I don’t know about you, but I adore fall!
What’s not to love between the falling leaves, comfy clothes and the perfect excuse to snuggle into a warm blanket every day?
By far, the best part of fall is all the delicious food the season has to offer. I mean, just think about all the warm goodness! The enchanting spices and captivating aromas never fail to draw me in and make me feel special in some kind of way.
Unfortunately, being a full-time student prevents me from cooking up a storm and enjoying all my fall favourites, but something I always make time for is cookies! Cookies, in my opinion, are the ultimate essential for an enjoyable fall. They melt in the mouth, and when enjoyed straight out of the oven, they have the power to make anyone feel warm and fuzzy. They are also super easy to make yourself! To get you on the right track, I’ve got three delicious cookie recipes to satisfy your fall cravings!
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Okay, let’s be real for a second. How could I write an article featuring fall desserts and not include a pumpkin spice-flavoured recipe? It’s a total given! Rest assured, these cookies might sound basic, but the flavours they have are anything but.
You will need:
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
How to make them:
1. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars until well creamed. Beat in the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.
3. Preheat the oven to 325F. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are slightly brown.As if this recipe couldn’t get even better, it also happens to produce a huge batch of up to 6 dozen cookies! Don’t worry if that’s too much for one sitting, as they do freeze really well. Just pop one into the microwave to warm it back up, and you’ve got the ultimate stock of feel-good snacks ready to go!
Recipe originally found on chocolatewithgrace.com and altered by Rebecca Courteau.
Ginger Cookies
The first time I had these cookies was at my grandma’s house a few months ago, and I was instantly obsessed. These cookies are soft, chewy and absolutely mouth-watering. They can also be whipped up super fast, so they are perfect for students always on the go.
You will need:
- 1 and 1/2 cups shortening
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp cloves
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar (set aside)
How to make them:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, sugar, molasses and eggs, until well combined.
2. Add the dry ingredients and mix until they are distributed evenly.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll the dough into small balls and roll the tops in sugar. Place onto cookie sheets and bake 11 minutes.
These ginger cookies are another great bulk recipe, yielding up to 6 dozen cookies. They’re perfect to snack on during a night in, or after a night out. Again, they freeze really well so in theory, they could get you through the entire season. No judgement if they don’t last that long, though!
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
These cookies are my favourite to make, and they are a huge hit with my friends and sorority sisters. After trying one, they can’t help but come back for more! My mom has been making these shortbread cookies for years now, and they’ve become a classic in my eyes. Make these and you’ll be the MVP of your squad this fall.
You will need:
- 2 cups butter, room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
How to make them:
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until it’s light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar until well-blended.
2. Sift together the flour and cornstarch and gradually beat it to a creamed mixture.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment.
4. Optional: place the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 325F. Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, until they are a light golden colour.
And there you go! In as fast as 30 minutes, you can be eating these delicious, buttery cookies. Placing them in the refrigerator for those 30 extra minutes helps the cookies keep their shape while baking, and it’s a step I personally like to take, but they’ll taste phenomenal either way. Yielding 30 cookies, these are my go-to whenever I need to stress bake or have a quick snack.
Photos in article by Rebecca Courteau, Her Campus WLU