7 Fall Cookie Recipes to Bake This Season

Fall makes me want to be in my kitchen baking cookies constantly. Maybe it’s finally being able to turn the oven on without making the entire house unbearably hot, or maybe it’s just that brown butter, cinnamon, pumpkin and chocolate all taste a little better this time of year.

I’ve made a lot of cookie recipes over the years, but these are some of my favorites to bring back once fall rolls around.

This list has a little bit of everything: warm and cinnamon-y cookies, chocolate cookies, decorated sugar cookies, sandwich cookies and a few recipes that aren’t necessarily fall cookies but somehow feel perfect with a cozy drink on a chilly afternoon.

Whether you’re looking for something to bring to a fall party, bake with the kids, add to a Thanksgiving dessert table or just make on a Sunday afternoon, here are 7 fall cookie recipes to add to your baking list this season.

1. Salty Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I don’t think you can ever go wrong with a really good chocolate chunk cookie.

These Salty Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies have that combination I always want in a cookie: plenty of chocolate with just enough salt to balance everything out.

They’re a great option when you want a fall dessert that isn’t pumpkin or heavily spiced. Make a batch for a cozy night at home, bring them to a football party or serve them warm after dinner.

And if you’re making a fall cookie platter, I’d definitely include something chocolatey like these to balance out all the cinnamon and spice.

2. Fall Sugar Cookies

My sugar cookie recipe is one I use over and over again, and changing the cookie cutters is the easiest way to make it work for just about any season.

For fall, cut the dough into pumpkins, leaves, acorns or other autumn shapes and decorate them in warm fall colors.

You can keep the decorating really simple too. I love using shades of cream, muted orange, brown, mustard and soft green instead of feeling like every pumpkin needs to be bright orange.

These would be especially cute for a fall party, pumpkin patch get-together, Thanksgiving dessert table or packaged individually as little fall treats.

3. Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies

If there is one cookie flavor that belongs in a fall roundup, it’s snickerdoodle.

These Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies take that classic cinnamon-sugar cookie and make it even better by turning two cookies into one dessert.

They’re soft, cinnamon-y and filled with creamy cinnamon buttercream, making them feel a little more special than a traditional snickerdoodle.

Make these when you need a fall cookie for a party or dessert table, or anytime one cookie just doesn’t feel like enough.

4. Cinnamon Swirl Cookies

These are basically cozy season in cookie form.

My Cinnamon Swirl Cookies are full of warm cinnamon flavor and topped with cream cheese frosting. They’re somewhere between a cookie and your favorite cinnamon roll, which makes them especially good once the weather starts cooling down.

They’re also such a fun alternative to the usual pumpkin desserts you’ll see everywhere in the fall.

If you’re planning a fall baking day, put these near the top of your list.

5. Brown Butter Oatmeal M&M Cookies

Brown butter makes just about every cookie better.

These Brown Butter Oatmeal M&M Cookies are chewy, buttery and loaded with oatmeal and chocolate candies. The brown butter adds that slightly nutty, toasted flavor that works so well with oatmeal.

For fall, you could even use M&M’s in autumn colors to make them feel a little more seasonal.

They’re easy enough for an after-school treat but still good enough to bring somewhere when you’ve been asked to bring dessert.

6. Chai Cookies

If you love warm fall spices, these need to happen.

Chai Cookies bring together those cozy cinnamon and spice flavors that instantly remind me of fall. They’re perfect alongside coffee or tea and such a nice change from all of the pumpkin and apple recipes this time of year.

These would be really pretty on a fall dessert board paired with the snickerdoodles and cinnamon swirl cookies for an entire cinnamon-and-spice moment.

7. Triple Chocolate Cookies

We needed to finish this list with chocolate.

My Triple Chocolate Cookies are for anyone who thinks there’s no such thing as too much chocolate. They’re rich, decadent and a great addition to a fall cookie platter because they add something completely different from the lighter cinnamon and sugar cookies.

These are especially good when you’re putting together a mixed cookie box or dessert tray. Add a few fall sugar cookies, chai cookies, snickerdoodles and triple chocolate cookies and you’ve got a little bit of everything.

How to Make a Fall Cookie Platter

One of my favorite ways to serve cookies for a party is to put several different varieties together on one big board or platter.

The trick is choosing cookies that don’t all look or taste the same.

For this particular fall cookie board, I’d combine decorated pumpkin sugar cookies for color, Triple Chocolate Cookies for something dark and rich, Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies for height, Cinnamon Swirl Cookies for frosting and a handful of Salty Sweet Chocolate Chunk or Brown Butter Oatmeal M&M Cookies to fill in the spaces.

It doesn’t have to look perfect. Stack some cookies, overlap others and break a few chocolate chunk cookies in half so you can see all of that chocolate inside.

Fall Cookie Box Ideas

These recipes would also be so cute packaged into fall cookie boxes.

Make three or four varieties rather than all of them, then pack them into bakery boxes with parchment paper. Tie the boxes with ribbon or baker’s twine and you’ve got an easy homemade gift for teachers, neighbors, friends or Thanksgiving hosts.

You could even make it a yearly tradition and change the cookie combination each fall.

What Cookies Are Best for Thanksgiving?

Cookies are sometimes overlooked when everyone starts planning Thanksgiving pies, but I love having a few smaller desserts available too.

Fall sugar cookies, chai cookies and snickerdoodles would all fit right in on a Thanksgiving dessert table. Cookies are also easy for guests to grab later in the evening when somehow everyone is hungry again.

And unlike pie, nobody needs a plate and fork just to sneak one from the kitchen.

Save These Fall Cookie Recipes

If you’re making a fall baking list this year, save a few of these recipes to try throughout the season.

Start with Cinnamon Swirl Cookies or Chai Cookies when you’re ready for all the cozy fall flavors, make the Fall Sugar Cookies when you want something fun to decorate, and keep the Salty Sweet Chocolate Chunk and Triple Chocolate Cookies around for the people who would choose chocolate over pumpkin spice every single time.

Or make a few varieties and turn them into one giant fall cookie platter.

That sounds like the better plan to me.

Which are your favorite? Let me know!

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