With Valentine’s Day just around the corner and Christmas not too long ago, this is a prime time of year for making cookie recipes. Although this perfect little dessert has endless different flavors and combinations, there are a set number of classics we make time and time again.
With that in mind, here’s a list of some cookies I think are just as good as the classics we think of (chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies), but are underrated and deserve a bit more love.
1. Chocolate Crinkles
I was surprised by how few people know what a chocolate crinkle is. They are chocolate cookies rolled in powdered sugar and then baked. These cookies are perfectly fudgy on the inside and nice and sweet on the outside.
2. Madeleines
These french cookies come in all different flavors, but most commonly they use lemon zest and juice. The most important component of this cookie is the butter and the eggs, so they must be good, right?
3. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Everyone knows about oatmeal raisin cookies, but they have a terrible reputation since they are often compared to chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate. That’s where people go wrong. These cookies are nice and chewy from the oats, plus they have a little touch of spice (usually cinnamon) that pairs so well with the raisins inside.
4. Mexican Wedding Cookies
Whether you call them Mexican Wedding cookies, Snowball cookies, or Russian Tea Cakes, these cookies are delicious. Little balls of shortbread dough with ground pecans that are baked to perfection and then rolled generously in powdered sugar.
5. Black and White Cookies
These cookies are well known by some, and a mystery to others. With a thin layer of chocolate icing on one-half of the cookie and vanilla icing on the other, these cookies are the perfect combination. If you ever can’t decide between vanilla and chocolate, this is the cookie for you.
6. Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are a pretty well-known cookie, but I think they sometimes get a bad rep because of their tangy flavor and their lack of chocolate chips or any other addition. However, their simple cinnamon sugary flavor matched with the tangyness of the cream of tartar is perfect and always reminds me of the holidays.
7. Coconut Macaroons
Many people have never tried coconut macaroons, because they’re not very common. But let me tell you, they are delicious. They’re the chewiest of cookies, since their main ingredients is egg whites, and they are full of coconut flavor. Extra bonus points if they’re dipped in chocolate, too.
8. Thumbprint Cookies
There are all sorts of thumbprint cookies that pretty much ranges from chocolate to any jam flavor you can find. These raspberry thumbprints with a vanilla icing on top are perfectly buttery from the shortbread base with the freshness of strawberry jam and sweetness of the icing. Yum!
9. Rugelach
Rugelach can also be found in many different flavors, but I’ve only made them with strawberry jam, and they’ve been delicious. The filling is a combination of walnuts and jam – the texture and flavors work perfectly together.
10. Pecan Sandies
Some people are obsessed with this cookie, while others will have no idea what you mean when you say “pecan sandies”. Pretty much, they’re an extremely buttery shortbread cookie with finely chopped pecans in the dough. Watch out, these are dangerously good.
11. Linzer Cookies
I used to make these cookies all the time because I was obsessed. I’m still just as obsessed but now I like to change it up a bit more. They can have ground pecans or hazelnuts in the dough, or just be a shortbread base, then sandwiched with jam in the middle and dusted with powdered sugar. Plus, you can make them with all different shapes, like hearts for Valentine’s Day.
12. Biscotti
When I was a kid, I hated biscotti. It’s mostly because I hated nuts (gasp, I know), but also because I never even really gave it a try. Biscotti is seriously just an extra long cookie that’s super crispy so it’s good when you dip it in coffee. So delicious, and so many different flavor combinations possible, too.
13. Lemon Cookies
Lemon cookies, ugh right? Wrong. People think that since lemon is so sour, they can’t possibly make good cookies. But, that’s where people are wrong. Because lemon is so sour, it’s usually paired with a lot of sugar or a sweet icing, and the sour/sweet combination is perfect.
These are just a select few of the plethora of cookie recipes out there. So next time you want to make homemade cookies (I see you, Valentine’s Day), maybe try one you wouldn’t normally think of.