Updated for the 2024 school year!
Be ready for lunches, bake sales, and class parties in the new school year with this great list of back-to-school cookie recipes! You'll find easy recipes for classic sugar cookies, old-fashioned oatmeal cookies, and plenty of unique (and delicious) cookies from all over.
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It's almost that time — kids are headed back to school.
Are you ready? More importantly — do you have your cookie recipes in order?
I loved putting homemade cookies in the kid's lunches. I hope that it was a little extra touch that told them how very important they are to me and how much I love them.
It's tough, though.
When you are busy trying to juggle home, chores, work, and relationships baking cookies ends up being kind of low on the priority list.
So here they are. Delicious back-to-school cookie ideas from here on Restless Chipotle, established blogs, new blogs, and recipe sites.
Take some time this weekend to make a few batches and get them in the freezer. The first day of school is just around the corner, y'all.
Top 13 Cookies for Back to School
These are our family favorites.
Bakery sugar cookies are a classic! You can use sprinkles or a thin glaze to fancy them up if you want. These are extra chewy cookies with crispy edges.
Old-fashioned oatmeal cookies recipe is the original that was on the back of Quaker Oats in the 1950s! They're sweet and chewy with a delicately crisp crust. Perfect cookies for that first day back.
Brownies are my downfall and these are my very favorite! Chewy and gooey dark chocolate brownies with pecans are easy to make and you don't even need a mixer!
Peanut butter crinkles have big peanut butter flavor that's balanced out with a bit of molasses. The texture is more like a molasses cookie - chewy and delicious.
m&m's cookies are even better than chocolate chip cookies! Colorful m& ms give each bite a crunch of candy and a burst of chocolate flavor. This recipe is made with peanut butter AND Reese's Pieces, too!
Coconut chocolate chunk cookies have a. secret ingredient! This cookie is the BEST way to use up leftover frosting!
Chewy snickerdoodles are exactly like you remember them! Spicy cinnamon and sugar coating covers a chewy cookie.
Oh Henry BarsBest Ever Oh Henry Bars Recipe are another retro bar cookie recipe that's super easy to make and travels well.
Classic peanut butter cookies are the old-fashioned kind that are perfect for dunking in a glass of cold milk.
Ranger cookies are a chewy, crispy cookie. It's full of chocolate chips, coconut, cereal, and pecans. They're also called Cowboy cookies. Either way they are YUMMY.
Chewy molasses cookies? Yes please! There's nothing better with a big glass of cold milk.
Peanut butter swirled m&m s brownies are chewy and delicious.
Perfect for Fall! Pumpkin gooey butter bars are full of pumpkin spice goodness.
Drop Cookie Recipes
As far as I'm concerned drop cookies are the absolute best to stick in school lunch boxes. They're easy to make in a big batch, they travel well, they're not messy, and they freeze like a charm.
- Super Gooey Chocolate Drops
- White Chocolate Chunk Cranberry and Pistachio Cookies
- Blueberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Peanut Butter Banana Drops
- Butterscotch, White Chocolate Chip Oat Drops
- Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
- Buckaroon Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Butterfinger Drops
- Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Drops
- Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Butter Pecan Toffee Cookies
- Quadruple Chip Cookies with Pecans
- Milky Way Cookies
- Bite Sized Peanut Butter Pretzel M&M Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip
- Grandma's Gumdrop Cookies
- Cookies and Cream Cookies
- Strawberry Chip Cookies
- Sea Salt and Peanut Butter Turtle Cookies
- Cowboy Cookies
- Banana Cream Pudding
- Banana Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Almond Joy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Orange Creamsicle Cookies
- Caramel Stuffed Pretzel Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Lemon White Chocolate Cookies
- Zucchini Cookies
- Twix Bar Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Cake Mix Cookies
- Rocky Road Cookies
- Toffee Doodles
Rolled and Shaped Cookies
Rolled and shaped cookies take a little more effort than drop cookies but they do freeze well baked or unbaked. They're the perfect cookies for decorating.
Plus they are a thoughtful gift for new teachers and school staff.
- Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Drops
- Snickers Chocolate Chip
- Lemon Snaps
- Toffee Crunch Cookies
- Red Hot Snickerdoodles
- Copycat Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
- Classic Sugar Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Southern Butter Cookies
Icebox Cookies (Slice and Bake)
Slice-and-bake cookies are great for back-to-school time because you can make a batch of cookies (or several batches) when you have an hour or so, refrigerate the rolls, then slice and bake a few cookies at a time.
- Cherry Icebox Cookies
- Lavender Shortbread
- Slice and Bake Butter Cookies
- Slice and Bake Rainbow Sugar Cookies
- Key Lime Slice and Bake Cookies
- Pinwheel Cookies
Bar Cookies
Bar cookies are a quick, easy back-to-school treat. I like to wrap them in plastic wrap before sticking them in the kids' lunch boxes.
I think bar cookies stay fresher than when they are in a ziploc bag. They tend to be a bit messier than traditional cookies, though. Be sure to include napkins.
Bake Sale Favorites
The best tip for bake sale cookies is to make 'em big! Check my tips for packaging cookies below. You'll find more bake sale favorites here.
- Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
- Nutter Butter Ghosts
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Vanilla Brownies
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Chewy Peanut Butter M & Ms Cookies
- Hooty Creeks
- 2-Ingredient Snickers Chocolate Chip Cookies
No Bake Cookies
Here in Texas the kids go back to school in mid-August. Let me tell you, no-one feels like baking cookies in August in Texas.
No bake cookies are the perfect solution!
- No Bake Reeses Krispies
- Chocolate No Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- Avalanche Cookies
- No Bake Monster Cookies
- No Bake Samoa Cookies
- No Bake Muddy Buddy Cookies
- No Bake S'Mores Drops
- No Bake Rolo Cookies
- Ritz Cracker Cookies
- Haystacks
How to Package Cookies for a Bake Sale
No matter how yummy the cookie is, if it doesn't look pretty it won't sell at the bake sale or fundraiser.
Here are some tips for packaging cookies especially for bake sales.
- Label the bags!
- It's nice to make a note of whether or not the cookie has ingredients like nuts or peanut butter that are common allergens.
- The quickest way to wrap cookies is to put them in ziploc bags. This works well for smaller cookies when you are going to put 4 or so in a bag.
- For big cookies or decorated cookies when you are going to sell just one in a container use a food safe cellophane bag (available at Amazon) and tie it at the top with raffia. Be sure to use a cute label.
- For bar cookies it's nice to have a small aluminum box with a see-through lid. You can get them on Amazon.
Homemade Cookies Tips
There are ways to make it easier — sort of like having your cookie and eating it, too.
Did you know you can air fry cookies? You can!
Mix up a triple batch when you have some free time, drop them by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet, and flash freeze them. Drop the frozen cookie dough balls in a resealable freezer bag.
Then, whenever you are ready to bake your cookies, put however many you want on a cookie sheet. Bake as usual. You might just need an extra minute or two to bake them all the way through.
Most drop cookies are good candidates for flash freezing. You know, when you have a bunch of cookies like this in the freezer you can bake them before school and put the warm cookies in the lunchbox.
You can throw a few in the oven a few minutes before they get home and the house will smell amazing. It's a great way to fulfill that need to be a Kool-Aid Mom if you know what I mean.
How to flash freeze unbaked cookies
- Mix up the cookie dough as directed in your recipe.
- Drop by teaspoons on a cookie sheet but you can put them close together.
- Put in the freezer and freeze until firm and no longer sticky.
- Put the frozen cookies in a freezer bag or storage container and freeze for up to three months.
How to bake cookies from frozen
- Preheat oven to the temperature specified in the recipe.
- Grease the cookie sheet, lay down silpat, or whatever the recipe directs.
- Place the frozen cookies on the cookie sheet and bake as usual. You may need an extra minute or two baking time.
Most of these cookies also ship well for sending to loved ones at college or in the military.
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry! says
Great idea to freeze the cookie dough for baking up a quick batch later! Thanks for the tips and the plethora of recipes!