268 sugar cookie recipes

Pillowy soft buttermilk drop cookies baked until pale golden get frosted with sweet buttercream and sprinkled with colored sugar for nostalgic treats.

Teem gok: deep-fried wonton cookies filled with dried fruit, coconut, almonds, and brown sugar. Crispy Chinese dessert wontons golden-fried in minutes.

Pfeffernusse-style German pepper cookies with white pepper, cinnamon, mixed spice, candied peel, and lemon zest. Small, puffy spice balls dusted in powdered sugar.

Bachelor buttons: traditional English shortbread-style cookies made with butter, flour, sugar, and a hint of nutmeg. Tender, pale, walnut-sized teatime classics.

Soft, spiced ginger cookies using prune butter to replace fat. Crackled sugar-coated tops with chewy centers, perfect for guilt-free snacking.

Molasses cookies with a surprising hit of mint extract, warm cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Crackly sugar-rolled tops and chewy spiced centers.

Chocolate butter cookie dough adds melted unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate to a master holiday butter cookie recipe. Roll, cut, and shape it into pinwheels, classic cut-outs, Linzer sandwiches, or sugar-coated crescents.

Halloween dead bones cookies are pillowy almond meringue-style cookies spiced with ground cloves, dusted in powdered sugar to look like ancient ghostly bones. A spooky kid-friendly Halloween treat from old European tradition.

French lace cookies bake corn syrup, shortening, brown sugar, flour, and pecans into thin, delicate, caramel-toffee disks. Optional chocolate drizzle. Five ingredients, holiday tray classic.

Chocolate walnut meringue cookies rolled and cut into rounds from a fondant-like dough of powdered sugar, cocoa, egg whites, and ground nuts. Crisp, chewy, and gluten-free.

Meringue-based granola cookies made with whipped egg whites, brown sugar, and folded-in granola. Light, crispy, and low-fat with no butter or flour needed.

Smokey's sourdough chocolate chip cookies, a soft, chewy classic with a subtle tang from sourdough starter. Brown sugar and a butter-shortening combo keep them tender. A tasty use for sourdough discard.

Buttery thumbprint cookies with brown sugar and vanilla, filled with a dot of raspberry jam. A diabetic-friendly treat that's ready in 30 minutes with just 7 simple ingredients.

Soft drop cookies sweetened with honey instead of sugar, packed with plump raisins and a hint of warm nutmeg. Done in 30 minutes.

Fat-free oatmeal cookies sweetened with mashed banana, applesauce, and brown sugar. No butter, no oil. Whole wheat flour and oats give them satisfying chew. Vegan-friendly with optional raisins and sesame.

Eggless roll-out cookies with just sugar, shortening, sour milk, baking soda, and flour. A simple, old-fashioned recipe for egg-free baking. Cut into any shape you like.