Cookies never fail to please. Fan favorites are tasty, quick to make, and recipes often yield more than two dozen cookies to share with friends and family. We know that with hundreds of options, it’s tough to nail down the simplest ones to create, which is exactly why we’ve narrowed it down to 20 of the easiest cookies you should try.
1. Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are easy, delicious, and best of all take less than an hour of your time. You won’t need a bunch of ingredients either, which keeps grocery lists short and cleanup quick. That said, some recipes call for more devotion should you make everything from scratch—but these can be as simple as you make them.
2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are one of the simplest recipes to follow, mainly because of how versatile they are. These cookies can be as decadent as you like, often calling for no more than 8-10 ingredients to get the job done.
3. Peanut Butter Cookies
Surely no cookie can be made with just three ingredients…right? Wrong! You literally only need peanut butter, some sugar, and one egg to bring this recipe to life. You’re more than welcome to amp it up with butter or brown sugar, but the choice is yours.
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4. Thumbprint Cookies
The only thing that makes cookies better is a little jam, smack dab in the middle. Enter thumbprint cookies, the quick and easy dessert whipped up with just a handful of ingredients and less than an hour of your time. The best part about these is you can add whichever filling you want, from raspberry to apricot!
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5. Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal cookies are a classic comfort, and part of that comfort comes from how easy they are to make. To be fair, these guys call for more ingredients than others on this list, but they’re also optional—for example, you don’t need to add walnuts, chocolate chips, or raisins.
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6. No-Bake Cookies
What’s easier than cookies made with a few ingredients? Cookies you don’t have to bake, of course, and no-bake cookies are exactly that. In addition to their simple recipe, they’re ready far faster and often only require 20-30 minutes in the fridge.
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7. Snickerdoodles
Not only are Snickerdoodles a well-loved classic, but they also only take about half an hour from start to finish. Thick, chewy, and loaded with flavor, these little guys only need basic ingredients like flour, cinnamon, butter, vanilla, and sugar. You’ll also need some eggs, a pinch of salt, and a dash of Cream of Tartar.
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8. Almond Cookies
Put the kids to bed because these cookies kick things up a notch! Almond cookies need roughly six ingredients for a finished product, one of them being almond liqueur. You can also use almond extract for a more kid-friendly version—either is bound to taste delicious.
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9. S’mores Cookies
Bring the campfire to your kitchen with s’mores cookies! They’re loaded with marshmallows and chocolate chips, leaving you with the gooey goodness you know and love.
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10. Skillet Cookies
Why spend money on skillet cookie desserts when you make your own at home? They’re far easier than you think and can be altered in all kinds of ways. For example, skip out on the traditional chocolate chip variety for oatmeal raisin or even Snickerdoodle!
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11. Red Velvet Cookies
These cookies are perfect for anniversaries or Valentine’s Day (or every day, if we’re being honest) and don’t call for a ton of extra ingredients. Sure, you’ll need some food coloring, white chocolate chips, and cocoa powder, but it’s a small price to pay for the result.
Photo by Ryutaro Uozumi on Unsplash
12. Air Fryer Cookies
Did you know you can make delicious cookies in your air fryer? We’re serious! Whip up ingredients as you normally would and then pop them in the fryer instead—you’re left with gooey cookies made in 5-8 minutes.
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13. Crinkle Cookies
Crinkle cookies are often thought of as a holiday treat, but we’d like to endorse them as year-round delights! You will need to chill the dough for a few hours before you bake them, but it’s worth it for all that powdered sugar.
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14. Molasses Cookies
If only those molasses cookies from Starbucks didn’t cost so much. No matter, however, because you can make ones just as good at home! Ginger, cinnamon, and molasses are the stars of this show, and while it may take more manpower to stir these ingredients, you’ll have tender cookies that last about five days.
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15. Shortbread Cookies
Hang on a second—aren’t shortbread and sugar cookies the same thing? Almost, but the main difference here is that shortbread doesn’t use eggs and the result is a bit crumblier than its cousin. That doesn’t make them any less delicious, though, so give them a try!
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16. Brownie Cookies
We can’t resist the marriage between life’s best desserts, which is exactly what these guys promise. You won’t need a ton to pull these off, and what you’re left with is a soft cookie merged with decadent brownies.
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17. Cluster Cookies
Cluster cookies come in all shapes and sizes, from no-bake varieties to ones you pop in the oven for a few minutes. You can also play around with flavors like chocolate chip, granola, or even apple.
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18. Cake Mix Cookies
Throw out the rulebook because cake mix is no longer for cakes and cupcakes! Not only do these just take three ingredients (white cake mix, eggs, and oil), but they also only need about 30 minutes to come to life.
19. Mug Cookies
To be fair, everyday responsibilities can hinder our chance to make cookies—you need a simple recipe faster than all the rest. No problem! Mug cookies need only a few ingredients and a couple of minutes in the microwave, a perfect solution for those who don’t trust themselves around an entire batch.
Photo by Aditya Kulkarni on Unsplash
20. Coconut Macaroons
Not to be confused with macarons, coconut macaroons are much easier to make. Dip them in chocolate or leave them plain, but either way, you only need salt, condensed milk, shredded coconut, and egg whites (and a few teaspoons of vanilla).
