Best Cookies To Bake This Season!

Middle school students are embracing seasonal baking trends and most can agree cookies are amazing! Even for people who dislike sweets, there are cookies for you! But since there are so many cookies to choose from, what would be the best for this season?  According to fellow students, some of the most popular are chocolate chip, pumpkin spice, chocolate cookies, and oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. How do we make them? First things first, let’s start with chocolate chip.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cups brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips

• 1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup OR 12 tablespoons melted (and cooled) butter

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• Egg & Egg Yolk

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 ¼ cups flour

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients together (salt, flour, baking soda, & salt).

2. In a separate, medium bowl, whisk melted butter, brown and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Afterwards whisk in both the whole egg plus an egg yolk and vanilla extract. Pour new mixture into dry ingredients and mix. The dough should be soft and thick in the end. Fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Cover dough tightly with plastic and set batter in the fridge from two hours to 3 days.

4. Once dough has been chilled for at least two hours, preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Let batter sit a room temperature for about 15 minutes

5. Use cookie scooper or tablespoon and roll into balls. Lay them on a baking sheet with about three inches of space between each dough ball. Recommended to be taller rather than wide.

6. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Edges should be golden brown with the centers soft (will finish setting once cooled). Let it cool on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

7. Pack cookies tightly in a bag (or container) to store up for one week.

Enjoy a delicious chocolate chip cookie!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of granulated sugar

• ¼ cup of brown sugar

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons of pumpkin puree

• 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour

• ¼ teaspoon of salt

• ¼ teaspoon of baking soda

• ¼ teaspoon of baking powder

•  1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

• ½ cup of chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Melt butter. Mix melted butter with brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Whisk until you can’t see any more lumps. Then, adding to the mixture, mix in the blotted pumpkin puree and vanilla.

*Blotted pumpkin puree or others are when you dab a paper towel on the puree to absorb (suck in) excess oils or moisture.

2. Mix/whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking, powder, pumpkin spice seasoning, salt, cinnamon). Afterwards, add in the wet ingredients. The dough should be soft and smooth as you fold in chocolate chips.

3. Cover finished dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 3 days.

4. Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

5. Mold dough into balls and place on a baking sheet with about 3 inches of space between them. Afterwards, flatten the balls slightly with the bottom of  a measuring cup.

6. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes until the edges look set and centers look soft. Press a few chocolate chips into the warm cookies. OPTIONAL.

7. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack. The longer the cookies cool, the better they get. SO BE PATIENT.

8. Cover the cookies with plastic wrap tightly, store them in a container, or serve. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

• ⅛ teaspoon of salt

• 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter

• 1 cup of granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Royal icing or cookie icing

*Optional – get gel food coloring for icing

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt).

2. In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) to beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth. And in egg and vanilla and mix until all is combined.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low until combined. The dough should look soft. However, if it is too sticky for rolling, add 1 more tablespoon of flour to the dough.

4. Cut dough into two separate sections and dust parchment paper with cocoa powder or flour. Baking mats/sheets can be used too but dust them too. Place each half of the dough on parchment paper (or baking sheet) and start rolling them out on the cocoa powder (or flour). Roll dough until it’s about ¼ inch thick and don’t be shy to add more cocoa powder (or flour) if dough is still too sticky. Don’t mix powder into dough.

5. Lightly dust the newly rolled dough and cover with parchment paper. This is to help it not stick when you place the other rolled out dough on top. Afterwards, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for 1-2 hours to 2 days.

6. Once dough is chilled, remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper and carefully remove plastic wrap covering the cookies. Use cookie cutters to make the spooky shapes (or whatever theme you’re going for) and lay on a sheet. But wait! If the dough gets too soft, stop everything and put it back in the fridge. Wait for about ten minutes then take it back out and continue shaping. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

7. Arrange shaped cookies on a baking sheet with about three inches separating them. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes until the edges are set. Take out of the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely before decorating.

8. Prepare royal icing or cookie icing and separate it into different bowls. Create different colors.

*If you want to make it halloween themed, create orange, purple, black, and green.

9. Scoop icing into piping bags and decorate the cookies to your greatest desire.

10. Icing should dry in about two hours whereas easy gazes dry in a day. If you want to speed up the process, transfer cookies to a baking sheet and put in the fridge.

11. Store or serve and enjoy your treat!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon of salt

• 16 tablespoons of unsalted butter

• 1 cup of brown sugar

• ½ of granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon of unsulphured or dark molasses

• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

• 3 cups of whole rolled oats

• 1 ¾ cups of chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt).

2. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat brown sugar, butter, and granulated sugar together until looking creamy and delicious! Add the eggs, molasses and vanilla afterwards on high speed until everything is combined.

3. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low speed until combined. Beat in the oats and chocolate chips. The dough should be thick and sticky.

4. Cover dough tightly with plastic and store in the fridge for at least 45 minutes and up to 4 days. If the dough is chilling for multiple hours, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before rolling and baking.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line the baking sheet with parchment while you wait.

6. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the cookie dough. Separate each ball of dough with about three inches of space between them and bake for 13-14 minutes until the cookies have been lightly browned at the edges. Centers should look soft.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

8. Store in a container (cookies will be good for up to a week) and enjoy!

Websites:

About the AuthorSally McKenneySally McKenney is a baker, et al. “Sally’s Baking Addiction – Trusted Recipes from a Self-Taught Baker.” Sally’s Baking, 14 Nov. 2025, sallysbakingaddiction.com/.