Pie gets all the glory at Thanksgiving, but a good cookie plate is quietly the MVP; it travels well, it’s easy to make ahead, and there’s something for people who don’t like pie (they do exist). These are the cookies I reach for all fall, warm and spiced, brown and buttery, nutty, and some fun for the kids’ table.
At a glance
Warm and spicy
If you want one cookie that tastes like fall, make it Taylor Swift’s Sugar Cookies!they’re soft, creamy, and full of comforting chai spices (and yes, they’ve gone viral for a reason). My Browned Butter Oatmeal Apple Cookies are others that I repeat at this time of year; with little pockets of chewy, soft apple and roasted brown butter.
Brown-butter classics
Brown butter is my whole personality in the fall. It the best brown butter chocolate chip cookies exactly what they sound like, deep and toffee-like, and my Dad’s Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies! It’s a family-friendly version with freezer-friendly dough (scoop and freeze now, bake fresh for Thanksgiving). For something a little unexpected, my brown butter cappuccino cookies there’s a grown-up coffee thing going on that the grown-ups will fight over.
Doughy and chewy
For the cookie crowd, my classic white chocolate macadamia nut cookies they are greasy and nostalgic, but mine butter nut cookies are tender, simple and calm with the perfect coffee. If you want to display Cowboy Biscuits with Salted Grain Crisp loaded, crunchy and salty-sweet in the best way.
Fun and nostalgic
For the children’s table (or for the child in you), fluffernutter cookies peanut butter and marshmallow in cookie form, always a hit. When my new pumpkin cookies and pumpkin snickerdoodles are ready, I’ll add them here as well.
Make them forward (full stop)
Cookies are the best way to celebrate Thanksgiving. Most doughs freeze beautifully. we roll out balls with a scoop, cool them on a tray, then put them in a bag and bake them immediately from the frozen (we add a minute or two). Or bake a few days ahead and store in an airtight container, most of these keep well for 3 to 4 days. That way, the oven is free for turkey and pie for the big day.
Want a full vacation lineup?
If you’re baking straight through to December, my 12 Best Holiday Cookie Recipes also has the whole Christmas cookie plan.
