13 Easy French Cookies

Crumbly, chewy, and pleasantly sweet, French cookies are anything but bland and boring.

Add a French twist to your snack or dessert with these cookie recipes!

France is widely known for its decadent pastries.

While French cookies aren’t as wildly popular as croissants, the former has a special place in the heart of French people and cookie lovers like me!

From soft macarons, chocolatey meringues to savory palmiers, I have cookie recipes that you will actually want to make. 

Whether you’re craving some really good snacks or you want to infuse French flavors to your afternoon pick-me-up, here are 13 recipes to check out! 

1. Macarons

Macarons are more than just cookies. They’re an elegant symbol of the French lifestyle.

Crisp outside but melty inside, macarons represent balance and refined pastry-making skills.

The base ingredients for these French cookies are sugar, almond flour, and egg whites.

Of course, don’t forget the food coloring paste to make the macarons look vibrant.

What about the filling? Traditionally, these meringue discs are filled with jam, buttercream, or chocolate ganache.

Other filling options include cream cheese and curds.

The filling is, obviously, a matter of preference. The most important bit is to make these cookies with skilled labor of love.

2. Madeleines

There’s still a debate going on whether madeleines are cakes or cookies. Are you team cake or team cookie? 

Well, me, I’d like to think that madeleines are a cross of these two sweet delights.

Madeleines have a crispy shell-shaped exterior. And when you take a bite? Oh, I’m telling you, you’re in for a soft cake-like treat!

This recipe needs no more than a sprinkle of sugar. Leftover madeleines, however, taste best when dunked into tea or coffee. 

3. French Butter Cookies

Also known as Sablé Breton, French butter cookies, hail from the northwest region of Brittany.

These cookies are irresistibly crumbly and flaky, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The sandy feel of these cookies comes from the high proportion of butter and egg yolks. And mind you, you won’t just use an ordinary butter here.

What you need is the best-quality salted butter to create sablés with authentic French taste.

Except for this fancy butter, other ingredients are already available in your kitchen pantry.

4. French Shortbread Cookies

These golden-brown baked goodies are deliciously addictive and a cinch to make!

When you use high-quality ingredients, you’ll fall in love with these cookies at first bite.

Most recipes require you to add vanilla extract or vanilla bean to flavor the cookies. But if you like to make a few tweaks, use cinnamon or lemon for the dough.

The result should be the same: buttery, light, and not too sweet cookies. Coating them in crystal sugar is a must for a crunchy bite!

5. Lace Cookies

Lace cookies are definitely not your average cookies. They’re buttery and wafer-thin with a distinct toffee-like texture.

They’re extra fancy, giving crunchy goodness with every bite.

What about the taste? Expect a fusion of sweet brown butter and caramel that’s so addictive!

Make these cookies extra, extra special by turning them into a sandwich filled with Nutella or melted chocolate. 

6. Chocolate Meringues

Bring out your best chocolate because we’re about to turn it into super fudgy meringues!

Chocolate meringues are traditionally made with cocoa powder and melted chocolate. But for this recipe, it’s perfectly okay to skip the cocoa powder.

Guess what? The result will still be chewy, gooey chocolate cookies with crisp tops! 

Like other recipes, you can make this one gluten-free by using gluten-free chocolates.  

7. Palmiers

Looking for the easiest French cookie recipe? This is it. Palmiers only require two simple ingredients: sugar and puff pastry.

I know you’re wondering what would be the taste of these cookies.

They’re simple and sweet when dusted with icing sugar — perfect to serve with coffee or tea.

You can always amp up the flavors by drizzling honey on top or serving the cookies with fruits and ice cream.

8. French Christmas Cookies

Here’s a recipe that you’ll use not just once. Whether you make these cookies every Christmas or even on an ordinary day, I’ll bet no one will complain!

Moist cookies with melted chocolate drizzle — give me those!

When filled with graham cracker crumbs, walnuts, and chocolate chips, everyone at home won’t stop reaching for more.

9. French Waffle Cookies

Waffle and cookie in one treat — is there anything better than that?

In its basic form, a French waffle cookie combines brown sugar, butter, and vanilla dough, and is then cooked on a waffle iron.

At first, waffle cookies look complicated to make. But really, the only special equipment you’ll need is the waffle iron.

By following the simple baking steps, you’ll have chewy, rich, and buttery waffle cookies in no time.     

10. Savory Palmiers with Brie and Cranberry

Add brie cheese and cranberry jelly to traditional palmiers, and you’ll get delightful savory treats.

Brie cheese brings creaminess to the palmiers, while the cranberry jelly adds a tart, red berry flavor you’ll love.

This recipe is just your guide to creating a savory version of palmiers.

Unleash your creativity and feel free to use other ingredients like fig, bacon, and caramelized onions.

11. French Chocolate Chip Cookies

While chocolate chip cookies are originally from the US, they have made it to other countries, including France.

Like the original chocolate chip cookies, the French version is oh-so-soft and chewy.

And if you like your cookies stuffed with tons of chocolate chips, this recipe is for you!

Enjoy these warm cookies with a tall glass of milk for breakfast, or turn them into a chocolate ice cream sandwich for dessert!

12. Eclair Cookies

If you’re a fan of eclairs, then you’ll adore these eclair cookies! They’re ridiculously delicious, all thanks to the creamy filling and rich chocolate topping.

The best part? There’s no baking required to make these bite-sized goodies.

Eclair cookies are comparable to an ice cream sandwich, only smaller (like the size of macarons) and filled with cream cheese.

Give your cookies a pop of color by topping them with fresh cherries. So pretty!  

13. French Toast Cookies

French toast in the form of cookies? Yes, please! 

When I first made these cookies, it reminded me of my childhood memories. That cinnamon pop tart taste is unmistakable!

Since then, I just knew that I’d be making this recipe over and over again.

With this recipe, you’ll have insanely good cookies for breakfast in just 20 minutes.

Don’t forget to top it off with maple syrup for a perfectly sweet bite!