Food and Recipes Desserts Cookies 45 Fall Cookie and Cookie Bar Recipes Every Baker Needs To Try By Southern Living Editors Southern Living Editors Since 1966, the editors of Southern Living have been carrying out the mission of the brand: to bring enjoyment, fulfillment, and inspiration to our readers by celebrating life in the South. We inspire creativity in their homes, their kitchens, their gardens, and their personal style. We are a friend they can trust, a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a relentless champion of the Southern way of life. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on August 19, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photographer: Alison Miksch Food Stylist: Erin Merhar Prop Stylist: Prissy Lee As soon as the temperature dips even the slightest bit below 70, you better believe we're ready for fall baking. While apple pies and spice cakes will always be seasonal staples, there's nothing like a warm cookie to welcome fall. Whether you're baking a batch for a football party or your church's Thanksgiving potluck, warm cookies full of pumpkin, apple, caramel, peanut butter, or pecan flavor are sure to win over your crowd. Add some cinnamon and brown sugar to the mix, and you've got an autumn hand-held dessert that your family and friends won't be able to get enough of. From recipes that play on your favorite flavor combinations, like our Caramel-Apple Cookies or our Cranberry-Almond Cookies, to sweets that fuse two classic treats together, like our Apple Pie Cookies or our Pecan Pie Cookies, our best fall cookie recipes have everything you're looking for this autumn season. The hardest part just might be picking which of our best fall dessert recipes you should make. 01 of 45 Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Add an extra crunch to this slice-and-bake shortbread by coating both dough logs with turbinado sugar before slicing them into rounds. The result is a cookie that's the perfect balance of salty and sweet and goes down easy. Good thing this recipe makes more than 3 dozen cookies. 02 of 45 Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Jennifer Causey Recipe: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies The secret to these crowd-favorite cookies is in the butter. It all comes down to the first (very important) step of browning the butter before you start baking. Add toasted pecans if you like crunch in your cookie. 03 of 45 Apple Pie Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Apple Pie Cookies Your typical apple pie gets a makeover in this bite-sized cookie. The pillowy, personal-sized treats are like miniature hand pies, with a pocket of apple pie filling sure to make you think of your favorite Thanksgiving slice. After baking and cooling, top the cookies with a simple cinnamon icing to enhance the flavor and sweetness. 04 of 45 Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies A delectable, flourless treat, this rich dessert is essentially a cookie brownie filled with toasted chopped pecans and gooey pockets of melted chocolate. Whipped egg whites are the trick to fudge cookies that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Even better, they are practically foolproof to make and come together in a single bowl. 05 of 45 Pumpkin Spice Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cookies Pumpkin spice and actual pumpkin collide in these deliciously seasonal cookies. A twist on the snickerdoodle, these cookies turn out soft and velvety. Nothing screams fall more than scrumptious Pumpkin Spice Cookies that pair well with a cup of hot chocolate... or a pumpkin spice latte from your favorite coffee shop. 06 of 45 Cappuccino Swirl Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Cappuccino Swirl Bars Good to look at, but even better to eat, these bars have three delicious layers. The cream cheese filling flavored with cocoa and instant espresso is swirled just like a curl of milk in your coffee. Store-bought wafer cookies make the crust simple as pie. 07 of 45 Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies This blast from the past is just as delicious and simple to make as you remember. A no-fuss treat, the recipe comes from our February 1986 issue. We brought it back to delight your taste buds all fall and winter long. 08 of 45 Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies These cakey cookies are a cross between a pumpkin muffin and a chocolate chip cookie, making them the ultimate treat for chocolate lovers in the fall. The pumpkin puree in the cookie dough lends significant moisture, while mini semisweet chocolate chips stay in a semi-liquid state in the moist cookie dough. What more could you ask for in an autumn treat? 09 of 45 Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Crisp on the outside and exceptionally gooey on the inside, it may be impossible to only eat one of these crinkle cookies. If you can't decide whether to bake brownies or cookies, this is a fudgy compromise that will satisfy both sweet cravings. You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour if need be, but the cake flour helps to make the cookie extra tender. 10 of 45 Kitchen Sink Cookies Jennifer Causey Recipe: Kitchen Sink Cookies Sweet meets salty in this family-favorite recipe. It incorporates chopped almonds, chocolate chunks, oats, and crushed corn chips that have just the right amount of saltiness. This recipe can come together in a pinch on a busy day. 11 of 45 Pecan Pie Cookies Marisa Spyker Recipe: Pecan Pie Cookies Not all occasions call for a full-on pie. With a shortbread crust and a pecan pie filling, these bite-sized pecan pie treats to pack in all the best elements of your favorite fall pie. These cookies are freezer ready too; make extra batches and have them last until the holidays. 12 of 45 Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies These presidential family-approved cookies are stuffed with chewy, gooey ingredients. Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with oats, coconut, and pecans are so good, they'll have you hollering "yeehaw!" And as with most things in Texas, Bush's Cowboy Cookies are enormous. 13 of 45 Spiced Pecan Pie Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Spiced Pecan Pie Bars You can't go through the fall season without making these cinnamon pecan bars. Ground cinnamon and ginger spice up traditional pecan pie filling for delicious effect. This recipe has a healthy helping of nuts for those who like plenty of crunch. 14 of 45 Butterscotch-Toasted Oatmeal Cookies Linda Pugliese Recipe: Butterscotch-Toasted Oatmeal Cookies Butterscotch chips perfectly compliment these oatmeal cookies. In a pinch or on a whim, substitute butterscotch for chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or raisins. This dependable recipe won't fall flat for tasty, seasonal flare no matter how you choose your adventure. 15 of 45 Cranberry-Almond Cookies Ralph Anderson; Styling: Mary Lyn Hill Recipe: Cranberry-Almond Cookies This quick and easy dessert is a fruit-lover's treat of choice. You'll have decadent cookies with dried cranberries and toasted almond slices in just 20 minutes. They're great any time in fall, but also around the holidays because the cranberries add a festive splash of red. 16 of 45 Lemon-Almond Bars Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Lemon-Almond Bars These bars are easy peasy lemon squeezy and mighty tasty too. Lemon and almond are a killer flavor combination for comforting hand-held treats. Crystallized ginger and lemon zest give them plenty of zing. 17 of 45 Seven-Layer Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Seven-Layer Cookies This impressive, flavor-packed treat couldn't be easier—or more delicious. This is the first ever bar cookie recipe that we ever published and it has withstood the test of time for a reason. Seven-Layer Cookies are quick to make, easy enough for an amateur baker, and extra ooey, gooey, chewy, and delicious. 18 of 45 Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro Recipe: Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies This four-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe is a must-have for novice cookie enthusiasts and seasoned bakers alike. These treats are easy as can be and come together in just over half an hour with sweet, nutty flavor. Peanut butter cookies are delicious as is, but we also have instructions for adding in chocolate morsels, toffee, or chopped peanuts. 19 of 45 Molasses Crinkles Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Molasses Crinkles Classic autumn flavors are perfectly balanced in this cookie with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves galore. They're straightforward and simple, yet oh-so-good with wholesome, warming spices. Press each cookie into sparkling sugar for an extra-sweet crunch. 20 of 45 Dark Chocolate-Ginger-Molasses Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Dark Chocolate-Ginger-Molasses Cookies As you were reading the name of this recipe, you probably thought it couldn't get any better... and then is just kept getting better. Dark chocolate and ginger, plus molasses, are an all-star trio that add up to rich, deep seasonal flavor. Fall baking enthusiasts and chocolate-connoisseurs alike will love these. 21 of 45 Soft Pumpkin Cookies Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Recipe: Soft Pumpkin Cookies The tiny, iced cookies will melt in your mouth. They're soft as cake, warmly spiced, and absolutely bursting with pumpkin flavor. Each cookie is complemented by bourbon glaze with just a hint of maple and chopped, toasted pecans. 22 of 45 Spider Web Cookies Zoe Denenberg; Prop Styling: Rachel Mulcahy Recipe: Spider Web Cookies These treats are the ideal combination of classy and on-theme. Halloween cookies as tasty and appealing as these ones will fly off the platter. All it takes to make is two icing colors and a toothpick to create the webbed effect. 23 of 45 Chewy Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Chewy Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars We can't get enough of chocolate and peanut butter together. Along with that unbeatable flavor duo, these no-bake bars pack a punch with chewy texture and an extra layer of melted chocolate with sprinkled peanuts. Your dinner crowd will never believe these cookie bars came homemade from the microwave. 24 of 45 Halloween Spider Cookies Micah A. Leal Recipe: Halloween Spider Cookies Spider cookies are a simple, classic Halloween-time spooky treat. Bring your kids into the kitchen for decoration and make memories over slightly salty, creepy crawly cookies. Use chocolate truffles and mini candy eyeballs for easy decorating. 25 of 45 Soft Ginger-Molasses Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Soft Ginger-Molasses Cookies No offense, but classic molasses-ginger cookies don't stand a chance against our upgraded version. Recipients at the cookie swap will beg for your recipe for gooey treats with two types of ginger. Finely chopped crystallized ginger and lemony icing really takes these over the top. 26 of 45 No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars Iain Bagwell Recipe: No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars No need to worry about burning these delightful cookie bars with too much time in heat—they don't need to even touch the oven. These gooey, nutty bars are great for beginners and master bakers alike. Chill well before serving so the scrumptious layers can firm up. 27 of 45 Carrot Cake Cookies Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Karen Rankin Recipe: Carrot Cake Cookies These over-the-top cookies shove all the big flavors of carrot cake into hand-held sweet treats. Shredded carrots and toasted walnuts are flavored with cinnamon and vanilla to make a cookie dough that's perfectly thick and decadent. Instead of the usual cream cheese frosting, these cookies are drizzled with a sweet vanilla icing. 28 of 45 Bourbon-Caramel Cookies Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Recipe: Bourbon-Caramel Cookies One of our favorite fall pairings is sweet brown sugar and flakey sea salt. Along with the classic combination of bourbon and caramel, these cookies pack powerful flavors. Soft caramel candies are used for an easy topping. 29 of 45 No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Prissy Lee Montiel Recipe: No-Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Ready in just 25 minutes without any heat, these cookies are great to whip up in a pinch. Chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal flavors are so tasty though, they just might become your dessert of choice even when you have all the time in the world. And they're packed with healthy ingredients, too. 30 of 45 Toffee Cookies Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Recipe: Toffee Cookies The secret to a deliciously addictive chocolate chip cookie? Toffee. This recipe for delightfully salty-sweet cookies calls for nutty flavors from toffee bits, dark brown sugar, and butterscotch pudding mix. 31 of 45 Hello Dolly Bars Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Hello Dolly Bars A sweet graham cracker crust melds with chocolate, pecans, and coconut thanks to a gooey layer of condensed milk. The salty-sweet combination will make this dessert a hit no matter the occasion. Hello Dolly has stayed a classic for a reason. 32 of 45 Texas Sheet Cake Cookies Photographer: Antonis Achilleos, Prop Stylist: Christine Kelly Food Stylist: Ali Ramee Recipe: Texas Sheet Cake Cookies Texas Sheet Cake is one of our favorite desserts of all time. Now, we've outdone ourselves with a cookie version. This cookie recipe takes all of our favorite notes from the classic cake, even using cake mix in the cookie dough, but has a few additional surprises to one-up its inspiration. 33 of 45 Magic Cookie Bars Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Recipe: Magic Cookie Bars With one bite, you'll taste why we think these cookie bars are so magical. Our Test Kitchen calls them "chocolate-coconut heaven" for a reason and a . This recipe is much like Hello Dolly, but with butterscotch chips and a sprinkle of sea salt on top like fairy dust to seal the deal. 34 of 45 Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies Zoe Denenberg; Prop Styling: Rachel Mulcahy Recipe: Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies We've spent years tirelessly curating the perfect Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. These cookies make the most out of that classic flavor combination of chocolate and peanut butter to make stunning treats that are delightful in their simplicity. And the recipe makes five dozen, enough to cover your hungry family and that upcoming potluck. 35 of 45 No-Bake Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies Photo: Zoe Denenberg; Prop Stylist: Rachel Mulcahy Recipe: No-Bake Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies If you're anything like us, seeing "No-Bake" in a recipe means automatically dog-earing the page for safe keeping. These one-of-a-kind cookies require less than 10 minutes of hands-on time. Using only straightforward ingredients including sugar, butter, chocolate, and oats, we dare say that these cookies can give pecan pralines a run for their money. 36 of 45 Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic dessert combination that we'll never quit. These fudgy treats are fail-proof at potlucks, parties, and bake sales. Plus they require just an hour of refrigeration before serving. 37 of 45 Grandma's Chocolate Drop Cookies Katie Strasberg Rousso Recipe: Grandma's Chocolate Drop Cookies Personalize these cookies to suit your dessert craving or rejoice in their old-fashioned charm as is. Try substituting mint chocolate chips over this recipe's semi-sweet if you please, but no matter which path you take, don't cheat yourself of a hefty dollop of chocolate icing on each soft cookie. 38 of 45 Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Recipe: Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Sugar cookie fans won't be able to get enough of these warm cinnamon-sugar cookies. They stand apart from the pack thanks to browned butter that contributes deep, nutty flavor. Make extra dough and freeze until you're craving the next batch. 39 of 45 Almond Thumbprints with Fig Jam Joy Howard Recipe: Almond Thumbprints with Fig Jam While gooey, fudgy cookies have their charm, there's something about a crumbly cookie as the weather gets cooler. Cookies made from almond flour with a dollop of sweet, seasonal fig jam in the center is just the sweet treat you need. The gluten-free recipe results in a nice sandy texture. 40 of 45 Mini Taco Cookies Southern Living Recipe: Mini Taco Cookies Perfect for any tailgate party, these cookies are all about festivity and fun. Be sure to get the kids involved with creating this treat. Fill the cookie base with crumbled Oreos and taco toppings (we'll let you guess which candies are standing in). Melted chocolate holds it all together. 41 of 45 Cranberry-Orange Butter Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Cranberry-Orange Butter Cookies Traditional butter cookies are made even better with dried cranberries and orange. This versatile recipe can also be made with dried cherries and lemon zest. Butter cookies are supremely satisfying with your morning coffee and also great for guests. 42 of 45 Toasted Oatmeal Cookies Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Toasted Oatmeal Cookies All oatmeal cookies make us feel warm inside, but these are even cozier due to the extra step of pre-toasting the oats with the pecans. The toasted oats add a subtle richness and depth of flavor, while the raisins and cinnamon are comforting and familiar. Best of all, the recipe makes five dozen cookies—plenty for the kids (and you) to grab a handful after each busy day. 43 of 45 White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Photo: Jennifer Causey Recipe: White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Dried cranberries are complemented by the delicate, creamy sweetness of white chocolate in this recipe. Chopped chunks of white chocolate hold their gooey shape best, but you can also use morsels. Allow these light-colored cookies to cool on a baking sheet, which allows them to finish cooking without getting too brown in the oven. 44 of 45 Cherry-Walnut Rugelach Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Recipe: Cherry-Walnut Rugelach We've switched up the traditional filling with a sweet and nutty blend of cherry preserves, chocolate, and chopped walnuts. Assembly is easier than it sounds—put a heaping spoonful of filling on wedges of dough and roll up. An egg wash and a dusting of sparkling sugar before baking really makes these rugelach shine. 45 of 45 Caramel-Apple Cookies Photographer: Alison Miksch Food Stylist: Erin Merhar Prop Stylist: Prissy Lee Recipe: Caramel-Apple Cookies Enjoy the flavor of your favorite state fair treat in cookie form. Use Granny Smith apples, tart enough to balance the sweetness and firm enough for baking. Bake these cookies and dig in the same day for the best bites of soft caramel and fresh apple. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit