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27 Colorful Cookies To Celebrate Spring

April showers bring May "flours", after all.

By Jillian Elliott
a stack of cookies with strawberries
PARKER FEIERBACH

If the spring forward left you feeling a little behind, make one of these colorful sweet treats to get you through rainy spring days. Spring is all about celebrating brighter days and flavors after a dreary winter, like lemon-blueberry or strawberry in all its cookie forms—palmiers and shortcake included. Or, reimagine classic spring desserts, like cannoli and carrot cake, in cookie form. Presenting: cannoli cookies and carrot cake cookies.

Leftover Easter candy? Not a problem we tend to have, but here are some solutions: bird’s nest cookies to house extra Robin Eggs, M&M cookie bars for chocolate, and our stained glass cookies for any leftover hard candy. Better yet, retire the old Easter basket for our Twix cookies, our Peeps Kiss cookies, or our bunny pawprint cookies.

Take inspiration from a popular cookie chains with our copycat Crumbl sugar cookie and copycat Crumbl cookies & cream cookies or lean into nostalgia with our PB&J cookies and our Lofthouse cookies. Not your style? Tone it down with our toasty tahini or amaretti cookies.

Celebrate spring in every section of the menu: Try out all of our favorite spring weeknight dinner recipes, spring cocktail ideas, and top spring salads too.

1

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

lemon shortbread cookies
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: RILEY WOFFORD

It doesn't get more classic and understated than shortbread, and here they have a hint of lemon to brighten up the classic melt-in-your-mouth buttery cookie. These start with a standard shortbread dough but have a little extra richness thanks to an egg yolk. Sanding sugar or sprinkles (or both!) add a satisfying, sweet crunch.

Get the Lemon Shortbread Cookies recipe.

2

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

cherry chocolate chip cookies
Bryce Johnson

We're saying it: these might be our FAVORITE version of the classic chocolate chip cookie. The cherries add a bit more sweetness with a pop of tartness that makes them unforgettable!

Get the Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

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3

Strawberry Palmiers

strawberry palmier dipped in chocolate
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These little palmiers are simple to make with ingredients you likely have on hand, making them the ideal upgrade to your spring party spreads. Puff pastry is rolled in a generous amount of granulated sugar, sprinkled with freeze-dried strawberry powder, and dipped in white chocolate. The result is flaky, jam-filled bites that will outshine any store-bought cookies.

Get the Strawberry Palmiers recipe.

4

Blueberry Cookies

blueberry cream cheese cookies
Parker feierbach

Come spring, we can’t get enough of blueberry desserts with a kick of lemon. Seriously—they’re kind of our thing. We’ve done our fair share of lemon-blueberry recipes, from lemon-blueberry breakfast cake to lemon-blueberry babka to lemon-blueberry cheesecake. But, when we’re craving a simple snack, we turn to these cookies.

Get the Blueberry Cookies recipe.

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5

Bird’s Nest Cookies

birds nest cookies
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

A spring classic, bird’s nest cookies are not only adorable—they’re so much fun to eat. Crunchy chow mein noodles are folded into melted chocolate and peanut butter, then formed into little nests with chocolate eggs on top…does it get any cuter than that?

Get the Bird’s Nest Cookies recipe.

6

PB&J Cookies

peanut butter and jelly cookies
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

If you ever miss the nostalgia of a classic PB&J, try making one in cookie form. A simple peanut butter cookie filled with jam creates a chewy, sweet cookie that will take you back to your playground days. As far as peanut butter desserts go, these are so easy to make.

Get the PB&J Cookies recipe.

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7

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

strawberry shortcake cookies
PARKER FEIERBACH

Strawberry shortcake just might be the sweetest spring dessert there is. The pairing of juicy strawberries and decadent whipped cream is the stuff dessert dreams are made of. We're so obsessed we decided we had to take the signature flavors of the classic dessert and turn them into sugar cookies.

Get the Strawberry Shortcake Cookies recipe.

8

Carrot Cake Cookies

carrot cake cookies
ETHAN CALABRESE

Carrot cake fans—get ready to meet your new favorite cookie. This flavor-packed mash-up combines two iconic desserts—carrot cake and oatmeal cookies—for the ultimate shareable spring dessert. If you're not in the mood to bake a full layered cake, this simple recipe combines all the flavors of the classic in a fraction of the time.

Get the Carrot Cake Cookies recipe.

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9

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

chocolate chip cookies topped with flaky sea salt
PHOTO: RACHEL VANNI; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON

Those who say that butter makes everything better are, well, not wrong, but we’re willing to bet they haven’t been brave enough to sub in olive oil instead. Enter: these secretly healthy, but no less delicious olive oil chocolate chip cookies. With no chilling time required, these are ready to go in an instant.

Get the Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

10

Tahini Cookies

tahini cookies
Lucy schaeffer

Tahini cookies are kind of like a more grown up version of your favorite peanut butter cookie and so much better. They are soft with a slight chew and sesame seeds on the outside add a slight crunch. The flavor is addicting and will make you start using tahini in all of your baking projects (like in this easy halva).

Get the Tahini Cookies recipe.

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11

Banana Pudding Cookies

banana pudding cookies
PARKER FEIERBACH

If you love banana pudding, you’re in for a treat. These cookies have everything you love most about that classic dessert, from the pudding mix to the whipped cream and sliced bananas on top. They’ve even got those iconic wafer cookies crushed and baked into the dough as well as sprinkled across the top for extra crunch.

Get the Banana Pudding Cookies recipe.

12

Ube Crinkle Cookies

purple ube crinkle cookies
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER PHOTOGRAPHY; FOOD STYLING: VICTORIA GRANOF

With its striking color and a unique nutty vanilla flavor profile, ube has taken over the world. Upgrade your average crinkle cookie this Christmas with ube extract and ube halaya, a popular Filipino pudding made with ube and condensed milk. Your guests won't know what hit 'em!

Get the Ube Crinkle Cookies recipe.

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13

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

no bake oatmeal cookies
Parker feierbach

These no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies are nostalgia at its finest—half of our staff has a story about these from childhood. If you don't, whip up a batch ASAP and you'll see why they're so memorable.

Get the No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies recipe.

14

Bunny Pawprint Cookies

thumbprint cookies shaped like bunny paws
PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

These “pawprint” cookies are not only so adorable, but one of the easier bunny-themed desserts we've made (no shade, bunny cupcakes). The base is just a classic sugar cookie with an easy strawberry icing to fill the paws in with.

Get the Bunny Pawprint Cookies recipe.

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15

Crumbl Cookies & Cream Cookies

cookie topped with white icing and a mini oreo
PHOTO: RYAN LIEBE; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

The first Crumbl opened its doors in 2017, and sold only one kind of cookie: chocolate chip. Today, with 950 locations in the United States and a menu of rotating cookie flavors, Crumbl and their thick, chewy cookies are here, there, and nearly everywhere. But what if you want to make these legendary treats at home? We've got you!

Get the Crumbl Cookies & Cream Cookies recipe.

16

Cannoli Cookies

cannoli cookies
Andrew bui

If you love cannoli, but making them from scratch seems daunting, let us introduce you to cannoli cookies. This cookie recipe has all of the flavors you love in a cannoli, like ricotta, orange zest, mini chocolate chips, and pistachios, yet they require a fraction of the effort. The result is a cake-like cookie reminiscent of the Sicilian classic.

Get the Cannoli Cookies recipe.

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17

Coconut Macaroons

coconut macaroons  delishcom
Parker Feierbach

These macaroons (not to be confused with French macarons) are perfect whether you're gluten-free or not. Dipping them in chocolate is optional, but really, why wouldn't you?

Get the Coconut Macaroons recipe.

18

Stained Glass Cookies

sugar cookies with cutouts filled with melted jolly ranchers to look like stained glass
ERIK BERNSTEIN

Looking for the easiest, cutest, MOST impressive cookies out there? Look no further—these stained glass cookies nail all three with flying colors. No complicated cookie cutter shapes, no royal icing or buttercream frosting, no piping bags...all you need is a simple cut-out sugar cookie dough and a bag of Jolly Ranchers to make these gorgeous cookies.

Get the Stained Glass Cookies recipe.

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19

Peeps Kiss Cookies

blue pink and yellow dyed cookies with sugar and topped with a hershey kiss
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

This festive recipe combines the best parts of Peeps with classic Kiss cookies in this bright and adorable Easter dessert. Marshmallow Peeps serve as the color inspiration for these simple sugar cookies pressed with a milk chocolate Kiss. Even Peeps haters won't be able to get enough of these too-cute treats.

Get the Peeps Kiss Cookies recipe.

20

Cherry Bakewell Cookies

cherry bakewell cookies
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: DREW AICHELE

A Bakewell tart is a classic British dessert that's defined by a crumbly shortcrust pastry, a layer of sweet jam, and plenty of velvety almond frangipane. Making frangipane is pretty similar to making cookie dough, so a Bakewell tart seemed like a natural candidate for cookie-fication.

Get the Cherry Bakewell Cookies recipe.

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