The first weekend that actually feels like fall is usually enough to make the oven sound like a good idea again. These 17 cookie recipes cover the shift with cinnamon, ginger, caramel, pecans, chocolate, sweet potato, fruit, and bakery-style cookies that make a Saturday baking session more interesting. Some are quick drop cookies, while others include chilling, frosting, or sandwich-style assembly for a slower afternoon project. The mix gives you plenty of ways to ease back into baking season without making the whole weekend revolve around one complicated dessert.

Two copycat thin mint cookies on a plate, one with a bite taken out, with a mint leaf garnish beside them.
Copycat Thin Mint Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies

A close-up of a large chocolate cookie sprinkled with coarse salt, placed on a decorative plate with pink rose patterns.
Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Deep cocoa flavor gives Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies the kind of rich bite that fits a cool weekend without needing a complicated dough. Dutch-process cocoa, dark chocolate, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and flaky sea salt make up the batch, which makes about 30 cookies. Prep takes 15 minutes, and baking takes about 12 minutes. Keep these for an afternoon baking session when you want something intensely chocolatey with just enough salt to cut through the sweetness.

Get the Recipe: Salted Dark Chocolate Cookies

Sweet Potato Cookies

Sweet Potato Cookies on a baking sheet with icing and nuts.
Sweet Potato Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Soft centers and maple glaze make Sweet Potato Cookies a natural fit for the first real baking weekend of fall. Sweet potato, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar, butter, pecans, and vanilla give the cookies plenty of seasonal character, while a maple glaze finishes the tops. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 31 minutes. Bake a batch when you want autumn flavor without committing to a cake, pie, or anything that needs hours in the oven.

Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Cookies

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

Chocolate Caramel Cookies with frosting, caramel drizzle, and chopped nuts on a white marble surface.
Chocolate Caramel Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Gooey centers make Chocolate Caramel Cookies a strong choice when cooler weather calls for a richer cookie. Cocoa, semisweet chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, caramel candies, heavy cream, and toffee bits stack several chocolate-caramel layers into one batch. The recipe makes 10 cookies in about 27 minutes. These work well for a smaller weekend bake when you want thick cookies with enough texture and richness to stand beside coffee or a cold glass of milk.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Cookies

Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies

A plate of large peanut Copycat Crumbl Biscoff cookies with white chocolate chips, surrounded by a knife, a small bowl of peanut butter, and an orange napkin.
Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Bakery-style thickness gives Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies a little more presence than an everyday drop cookie. Butter, Biscoff cookie butter, brown and white sugar, crushed Biscoff cookies, and white chocolate chips create a spiced caramel flavor that suits early fall baking. The recipe makes 12 cookies in about 20 minutes. Make them when the cookie jar needs something bigger and softer than a standard chocolate chip batch, especially with coffee or tea nearby.

Get the Recipe: Copycat Crumbl Biscoff Cookies

Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Three brown butter snickerdoodle cookies arranged on a white surface, sprinkled with sea salt flakes, with a white cloth and purple flowers on the side.
Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Nutty brown butter and a salted center push Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles beyond the usual cinnamon-sugar cookie. The dough uses browned butter, cinnamon, brown and white sugar, egg, vanilla, and cream of tartar, with caramels tucked inside and flaky salt on top. The recipe makes 36 cookies. The verified card does not list a total time, so plan around the dough steps rather than a strict clock. They suit a weekend when caramel and cinnamon sound especially right.

Get the Recipe: Salted Caramel Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies on a white plate with strawberries nearby.
Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Bright fruit keeps the lineup from turning entirely brown and spice-heavy with Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. Fresh strawberries, butter, sugar, heavy cream, white chocolate, vanilla, and a tender cookie dough create a batch of 30 cookies. The recipe includes about 20 minutes of prep, 14 minutes of baking, and a two-hour chill. Save these for a slower weekend afternoon when there is time for the dough to chill before the trays go into the oven.

Get the Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies on a slate.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Chewy oats and warm cinnamon make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies an easy bridge from everyday baking into fall. Rolled oats, golden raisins, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and a little white sugar keep the flavor familiar without making the cookies plain. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 22 minutes. This is the batch to choose when you want something straightforward enough for a casual Saturday but still suited to a mug of coffee on a cooler afternoon.

Get the Recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

White Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

A jar of White Chocolate Crinkle Cookies next to lavender flowers.
White Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Powdered sugar cracks across the tops of White Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, giving the batch a bakery-case look with very little decorating work. White chocolate, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, and two sugar coatings form about 20 cookies. The full recipe takes roughly 1 hour 31 minutes, including an hour of chilling, with 16 minutes of baking. Make them when you have a little extra weekend time and want a softer white-chocolate option among the darker, spiced cookies.

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Ginger Spice Cookies

A plate of Spiced Ginger Cookies and a cup of tea.
Ginger Spice Cookies. Photo credit: Dinner by Six.

Double ginger gives Ginger Spice Cookies a stronger fall profile than a basic molasses cookie. Ground ginger, crystallized ginger, cinnamon, molasses, sugar, and vegetable oil create soft cookies with small bursts of candied ginger throughout. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 25 minutes. Their short baking time makes them easy to fit into a Saturday afternoon, especially when the weather finally calls for tea, coffee, or something warmly spiced straight from the cookie tin.

Get the Recipe: Ginger Spice Cookies

Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate & Pecans

A batch of Zucchini cookies with chocolate & pecan on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate & Pecans. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

A soft, textured dough makes Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate & Pecans useful when late garden produce is still hanging around as fall begins. Zucchini, oats, pecans, semisweet chocolate chips, cinnamon, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla go into a batch of 24 cookies. The verified card does not list a total time, so avoid planning around a precise finish. Bake these when you want a cookie that uses seasonal produce without tasting like another loaf of zucchini bread.

Get the Recipe: Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate & Pecans

Peaches & Cream Cookies

Peaches and cream cookies on a plate with fresh peaches nearby.
Peaches & Cream Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Late-summer fruit meets weekend baking in Peaches & Cream Cookies, giving the fall lineup one last peach recipe before apple and pumpkin take over. Fresh peaches, peach jam, butter, vanilla, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla pudding powder build a soft batch with a creamy finish. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 28 minutes. They are a good first-weekend-of-fall choice when the weather has changed, but ripe peaches are still worth using.

Get the Recipe: Peaches & Cream Cookies

Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies

Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies arranged on white plates and a light surface with cookie crumbs scattered around.
Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Big bakery energy makes Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies an easy way to make the weekend baking project feel a little more special. Butter, sugar, eggs, Oreos, vanilla, powdered sugar, milk or cream, and mini Oreos create 18 cookies in about 30 minutes. The cookies get both crushed-cookie flavor and a frosted finish. Make them when you want something playful for a family dessert tray without taking on a layered cake or another elaborate bake.

Get the Recipe: Copycat Crumbl Cookies and Cream Milkshake Cookies

Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Frosted chocolate chip cookie cookies on a wooden cutting board.
Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

A cookie-on-cookie finish gives Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies a playful look without a complicated decorating plan. The dough uses butter, brown and white sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips, and flour, then each cookie gets vanilla frosting and another chocolate chip cookie on top. The recipe makes eight large cookies in about 27 minutes. This smaller batch works well when you want a weekend baking project that looks over-the-top but does not leave several dozen cookies behind.

Get the Recipe: Cookie Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pecan Butter Balls

Top-down shot of seven pecan butter balls on a black plate.
Pecan Butter Balls. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Buttery and nutty with a powdered sugar finish, Pecan Butter Balls bring old-fashioned cookie-tin character to an early fall baking day. Butter, granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, flour, salt, and finely ground pecans form 24 cookies. The full recipe takes about one hour, including 30 minutes of chilling and 20 minutes of baking. Make them when you want a quieter, less chocolate-heavy option that pairs easily with coffee and stores well for snacking over the next few days.

Get the Recipe: Pecan Butter Balls

Chocolate Linzer Cookies

A plate of round chocolate cookies with star-shaped centers, dusted with powdered sugar. A metal sifter with powdered sugar is on the side.
Chocolate Linzer Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

A sandwich-cookie shape gives Chocolate Linzer Cookies a more dressed-up look than a standard chocolate batch. Butter, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and flour create 36 cookies in about 40 minutes. The chocolate dough and creamy filling make these useful when the first cool weekend has you baking for visitors or filling a cookie tray. They take a little more assembly, but the finished batch gives you plenty to share.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Linzer Cookies

Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies

Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies are arranged on white plates and a napkin. One cookie on a plate has a bite taken out. Two cinnamon sticks are placed nearby on the white surface.
Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies. Photo credit: Bake What You Love.

Cinnamon sugar covers every edge of Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies, then a thick cinnamon frosting adds the bakery-style finish. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and cinnamon form the cookies, while more butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk make the topping. The recipe produces 12 cookies in about 32 minutes. Bake these when that first fall weekend has you reaching for cinnamon, but you want something bigger and softer than a traditional snickerdoodle.

Get the Recipe: Crumbl Copycat Churro Cookies

Copycat Thin Mint Cookies

Two copycat thin mint cookies on a plate, one with a bite taken out, with a mint leaf garnish beside them.
Copycat Thin Mint Cookies. Photo credit: Cook What You Love.

Cool mint against dark chocolate gives Copycat Thin Mint Cookies a break from the caramel, cinnamon, and nut-heavy flavors elsewhere in the batch. Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, mint extract, flour, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate melting wafers make 24 cookies in about 30 minutes. The crisp chocolate coating makes them especially good for storing after baking. Choose these when you want one familiar chocolate cookie in the fall lineup that does not rely on warm spices.

Get the Recipe: Copycat Thin Mint Cookies

The post 17 easy cookie recipes worth making the first weekend it actually feels like fall appeared first on Food Drink Life.

Originally published on fooddrinklife.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.