28 Cookie Recipes from Vintage Church Cookbooks

Updated: Jan. 30, 2024

These vintage cookie recipes will bring up all the nostalgia—and all the compliments!

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Amish Sugar Cookies

These easy-to-make, old-fashioned Amish sugar cookies simply melt in your mouth! I’ve passed this recipe around to many friends. After I gave it to my sister, she entered the cookies in a local fair and won best of show. —Sylvia Ford, Kennett, Missouri

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Vanilla Wafer Cookies

These buttery cookies bake up chewy and crispy at the same time. Sprinkle these vanilla wafers with colored sugar or leave them as-is. Their simplicity is beauty enough! —Edith MacBeath, Gaines, Pennsylvania
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Fruit-Filled Spritz Cookies

From the first time I baked these cookies, they've been a big success. Old-fashioned and attractive, they make a perfect holiday pastry. —Ingeborg Keith, Newark, Delaware
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Semisweet Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies

Chocolate and vanilla provide a delightful contrast in their flavor and appearance. —Nancy Arevalo, Brookfield, Wisconsin
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Hawaiian nuts and melty morsels make a fantastic combination in these buttery white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. —Cathy Lennon, Newport, Tennessee
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Church Window Cookies

These church window cookies are a hit with kids—the little ones just love the colored marshmallows! —Emmilie Gaston, Wabash, Indiana
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Loaded-Up Pretzel Cookies

Coconut, M&M’s and salty, crunchy pretzels make these loaded cookies unlike any you’ve ever tasted—or resisted. —Jackie Ruckwardt, Cottage Grove, Oregon
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Dipped Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

You’ll love to give tins of these chocolate-coated cookies to your lucky friends. The shortcut holiday recipe is almost too simple to believe! Here's how to make peanut butter cookies without eggs. —Jackie Howell, Gordo, Alabama
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Easy Oatmeal Cream Pies

These easy cookies use only five ingredients and taste very similar to a store-bought cookie. Of course, everything's better from your own kitchen! —Crystal Schlueter, Northglenn, Colorado
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Mini Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Peanut butter lovers go nuts for these rich little sandwich cookies. On a hot day, sandwich ice cream between the cookies instead of frosting. It cools you right down. —Keri Wolfe, Nappanee, Indiana
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Lemon Snowflakes

You’ll need just four ingredients to make these delightful lemon snowflake cookies. Confectioners’ sugar highlights the cracked tops to give them their snowflake appearance. —Linda Barry, Dianna, Texas
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Frosted Butter Cutout Cookies

I have fond memories of baking and frosting these cutout cookies with my mom. Now I carry on the tradition with my kids. It's a messy but fun day! —Sandy Nace, Greensburg, Kansas
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Pecan Sandies

Whenever Mother made this pecan sandies recipe, there never seemed to be enough! Even now when I make it, the cookies disappear quickly. These melt-in-your mouth treats are great with a cold glass of milk or a steaming mug of hot chocolate. —Debbie Carlson, San Diego, California
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Homemade Chocolate Shortbread

This recipe has been in my files for a long time...probably from when I first learned to bake. Any chocolate lover will like these melt-in-your-mouth cookies. I make them year-round with variations. They're even richer with a thin coat of icing or as a sandwich cookie with frosting in the middle. —Sarah Bueckert, Austin, Manitoba
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Cream Wafers

My sons used to help me make these cookies, and now my oldest granddaughter helps. When the smaller grandchildren are home, they help, too. The cute little sandwich cookies are tender, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth good! —Linda Clinkenbeard, Vincennes, Indiana
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Chocolate Butterscotch Haystacks

My grandmother used to make this haystacks recipe to give to my cousin Vonnie and me when our parents didn't want us to have any more sweets. —Christine Schwester, Divide, Colorado
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Lemon & Rosemary Butter Cookies

Cooling lemon and aromatic rosemary make these butter cookies stand out at the holidays. I use them to punch up the cookie trays for potlucks or as gifts.—Elizabeth Hokanson, Arborg, Manitoba
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Old-Fashioned Gingersnaps

I discovered this recipe many years ago, and it's been a favorite among our family and friends ever since. Gingersnaps are timeless—a classic holiday cookie that's welcome year-round. —Francis Stoops, Stoneboro, Pennsylvania
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Ginger Creme Sandwich Cookies

With a lemony filling, these spiced cookies go over big because they have old-fashioned, comfort-food appeal. Your party guests will snatch them up! - Carol Walston, Granbury, Texas
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Snickerdoodle Crisps

This classic cookie from New England can be made two ways: soft or crunchy. My happy version with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg is crispy to perfection. —Jenni Sharp, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Lavender Cookies

I am a wedding and event planner and one of my brides served these unusual cookies at her reception, so I had to have this lavender butter cookies recipe. You can guess what her wedding color was! —Glenna Tooman, Boise, Idaho
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Cherry Cheese Windmills

These pretty cookies look fancy, but they are really not much work. They're perfect for any occasion. —Helen McGibbon, Downers Grove, Illinois
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Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

My kids start begging me for these cakelike sandwich cookies as soon as autumn arrives. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't like these fun treats. —Deb Stuber, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
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Italian Sprinkle Cookies

Of all the Italian cookie recipes I make, this is my favorite. These sprinkle cookies take some time, but, believe me, they are well worth it! My husband and I used to operate an Italian American restaurant, and this recipe goes back generations. —Gloria Cracchiolo, Newburgh, New York
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Chocolate-Covered Cherry Thumbprints

When I dig out my best cookie recipes, I’m reminded of baking with my children when they were little. These thumbprints with cherries elicit such sweet memories. –Deborah Puette, Lilburn, Georgia
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Cran-Orange Icebox Cookies

These are among my family's favorite cookies around Christmas. The cran-orange flavor makes them special. —Nancy Rollag, Kewaskum, Wisconsin
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Toffee Almond Sandies

These crispy classics are loaded with crunchy chopped toffee and almonds, so there's no doubt as to why they're my husband's favorite cookie. I used to bake them in large batches when our four sons still lived at home. Now I whip them up for the grandchildren! —Alice Kahnk, Kennard, Nebraska
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Lemon Curd Cookies

I've made these cookies for years. I like to give them out to family and friends. —Carole Vogel, Allison Park, Pennsylvania