunchy almonds bring antioxidants and omega-3s to these bars made from two kinds of rice cereal—regular and chocolate flavored—in our version of marshmallow-cereal bars.

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16of 20

Spiced Apple Drops

An apple a day tastes even better in cookie form, especially with frosting on top!

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17of 20

Anita's Cranberry Scones

Coarsely chopped cranberries spread the sweet-tart flavor throughout this tender scone, a winner at the Warrens Cranberry Festival fall recipe competition. A sweet almond frosting complements the berries.

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18of 20

Fat Molasses Cookies

Packed with flavor from molasses, ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar, these cookies look especially nice when cut with a scalloped or round cutter and sprinkled with coarse sugar or crystallized ginger.

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19of 20

Lindsay's Chocolate Cafe Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookie, from the former Lindsay's Chocolate Cafe and Coffee House in O'Fallon, Missouri, wowed us with its flavor-packed lineup of ingredients. "These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had!" says one of our website reviewers. "These are wonderful with a glass of cold milk while the cookie is still warm!"

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20of 20

Peanut Butter Munchies

A Hanover, Kansas, reader sent the recipe for these chocolate cookies with peanut butter centers to a Midwest Living cookie contest. A judge described them as "regally rich chocolate with a peanut butter kick."

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