136 soft cookie recipes

Lemon macadamia cookies with cream cheese in the dough for a soft, cakey texture and bright citrus flavor. Buttery macadamia nuts in every bite. Low and slow baking keeps them tender.

Old-fashioned Nantucket molasses cookies with brown sugar, butter, and a soft, cake-like texture. Six pantry ingredients and no eggs, just like the New England whaling-era originals.

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

Sweet, chewy bar cookies loaded with walnuts, dates, and orange marmalade. Despite the name, these hardtack bars are soft, fruity, and utterly addictive.

Soft-centered cookies loaded with semisweet and vanilla milk chips plus slivered almonds. Brown butter dough with almond extract creates bakery-style treats.

Holiday Unbeatables are chewy, no-butter cookies made with egg whites, powdered sugar, walnuts, and candied cherries. Naturally gluten-light with a crisp edge and soft, meringue-like center.

Peanut butter cup cookies: soft peanut butter cookie dough baked in mini muffin tins, with a whole mini peanut butter cup pressed into each one straight out of the oven. A melt-in-the-middle Christmas favorite.

Soft banana cookies with brown butter penuche frosting: mashed ripe bananas in a cake-like dough, topped with a boiled brown sugar icing that hardens into a shiny, fudgy shell.

Soft honey walnut drop cookies with sour cream, flaked coconut, and vanilla. Chewy, cakey, and lightly sweet with a walnut half pressed on top of each one.

Dark chocolate sea salt cookies, intensely cocoa-rich slice-and-bake sables studded with bittersweet chocolate and flecked with fleur de sel. Slightly underbaked for a soft, fudgy center and a salty-sweet finish.

Soft chocolate oatmeal cookies made with cocoa, yogurt, and chocolate extract instead of butter. Low-fat, slightly puffy, and rich in chocolate flavor without the guilt.

Soft, fruity cookie bars loaded with bananas, crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, and crunchy walnuts. Topped with a buttery powdered sugar glaze that makes them irresistible at potlucks.

Soft, cakey chocolate drop cookies topped with a rich homemade chocolate icing. Made with real unsweetened chocolate and optional pecans, this bakery-style recipe yields 3 dozen.

Chocolate chip cookies loaded with raisins for a chewy, fruity twist on the classic. Crispy edges, soft centers, and a big-batch recipe that makes 6 dozen.

Chocolate mint cookies loaded with cocoa, mint extract, and mint chocolate chips for double-mint impact. A low-and-slow bake gives soft, fudgy centers with crackled tops.

Soft peanut butter cookies studded with toffee bits, topped with vanilla icing and a crunchy toffee chip crown. Three layers of flavor in every bite. Makes 2 dozen.