53 Best Thanksgiving Cookies for After-Dinner Snacking
Updated: Feb. 02, 2024
Get cozy with a dozen or two of these Thanksgiving cookies!
Pie usually gets all the praise this time of year, but we encourage you to not sleep on Thanksgiving cookies. These seasonal treats—flavored with fall’s best spices, decorated to look like turkeys or just plain cozy—are a welcome delight after a big holiday meal.
And the best part: They taste great the morning after the holiday with a steaming hot cup of coffee.
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Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Nothing says fall like the warming flavors of ginger, cinnamon and molasses. These flavors all come together in these chewy cookies that get a little crunch after being rolled in sugar.
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Fudge-Striped Turkey Cookies
It doesn’t get much cuter than these Thanksgiving cookies! Using packaged fudge stripe cookies, you can create these fun turkey confections. Put them out as a pre-dinner treat or nest them among the sweets on your dessert table.
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Pecan Pie Cookies
Love pecan pie? These cookies give you that same flavor—brown sugar and pecans—but in bite-sized form. Before serving, add a dollop of whipped cream or frosting.
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Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies
Use leaf-shaped cookie cutters to create these sweet Thanksgiving cookies. They have plenty of maple flavor thanks to a generous pour of syrup used in the glaze.
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Caramel Whiskey Cookies
After you’ve mixed a few Thanksgiving drinks, add a splash of whiskey to the caramel topping for these cookies. Drizzled with chocolate, no guests will be able to resist.
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Chai Snickerdoodles
These snickerdoodle cookies use many of the warming spices you’ll find in a cup of chai: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and allspice. You’ll find many of these same flavors in traditional Thanksgiving desserts, which makes them just the right snack for Turkey Day.
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Iced Oatmeal Apple Toffee Cookies
This recipe combines a classic oatmeal cookie with a fall favorite—the caramel apple. This recipe uses fresh fruit, so be sure to opt for apples that are good for baking.
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Nutmeg Sugar Cookies
Nutmeg is a warming spice that adds just the right amount of fall flavor to these simple sugar cookies. You can get extra festive and cut these cookies out in leaf and pumpkin shapes for Thanksgiving.
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White Chocolate Pumpkin Dreams
If you like pumpkin pie, you’ll love these delicious pumpkin cookies dotted with white chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Drizzled with a brown sugar icing, they’re irresistible.
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Coffee Maple Spritz
Spritz cookies aren’t just for Christmas. These maple and coffee spritz perfectly capture the flavors of fall.
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Date Swirl Cookies
Chewy dates and chopped nuts create a perfect filling for these swirled cookies. Their pretty design makes them look tempting on any treat tray.
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Molasses Cookies with a Kick
These molasses cookies get a kick thanks to a pinch of cayenne pepper. Other spices like nutmeg, cardamom and cloves also provide that warmth we crave in the fall.
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Frosted Cranberry Drop Cookies
Easy drop cookies get dressed up for the holidays with a dollop of vanilla frosting.
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Butterscotch Shortbread
Love tender shortbread? You can elevate this simple recipe by stirring in toffee and butterscotch chips.
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Pumpkin Spice Cookies
These shortcut cookies start with a package of yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin. After cooling, top these with a simple frosting imbued with orange zest.
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Cinnamon Twirl Cookies
These rolled cookies are tasty and fun to make. The sugary mixture of walnuts and cinnamon is a light, sweet filling that will leave everyone wanting another bite.
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Walnut-Filled Pillows
Walnuts and vanilla create a sweet and crunchy filling for these tender pillow-like cookies. For more flavor, add a bit of orange zest.
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Cinnamon Crackle Cookies
These cinnamon cookies are so much more than cinnamon! They also include flavors of almond extract, orange zest and lemon zest.
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Coconut Cranberry Yummies
Classic macaroons get transformed into Thanksgiving-worthy cookies thanks to plenty of fresh cranberries.
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Carrot Cake Shortbread
These cookies give you all the flavors of carrot cake but in compact form. This recipe uses grated carrot, cinnamon and walnuts—just like the real deal.
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Nutty Pie-Crust Cookies
These cookies take inspiration from the pie crust we’re all making this time of year. Roll the edges in toasted coconut for extra crunch and flavor.
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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Got gluten-free friends? These cookies deliver all the same flavors as a traditional peanut butter kiss cookie, without any gluten.
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Day After Thanksgiving Cookies
These Thanksgiving cookies use extras from holiday prep. Spoon canned cranberry sauce and pumpkin into the batter for a cookie that tastes just like the fall season.
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Cinnamon Sugar Crackle Cookies
Use your favorite type of cinnamon in this recipe for crispy cookies. Opt for mellow Ceylon or get a kick from Saigon cinnamon.
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Super Chunky Cookies
These easy cookies have it all: chocolate chips, mini chips, white chips, toffee chips and plenty of pecans.
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Giant Molasses Cookies
Save room after dinner for these oversized molasses cookies. The coarse sugar coating gives them a nice crunch on the outside before you hit the chewy interior.
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Vermont Maple Cookies
Break out that bottle of syrup for more than just pancakes. These cookies use maple syrup for flavor and sweetness. It’s used in the cookie dough and the sweet glaze drizzled over the top.
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Tender Pecan Logs
These cookies are the definition of melt-in-your-mouth. To get the right texture, finely chop the pecans. A food processor or small food chopper really helps!
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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies
These GF cookies are so simple to make thanks to a one-to-one gluten-free flour swap. And the brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin in the dough makes them taste like a perfect fall day.
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Brown Sugar Cutout Cookies
A simple cutout cookie is all you need after an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner. You can form these cookies into simple shapes or break out your seasonal cookie cutter collection.
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Caramel-Apple Shortbread Cookies
We love caramel apple desserts in all their forms. These shortbread cookies get flavor from dried apples and a perfectly sticky caramel drizzle.
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White Chocolate-Cranberry Biscotti
After dinner, enjoy a cup of hot coffee with a cookie designed for dunking. These biscotti are packed with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Add a sprinkling of your favorite baking spices to amp up the flavor.
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Cranberry Port Cookies
The flaky cookies are filled with a scrumptious combination of dried cranberries, cinnamon, lemon and a hint of port wine. The port makes them a great treat to serve after dinner, when folks would traditionally sip a bit of this fortified wine.
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Chocolate Walnut Crescents
Chocolate and walnuts are just the right combo for fall. Serve these alongside your favorite pies this Thanksgiving for an extra sweet dessert course.
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Cardamom Swedish Rusks
Cardamom has a citrusy and herbal flavor—perfect for stirring into fall bakes. These crispy rusks are just right for dipping into coffee after a big Thanksgiving dinner.
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Cranberry Shortbread Stars
Dried cranberries can be stirred into a basic shortbread dough to transform this treat into perfect Thanksgiving cookies.
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Palmiers
It takes just two ingredients to make these impressive but easy-to-do French pastries, which are often called palm leaves. When baked, they’re wonderfully crispy and taste great alongside coffee or hot cocoa.
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Chocolate Gingersnaps
Love gingersnaps? Love chocolate? Why not pair them together in this spicy, chocolaty recipe?
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Pilgrim Hat Cookies
Looking to get kids involved with holiday prep? These pilgrim hat cookies are perfect for little hands to assemble with peanut butter cups and packaged striped cookies.
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Cashew Butter Cookies
These cashew butter cookies are on a more sophisticated level than peanut butter. They are vegan and gluten-free, so you’ll be able to share with all your friends. Bonus: They only require four ingredients!
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Rugelach
The crisp texture of these crescent-shaped cookies makes them a terrific treat to serve alongside a steaming mug of hot chocolate or coffee.
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Cranberry Nut Swirls
These pinwheel cookies are full of autumn flavors thanks to cranberries and walnuts. They’re a great way to end a Thanksgiving celebration.
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Caramel Chip Biscotti
No one can resist caramel and chocolate paired together. Stir caramel and chocolate chips into a classic biscotti dough and you’ve got a treat that’ll taste great after dinner—and for breakfast the morning after company has left.
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Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
This recipe is packed with chocolate chips, raisins, nuts and cinnamon. They’re soft and tender—and perfect for dunking in a cold glass of milk.
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Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These rich, fudgy cookies are chewy and studded with tangy dried cherries.
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White Chocolate-Cappuccino Cookies
These five-star cookies won’t last long in the cookie jar this fall! They’re flavored with cappuccino mix and white chocolate. If you want to go the extra mile, dust with a little cinnamon or nutmeg—just the way a barista would at your favorite coffee shop.
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Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
Chocolate, pistachios and cranberries make a dramatic, delicious trio. Introducing the cranberries to this recipe adds tartness, texture and color.
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Oatmeal Crispies
These old-fashioned cookies are flavored with nutmeg. They have a perfectly crisp texture that’s perfect for crunchy cookie lovers.
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Apple Peanut Butter Cookies
Do you love apples dunked in peanut butter as a snack? Then these Thanksgiving cookies are for you. This recipe uses grated apples and chunky peanut butter.
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Peanut Butter Spritz Fingers
Believe it or not, these crunchy cookies are made with a cookie press—the same gadget you use to make spritz at Christmas time. Once baked and cooled, dip in melted chocolate and chopped peanuts.
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Raisin Sweet Potato Cookies
Love sweet potato pie? Try this tuber in a cookie! When steamed and mashed, it works just the same as pumpkin puree.
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Chocolate Lebkuchen
These chocolaty cookies are so much more than what they appear. Lebkuchen are flavored with cardamom, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and citrus zest. They get extra crunch from ground almonds and hazelnuts.
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Cranberry Swirl Biscotti
The swirl in these biscotti make them extra special and just right for serving with coffee after Thanksgiving dinner.Originally Published: November 21, 2022
