From Coffee Cookies to Flannel, Why the Show’s Fall Vibe Makes It a Seasonal Watch

As the autumn leaves begin to fall, a television classic invariably tends to find its way back into the hearts and onto the screens of its fans: Gilmore Girls.

The beloved show, which aired from 2000 to 2007 on the CW before being brought back in four parts on Netflix in 2016, focuses on the close relationship between single mother Lorelei Gilmore and her daughter, Rory.

Set in the fictional, quirky town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, fans can’t seem to get enough of the show’s perpetual fall vibe throughout the year. In 2022 alone, viewers watched more than 20 billion minutes of the series on Netflix, where it currently streams, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Many others find ways to bring the fall magic of the show to life.

This includes Malory Oniki, whose recent Gilmore GirlsThe inspired coffee cake cookie recipe has gone viral on social media, with 2.6 million views on Instagram Reels and over 1.2 million views on TikTok since it was posted on September 1.

Oniki tells Yahoo Entertainment that she wanted to create a recipe that reflected the heartwarming nature of the series.

“The feedback has been great,” she says of the recipe. “There’s no better way to get into the mood for fall than to snuggle up on the couch and binge Gilmore Girls with a coffee cookie in hand.

Name a more iconic duo: Gilmore Girls and fall

Oniki is far from the only fan who appreciates the fall vibe of the series, especially since each season opens with a new school year.

“Fall is the start of the school year, and Gilmore Girls begins with a back-to-school story. It also doesn’t hurt that Stars Hollow exists in a sort of perpetual fall. Everyone is still wearing flannel, wrapping their hands around warm cups of coffee, and walking under trees that are just starting to turn orange. Gilmore Girls superfan Nicole Dieker, Vox columnist and author of Larkin’s Mysteries of the Daytells Yahoo Entertainment.

“Gilmore Girls was meant to be intergenerational from the beginning,” she says of its lasting legacy. “That, in many ways, is why he’s still popular.” People who were Rory’s age when the show first aired are now closer to Lorelai’s, and moms who sympathized with Lorelai when they first watched the show may now have renewed their sympathy for Emily (Lorelai’s mother and Rory’s grandmother, from whom Lorelai distances herself from after becoming pregnant with Rory as a teenager).

Such relevant themes, like “fitting in at school, managing relationships, balancing family dynamics,” continue to resonate with fans, especially this time of year, says Oniki, who says the start of fall tends to welcome new opportunities for growth and learning. .

“Almost half of the episodes in the entire series take place in fall, so it makes perfect sense to pair the two together,” she says. “I think it’s also a fairly slow-paced show, which makes it easy to watch occasionally and rewatch year after year.”

Additionally, Oniki says that “the series does a great job of showing a real, raw mother-daughter relationship that many people can relate to.” Lorelai and Rory are extremely close and do almost everything together, but they still have their fights and disagreements. It’s a story that a lot of people can relate to, and if they can’t, I think it’s a story that a lot of people yearn for.

Rory’s fall fashion for back to school is everlasting vibes

As Valerie Campbell, a key costume designer during the show’s original run and costume supervisor during its 2016 reboot, told In The Know, the styling around fall in New England was intentional, but not always easy.

“It was my job to make sure the actors stayed cool when they were wearing all the thick layers,” Campbell, who gained popularity on TikTok thanks to her insider GilmoreGirls stories, said about filming the series in California. “The moment they called ‘cut,’ we took off their heavy jackets, their gloves, their hats, and then right before the cameras rolled, we had to match them exactly as they had them.”

People’s adoration for Rory’s fall fashion is evident, as a new generation rediscovers the oversized, cream-colored fisherman sweater she wore in the pilot episode, with the hashtag #rorygilmoresweater racking up over 25 million likes. views on TikTok.

Cook or order on site for the peak Gilmore Girls visualization

Oniki says fans of the show especially connect with the Gilmore women as it starts to get cold outside — and, very often, that involves treats, gossip, and cozy blankets.

“Especially in the fall, Rory and Lorelai spend many fall nights inside, watching a movie together and having lots of snacks,” she says. “I think that’s what we all want to do this fall, so we’re having cozy movie (or) TV nights with lots of snacks while we watch.”

This doesn’t always require making your own delicacies.

“Who needs recipes when you can order takeout?” » said Dieker. “Do we ever see Emily, Lorelai or Rory cooking, other than that episode where Rory tries to pass herself off as Donna Reed?

Dieker says the last time she looked Gilmore Girls with friends, “we ate Pop Tarts and Red Vines and huge cartons of ice cream.”

How to Cook Oniki Gilmore Girls Coffee Cake Cookies

Courtesy of Mallory Oniki

Ingredients:

Cinnamon dough

• 1/2 cup softened butter

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 2 1/2 cups flour

Streusel

• 1/4 cup softened butter

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/3 – 1/2 cup flour

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• A pinch of salt

icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon of milk

• A hint of vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F2

2. Prepare the dough: Mix the butter, oil and brown sugar. Blend for a few minutes until the mixture is smooth. The mixture should be lighter in color and frothy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until everything is well combined.

3. Prepare the streusel: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon or your hand. Start with 1/3 cup flour. The mixture should stick, but should also crumble when you run it between your fingers. If it doesn’t crumble, add 1 tablespoon of flour until it crumbles.

4. Using a large cookie scoop, drop a ball of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Using the back of your cookie scoop or your fingers, make an indentation on the top of the dough. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of streusel on top of the cookie, in the notch.

5. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes

6. While baking, prepare the frosting: combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and pourable.

7. Once the cookies have cooled slightly, drizzle them with plenty of icing.