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  6. 17 of Our Easiest Cookie and Bar Recipes

17 of Our Easiest Cookie and Bar Recipes

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By Kelly Vaughan Updated July 23, 2020
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Credit: Ryan Liebe

When you want to treat your family and friends to something sweet, make any of these easy cookie and bar recipes. From crowd-friendly skillet cookies to easy drop cookies, like the Walnut Brownie Cookies pictured here, these recipes are perfect for beginner bakers and pros alike.

Is there anything easier than a no-bake recipe? Our Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies certainly fit the bill—and they can be made in a flash. The gluten-free, egg-free dough is made with brown sugar, whole milk, butter, quick-cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Once the cookies are formed, drizzle them with melted chocolate and chill for at least one hour. We're positive everyone will be going back for one after another.

Want to go back to basics? Start with our Ideal Sugar Cookies—this is a basic, no-fuss sugar cookie that is much simpler than other similar recipes. You can cut them into any shape you please and decorate them with royal icing, sanding sugar, sprinkles, or leave them unadorned. Or make a Christmas classic, like our Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies; Hershey kisses are pressed into each peanut butter cookie immediately after they've finished baking.

If you'd rather serve cookies in an easy, family-friendly form, make a big skillet cookie. The dough is smooshed all of the dough into a cast iron skillet and baked. It's quicker than rolling the dough into individual cookies but offers just as much sweetness. Try our Chocolate-Chip Oat-Coconut Skillet Cookie or this double-chocolate Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie—both are decadent and perfect for sharing.

Whether you're pinched for time or want a recipe that the whole family can help make, these easy cookie and bar recipes are perfect for any occasion.

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Chocolate-Chip Oat-Coconut Skillet Cookie

chocolate chip skillet cookie served with ice cream
Credit: The Ingalls
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Make this crowd-friendly, sweet, and crunchy cookie for dessert. Instead of forming individual bites for each member of your family, you press the dough into one cast-iron skillet, which saves time and makes for a speedy treat.

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Ideal Sugar Cookies

ideal sugar cookies
Credit: Alpha Smoot
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We'd be remiss to not include a classic sugar cookie recipe. This one-bowl recipe is simple to follow and easy to enjoy—let the whole family help decorate the cookies with royal icing and sanding sugar.

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Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

peanut butter no bake cookies served on a pink plate
Credit: Bryan Gardner
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This six-ingredient cookie recipe comes together in a snap. Start by heating brown sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan, then stir in oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Form individual cookies, chill, then drizzle with melted chocolate.

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S'mores Bars

smores bars in heart and square shapes
Credit: Kana Okada
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Take the campfire inside with these Rice Krispies treats inspired by s'mores. Broken graham crackers and chopped chocolate are folded into the rice cereal and marshmallow mixture for a bite that tastes just like the great outdoors.

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Five-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Credit: Aaron Dyer
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Gluten-free and ready in just 25 minutes? Sign us up! All you need to do is combine a handful of ingredients—almond butter, semisweet chocolate chips, brown sugar, and eggs—in a bowl, drop tablespoons of dough onto a sheet pan, and bake for 10 minutes.

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Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

peanut butter blossom cookies
Credit: Bryan Gardner
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While these cookies are a staple on our holiday table, they're delicious and easy to make year-round. Start by making peanut butter cookie dough, chilling it, then form the cookies, and bake. Don't forget the finishing touch—a single Hershey kiss pressed into each cookie.

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Drop Cookies, Three Ways

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This easy cookie recipe doesn't require rolling dough or using cookie cutters. Once you've made our all-purpose, five-ingredient drop cookie dough, decide if you want to turn it into thumbprint or sandwich cookies with a jam or chocolate filling.

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Macaroon Sandwich Cookies

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So much easier than traditional French macarons or coconut macaroons (but just as delicious!), these jammy macaroon sandwich cookies are a winner when you're pinched for time.

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Spiced Orange Palmiers

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Credit: Aaron Dyer
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This fancy-sounding cookie is so easy to make—the recipe uses store-bought puff pastry instead of homemade cookie dough. Sprinkle the dough with a combination of sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest, fold together, then slice and bake.

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No-Bake Chocolate-Almond Oat Bars

fudge-bars-017-d111260.jpg
Credit: Con Poulos
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One-pan and no oven makes this a favorite easy chocolate bar recipe. And did we mention it's packed with almond butter, honey, oats, toasted almonds, bittersweet chocolate, and raisins?

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Pecan Sandies

pecan sandies
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This cookie recipe is fast, easy, and sweet as can be. Chopped pecans are folded into a five-ingredient brown sugar cookie dough and each tray of cookies bakes in only 15 minutes. No fussy ingredients or overcomplicated steps here!

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Spicy Chocolate Cookies

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
Credit: Armando Rafael
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Just ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper gives these chocolate cookies some serious heat. A combination of Dutch-processed cocoa powder and chopped semisweet chocolate make them super-rich, too. All you need to do is mix the wet and dry ingredients together, form into balls, and bake.

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Pecan, Oat, and Dark-Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

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Credit: Lennart Weibull
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Loaded with nuts, oats, maple syrup, and plenty of chocolate, these easy cookies are irresistible. The pecans are ground and used in place of flour, so even gluten-intolerant eaters can grab one to snack on. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl by hand, then use a ¼-cup measuring cup to scoop and form the dough into cookies.

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Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

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These cookies will never go out of style—and for good reason. The dough—which is enhanced with wheat germ and cinnamon for nutty, subtly spiced flavor—is as simple and delicious as you can get.

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Classic Shortbread

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All you need are three ingredients to make these basic butter cookies. They're formed and baked in a cake pan, which cuts down on prep work.

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Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

chocolate-skillet-cookie-228-d112793.jpg
Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Two kinds of chocolate are far better than one. That's why this easy skillet cookie recipe calls for both cocoa powder and chocolate chips. It's a chocolate-lover's dream.

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    1 of 17
    2 of 17 Chocolate-Chip Oat-Coconut Skillet Cookie
    3 of 17 Ideal Sugar Cookies
    4 of 17 Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
    5 of 17 S'mores Bars
    6 of 17 Five-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
    7 of 17 Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    8 of 17 Drop Cookies, Three Ways
    9 of 17 Macaroon Sandwich Cookies
    10 of 17 Spiced Orange Palmiers
    11 of 17 No-Bake Chocolate-Almond Oat Bars
    12 of 17 Pecan Sandies
    13 of 17 Spicy Chocolate Cookies
    14 of 17 Pecan, Oat, and Dark-Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
    15 of 17 Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
    16 of 17 Classic Shortbread
    17 of 17 Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

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    17 of Our Easiest Cookie and Bar Recipes
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