Food and Recipes Desserts Cookies 38 Treats Grandma Always Has In The Cookie Jar Somehow, she never lets it go empty. By Cameron Beall Cameron Beall Cameron Beall is a writer, marketer, photographer, and creative with over a year of experience with Southern Living in the realm of homes and home building. She was infatuated by home design from a young age, credit to her mother and grandmother. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on May 6, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Whether it's your Grandma or someone else's beloved, she always manages to keep the cookie jar stocked with our favorites. From classic chocolate chip cookies to speciality brownies and bars, we can count on finding something to curb our sweet tooth at Grandma's house. While we can't compete with anything that comes directly from her kitchen, we can sure come close with these sweet (and sometimes savory) desserts. This collection of treats has recipes inspired by grandma's favorites, as well as a few straight from her well-loved and flour-covered recipe tin. 01 of 38 Cracker Toffee Abbi Wilt With just five ingredients including the oh-so versatile saltine crackers, Cracker Toffee is the easiest food gift no matter the time of year. You can swap out the ingredients atop, type of chocolate, or even opt for dark brown sugar to fit your mood or the season. Just be sure to keep the ratios the same and you'll have a crowd favorite on hand in no time. 02 of 38 Kitchen Sink Cookies Jennifer Causey With chocolate, almonds, corn chips, and oats, there's nothing not to love about these cookies packed with delicious textures and flavors. While they're bound to stand out at any potluck or cookie swap, they're our favorite straight from the cookie jar. 03 of 38 Ultimate Dark Chocolate Brownies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer While we have a plethora of brownie recipes, we love this one with a few bonus ingredients. Bourbon and espresso add rich flavors for an even more decadent bite. Don't skimp on the flaky salt, such as Maldon, for a delicious finishing touch. 04 of 38 Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies Caitlin Bensel It's hard to make peanut butter cookies better, but a chocolate kiss is just the magic touch. With only one bite, these non-fussy treats will bring back memories in Grandma's kitchen. 05 of 38 Mamie Eisenhower's Chocolate Fudge Fred Hardy II; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin; Prop Stylist: Christine Keeley A simple ingredient list will always convince us to make a recipe, but if that's not enough for you, this creamy fudge recipe was supposedly the go-to of President and Mrs. Eisenhower. 06 of 38 Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies Micah A. Leal Grandma wasn't above a secret ingredient: cake mix. These colorful, five-ingredient favorites come together in a snap, but they'll be gone even quicker. 07 of 38 Hello Dolly Bars Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell With something for everyone—chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, graham crackers, and sometimes pecans or walnuts—this effortless recipe is the ideal mix of salty and sweet. 08 of 38 Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Like peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and peanut butter is a combination we can't get enough of. Since you can never have enough, this recipe makes five dozen—plenty for enjoying now, while the rest can be tucked into the freezer for when you need them in a pinch or a craving hits. 09 of 38 No-Bake Fudgy Toffee Bars Iain Bagwell With picture-perfect layers of chocolate, caramel, graham crackers, and toffee, these are sure to please any crowd—and look good doing it. 10 of 38 Grandma's Chocolate Drop Cookies Katie Strasberg Rousso Double the chocolate, double the goodness. Straight from Grandma's recipe box, these old-fashioned soft drop cookies are topped with rich chocolate frosting. 11 of 38 Blackberry-Oat Crumble Bars Helen Norman; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns Straight from the Blackberry Farm kitchen, you won't be disappointed with these treats that taste like a twist between blackberry cobbler and your favorite bar cookie. For the best result, make this recipe with fresh berries when they're at their peak at the height of summer. 12 of 38 Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn No matter if you double the batch, these will never last long once they're out of the oven. Roll the brown-butter sugar cookie dough balls in a cinnamon-sugar mixture for the perfect melt in your mouth sweet. 13 of 38 Luscious Lemon Bars Jennifer Davick; Styling: Kacy Carroll It's hardly a Southern occasion if a platter of lemon bars isn't on the table. From wedding and baby showers to luncheons, this make-ahead citrus bars are sure to make an appearance. 14 of 38 Seven-Layer Cookies Southern Living As our original cookie bar recipe published in 1996, these have stood the test of time as well as Grandma's handwritten recipe cards. Each of the seven simple ingredients are layered one by one to form a gooey, chewy dessert. 15 of 38 Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Jennifer Causey It's hard to beat a classic chocolate chip cookie, but brown butter adds a perfect nuttiness. These will hit the spot whether they're out of your oven or Grandma's cookie jar. 16 of 38 Best-Ever Brownies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall There's a reason we call these the best-ever brownies, plus they make two pans of the fudge-y squares. We'll happily eat these year-round, but they are especially handy to have on the counter when the holidays roll around. 17 of 38 Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall With only seven ingredients, these extra fudge-y, gluten-free cookies are packed with flavor thanks to a few pantry staples, including cocoa, chocolate morsels, and pecans. 18 of 38 Best Brown Butter Blondies Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist Audrey Davis While classic chocolate brownies will always hold a special place in our hearts, we'll happily make room for their lighter counterpart. With the flavors of a chocolate chip cookie and. texture of a brownie, these will steal the show at the bake sale. 19 of 38 Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies Hannah Zimmerman / Southern Living Sometimes the simplest things are the best. You probably already have the four ingredients on hand too; we know Grandma always did. 20 of 38 Cream Cheese Brownies Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox While these brownies may look fancy with cream cheese and batter swirls, they take less than 30 minutes of hands-on time. 21 of 38 All-Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies Beth Dreiling Hontzas Our advice: Keep your freezer stocked with balls of this cookie dough at all times. They're the ideal, toss-in-the-oven cookie for all occasions, from drop-in visitors to a bad day pick-me-up. 22 of 38 Pan-Banging Chocolate Chip Cookies Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Let's just say everyone in your house will know what you're whipping up in the kitchen. The secret to these—banging the pan right out the oven—gives these six-inch cookies a ripple effect with crispy edges and a gooey center. 23 of 38 Crunchy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl Bars Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Try these fan-favorite peanut butter and chocolate bars that are swirled with dark and white chocolate for a presentation that is as beautiful as they are delicious. Add chopped peanuts on top for a bonus crunch. 24 of 38 No-Bake Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies Zoe Denenberg; Prop Stylist: Rachel Mulcahy You don't even have to bother pre-heating the oven when it comes to these textured chocolate-oatmeal cookies. They come together in just 10 minutes, but good luck having the patience to let them cool and harden. 25 of 38 Cowboy Cookies Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle While Laura Bush's humble cookies won the political bake-off in 2000 at the Texas Governor's House, they also won our hearts. With pecans, brown sugar, rolled oats, and chocolate chips, plus a hint of cinnamon and toasted coconut, these cookies do it all. 26 of 38 Chocolate Peanut Butter-Fudge Bars Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer With layers of peanut butter and chocolate in various textures, these bars are one of our favorite examples of the match made in heaven combination. Start with a cooked-to-perfection brownie then a layer of creamy peanut butter filling and top it with a fudge-like icing. The cherry on top is the crunchy nuts. 27 of 38 Butterscotch-Toasted Oatmeal Cookies Linda Pugliese Grandma's candy bowl was always dotted with yellow-wrapped butterscotch candies, so it was only a matter of time before the same flavor made it into her oatmeal cookies. With butterscotch chips and toasted oatmeal, these cookies are full of goodness. 28 of 38 Oatmeal-Caramel Cream Pies Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Oatmeal cookies with rich caramel buttercream filling will rival the ice cream sandwiches and Little Debbie treats of your childhood. 29 of 38 Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines Emily Laurae/Southern Living Classic pecan pralines are about as Southern as it comes when we're talking about desserts. Their roots trace back to the 1700s in New Orleans, and their flavor is just as rich as the history behind them. 30 of 38 Snickerdoodle Doughnut Hole Muffins Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Torie Cox Muffins? Doughnut holes? Snickerdoodles? Whatever you want to call them, these fluffy, cinnamon-and-sugar-topped bite-sized delights are highly addictive. 31 of 38 Cherry Pie Bars Greg Dupree Though suited to summer, these grazable, cherry-topped bars are made with canned cherry pie filling, making them fair game for anytime of year. 32 of 38 Magic Cookie Bars Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis No matter where these bars show up, they'll always remind us of our grandmother's kitchen. With plenty of textures and flavors, add in or leave out any of the toppings according to your preferences. 33 of 38 Salted Butter-Pecan Shortbread Cookies Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall This one is for the pecan lovers. Slice-and-bake shortbread cookie dough is speckled with toasted pecans and rolled in turbinado sugar before it's cut into rounds for an extra-sweet edge. 34 of 38 Blueberry-Lemon Crunch Bars Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones Two buttery and crunchy layers hold in all the goodness of the jammy blueberry and lemon duo. We won't tell if you nibble on these for breakfast. 35 of 38 Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Micah A. Leal You'll never be able to have just one when it comes to these crisp-on-the-outside and exceptionally gooey-on-the-inside chocolate delights. These will satisfy brownie and cookie lovers alike. 36 of 38 Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars Hector Sanchez We turned two of our favorite cobblers from Grandma's recipe tin into fresh, fruity grab-and-go bars. 37 of 38 Cinnamon Swirl Puff Pastry Muffins Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist Claire Spollen From breakfast to a sweet afternoon treat, these pastries won't lead you astray. Grandma wasn't against a secret shortcut, so this recipe calls for a package of frozen puff pastry dough to have these on the table in a pinch. 38 of 38 Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins Hannah Zimmerman / Southern Living Grandmother always had a baking trick up her sleeve, and here it's frozen blueberries in lieu of fresh ones. Whether you freeze your own when they're at their best from June through August or rely on store-bought ones, the beauty of this recipe is that no thawing is needed. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit