14 Cheap Cookies Worth Grabbing Off Store Shelves

The cliché of a mother greeting her child after school with a plate full of cookies and a tall glass of milk is a familiar one. Even so, it's a romantic ideal; not everyone has the time to bake cookies, whether for ruddy-cheeked children or for themselves. And some of us just aren't the biggest bakers, period. Adding a package of cookies to your cart can save time and energy that might otherwise be in high demand, and dozens of options exist in the modern grocery store to meet your exact flavor preferences.

Beyond being convenient, store-bought cookies have a few other merits. For instance, they're shelf-stable, so you don't have to finish an entire package within just a few days. Also, some store-bought cookies are known for being excellent additions to baked goods. And depending on which ones you buy, they can be shockingly cheap.

To help streamline your shopping experience, we rounded up some of the cheapest cookies worth grabbing off store shelves. We found each item on this list for an online price of $0.75 per ounce or less, pre-tax. Some of them are cheap, and some of them are very cheap, but all are more affordable options compared to brands like Rustic Bakery, Simple Mills, and Tate's Bake Shop. You can learn more about our methodology at the end of this article.

Since 1957, Milano cookies have helped make Pepperidge Farm a household name in America. "Milano" screams elegance, and the name is indeed an homage to the Italian city famous for its fashion. If you were to travel there, you might enjoy similar cookies known as lingue di gatto (cat tongues) fresh from the oven. However, depending on the bakery, the buttery cookies may or may not be filled with chocolate.

Pepperidge Farm's Milano cookies come in a wide range of flavors, including seasonal ones like chai latte and amaretto hot cocoa, as well as year-round flavors like milk chocolate and mint chocolate. We're specifically recommending the Raspberry Chocolate Milanos because we love how the dehydrated raspberries lend a tart twist to balance out the cookies' sweetness. They also contain slightly less sugar than other Milano cookies, if that's something you need to watch. But by all means, try out the other flavors if you'd like; it's hard to go wrong with Milanos.

We don't think that $0.58 per ounce is a bad price for a little taste of Europe. That might even leave room in your budget for trying some of the other Pepperidge Farm cookies we most enjoy, such as the Bordeaux and Brussels varieties.

We love Nilla Wafers for their simplicity. There aren't any fillings or crimpings to be found on these cookies — just gently domed, vanilla-flavored cookies that are destined for dipping into milk or layering into a classic banana pudding. We're not saying that these cookies come with the highest-quality ingredient list. Indeed, this product might taste even better if real vanilla were used instead of natural and artificial flavors. Furthermore, the high-fructose corn syrup may turn some people off Nilla Wafers. Even if you just enjoy these cookies every once in a while, though, they'll still delight you with their crispy texture and melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

Compared to other mass-produced cookies, Nilla Wafers are surprisingly old. Vanilla wafers rose to fame in the 1800s, and by 1898, Nabisco was selling a version of the cookie developed by confectioner Gustav A. Mayer. Later, the official name changed from Vanilla Wafers to Nilla Wafers in 1967. As long as you don't plan on letting your cookies go stale, go ahead and spring for a family-sized box of Nilla Wafers on Amazon, which we found for $0.36 per ounce.

We thought about recommending the Original Chips Ahoy! cookies in this roundup, but decided not to. Even though the crunchy version's blue pacakaging is more iconic, the top five spots in our ranking of Chips Ahoy! cookies all went to chewy varieties. And while Chips Ahoy! collaborates with Reese's and Hershey's, and the brand often throws fun flavors like red velvet into the mix, we thought that the most impressive cookies were the plain Chewy Chips Ahoy! variety.

We appreciated the soft texture of these cookies, reminiscent of freshly baked cookies, as well as the fact that they can be enjoyed alone. That said, pairing these cookies with a glass of milk or a bowl of vanilla ice cream can be heavenly. They tend to be less messy than the crunchy version, so these are perhaps a better option if you're giving them to kids. We found a party-size package of these cookies for $0.23 per ounce on Amazon, making them some of the most affordable cookies on this list.

Whole Foods is refreshingly realistic and dubs its animal crackers by a more accurate name: animal cookies. Still, as far as shelf-stable, store-bought cookies go, the 365 Organic Vanilla Animal Cookies contain a more nourishing ingredients list than most. There aren't any artificial flavors in these cookies (as there are in Barnum's version), and they're also organic. Nor do they hide any soy lecithin, representing a win on the allergen front.

At $0.67 per ounce on Amazon, the question probably isn't going to be should you add these cookies to your cart, but rather, which animal are you going to eat first? Will it be the buffalo or the bear? The goat or the elephant? Kids will love eating these cookies, but adults have also reported back that they are pleased with the cookies' texture and balanced sweetness. They're often posed as a superior product to both Barnum's and Trader Joe's versions.

There's a reason why Oreos take up so much shelf space at your everyday grocery store. Actually, there are a few reasons. First of all, since 1912, Oreos have grown to become the world's best-selling cookie, so inventory needs to be replenished regularly. These sandwich cookies imitated an earlier product, Hydrox cookies, which have since fallen out of fashion. Now, Oreos are the ones inspiring other brands to craft sandwich cookies, and you'll find a few such products on this list.

The second reason why so much shelf space is devoted to Oreos is that there are just so many varieties to be had! Beyond the classic version, fan favorites include Golden Oreos, Mint Oreos, and Peanut Butter Oreos.

We've chosen to highlight classic Oreos because they tend to be a universal crowd pleaser, and also because they lend themselves infinitely to dessert recipes. If you're not dunking plain Oreos into a glass of milk, then you might be folding them into dirt cake or incorporating them into a pie crust. We found a package of Oreos for just $0.25 per ounce on Amazon. So, feel free to experiment with your own recipes, or else check out our roundup of mouthwatering dessert recipes for Oreo lovers to try.

You might be tempted to avoid Costco each year as the holiday season comes into full swing, and we get it: The crowds can be a nightmare. But it's worth making at least one trip to the big-box store to stock up on a handful of Costco gifts under $50 for the foodie in your life. And if that foodie is you, we're not judging.

One of the items we recommend purchasing is a tin of the Kirkland Signature European Cookies with Belgian Chocolate. Not only are the tins reusable and aesthetically pleasing, but the cookies inside have received raving reviews from Redditors. Everyone has their preferred flavor, but the cream wafer rolls and mocha milk cookies stand out as recurring customer favorites. $0.47 per ounce isn't a terrible price for an assortment of over a dozen types of cookies imported from Germany. Each tin weighs over 3 pounds, too, making this an excellent gift for families, or something you can lay out on the dessert table at a holiday party.

Maple lattes may be all the rage each fall, but Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies are worth having around the house all-year round. Each piece consists of two shortbread cookies, glued together by a maple creme filling starring maple syrup from Canada. We especially love these cookies because there aren't many sandwich cookies on the market with a maple flavor, at least in the USA. In Canada, though, maple leaf creme cookies are quite common.

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies are excellent alongside coffee, or just on their own. Like most cookies, they are sweet, but richer and slightly less cloying thanks to the maple syrup. At $0.35 per ounce, they're pretty cheap, too. The list of ingredients isn't excessively long, and they're a nice pick for those averse to ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup. Oh, and did we mention that these cookies are vegan?

Everyone has their favorite Girl Scout cookie flavor, though Thin Mints are undoubtedly the most popular overall. And while you can't find them being sold year-round (thank goodness for freezers), you can find an excellent alternative on store shelves when Girl Scout cookie season is still months away. We're talking, of course, about Goodie Girl Mint Cookies, one of the absolute best gluten-free cookies you can find at Whole Foods (among other stores).

At $0.71 per ounce, these cookies are very comparable to the price of Girl Scout cookies. In terms of flavor, customers report that they are sufficiently crunchy and minty, and also that they don't contain any strange flavors as a result of being gluten-free. Key ingredients include gluten-free whole grain oat flour, cane sugar, palm oil, cocoa powder, and a confectionary coating. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether these cookies beat the OG, but many customers have already agreed that they do.

Nothing beats a homemade peanut butter cookie, especially when it's sporting fork indentations and has just come out of the oven. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of store-bought peanut butter cookies that cater to our sweet and salty cravings, and the Back to Nature Peanut Butter Creme Sandwich Cookies are among the best specimens.

These vegan cookies are made without GMOs, hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, or artificial flavors, and yet, they still manage to ring up at an affordable $0.64 per ounce. By pairing unbleached wheat flour with whole grain rolled oats, these cookies offer a satisfying crispiness. Plus, the peanut butter filling is robust and tastes authentic. Back to Nature sells a few other highly rated sandwich cookies, including the double classic creme flavor and the golden vanilla creme flavor. Clearly, this brand is giving Oreos a run for its money, though admittedly at more than twice the price per ounce. Purchase according to your budget and nutritional priorities because both brands are tasty.

Keebler's brand is built upon whimsy, and all of the brand's treats are fabled to be baked by elves inside the magical Hollow Tree Factory. That includes every package of Fudge Stripes cookies, which we found for an affordable $0.28 per ounce on Amazon. These shortbread cookies are generously dipped in chocolate so that it covers the entire base, and then even more chocolate is drizzled on top, resulting in what many would say is the perfect cookie-to-chocolate ratio. These classic cookies have been around for decades, standing the test of time thanks to their approachable flavors and textures. They break apart cleanly without turning into a crumbly mess, and so they've been cemented into a lunchbox staple for many years.

Keebler sells many other cookie varieties that we've tested, and the Fudge Stripes cookies came in at a respectable third. The E.L. Fudge Elfwich sandwich cookies are likewise popular, and the Coconut Dreams cookies give Samoas a run for their money.

There's something nostalgic about tearing open a package of Lance crackers, especially if you're from the Southern United States. Some of us grew up eating bright orange ToastChee crackers multiple times a week. But if your sweet tooth is overpowering your savory one, a sleeve of Lance Nekot Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies may be in order.

These cookies aren't cloyingly sweet, but instead possess a degree of depth and complexity thanks to the peanut butter filling. Certainly, they contain a few grams less sugar than both the fudge and lemon crème variations. They're firm, yet break apart easily, and with six sandwich cookies per pack, they can be substantially filling. Folks agree that Lance Nekot cookies are some of the cheapest and most underrated cookies, and we concur, having found them for only $0.29 per ounce. However, they do contain several allergens, so even though these cookies may have been a lunchbox staple for you, consider keeping them as an after-school snack for any children of your own.

Which flavor of Joe-Joe's is your favorite? You might be a fan of the Candy Cane Joe-Joe's that are released each winter, or else the Pumpkin Joe-Joe's that hit store shelves each fall. But do you know what you can snag year-round? Packs of Chocolate & Peanut Butter Joe-Joe's Sandwich Cookies. Each box comes with eight cookies, and at a price of only $0.59 per ounce, too.

These cookies are nothing short of decadent, and their fantastic quality landed them in the runner-up spot in our ranking of Trader Joe's cookies. Our writer found them to be reminiscent of the Peanut Butter Patties sold by Girl Scouts, but perhaps even better. Essentially, these are chocolate-flavored cookies filled with peanut butter, which are then coated in peanut butter and drizzled with chocolate for a final touch. Redditors recommend eating these cookies straight from the freezer, but as long as you leave them out of the sun, you'll enjoy them no matter what.

There are a few variations of Lotus Biscoff cookies on the market, including the relatively new sandwich cookies that come in vanilla, milk chocolate, and Biscoff cream varieties. The original Lotus Biscoff cookies, however, are the classic treats you'll find served on airplanes and alongside coffee in many cafes. Their caramel-like flavor and crunchy texture make them fantastic when crumbled over ice cream, crushed into cheesecake crusts, and sprinkled atop donuts.

These Belgian cookies don't rely on any artificial or natural flavors, but instead capitalize on readily available ingredients like brown sugar, cinnamon, and wheat flour. That's especially impressive considering these cookies are only $0.34 per ounce at Walmart (or completely free, if you catch the right flight). Biscoff cookies prove that "cheap" doesn't necessarily mean "fake" or "low quality." If you fall in love with them, you might consider buying the Lotus Biscoff Cookie Butter, too, which we've found outranks every other cookie butter commonly available.

Calling all fans of Nutter Butters! Have you tried Benton's Peanut Butter Crème Filled Cookies yet? These cookies, which are available at Aldi for only $0.19 per ounce, are cheaper than Nutter Butter cookies and, in our opinion, are a better version of the classic. Each one consists of two crisp cookies, married together with a creamy peanut butter filling. We found that this filling is more substantial than in Nutter Butters, and we also appreciated that these cookies don't taste excessively sweet (though the nutrition panel reveals that the sugar content of the two brands is nevertheless comparable).

If you're not eating them on their own, these cookies would be lovely when dipped into milk, tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. You could even incorporate them into a peanut butter pie crust, or crush them to make a sweet-and-savory pancake topping. One Redditor reported that they are excellent in banana pudding, while others on the same thread suggested dipping them into Nutella.

In curating this list, we only considered cookies that we found for an online price of $0.75 per ounce or less. We only recommended one version of each cookie, though sometimes noted other highly reviewed flavors. Additionally, we only considered shelf-stable cookies, not ones produced by stores' in-house bakeries. Finally, this article isn't a commentary on the relative nutrition of each product; our recommendations are based solely on the flavors, textures, and price tags of each product, using commentary from online customer reviews and former Tasting Table rankings.