Cookies are often outshone by robust babkas, finger-licking baklava and stunning seven-layer cakes, but there’s nothing like a flaky, sweet cookie (or three) to cure a bad day. The global Jewish kitchen boasts a variety of delectable recipes to keep your cookie jar overflowing – from rugelach to ma’amoul, hamantaschen to macaroons. So get out your mixing bowl and bake away your feelings with these 27 Jewish cookie recipes that are guaranteed to cheer you up.
Perfect for Rosh Hashanah, but also too adorable just to eat once a year. You don’t have to serve these with a teeny-tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream, but if you opt out we’ll have to conclude you’re no fun.
All the flakiness of the original. Fill ‘em up with whatever you like.
The ultimate holiday cookie hack that the whole family will love.
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We eat these year-round, but they’re especially good in a Hanukkah cookie box. Chewy, easy and sweet, they’re going to make your day a little brighter.
If you find baking for the holidays unexpectedly stressful, you need this recipe. Come for the simplicity, stay for the decoration techniques.
These delicate sandwich cookies are great for the gluten-free gang, perfect for Passover and excellent for those of you who want to eat a lot of cookies at once, but not feel horrendous at the end.
Trust us: Good gluten-free rugelach are hard to find. These are tender, flaky and freezable: the rugelach trifecta.
Responsible for providing a little comfort to Israelis post-October 7, these delicate shortcrust cookies are filled with chocolate-hazelnut goodness.
Rugelach, but make them a party.
10. Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Tahini and chocolate are a match made in heaven, and come together serendipitously in this chewy, sweet cookie.
A little spicy, a little peppery, a little crunchy, this is the perfect cookie with your coffee.
12. Classic Passover Macaroons
All you need is a bowl and a spoon to make this iconic Passover treat.
13. Zimtsterne
It might go without saying that when these cinnamon-y German cookies are served for Christmas they are not in the shape of a Star of David, but they taste even better that way!
14. Rainbow Cookies
For those of you who prefer cake-y cookies, this Shabbat kiddush staple borrowed from the Italian kitchen is an almond-scented savior.
A dairy-free, gluten-free take on this iconic cake-y cookie.
16. 4-Ingredient Blue and White Spiral Cookies
The ultimate Hanukkah cookie hack for people who think they can’t bake.
17. Easy Ma’amoul
These date-and-walnut-stuffed cookies from the Levant are typically a labor of love. This “lazy” recipe has them ready in half the time (and tastes just as good).
18. The Best Black and White Cookies
An iconic taste of Jewish New York.
Soft, crispy, melt-in-your-mouth cookies dusted with sugar and a sprinkle of nostalgia.
Simple, buttery cookies that hit the spot.
21. Joan Nathan’s Raspberry-Walnut Rugelach
A perfect rugelach recipe from the legend herself.
22. Ka’ik ib’Fis’dok (Syrian Pistachio Cookies)
These flourless cookies are flavored with pistachios and orange blossom water, and studded with whole pistachios.
23. Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread
Because everything tastes better with chocolate chips.
The only hamantaschen recipe you’ll ever need.
25. The Perfect Flourless Pareve Cookie
Flourless almond butter cookies packed with chocolate chips and walnuts for Passover, your gluten-free grandchild or anytime you fancy a damn good cookie in a rush.
These easy, buttery cookies are spiced with cardamom and brushed with coffee before baking. If this is our Icelandic legacy, we’re ok with it!
Flavored with anise and sesame, these slightly sweet, crisp cookies are the perfect companion for tea. Warning: They’re the type of snack you won’t be able to stop eating.
