Cookies are one of the best creations IMO. From soft to crispy to chewy, cookies in any form will always be delicious. But there’s a level of comfort that comes along with cookies that just soothes the soul. To add on, December is just the best month to make cookies, it’s the time for cookie swaps or just indulging in a good cookie while watching your favorite holiday movie — cookie season is in full swing. It’s no wonder National Cookie Day (December 4) and National Cookie Baking Day (December 18) happen to fall during this month. So, to get your cookie fix this winter, here’s a list of our staff’s favorite cookie recipes.
Brookies
You can’t go wrong with this brookie recipe from Preppy Kitchen! Spoon U intern, Kate Linggi, classifies them as easy to make and the “best of both worlds” — that was true when Hannah Montana sang it, and it’s also true here with the perfect mix of brownies and chocolate chip cookies. You can find the recipe here.
Cookie Bars
Our SEO Editor, Maria Serra, is a major fan of Cookie Elf’s Can’t Leave Em Alone bars. “Cookie bars are such a great idea for people who hate drop cookies or need to make a lot of treats at one time,” says Serra. “And it's easy AF.”
Levain Copy Cat Cookies
Who wouldn’t want a massive 6-ounce cookie? Levain cookies are so filled with chocolate that sometimes I, a chocoholic, think it’s too much. Matt, also known as @morocooks on TikTok, blessed us with the copy cat recipe.
The biggest tips include weighing your dough, refrigerating your dough overnight, and scooping the dough instead of rolling it (to get those cracks when baking).
Peanut Butter Bran Cookie Squares
Moriah House also loves these Peanut Butter Bran squares from The Takeout. She notes that they are “relatively simple and hard to mess up, using pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand and nothing super fancy or expensive, but they are also unique, customizable/flexible, and of course delicious!” Plus, they can be made in a dorm kitchen!
Mint Shortbread Cookies
These mint shortbread cookies from food.com are super festive and taste just as good as they look. “They are buttery and minty at the same time,” says Spoon U writer Gray Wynns. “And they are crispy without being too crunchy.” Wynns emphasizes that theirs came out really thin due to the use of cookie cutters, so if adding more dough, the cookies will probably be softer.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I know this is basic, but Nestle’s Toll House chocolate chip cookies are an all-time favorite in my family. I can’t help but think of the Friends episode, “The One With Phoebe’s Cookies.” When Phoebe asks Chandler and Monica what they want for an engagement present, Monica responds by asking for Phoebe's grandmother's chocolate chip cookie recipe. In the span of two days, Monica, Phoebe, and Ross try different recipes for chocolate chip cookies to see if they can recreate them from memory — only to eventually find out that it’s actually the Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip recipe. It is, quite literally, the recipe on the backside of the chocolate chip morsel bag. The recipe is so good, you’ll have people thinking you baked the next big thing.
Tip: I don’t use vanilla extract anymore when it comes to baking, I like using coffee syrup. The syrup enhances the flavor of the cookie and I do a capful when measuring (my favorite being Pumpkin Caramel, bought at T.J. Maxx).