4 homemade cookie recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth
Whether you're craving a classic chocolate chip cookie or looking to try something new, cookbook author Susan Spungen has a recipe for every cookie lover.
Spungen joined "Good Morning America" on Thursday to share four recipes from her new cookbook, "Cookie Queen," including toasted oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies, hazelnut linzers, crunchy espresso chocolate chunk cookies and pistachio olive oil shortbread.
Check out the recipes below to recreate these sweet treats at home.
Hazelnut linzers
Makes: About 36 Sandwiches (including rerolls)
Ingredients
1 1/2 heaping cups/200 g whole hazelnuts
2 cups/256 g all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup/226 g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup/123 g confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
3/4 cup/about 250 g jam or preserves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spread out the hazelnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet and toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the skins start to flake off and the nuts smell and look toasty. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a folded dish towel, and set aside to cool. Rub off the skins (don’t worry if they don’t come off completely). Cool completely. Turn off the oven for now.
In a food processor, grind the nuts as finely as possible along with 1/4 cup/32 g of the flour. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1 3/4 cups/224 g flour, the cinnamon, pepper, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and lemon and orange zests. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl a few times as needed.
Add the dry ingredients and the ground nuts to the mixer bowl (with the mixer off) and beat on low speed just until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough starts to clump together. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well incorporated.
Divide the dough into two equal balls. Flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days ahead of time.
Preheat the oven to 350°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and let sit on the counter until malleable, about 15 minutes. Generously flour a work surface. Dust both sides of one disc of dough with flour. Roll the dough just a little thicker than 1/8 inch (you don’t want the cookies to be too thick, as they will be sandwiched later).
Flour two cookie cutters in the shape of your choice. One larger, measuring about 2 1/2 inches, and one smaller, measuring 1 to 1 1/2 inches.
Using the larger cutter, cut out the dough, flouring the cutter as needed. These will be the bottoms of the cookies. Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Knead the scraps and chill to reroll for more cookies (keep doing this until you’ve used as many scraps as possible). Chill the sheet of cut cookie bottoms until firm, at least 15 minutes.
For the cookie tops, repeat step 9 with the second disc of dough. Cut out as many cookies as you can with the larger cutter and then, using the smaller cutter, cut a window or a center hole in the top for half the cookies. This is where the jam will show through. Keep the tops and bottoms on separate sheets. Chill the sheet of cookie tops. Count as you go to make sure you have an equal number of solid bottoms and windowed tops.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden, keeping in mind that the time can vary wildly based on how cold the cookies and the sheets are, the thickness of the cookies, and your particular oven, and whether you are baking one sheet or two, so start checking the tops at about 8 minutes, and make sure to reverse the positions of the two sheets halfway through the baking time. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then gently transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Place the jam in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds to loosen. Stir a few times and strain out the solids (or leave them in if you want!). Let cool until thicker (you can speed this up by popping it in the freezer). Place the cookie bottoms on a parchment or wax paper–lined baking sheet. Spread a scant 1 teaspoon of jam on each bottom cookie, lightly dust the “frames” with confectioners’ sugar, and place on top of the cookie bottoms. Store in airtight containers for 2 to 3 days until serving time. The cookies will soften a bit as they sit. Unfilled cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for 2 to 3 months.
Toasted oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies
Makes: 36
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups/240 g rolled oats
1 3/4 cups/224 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup/226 g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup/165 g firmly packed dark brown sugar or muscovado
1/2 cup/100 g granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
1 cup/175 g bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup/110 g raisins
3 ounces/85 g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate bars, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread out the oats on a baking sheet and toast until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a plate or another baking sheet and cool completely. When cooled, weigh out 1/2 cup/50 g of the oats and grind in a food processor until powdery. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and beat to combine thoroughly.
Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl (with the mixer off) and beat on low speed until the flour is moistened, then raise the speed to medium-low and beat well until the flour is fully incorporated. Add the oats, chocolate chips, and raisins and beat again until everything is well combined.
Use a 3/4-ounce/1 1/2-tablespoon scoop to portion the dough into 34-g pieces and then roll each into a smooth ball using the palms of your hands. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets 3 inches apart. Press a square of chocolate into the center of each ball.
Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden on the edges and the bottom. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky salt, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough on cooled baking sheets.
Store for 3 to 4 days in airtight containers at room temperature or freeze for 2 to 3 months.
Crunchy Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes: 18
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups/160 g all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup/113 g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup/50 g granulated sugar
1/4 cup/55 g firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons/2 g finely ground coffee, preferably espresso
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
3 1/2 ounces/100 g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped medium fine
1 large egg white/30 g, beaten
2 tablespoons/25 g raw or turbinado sugar
Flaky salt
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, ground coffee, instant espresso, and vanilla. Cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping once or twice.
Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl (with the mixer off) and mix on low speed until the dough forms clumps and holds together when squeezed. Add the chocolate and mix again to incorporate.
Knead with your hand in the bowl to form a cohesive mass (some of the chocolate may fall out, but just press it back in).
Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a log about 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll back and forth to smooth it, patting the ends in if it gets too long. Brush very lightly with the beaten egg white and coat lightly with the raw sugar. Gently wrap in wax or parchment paper, twist the ends, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days ahead of time.
Preheat the oven to 325°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice the cookies a scant 1/2 inch thick and arrange at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Some of the cookies might break as you try to cut through the chocolate -- just re-form them into a round shape.
Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, switching the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time, until the cookies turn golden at the edges and on the bottom. Err on the shorter side if you like a softer cookie. They will get crunchier as they cool. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely. Store in airtight containers at room temperature for 4 to 5 days or freeze for 2 to 3 months.
Pistachio Olive Oil Shortbread
Makes: 32
Ingredients
3/4 cup/175 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup/100 g granulated sugar
2/3 cup/65 g finely ground raw pistachios or pistachio flour
2 cups/256 g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons/25 g sparkling sugar, aka sanding sugar, for the top
Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the oil, egg, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pistachios, flour, and salt. Add to the oil mixture and beat on low speed until the flour is moistened. Turn up the speed to medium and beat until the flour is well incorporated.
Press the dough into an approximately 14 by 4-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom and sprinkle with the sparkling sugar. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and as long as 2 days, before baking (wrap in plastic wrap if chilling for more than 1 hour).
Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the pan on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the edges are turning golden.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly. After 10 to 15 minutes, remove from the pan and cut into 2 1/2 by 3/4-inch bars. Place on the rack and cool completely.
Store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for 2 to 3 months.
Recipes excerpted from COOKIE QUEEN: 80+ Irresistible, Doable, Giftable Recipes © 2026 by Susan Spungen. Published by Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
'GMA' kitchen picks
By clicking on these shopping links, visitors will leave ABCNews.com and Goodmorningamerica.com, and these e-commerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies. ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links. SOME PRICES ARE DYNAMIC AND MAY CHANGE FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. Have questions about ordering or a purchase? Click here.
