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58 Thanksgiving Cookies That Are Better Than Pie

Whether you’re serving them in place of pumpkin pie or just next to it, there’s no question that cookies deserve a spot in your Thanksgiving dessert spread. Why? Because they’re just as festive as any other autumnal dessert, not to mention easy to make…and easier to eat five of in one sitting than pie. (Kidding. Kind of.) Here are 58 Thanksgiving cookies—from pumpkin chocolate chip to apple spice thumbprint—we’re grateful for.

24 Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas That Aren’t Pumpkin Pie


thanksgiving cookies giant snickerdoodles recipe
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell

1. Giant Brown-sugar Snickerdoodle Cookies

There’s extra brown sugar in the batter, so these cookies come out of the oven both crackly and chewy, just how we like them. The cinnamon-sugar coating is the cherry on top.

thanksgiving cookies pecan brittle bark cookies recipe
Rebecca Firth/The Cookie Book

2. Pecan Brittle Bark Cookies

If a pecan pie and a chocolate-chip cookie had a delicious baby, this would be it. Something truly magical happens when the pecan brittle melts into toffee puddles.

thanksgiving cookies easy cranberry pecan sandwich cookies recipe
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell

3. Easy Cranberry-pecan Sandwich Cookies

The name says easy, but how easy, you ask? For starters, the cookies themselves require less than ten ingredients. Use store-bought jam to make them even easier.

thanskgiving cookies pumpkin cheesecake cookies recipe
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell

4. Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies

Who needs pumpkin pie when you have a platter of these babies? They’re soft on the outside, creamy on the inside and practically melt in your mouth.

thanskgiving cookies oatmeal cookie cream pie recipe
Erin McDowell

5. Oatmeal Cookie Cream Pies

Come for the softly spiced oatmeal cookies, stay for the dreamy vanilla cream filling.

thanksgiving cookies gingerbread lattice cookies recipe
Erin McDowell

6. Gingerbread Lattice Cookies

Gingerbread houses? Yawn. This year we’re making these intricate (but still easy) lattice cookies instead.

thanksgiving cookies thumbprint cheesecake cookies recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

7. Cheesecake Thumbprint Cookies

Would you believe that these cookies take 30 minutes from start to finish? Swirl them with whatever autumnal jam suits your fancy. (We’re partial to pumpkin butter.)

thanksgiving cookies vanilla bean thumbprint cookies dulce de leche recipe
Rebecca Firth/The Cookie Book

8. Vanilla Bean Thumbprint Cookies With Dulce De Leche

Everyone will ooh and ahh when you serve them…just don’t mention that the filling came straight from a can.

thanksgiving cookies caramel stuffed gingerbread cookies 921
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

9. Caramel-stuffed Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

Nothing against regular gingerbread, but molten caramel-filled gingerbread is *that much* better.

thanksgiving cookies maple pecan icebox cookies recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

10. Maple-pecan Icebox Cookies

The beauty of an icebox cookie is that you can keep the dough in your freezer ahead of time, then slice and bake the day of. (To be filed under “genius.”)

thanksgiving cookies butterscotch icebox cookies recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

11. Butterscotch Icebox Cookies

We have a soft spot for those butterscotch chips you buy at the store, so naturally we’re eating at least three of these cookies.

thanksgiving cookies flourless chocolate cookies 921
The Fearless Baker

12. Gluten-free Flourless Cocoa Cookies

“No flour, no problem” is our new mantra. Erin McDowell’s cocoa cookies are so fudgy and dense, you won’t even miss it.

thanksgiving cookies eggnog snickerdoodles recipe 921
Rebecca Firth/The Cookie Book

13. Eggnog Snickerdoodles

There’s no better way to get ready for the holidays than with cookies that taste like a cup of spicy-sweet eggnog.

thanksgiving cookies chocolate peppermint ice box cookies 921
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

14. Chocolate-peppermint Icebox Cookies

Make the dough ahead of time and bake ’em whenever.

thanksgiving cookies matcha cranberry linzer cookies recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

15. Matcha-cranberry Linzer Cookies

They’re. So. Festive!

thanksgiving cookies brown butter pistachio and chocolate chunk shortbread cookies recipe
How Sweet Eats

16. Brown Butter, Pistachio And Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

If we’re being honest, you had us at “brown butter,” but these shortbread stunners also happen to be simple to make. Don’t skip the flaky salt on top.

thanksgiving cookies molasses cookies recipe
What’s Gaby Cooking

17. Molasses Cookies

This won’t be the last time you whip up a batch of these soft, spicy crowd-pleasers. What can we say? We like to start the season early.

Halloween cookies: Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
Half Baked Harvest

18. Cinnamon Spiced Sugar Cookies With Browned Butter Frosting

Our favorite kind of pumpkin patch is packed with cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of brown butter frosting.

thanksgiving cookies apple cinnamon spice whoopie pies recipe
Sally’s Baking Addiction

19. Apple Cinnamon Spice Whoopie Pies

The key to all that autumnal flavor is to reduce the apple cider to a syrup, then whip it into the spiced buttercream filling. We’re drooling.

thanksgiving cookies coconut thumbprint cookies with salted caramel recipe
The Modern Proper

20. Coconut Thumbprint Cookies With Salted Caramel

They’re the ideal ratio of salty and sweet…and they'll help you avoid your great aunt Sally and her weird cranberry gelatin mold.

thanksgiving cookies cardamom chocolate chip cookies recipe
I Am a Food Blog

21. Cardamom Chocolate Chip Cookies

Truth be told, we can’t think of an occasion when the classic chocolate-chip cookie wouldn’t be appropriate. The cardamom here just kicks it up a notch.

thanksgiving cookies salted gingersnap mallomars recipe
Spoon Fork Bacon

22. Salted Gingersnap Mallomars

You can only get the real ones when it’s cold outside…but now you can make them at home whenever a craving strikes.

thanksgiving cookies spiced cocoa polvorones recipe
The Bojon Gourmet

23. Spiced Cocoa Polvorones

Call them Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies or snowballs—either way, they’re delicious (and gluten-free).

thanksgiving cookies pumpkin butter chocolate chip cookies recipe
Half Baked Harvest

24. Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You could eat that stash of pumpkin butter by the spoonful…or you could put it in your cookies. It’s your call.

thanksgiving cookies orange butter cookies with chocolate ganache filling recipe
Sally’s Baking Addiction

25. Orange Butter Cookies With Chocolate Ganache

In a world of store-bought Milanos, be a homemade orange-chocolate sandwich cookie.

thanksgiving cookies cranberry dark chocolate biscotti cookies recipe
Pinch of Yum

26. Cranberry Dark Chocolate Biscotti

If you’re not already brewing a fresh pot of tea, you should be. These cuties were made for dunking.

thanksgiving cookies cranberry coconut macaroons recipe
The Endless Meal

27. Cranberry Coconut Macaroons

Soft, sweet and just tart enough, these morsels check all the right boxes. They’re also gluten-free and totally vegan, a win-win.

thanskgiving cookies healthy soft pumpkin cookies with salted maple frosting recipe
Ambitious Kitchen

28. Healthy Soft Pumpkin Cookies With Salted Maple Frosting

They’re “healthy,” thanks to coconut and almond flours. That means you can acceptably eat half the batch, right? (Thanks, Monique Volz.)

thanksgiving cookies browned butter nutella linzer cookies recipe
So Much Food

29. Browned Butter Nutella Linzer Cookies

We’ll go weak in the knees for anything that involves browned butter. Ditto for Nutella.

Get the recipe

thanksgiving cookies peanut butter stuffed jack o lantern cookies recipe
Half Baked Harvest

30. Peanut Butter Stuffed Jack-o’-lantern Cookies

It’s tough to improve a peanut-butter-chocolate-sandwich cookie, but the pumpkin-shaped cutters are doing it.

thanskgiving cookies cranberry bliss cookies recipe
Gimme Some Oven

31. Cranberry Bliss Cookies

These sure beat anything red, jiggling and shaped like a can.

thanksgiving cookies maple cinnamon star cookies recipe
Sally’s Baking Addiction

32. Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies

You don’t have to dust them with edible glitter, but it’s Thanksgiving. What better day to go all out?

thanskgiving cookies vanilla cherry chocolate cookies recipe
Salt and Wind

33. Vanilla Cherry Chocolate Cookies

When the theme of the evening is over-indulgence, it’s nice to have something tart to balance everything out. We owe you one, dried sour cherries.

thanksgiving cookies vanilla bean icebox cookies recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

34. Vanilla Bean Icebox Cookies

In our not-so-humble opinion, vanilla is a highly underrated flavor. Serve these with a side of, yep, vanilla ice cream.

thanskgiving cookies pecan pie cookies with butter becan frosting recipe
Half Baked Harvest

35. Pecan Pie Cookies With Butter Pecan Frosting

Our favorite flavor of pie just got a festive, fancy upgrade. You can cut them into whatever shape you want. (We’re doing turkeys, in case you were wondering.)

thanksgiving cookies pistachio icebox cookie recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

36. Pistachio Icebox Cookies

Slice and bake right before the guests arrive. (Is that a candle? No, it’s just these freshly baked cookies.)

thanksgiving cookies pumpkin cranberry and pecan cookies recipe
Spoon Fork Bacon

37. Pumpkin, Cranberry And Pecan Cookies

Pumpkin, pecan and cranberry pie walk into a bar, and the rest is history.

Get the recipe

thanksgiving cookies winter shortbread cookies recipe
Healthfully Ever After

38. Winter Shortbread Cookies

Carlene Thomas’s buttery shortbread cookies are spiked with rosemary and cranberry, so they’ll fit right in next to your turkey and stuffing. Seriously—they’re savory enough you could serve them with the dinner.

thanksgiving cookies pumpkin cinnamon roll cookies recipe
Minimalist Baker

39. Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Permission to eat these for breakfast granted. (Psst: They only take 30 minutes to make.)

thanksgiving cookies caramel apple spice thumbprints recipe
Sally’s Baking Addiction

40. Caramel Apple Spice Thumbprints

If you could capture the flavor of the season in a single cookie recipe, this would be it. For super-consistent thumbprints, use the handle of a wooden spoon instead of your fingers.

thanskgiving cookies creme brulee cookies recipe
Averie Cooks

41. Crème Brûlée Cookies

They feel fancy enough for a fete, but they’re also pretty foolproof. The base is a classic sugar cookie recipe, and the frosting is just cream cheese—easy peasy.

thanskgiving cookies pumpkin pecan wedding cookies recipe
Cookie and Kate

42. Pumpkin Pecan Mexican Wedding Cookies

Melt-in-your-mouth tender, these cookies are like an itty-bitty pumpkin pie in each bite. If you use coconut butter, you can even make them vegan.

thanksgiving cookies oatmeal cranberry sandwich cookies with white chocolate filling recipe
Two Peas and Their Pod

43. Oatmeal Cranberry Sandwich Cookies With White Chocolate Cream Filling

The cranberries add a pop of color to these sweet sandwich cookies. The best part? It’s a two-cookie-in-one deal. Thanks, Maria Lichty.

thanskgiving cookies flourless candied ginger molasses cookies recipe
Cotter Crunch

44. Flourless Candied Ginger Molasses Cookies

They’re just as chewy and spicy as your grandma’s traditional recipe, but minus the refined sugar and flour.


thanksgiving cookies meringue nutella sandwiches 921
Erin McDowell

45. Nutella Sandwich Cookies

They’re like magical airy clouds.

thanksgiving cookies milk bar s salted chocolate chip cookies
Foodie Crush

46. Milk Bar’s Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Put a new spin on an old classic by adding big chunks of sea salt to your chocolate chip cookies. Heidi Larsen shared Milk Bar’s recipe for the famed treats with us.

thanksgiving cookies minneapolis blackout cookies
Plays Well With Butter

47. Minneapolis Blackout Cookies

Jesse Reilly puts her own spin on blackout cookies with a recipe that includes bittersweet chocolate chunks, cocoa powder and caramelized white chocolate.

thanksgiving cookies chocolate chip cookie dough dip
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

48. Chocolate-chip Cookie Dough Dip

Not technically a cookie, per se, but who can say no to cookie dough...as a dip?

thanksgiving cookies rocky road cookies
Photo: Matt Dutile/Styling: Erin McDowell

49. Rocky Road Cookies

Ice cream lovers, rejoice: You can make these chocolate cookies in just 30 minutes (and top them with rocky road ice cream, of course).

thanksgiving cookies copycat pirouette
Cupcake Project

50. Copycat Pirouette Cookies

There’s no need to buy a premade gift basket just for the can of Pirouettes. Stefani Pollack gives us the perfect at-home recipe for the cylindrical cookies, including a tasty Nutella filling.

thanksgiving cookies glazed doughnut
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

51. Glazed Doughnut Cookies

What’s better than a doughnut and a cookie? A doughnut cookie. It’s got all the cinnamon-sugar flavors and sprinkle-topped icing without that whole fried-in-a-vat-of-oil thing.

thanksgiving cookies chai tea wedding cookies
A Taste of Koko

52. Chai Tea Wedding Cookies

We love whipping up a quick batch of wedding cookies—the powdered sugar is everything. If that’s your jam too, try Jane Ko’s chai tea version.

thanksgiving cookies miso sesame shortbread
What's Cooking Good Looking

53. Miso Sesame Shortbread Cookies

Why do these sesame shortbread cookies taste so amazing? Jodi Moreno will tell you it’s because she added umami with two tablespoons of sweet white miso.

thanksgiving cookies boozy chocolate chip
What's Gaby Cooking

54. Boozy Chocolate Chip Cookies

As long as kids aren’t involved, pass around Gaby Dalkin’s Kahlúa-infused chocolate-chip cookies.

thanksgiving cookies oreo white chocolate pudding peppermint

55. Oreo White Chocolate Pudding Peppermint Cookies

Chunks of Oreo and peppermint candy adorn these pudding-based cookies from Maria Lichty.

56. Almond Butter Shortbread Cookies

If cookies are all about crunch for you, have them plain. But we promise the almond butter buttercream won't disappoint.

57. Heart Thumbprint Cookies

Sweeten up your Thanksgiving table with these berry-filled thumbprint cookies.

58. Sweet Potato Sugar Cookies With Marshmallow Topping

If you, like us, are convinced that the sweet potato casserole Great-Aunt Sally serves every Thanksgiving is more of a dessert than a side dish, then these sweet potato sugar cookies with marshmallow topping are for you.


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Senior Food Editor

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...