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24 Thanksgiving Cookies Just as Festive as Pie

Like caramel apple cookies and pumpkin-spiced chocolate chip cookies.
24 Thanksgiving Cookies Just as Festive as Pie
Kelsey McClellan

Whether you lovingly craft your Pumpkin Pie with food editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s Actually Perfect Pie Crust, or you take some help from premade pie pastry, pies are the undisputed star of Thanksgiving dessert.

We are here to dispute that. There’s no denying pies are delicious (dare you to try to turn down a slice of this Hot Buttered Rum Pie). But after you’re full to the brim of stuffing, turkey, and mashed potatoes, sometimes you just want a little something something. Cue your uncle asking you to cut, "just a sliver—no, no, even smaller than that!" Anyone who has ever cut a pie knows this is no simple feat.

This is why Team Cookie reigns supreme. You can pack just as much festive flavor—like these cinnamon-dusted Snickerdoodles, or cranberry-speckled wafers, or pumpkin-seed-studded chocolate cookies—but in a hand-held treat to enjoy with after-dinner coffee or a night cap.

These 24 recipes will convince you. Thanksgiving pie always has a place in our hearts, but these cookies are coming for its crown.

  • An aqua plate with a pile of crackletop snickerdoodle cookies one our our favorite easy desserts.
    Photo by Alex Lau, styling by Sean Dooley
    1/24

    BA’s Best Snickerdoodles

    Whether you like your snickerdoodles cakey (purist) or chewy (rebel), this recipe has everything you need to make ’em right.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman. Food styling by Pearl Jones.
    2/24

    Thandai Shortbread Cookies

    Buttery, floral, and with just the right amount of spice, there’s no better companion for your afternoon tea or coffee break.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim
    6/24

    Sparkly Red Velvet Cookies

    This one-bowl red velvet cookie is rich, chewy, and ready in minutes (the inevitable red-stained fingers are 100% worth it).

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  • Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Jessie YuChen
    7/24

    Salted Caramel Apple Cookies

    If a caramel apple and a snickerdoodle got together and created some seriously delicious magic, you'd end up with these soft and chewy cookies that taste like a mug of warm spiced cider on a crisp fall day.

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  • Kelsey McClellan
    8/24

    Cranberry Wafer Cookies

    You could also use dried tart cherries or whole dried figs in place of the cranberries.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini
    12/24

    Tahini Cookies

    These are your new grown-up peanut butter cookies. The tahini lends a creamy, earthy flavor.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie
    13/24

    Miso White Chocolate–Macadamia Cookies

    Chewy chocolate chip cookie lovers: Here’s another to love. Bolstered by brown butter, macadamia nuts, and miso, it’s got depth, balance, and personality.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman. Food styling by Pearl Jones.
    14/24

    Iced Spiced Hermits

    When you can’t decide between cake and cookie, bake classic New England hermits, which are dense, chewy, and spiced with Christmas flavors.

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  • Alex Lau
    15/24

    Pignoli Cookies

    There is just no getting around the fact that almond paste is indispensable for these meringue-like cookies; it transforms their flavor and helps them brown evenly. Some brands sell in a tube; others will be in a can in the baking aisle. Using the tube is ideal since the canned might be looser, but either works for this recipe.

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  • Kelsey McClellan
    16/24

    Spiced Molasses Cookies

    Now all we need is a cup of eggnog.

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  • Peden & Munk
    17/24

    Chocolate Chunk–Pumpkin Seed Cookies

    For the ideal chewy brownie-ish texture, take care not to overbake these spiced cookies.

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  • Photographs by Jenny Huang, food styling by Sue Li, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    18/24

    Trouble Cookies

    Naturally sweet sorghum flour becomes caramelly when combined with butter and brown sugar in these cookies that, per their name, cause uncontrollable urges for more cookies.

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  • Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Michelle Gatton
    19/24

    Alfajores With Coconut Dulce de Leche

    The traditional South American cookie gets a twist in this shortbread sandwich filled with coconut dulce de leche.

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  • Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    20/24

    Chocolate–Almond Praline Cookies

    You can’t see the candied almonds in these cookies, but you’ll taste them for sure.

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  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones
    21/24

    Cocoa-Coffee Almond Cookies

    Almond paste makes these supremely fudgy cookies extra chewy, while coffee adds a savory note that complements the chocolate and nut flavors.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sean Dooley
    22/24

    Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies With Toffee

    Prepare for these toffee-and-chocolate-laced brown butter cookies to ruin you for all others.

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  • Alex Lau
    23/24

    Anise Cookies

    We found that a couple cracks across the tops of these cookies were worth it in this recipe to ensure they are as light and moist as possible, but resting the portioned dough for the full hour helps minimize getting too many.

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