Fill Your Cookie Jar with Our Best-Loved Cookies and Bars

Recipe: Kitchen Sink Cookies

Go ahead and throw everything in. Well, not quite everything. As the name implies, you throw just about everything but the kitchen sink into these ultra-decadent cookies. They are packed full of chocolate, almonds, corn chips, and oats—that's a lot of deliciousness. 

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars

The perfect mix of peanut butter and chocolate fudge, these bars are sure to impress. They also prove that your favorite candy can also be your favorite bar.

Recipe: Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies

This recipe gets rave reviews from our readers, who love how simple it is to get rich flavors from such few ingredients. You probably already have everything you need to put a batch of these together sitting in your pantry. So, if you want a great-tasting chocolate cookie recipe that is also gluten-free, this is the perfect dessert. 

Recipe: Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies

If our Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies had any fewer ingredients you would literally be standing at your counter eating peanut butter out of a jar with a spoon. Still, you will impress your guests with these simple, four-ingredient peanut butter cookies. They're also easy to remember because you need one of everything: one cup of peanut butter; one cup of sugar; one egg; and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. And, if you want to spice it up a little, add your favorite chocolate morsels, chopped peanuts, or other delicious embellishments.

Recipe: Ultimate Dark Chocolate Brownies

Chocolate brownies missing something? We thought so. This recipe calls for bourbon and espresso for an extra decadent dessert.

Recipe: Crunchy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl Bars

Peanut butter and chocolate unite to create a rich, delectable, and memorable bar. White and dark chocolate swirls sit atop a creamy peanut butter base while crisp rice cereal and roasted peanuts add crunch. 

Recipe: Blackberry-Oat Crumble Bars

These ooey-gooey treats taste like a twist between blackberry cobbler and a bar cookie. Pack a batch of these tart, fruity bars for your next picnic or barbecue. 

Recipe: Chewy Peanut Bars

These microwave-made chocolate-peanut blondies truly surprised us. You'll love their combination of sticky-sweet peanut butter and rich, gooey chocolate. Your guests won't know whether you've whipped it up in the microwave or baked it up in the oven, so take advantage of that often-overlooked kitchen appliance and make this tasty treat. 

Recipe: Spiced Pecan Pie Bars

Not in the mood for a whole pie? These Spiced Pecan Bars are a delicious alternative. Plus, they're portable, making them easy to bring to your next holiday party. 

Recipe: Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Rolling these basic sugar cookies in a cinnamon-sugar mixture adds just enough spice and a bit of color. Brown butter makes them an extra-special delight that practically melts in your mouth. 

Recipe: Red Velvet Brownies

These red velvet brownies taste as good as they look. They are moist, tasty, rich with cream cheese, and bursting with color. Let these Red Velvet Brownies be the star of your next dinner or get-together.

Recipe: Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love this recipe for many reasons, but mostly because even an amateur baker can whip up a batch. Shaping with a cookie scoop helps to keep these rich cookies uniform in size.

Recipe: Cappuccino Swirl Bars

Grab one of these coffee bars for a quick jolt in the morning or afternoon pick-me-up. And while they may look fancy, store-bought wafer cookies are the secret to the chocolate crust. 

Recipe: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

We'll take your chocolate chip cookies and raise you a dose of brown butter. This twist on the classic is as much of a crowd-pleaser as the original. 

Recipe: Pecan Pralines

You will love this cookie from the moment you speak its name. And what could be more Southern than pecans, except maybe making sure they are in the perfect pralines? The key to these is keeping your eye on the heat. Making pralines is all about warming everything up, then cooling it down just right. For twists on the traditional, you can add chocolate, instant coffee granules, or even bourbon to this to create your own pralines. 

Recipe: Easy Sugar Cookies

This recipe creates cookies that look beautiful and taste delicious. To transform these from everyday to elegant, cut this dough into a variety of your favorite shapes. The dippable glaze will transform them into works of art almost too pretty to eat. But eat them you will, because although they appear enticing, they taste even better, and once you have your first bite of these sweet delights, it may just be difficult to stop. 

Recipe: Molasses Crinkles

A heavy sugar crust and the peppery bite of ginger make these gingerbread cookies scrumptious. Be sure to use fresh spices; it will make a big difference in how these delicious cookies taste.

Recipe: Coconut Cheesecake Squares

These bars get their extra-tropical flavor from coconut milk, lime, and flaked coconut. Who needs a tropical vacation when you have these waiting for you in the kitchen? 

Recipe: Raspberry Crumble Bars

Sweet enough to be dessert, but also perfect as a mid-afternoon snack, these bars will become a staple in your house after just one batch. Plus, these layered fruit bars work well with fresh or frozen raspberries, making them a year-round treat. 

Recipe: Millionaire Shortbread

Consider this the homemade, way-upgraded version of your favorite candy bar. Each bite delivers a perfect blend of flavor and texture: sweet, salty, crunchy, and creamy. 

Recipe: Best-Ever Brownies

Test Kitchen Professional Ivy Odom developed this recipe just in time for the holidays, but we have a feeling it'll be in our steady rotation all year round.

Recipe: Old Fashioned Tea Cake

Whether the tea is for two, or just for you, you will love the taste of these tea cakes. Even though they're called cakes, tea cakes are actually easy to make—and easier to eat—old-fashioned cookies made with butter, sugar, buttermilk, flour, and lemon. Think of these as the perfect cookie to pair with afternoon tea, or one you could just as easily enjoy with a glass of lemonade. 

Recipe: Fudgy Pecan Bourbon Balls

Hardly a Christmas can pass in the South without these traditional ball-shaped, bourbon-flavored pecan cookies ending up on a dessert bar or in a gift box. And nor should it, for these two distinctive flavors combine to bring warmth and smokiness deliciously together. 

Recipe: Spritz Cookies

Spritz cookies are holiday classics. To bake truly authentic spritz cookies, you will want to invest in a cookie press. Then you will be sure to get that oh-so-perfect shape. You can even add colored sugar crystals on top for an extra festive flair. 

Recipe: Brown Sugar Cookie Stars

These sugar cookies are anything but boring. With brown sugar mixed into the dough and sparkly gold decorations, they're definitely not your average sugar cookies.

Recipe: Cheesecake Cookies

Sure, cheesecake can be delicious, but baking one from scratch can be a whole day's work. Opt for these simplified (yet just as elegant) Cheesecake Cookies instead.

Recipe: Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies

As with most things in Texas, Bush's Cowboy Cookies are enormous and stuffed with lots of mix-ins like oats, coconut, pecans, and of course, chocolate chips.

Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Butter Cookies

These fragrant, cranberry-orange cookies make a great holiday gift. Pro-tip: so the dough has plenty of time to chill, make the dough the night before and bake the cookies the next day. 

Recipe: Macaroon Sandwich Cookies

Although this kosher recipe is meant for Passover, the winning combination of coconut and strawberry jam makes these an anytime treat.

Recipe: Daffodil Cookies

These fresh, floral, iced cookies are perfect for spring. The best part? You don't even need a special cookie cutter to make the flower shapes. 

Recipe: Butter Cookies

Go back to basics with these sweet butter cookies that belong at any celebration. Bonus, the dough that comes together quickly thanks to a list of pantry-staple ingredients—no grocery run necessary.

Recipe: Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies

Slice n' bakes never looked so good. For extra crunch, evenly coat both dough logs with turbinado sugar before slicing them into rounds.

Recipe: Pecan Sandies

Southerners will sneak pecans into just about anything, including our cookies. The key to these cookies is toasting the pecans to draw out all of their nutty flavor. 

Recipe: Magic Cookie Bars

This recipe takes the best parts of a cookie and a bar and combines them in one delightful dessert so delicious, people will think you're magic. 

Recipe: Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars

Blueberry and lemon is one of our favorite warm-weather combinations, and these bars are simply bursting with fruity flavor.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

These easy, delicious cookies are ready for the oven in a matter of minutes. The most difficult part of this recipe will be unwrapping the chocolate kisses—especially since you may be tempted to eat some as you go.

Recipe: Seven-Layer Cookies

These vintage cookies pack seven layers of heaven into one little bar.  Fun fact: this was the first bar cookie recipe ever featured in Southern Living Magazine. 

Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars

Complete with a stunning fruit swirl, these bars are the ultimate patriotic treat. Although, they're so good, you'll be making them all summer long, not just on the Fourth of July. 

Recipe: No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars

For those days when you just can't bear to turn on your oven, but you still want your chocolate fix.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Brownies

These brownies may look fancy, but they only take 25 minutes of active time. Cream cheese adds a touch of tang to balance out the sweetness. 

Recipe: Texas Sheet Cake Cookies

The famous cake takes the form of a cookie topped with its signature frosting. We use boxed cake mix to make these cookies as easy as can be. 

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Bright lemon curd and a rich cheesecake mixture combine to create Meyer Lemon Cheesecake Bars. Why Meyer lemons? They're a little sweeter, less acidic, and come with a heady floral aroma and flavor.

Recipe: Birthday Cake Cookies

These nostalgic cookies will take you straight back to childhood. Change the sprinkles to fit any occasion.

Recipe: Blueberry Breakfast Bars

With jammy centers and toasty tops, these bars make a great afternoon snack—and maybe a breakfast bite, too.

Recipe: Red Velvet Cake Crinkle Cookies

If you love this Southern classic, then you'll appreciate its cookie counterpart, too. They're rich, cakey, slightly fudgy—kids and adults will go crazy for them.

Recipe: Triple-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Add these to your holiday cookie arsenal and you're pretty much guaranteed an invite to every cookie swap of the season.

Recipe: Basil-Lemon Bars

These are not your grandmother's lemon bars—and we're okay with that. The addition of basil provides a sophisticated twist on a well-loved dessert.

Recipe: Soft Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies are the ultimate fall pick-me-up. Cakey, warmly spiced, and topped with a sweet icing and crunchy pecans, they'll be impossible for company to resist.

Recipe: Tara Jensen's Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you haven't hopped on the sourdough wagon yet, here's an excellent place to start. Try 2021 Southern Living Cook of the Year Tara Jensen's recipe, which is filled with generous chunks of bittersweet chocolate.

Recipe: Coconut-Citrus Bars

Move over, lemon square. Whether you find yourself in the throes of summer or a chilly winter, our Coconut-Citrus Bars are sure to brighten everything up.

Recipe: Carrot Cake Bars

Calling all carrot cake lovers. This one's for you: everything you love about it without the fussy frosting layers.

Recipe: Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you love a little kitchen drama, you'll want to add our Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies to your recipe tin. Let's just say these'll be a…smashing success.

Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Cake Mix Cookies

In a festive mood? These easy cookies do just the trick. Serve alongside a tall glass of lemonade, and use different sprinkles to suit any occasion and celebration.

Recipe: Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars

Take our Raspberry-Rhubarb Bars to your next spring picnic. A buttery cookie base balances out the tart rhubarb, and raspberries add sweetness.

Recipe: Raspberry-White Chocolate Meringue Sandwich Cookies

These delicate treats are a spot-on Valentine's Day or springtime offering. Crisp raspberry meringue roses sandwich a luscious white-chocolate filling tapered by tart raspberry preserves.

Recipe: Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Say hello to summer with this crumbly shortbread recipe, gently perfumed with lavender. You'll instantly be transported to the fields of Provence.

Recipe: Salted Caramel Popcorn Bars

These may sound fancy, but the truth is, the caramel sauce comes together quickly with the help of some caramel candies, a little water, and marshmallows.

Recipe: Blackberry-Apple Butter Pie Bars

Thanks to pre-made piecrust, it doesn't take much effort to pull together these fruity bars. Serve with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Brown Butter-Maple-Pecan Blondies

These bars have a lot going on, and we're loving every part of it. Why make boring blondies when you could have these? 

Recipe: Buttery Pineapple Crumble Bars

At once fruity and buttery, these crumble bars simply melt in your mouth. They might just replace lemon bars as your go-to fruity dessert. 

Recipe: Butterscotch-Toasted Oatmeal Cookies

These are not your average oatmeal cookies. Butterscotch chips and toasted pecan pieces sub in for raisins (which we know the raisin-haters will appreciate), adding an extra nuttiness that pairs well with the warm flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in these cookies. 

Recipe: Chocolate-Hazelnut Rugelach

Layers of sugar, spice, nuts, and chocolate get rolled up in a flaky, pie-crust like dough for a cookie that looks impressive but is basically a slice and bake. The filling for these cookies is endlessly customizable: use your favorite nuts, dried fruit, or even jams instead. 

Recipe: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

White chocolate isn't for everyone, but if it's for you, then these are your cookies. Sweet and creamy white chocolate pairs perfectly with tart dried cranberries for soft and chewy cookies that make a sweet addition to any cookie jar. 

Recipe: Gingerbread Biscotti

Biscotti means twice baked in Italian. The double baking process ensures that these cookies are crispy throughout. For extra holiday cheer, we made these biscotti gingerbread-flavored by adding molasses and plenty of warm spices, including of course, ginger. 

Recipe: Ambrosia Streusel Bars with Shortbread Crust

Serve ambrosia in a new way with these delectable bars. Crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, and orange marmalade create a filling that tastes exactly like everyone's favorite salad, while a shortbread crust serves as an easy, buttery base.