As I sit here writing this, I am listening to a torrent of rain wash down the street. The leaves on the tree outside the window are turning rust-red at the edges, and I feel suddenly in need of a cup of tea. Autumn has officially begun, as of last Friday, and while I know that many of you are still waiting for cooler temperatures, let's celebrate fall with a batch of cookies.
I think of fall as cookie time, especially for the cookies I like best. It isn't time yet for the delicate, labor-intensive cookies of Christmas. It is, however, time for hearty peanut butter cookies after school, and for big plates of chewy molasses cookies set out for harvest parties. It's time for a spicy shortbread cookie after dinner with a glass of sweet wine, and for a corner of a bar cookie with a cup of tea as a cheery pick-me-up in the middle of a long work day.
We have those sorts of cookies for you here today: 15 favorites that don't take too much work — cookies that will please a crowd.
We have two sorts of molasses cookies, and some life-changing vegan jam thumbprints. There are little nests of oats and peanut butter, with a dollop of fudge baked on top, and feather-light cookies flavored with Earl Grey tea. There are chewy bars topped dulce de leche, extra-soft snickerdoodles, and cookies with chunks of apple and Gouda inside. Which is your favorite?
SPICED-UP COOKIES
• 1 Chewy Molasses Cookies with Crunchy Lemon Glaze - Chewy cookies, with a pleasantly rough and crunchy lemon glaze.
• 2 Earl Grey Tea Cookies - Quick icebox cookies that are blended up in the food processor.
• 3 Molasses Spice Cookies with Orange Sugar - Crispier molasses cookies with pretty orange sugar on top.
• 4 Super-Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies - I love snickerdoodles that are really, really chewy.
• 5 Spiced Mexican Wedding Cookies - Mexican wedding cookies? Hungarian wedding cookies? We're heard so many names for these — who knows where they came from; we just know we like them.
• 6 Apple Gouda Oatmeal Cookies - Sweet and savory, crumbly and chewy, these cookies are a great snack or even breakfast.
VEGAN COOKIES
• 7 Life-Changing Vegan Thumbprints - Soft and sweet, with big puddles of jam in the middle.
• 8 Vegan Vanilla Almond Sandies - Crisp, sandy, satisfying.
BAR COOKIES
• 9 Derby Pie Bars - Chewy bars with bourbon, chocolate, and walnuts.
• 10 Cinnamon Walnut Dulce de Leche Bars - Nutty cookie bars drizzled with dulce de leche.
• 11 Halfway Cookies - These amazing little cookie bars are topped with crisp and chew meringue.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
• 12 Peanut Butter and Fudge Oatmeal Cookies - Peanut butter cookies with a big spoonful of fudge on top.
• 13 Husband-Winning Peanut Butter Cookies - The best peanut butter cookies ever? Perhaps!
• 14 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies - More oaty goodness. If you use gluten-free oats these are also gluten-free.
• 15 The No-Flour, No-Butter Peanut Butter Cookies - No flour? No butter? These cookies are still so good!
What's your favorite cookie for fall?
Related: How To Make Sprinkles for Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes!
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)
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A very timely post....I have shared and will prepare my kitchen for battle....thanks for the great post up!
Thanks for putting together these round ups! I really enjoy them. I cannot wait to try these out. I am in Houston. It is still summer here, and a bit too hot to use the oven often. As soon as we get a rainy day, I am going make cookies.
Love this website and can't wait to try some of these. I'm wondering if I'm missing something, though. Do you have a way to bookmark or save a recipe to a recipe box?
@little bonbon, no not at this point. I highly recommend Instapaper though, for quick and easy bookmarking.
Oh how I wish it wasn't going to be 90+ degrees here this week!
Your timing with this post was excellent since I was feeling a little peckish and was in the mood for cookies. So I ransacked the pantry and (although I didn't follow the exact quantities) made the no-flower, no-butter peanut butter cookies. GENIOUS! I'm eating them as I post and I love them!!
Thanks and keep up the excellent work with this briliant blog :)
Gotta say: the apple-gouda cookies are SO GOOD! They are the BEST late afternoon snack! Alas--the husband and child do not agree. They (and I) do love those vegan thumbprints and the husband-winning peanut butter cookies.
Based on that track record I will indeed branch out and try a couple of these that are new to me.
Thanks for the recipes! and thanks for adding a print button. Can you format so the picture will also print on the recipe and for font size options? Is that possible?
@Edin, we opted not to include a photo at this time, but if you simply go to the Print button in your browser and print the whole post, it's formatted well for printing, and it will include the photo.
There is no rain this side .. it's been almost 5 months now! From last week it's getting little gloomy but the weather is playing some game with us. Anyways, cookies are something I can eat anytime :) and recently made some macadamia nut cookies and now looking at these ..i want to bake again !
@little bonbon
I copy and paste those recipes I'm interested in and keep them in a folder on my desktop. It's quick and I don't have to remember where I saw the recipe.
We're just getting our first days of summer here in San Francisco, but as soon as November hits, I'm starting to bake :) My favorite are chewy ginger molasses cookies, but my mama's recipe is the best. Page bookmarked for the apple gouda.
Perfect timing!! I've been searching for a molasses cookie recipe that didn't require shortening. I can't wait to make these!
Great selections. Can't wait to debut these on Thanksgiving.. or maybe Halloween. Oh heck, I'm baking this weekend!
It's heavenly just reading these descriptions... mmmmm. I'm hungry.