55 Thanksgiving Cookies That Deserve A Spot On Your Holiday Dessert Table

Forget PSL season, let’s make “maple syrup fall” happen! In this maple-inspired recipe, we spiced up our cut-out sugar cookies with cinnamon, maple syrup, and walnuts to make an aromatic and nutty-flavored cookie dough that will make you feel like you're taking a brisk fall hike among maple trees.

Get the Glazed Maple Leaf Cookies recipe.

We bake a lot of cookies, so when one surprises us with how good it is, it’s exciting. These cookies are soft and chewy with just a subtle warm spice to them. They aren’t cakey like a lot of pumpkin desserts tend to be thanks to a simple way of getting rid of the excess moisture from the pumpkin. These cookies get rolled in cinnamon-sugar to complete them, but honestly are just as good without it.

Get the Pumpkin Cookies recipe.

In this Oreo-obsessed world, Nutter Butters are often overlooked, but now these Nutter Butter bars are bringing them front and center. Loaded with chunky peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and crushed Nutter Butter cookies, these simple cookie bars will bring out the child in all of us.

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These cookies have a light yet chewy almond-flavored base and are stuffed with tart cherry jam to mimic the flavor combination in a Bakewell tart. Decorated with sliced almonds and icing, these are the epitome of style AND substance.

Get the Cherry Bakewell Cookies recipe.

Want to really impress, but don't want to make a pie? This festively decorated dessert resembles a pumpkin pie, but is actually made from shortbread cookies, which have a buttery and slightly crumbly texture. It more closely mimics a real pie crust while still retaining enough structure to be picked up and eaten with your hands (and a bonus: it’s a lot easier to make than pie dough). We season the shortbread with pumpkin pie spice to impart some of the same warm flavors we love during the holiday season.

Get the Pumpkin Pie Sugar Cookies recipe.

The aromatics in pumpkin spice remind us of cinnamon graham crackers, and graham crackers make us think of s’mores... OH MY GOURD: could a s’more be pumpkin-spiced? If you combine a tender pumpkin cookie and all of the classic s’mores ingredients, the answer is definitely yes.

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A buttery, oatmeal cookie cup with apple pie filling on top?! Let's just say, these two-bite fall treats are going to go fast.

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Imagine biting into a warm, soft cookie that perfectly balances rich chocolate and the subtle warmth of cinnamon that a crumb cake is known for. This isn’t just any cookie—it’s a decadent experience, capturing the essence of Crumbl’s famous chocolate crumb cake cookie.The base of this cookie is a soft, melt-in-your-mouth dough with a hint of chocolate, infused with a cinnamon swirl to enhance the depth of the chocolate flavor. As it bakes, the cookie develops a slightly crisp edge while staying tender and fudgy in the center, offering the perfect texture with every bite.

Get the Chocolate Crumb Cake Crumbl Cookie Copycat recipe.

Kolaczki cookies are Polish in origin, often made and eaten during the holidays. Some recipes use canned pie filling, though we opted for jam in this version—use your favorite flavor, just make sure to dilute it with cornstarch and water so it doesn't turn into hard candy during the bake.

Get the Kolaczki Cream Cheese Cookies recipe.

Tiramisu is one of our favorite desserts, but the process of making it the traditional way requires a lot of work. This version takes out all the extra work without sacrificing flavor. Another perk: These cup-shaped cookies make it even easier to share and eat.

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Think of your favorite chocolate chip cookie… Are they Toll House, or Mrs. Fields? Are they chewy? COVERED in giant chocolate chips?Whatever your favorite, we’re here to tell you, they can ALL be improved by the addition of one simple ingredient—ground pistachios. Pistachios add a slightly sweet, almost buttery nutty flavor that will make your cookies feel a little bit elevated, but still just as classic and comforting.

Get the Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.

Apple cider donuts are one of our absolute favorite things about fall. While making donuts is quite fun, they’re time consuming, and not to mention the mess of frying with oil or needing a donut pan to bake them. These cookies are the perfect substitution.

Get the Apple Cider Cookies recipe.

If you love the richness and the comfort of homemade French silk pie, then these chocolate pie cookies are just what you need. Inspired by the classic, but with the ease and convenience of a cookie, this recipe offers a unique twist on beloved flavors.

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Forget sweet potato casserole. Forget pumpkin spice lattes. Sweet potato cookies are our new fall staple. Once you taste the maple glaze, you'll understand why.

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Snickerdoodles are only made better by nutty, brown butter. These are chewy with pillowy soft centers and that classic snickerdoodle tang. As they cool, they settle into cracked and wrinkly cookies, which, in our opinion, are the very best kind.

Get the Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies recipe.

Chef Christina Tosi runs on cookies. Her other go-to special-occasion baked good? A fresh, warm cinnamon bun. The buttery cinnamon swirl, the gooey cream cheese frosting—she knew she had to dream it into this wildly good cookie recipe.

Get the Cinnamon Bun Cookies recipe.

If you like French macarons, you'll love this take on Italian amaretti cookies. Soft, pillowy, moist, sweet, and lightly scented with amaretto liqueur as well as citrus zests, these are in our top 10 for holiday cookies.

Get the Amaretti Cookies recipe.

Keeping a log of cookie dough in your fridge or freezer is the true genius move, particularly around Thanksgiving. It lets you have dessert ready in just a moment's notice for those last-minute guests or the ability to bake off only a cookie or two for yourself. This recipe is the perfect base for mix-ins, and we've included some of our tried and true favorites too.

Get the Icebox Cookies recipe.

Pecan sandies are a store-bought cookie classic, and while we’d never turn up our noses at our old nostalgic favorites, our homemade version is pretty tasty (and possibly even better!). Featuring thick, buttery shortbread studded with toasted pecans and rimmed with decorative sparkling sugar for a little extra crunch, it takes that grocery story favorite to the next level.

Get the Pecan Sandies recipe.

You’ll fall in love with hazelnut flour once you realize how nutty it makes these gianduia-inspired cookies. Melted chocolate adds extra cocoa punch to the dough, while rich and creamy Nutella tops them off.

Get the Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies recipe.