27 Cookies You Can Make Without a Mixer

Sometimes, you don’t have an electric mixer available. Other times, you just can’t be bothered to pull yours out of the cabinet. That's okay. We’ve rounded up a slew of delicious cookie recipes you can make nearly appliance-free. You may occasionally need the help of a food processor, but more often than not, a sturdy wooden spoon or whisk and some elbow grease will do just fine. So, whether you need a special dessert for a holiday party or you’re craving a little something sweet, no treat is out of your reach. First up, these gooey crinkle cookies are made of rich, chocolatey dough. Then, they’re rolled in cocoa powder and powdered sugar to create inviting, contrasting layers when they crackle apart. Best of all, they’re super easy — you could make them right now if you wanted to. (Seriously, you should make these right now.)

If you love the warm flavor of crunchy gingerbread but don’t have the time for all that rolling, cutting and icing, then this biscotti recipe is perfect for you. The only decoration needed is a bit of white chocolate and a sprinkle of sanding sugar to create a festive, snowy sparkle.

When Momofuku Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi came up with this cookie recipe, the internet collectively lost its mind. These are an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of dessert, hence the name. Throw a bunch of odds and ends together, like ground coffee, crushed potato chips, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate, and you’ll have something pretty special. Try Samantha Seneviratne’s take on the popular recipe.

This rugelach recipe is filled with hazelnuts, apricot preserves and golden raisins to create its beautiful namesake color. While some rugelach recipes use either cream cheese or sour cream in the dough, this recipe uses some of each to achieve the ultimate light, flaky texture.

How do you improve thumbprint cookies? Reunite the jam filling with its other half, peanut butter, of course! These may look like ordinary jam cookies, but the dough is infused with ground peanuts to deliver that familiar, sweet-and-salty goodness.

We all know Guy Fieri goes big or goes home, and these enormous ice cream sandwiches go big! You can savor this recipe at any time of the year: The gingersnap cookies pay homage to the cozy winter holidays, but the ice cream filling is summer all the way.

These cookies are the essence of the winter holidays — they taste like eggnog and look like little snowballs. The recipe is similar to Polvorones (Mexican wedding cookies) or Russian tea cakes, but with additions like rum extract, bourbon and nutmeg to amp up the holiday flavor.

These cookies rely on beaten egg whites, but you won’t need an electric mixer to make that happen — a regular whisk will do the trick! The combination of chewy dried cranberries, bright orange zest and shredded coconut makes for a fun, fruity cookie.

Behold: the world’s most reliable, no-nonsense double chocolate chip cookie. This one is for the purists — no messing around with unusual mix-ins, no elaborate technique, no worries. All you’ll need to make this magic is two bowls, a wooden spoon and a baking sheet.

This decadent bar cookie is no ordinary shortbread — it’s topped off with a layer of cookie butter, dark chocolate and finished with flaky salt for the perfect balance of flavors.

What’s not to love about these colorful cookies? They’re crunchy, colorful and full of that nostalgic yellow birthday cake flavor, thanks to imitation vanilla extract (one of Molly Yeh’s favorite tricks). All of the prep can be accomplished with a whisk and a rubber spatula.

This coconut-flavored laddoo, or Indian ball-shaped sweet, comes together in an hour and cooks entirely on the stove. Since it only uses five ingredients from the pantry and spice cabinet, it’s easy to whip up without much planning.

This take on chocolate chip cookies achieves textures for every preference. Like a good pan of brownies, the edge pieces are crisp and chewy, while the center remains tender and gooey. Plus, the ingredient list is short, and the recipe method is very simple, so you can whip up this dessert any time you feel like it.

These light, eggless cookies are popular throughout South Asia, especially for holidays, but they pair perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee any time of the year. This version combines chickpea flour, semolina, ground almonds and all-purpose flour to create a crumbly texture and prevent the cookies from tasting too sweet.

Recipe developer Zac Young beat Bobby Flay with his carrot cake. Now, he’s bringing the flavors of carrot cake to an extravagant cookie, complete with a cream cheese filling. Don’t worry — this recipe may be flashy, but it’s deceptively easy, and the payoff is so worth it.

Sure, eating Oreos directly out of the package is great, but what if you could elevate that experience? With just a few ingredients, you can transform your favorite snack into elegant truffles. These treats have a hard chocolate coating and a soft filling, complete with a white chocolate drizzle.

That box of brownie mix in your pantry works equally well for cookies. You’ll just need to add butter, an egg and some chocolate chunks, and you’ll have fudgy, handheld treats in no time.

These crumbly, spiced Greek cookies are traditionally made for Christmas, though you can enjoy them any time you want. Melomakarona use staple ingredients of Greek cuisine like olive oil and honey, which makes them incredibly flavorful. After baking, the cookies are soaked in honey orange syrup and topped with chopped walnuts.

Boxed yellow cake mix is the key shortcut in this recipe, but these cookies are no birthday cake. Mix-ins like cornflakes and pretzels add a crunchy, salty contrast to the sweet dough.

Everyone should enjoy chocolate chip cookies! This recipe makes use of substitutions like coconut oil and applesauce to achieve the soft texture and caramel-like flavor of the classic cookie.

These spiced, nutty bar cookies are flavored with cherry jam and lemon zest. Use your favorite cookie cutter to create a beautiful topping — this recipe uses little leaves and snowflakes. Changing the design would be an easy way to dress these cookies up for any occasion!

Spumoni is an Italian dessert that layers flavors of gelato with nuts and fruits. The classic flavors are cherry, pistachio and either chocolate or vanilla. Jeff Mauro’s playful "spumookies" pay homage to that combination in cookie form. They may look like your typical chocolate chip cookies, but they’re actually hiding chopped pistachios and dried cherries.

Ree Drummond’s easy truffles are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. All you have to do is melt chocolate with condensed milk on the stove, then chill and roll into balls. Colored sugar adds a festive finishing touch.

These date-filled butter cookies are a must when celebrating Eid or Easter in the Middle East, but you can (and should) enjoy them year-round. This recipe suggests two fillings: apricot-golden raisin or quince-walnut. Choose your favorite, go half and half or come up with your own combination!

The tried-and-true combination of chocolate and cherries makes for an excellent cookie. This recipe uses a straightforward drop cookie method, so you’re sure to have a delicious dessert in a snap.

These delightful sandwich cookies use simple tricks that go a long way. First, instead of merely melting the butter, you’ll take a few extra minutes to brown it, which will give it a deep, nutty flavor. Then, instead of just dropping the dough onto the baking sheet, you’ll pack it into a spoon to make a symmetrical oval. Stick the cookies together with the jam filling of your choice.