I Made the Gilmore Girls Coffee Cake Cookies and Lorelai and Rory Would Approve

While the Gilmore girls aren’t exactly known for spending a lot of time in the kitchen, these Gilmore Girls coffee cake cookies from Mallory Jones Oniki still give major Lorelai and Rory vibes. It’s clear why they were the inspiration for the recipe!

For starters, we know these Stars Hollow natives would approve of the layers of sweet indulgence these cookies offer (cinnamon cookies are topped with streusel and ribbons of icing). They are perfect dunking cookies with the mom-and-daughter duo’s signature drink—coffee, coffee, coffee! And they absolutely smell like an East Coast fall while baking. We think even Emily Gilmore might allow these to be served for dessert at a Friday night dinner. Or at the very least, at a tailgate party, provided they were sitting on doily-lined plates. Ready to whip up a batch of your own? We’ve got the goods below!

Gilmore Girls Coffee Cake Cookies

@thepalatablelife sept 1 🤝🏼 gilmore girls rewatch #coffeecakecookie #gilmoregirls ♬ Where You Lead I Will Follow – Carole King

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups flour

Streusel topping:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Icing: 

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Splash of vanilla

Directions

Mackenzie Schieck for Taste of Home

Step 1: Make the dough

Preheat the oven to 350°F, then combine butter, oil and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix until smooth and fluffy, then add the egg and vanilla, and mix again. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined.

Step 2: Make the streusel

Combine butter, brown sugar, 1/3 cup of the flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork, pastry cutter or your hand. The mixture should stick together, but also crumble when you run it through your fingers. If the dough is still a bit sticky, add one tablespoon of flour at a time until you get a crumbly consistency.

Step 3: Prep cookies on baking sheet

Using a large cookie scoop, scoop 12 balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet. (You can make smaller scoops for more cookies if you like.) Make a good-sized indent on the top of each ball of dough with the back of your cookie scoop, sprinkling a couple tablespoons of the streusel inside. Bake the cookies at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes.

Step 4: Make the icing

While the cookies are baking, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until it’s smooth and drips easily from a spoon. Once the cookies have cooled slightly, drizzle on lots of icing.

Here’s What I Thought

Mackenzie Schieck for Taste of Home

First thing that popped into my head when I took a bite: These cookies taste exactly like coffee cake. Like, exactly. The two tablespoons of cinnamon in the dough is working some serious magic, the streusel adds the perfect little crunch, and the icing drizzles are absolutely the cherry on top of an already-delicious cookie. I would definitely recommend—actually, I’m going to go so far as to insist—that you whip up a batch for a Gilmore Girls binge session. It’s a truly delightful way to immerse yourself in the cozy season. And of you need more Stars Hollow-inspired recipes, there’s a whole cookbook based on the TV show.