Food Desserts & Baking The Midwest's Best Cookie Recipes By Midwest Living editors Midwest Living editors Midwest Living's experienced editors create best-in-class travel, lifestyle, food, home and garden content you won't find anywhere else. We're loudly, proudly Midwestern, and we're passionate about helping our audience explore and create through award-winning storytelling. Midwest Living's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 17, 2023 Trending Videos Photo: Courtesy of Stephanie Simmons Indulge in mouthwatering cookie recipes from Midwest bloggers and restaurants, Midwest Living readers, and our own test kitchen. 01 of 38 Salty Caramel and Pecan Oatmeal Cookies These cookies come with a friendly warning: Chewy caramel, toasted pecans and a flurry of sea salt will make you popular. Very popular. A product called caramel bits gives these cookies great flavor and chewy texture. Some supermarkets carry them, and they're widely available online. (Search for Kraft Caramel Bits.) Take care to follow recipe directions when baking: caramel bits melt quickly. Easy Drop Cookies View Recipe 02 of 38 Macarons Carson Downing You can make these beautiful cookies at home—but use a digital kitchen scale for best results, because a precise ratio of dry and liquid ingredients matters with macarons, says Nathan Sivitz of Macaron Bar in Cincinnati. Want more help? Check out Sivitz's step-by-step guide and problem-solving tips. View Recipe 03 of 38 Lemon Sugar Cookies Carson Downing The light lemon flavor gives these sparkling sugar cookies a little special twist. Judy Kiburz Harrison's recipe won best-in-class at the Iowa State Fair. Behind the Scenes at the Iowa State Fair Cookie Competition View Recipe 04 of 38 Peanut Butter Temptations Calling all peanut butter fans! These cookies offer double-the-PB compared to the classic peanut blossom cookie with a chocolate kiss on top. And they couldn't be easier. View Recipe 05 of 38 Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies Courtesy of Stephanie Simmons These easy, nostalgic-tasting cookies are a favorite of Stephanie Simmons, the Wisconsin blogger behind Blue Bowl Recipes and author of the cookbook, The One-Bowl Baker. Use your favorite preserves—Stephanie likes raspberry. Peanut Butter Dessert Recipes View Recipe 06 of 38 Black-and-White Cookies Carson Downing These soft, vanilla-scented cookies—a Jewish deli and bakery staple—are delicious, and easier to frost than you might think. This recipe comes from Larder in Cleveland. View Recipe 07 of 38 Jumbo Chocolate-Cherry-Oat Cookies Brie Passano Sometimes it's fun to have cookies the size of your face—these are 5 inches in diameter! For smaller cookies that are still impressive, use a 1/3-cup measure to portion the dough for 15 or 16 cookies. View Recipe 08 of 38 CCCC Cookies Carson Downing In the Middle East, cardamom often flavors coffee. Here, that duo teams up with cloves and chocolate shards in a bakehouse-style cookie with cozy chai vibes. (Trust us: The extra step of melting chocolate, spreading it out and breaking it into shards, rather than use chips, is worth it for a totally elevated cookie.) Try Chocolate Chai Tea View Recipe 09 of 38 Mindy Segal's Classic Shortbread In Mindy Segal's book, Cookie Love, the chef-owner of Mindy's Bakery in Chicago shows how mastering a classic like shortbread can unlock the baking genius in you. Make a basic four-ingredient shortbread—then try these variations. View Recipe 10 of 38 Caramel Apple Cookies Chopped apple, pecans, apple juice, apple pie spice and more combine for a hearty, delicious cookie. The frosting and nuts add just the right touch of sweetness and crunch on top. Our Favorite Fall Cookie Recipes View Recipe 11 of 38 Peanut Better Blossoms Peanut Better Blossoms. Blaine Moats In her book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland, Shauna Sever ramped up the nuttiness and opted for a creamy ganache filling in her take on this Midwest favorite. Try Shauna Sever's Cracker Toffee View Recipe 12 of 38 Mood-Booster Cookies Brie Passano Slip yourself one of these insanely rich morsels, which fall somewhere between a truffle and a cookie, on those gray afternoons when only chocolate will do. The Chocolate Cookie You Need for the Dark Days of Winter View Recipe 13 of 38 Blue-Ribbon Ranger Cookies Carson Downing Ranger cookies are made with rolled oats and cereal. Judy Kiburz Harrison won best-in-class at the Iowa State Fair for her version, which adds Beer Nuts for a peanutty twist. View Recipe 14 of 38 Cocoa and Brown Butter Shortbread Bites Browned butter infuses irresistible nuttiness into these four-ingredient cookies without sullying their essential simplicity or sandy texture. Dip them in satiny chocolate for effortless glamor. Decadent Chocolate Desserts View Recipe 15 of 38 Gramma's Sugar Cookies Blaine Moats Shauna Sever grew up thinking this beloved recipe was special to her family with its unique additions of vegetable oil, confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. So you can imagine her bewilderment when she found this exact recipe in a vintage Illinois state cookbook. This recipe is in her book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland as well. View Recipe 16 of 38 Mindy Segal's Chocolate Chip Cookies These to-die-for cookies use special chocolate and two kinds of salt, and they call for an overnight chill—and you can absolutely taste the difference. Because of the expense and time involved, we don't recommend them for any old weekend, but they are incredible for a homemade food gift or other special occasion. The recipe comes from Chicago chef Mindy Segal's cookbook Cookie Love. The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies I've Ever Eaten. Period. View Recipe 17 of 38 Coconut Macaroons In all our years of testing, we've rarely found a cookie recipe as crazy-simple as this reliable crowd-pleaser. These cookies taste great au naturel—but dipping the bottoms in chocolate adds easy decadence (and looks eye-catching on a cookie tray). View Recipe 18 of 38 Pie Cookies At Sister Pie in Detroit, they make these buttery, buttercream- or ganache-filled sandwich cookies from scraps of dough leftover from making pies. You can do the same, storing them in the freezer until you have enough. Or just make a fresh batch of pastry—it's worth it! The recipe comes from cafe owner Lisa Ludwinski's debut cookbook, Sister Pie. View Recipe 19 of 38 Lindsay's Chocolate Cafe Chocolate Chip Cookies This cookie, from the former Lindsay's Chocolate Cafe and Coffee House in O'Fallon, Missouri, wowed us with its flavor-packed lineup of ingredients. "These are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had! " says one of our website reviewers. "These are wonderful with a glass of cold milk while the cookie is still warm!" 6 Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies View Recipe 20 of 38 Miss Rosa Lee's Oatmeal Cookies Andy Lyons Nothing fancy here; this is the perfectly chewy lunchbox classic, pebbled with walnuts and plump raisins. A combination of vegetable oil and butter ensures a chewy texture and rich flavor. This recipe comes from Patty Pinner's cookbook Sweets. View Recipe 21 of 38 Sandbakkels Blaine Moats Sandbakkels means "sand tarts" because the cookies (which, flipped over, can double as tiny shells to hold cream and fruit) have such a fine, crisp texture. Find them in Shauna Sever's book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland. View Recipe 22 of 38 Lebkuchen Blaine Moats The secret to perfect lebkuchen is in the resting phase after glazing. An apple wedge in the storage container provides moisture that softens the cookies. This German classic is from Shauna Sever's book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland. View Recipe 23 of 38 Double Chocolate-Cherry Cookies Carol Schneider of Wausau, Wisconsin, brought home a blue ribbon when she entered these cookies at the Wisconsin State Fair. The recipe combines white and semisweet chocolate with dried cherries and walnuts. View Recipe 24 of 38 Apricot and Orange Blossom Kolacky Blaine Moats This tender pastry cookie, a cousin to Jewish rugelach, has Polish origins. In her book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland, Shauna Sever's apricot filling nods to Hungary. View Recipe 25 of 38 Hazelnut-Chocolate Chunk Cookies We loaded these crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies with white and chocolate chips along with toasted hazelnuts. View Recipe 26 of 38 Triple-Flavored Big-Batch Cookies Chocolate chips, peanut butter and oatmeal pack these easy drop cookies from a Door County, Wisconsin, bed-and-breakfast. Because this recipe makes so many cookies, you might want to freeze some dough for future use. View Recipe 27 of 38 Lemon Hazelnut Sea Salt Cookies Many cookies call for just citrus zest, but these soft gems use a lot of juice, too, so they've got the same tart kick as lemon bars. They're a perfect match for hot tea. The recipe comes from The Birchwood Cafe Cookbook (University of Minnesota Press, $29.95). View Recipe 28 of 38 Molasses Cookies Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside: This spice cookie has it all. It's a state fair prizewinning recipe from Catherine Blackwood of Columbus, Ohio. View Recipe 29 of 38 Polvorones Blaine Moats Polvorones are Mexico's crispy, airy answer to shortbread (you may know them as Mexican wedding cookies). Midwest food writer Shauna Sever coats them in cinnamon sugar for a churro-like effect. View Recipe 30 of 38 Fantasy Chocolate-Caramel Delights "I love caramel, nuts and chocolate," says the Mandan, North Dakota, reader who sent this recipe to a Midwest Living cookie contest. Fantasy Chocolate-Caramel Delights were one of the highest-rated cookies in the contest. View Recipe 31 of 38 Honey-Rosemary Shortbread Cookies Chicago chef Myk Banas created these utterly delicious and subtly sophisticated cookies. Delicious Recipes With Honey View Recipe 32 of 38 Valencia Delights Orange and chocolate: a cookie match that tempts everyone to take seconds. This recipe comes from Jill Drury in Milwaukee, who loved to bake cookies with her grandmother. "For the longest time I couldn't decide which cookie I liked best, until one day Grandma had me mix my favorite flavors: chocolate and orange," she says. Favorite Family Holiday Recipes View Recipe 33 of 38 Opal's Walnut Shortbread Cookies Patrick Groth, owner-chef of Incredibly Delicious bakery in Springfield, Illinois, uses his grandmother's recipe for these cookies. "Use the best walnuts you have and fresh butter," he advises. View Recipe 34 of 38 Awesome Chocolate-Peanut Blowout Cookies What makes these cookies so awesome? "Special ingredients," says the Marion, Ohio, reader who contributed the recipe, which includes chocolate and peanut butter. "I like them because they're decadent yet so easy to make." View Recipe 35 of 38 Oatmeal-Cherry Cookies Dried cherries make oatmeal cookies even more memorable in this recipe from American Spoon Foods, which has locations throughout Michigan. We like the cookies' crisp edges and chewy centers. View Recipe 36 of 38 Strawberry-Coconut Thumbprints Linda Roberts of Rapid City, South Dakota, tops her buttery cream cheese, coconut-coated cookie with fruit jam. View Recipe 37 of 38 Marjorie's Chocolate Chip Cookies Marjorie Johnson of Robbinsdale, Minnesota, won one of her 2,500 state fair ribbons with this recipe. It's also part of her cookbook, The Road to Blue Ribbon Baking. View Recipe 38 of 38 Peanut Butter Munchies A Hanover, Kansas, reader sent the recipe for these chocolate cookies with peanut butter centers to a Midwest Living cookie contest. A judge described them as "regally rich chocolate with a peanut butter kick." View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit