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Is there anything more nostalgic than the smell of freshly baked cookies? Not in my book. But how do you make them and what are the different types and categories of cookies? These are the things that we will talk about in this cookies 101 post.
Let’s Break It Down
- Cookies 101 – What is a cookie and where and when did they come from?
- Cookies 101 – Common Ingredients In Cookies
- Cookies 101 – Different Categories of Cookies
- Cookies 101 – How To Beat Butter
- Equipment That You’ll Need
Cookies 101 – What is a cookie and where and when did they come from?
Cookies are one of the world’s simplest desserts. Dating back to the 7th century in Persia. The first cookies are believed to be little test cakes to test oven temperatures. Cookies are small (single serving size) and sweet, cake – like treats. They are usually made of flour, sugar, liquid and fat like butter.
Cookies 101 – Common Ingredients In Cookies
Like I said before, most cookies are composed of flour, sugar, fat and liquid. But what do they all do in cookies? And why are different ingredients used?
Flour
Flour will provide structure to the cookie. Different types of flour will provide different taste and texture. For example, just like with brownies, bread flour gives your cookies a chewy texture. To learn why this is check out my bake substitutions post.
Sugar
The main purpose of sugar in your cookies is to add sweetness and sometimes texture. For example, brown sugar adds a chewy texture to baked goods. And also sugar can have added texture when the outside of cookies are coated in sugar like this:
Fat
Fat is another big component in cookies. Butter adds fat and moisture to cookies and also adds a little extra flavor. This makes them softer and more moist. Crisco or solidified vegetable oil is a fat that will give you the moisture and the softness without the added flavor. With liquid vegetable oil makes you baked goods a bit harder with still no added flavor.
Eggs
Eggs like in a lot of baked goods, bins all the ingredients together in a cookie. And can sometimes provide some lift.
Baking Soda/ Baking Powder
Baking powder make your cookies puff up vertically, where as baking soda makes baked goods spread out horizontally.
Milk, Heavy Cream, Buttermilk, etc.
Any of these products add moisture. Remember, the more full body and thicker, the cream or milk, the more fatty and that will contribute it’s own properties as well. Buttermilk has acid in it which will help provide extra moisture.
Chocolate and Cocoa Powder
Cocoa Powder will help to create chocolate cookies. It adds a chocolate flavor without adding fat. Real chocolate on the other hand has the benefit of adding fat as well as chocolate flavor.
Cookies 101 – Different Categories of Cookies
There is a whole bunch of different kinds of cookie out there. So many that they are actually split up into categories.
Drop Cookies
Drop cookies are ones where the dough is made up and then the dough portion is scooped out with a spoon or cookie scoop and just placed on the prepared tray with no rolling or shaping. Place these cookies about 2 inches apart because then flatten and spread out quite a bit in the oven. Dough that has not been chilled will spread quite a bit.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies could be drop cookies or molded cookies. It all depends on your intended result. If you refrigerate dough, it will not spread as much in the oven. If you bake them straight after the dough is put together, they will spread more.
Get the recipe here
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
These cookies are basically the same as my chocolate chip cookies but with chopped macadamia nuts and white chocolate.
Get the recipe here
Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies are basically the same base cookie dough but oats are added.
Molded Or Shaped Cookies
The only difference between molded cookies and drop cookies is that drop cookies are made with dough that is portioned out and baked right after it is made and with molded cookies the dough is made up and chilled before being portioned out rolled into a ball or whatever shape you like and baked.
Because the dough is chilled first, the cookies do not spread out as much while baking.
Snickerdoodle
Snickerdoodle are a sugar cookie dough that is rolling into balls and dusted in cinnamon sugar.
Crinkle Cookies
Crinkle cookies are cookies that have a higher proportion of baking powder so that they will puff up and create those signature cracks.
S’mores Crinkle Cookies
These are chocolate cookies that are dusted in crushed graham cracker crumbs and stuffed marshmallows in the middle.
Get the recipe here
Lemon/Blueberry Crinkle Cookies
These lemon cookies are rolled in a ball and then dusted in freeze dried blueberry powder.
Get the recipe here
Lofthouse Cookies
This recreation of a store bought cookie it is a very soft, pale sugar cookie topped with a dense surgery frosting.
Get the recipe here
Rolled Or Cut Out Cookies
With these cookies, the dough is rolled out into one thin sheet with a rolling pin and then cut into shapes with cookie cutters or rolled up with filling inside.
Sugar Cookies
These type of cookies are a very sweet, buttery, and festive cookie, often seen around holidays. The dough is rolled thin and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter.
Get the recipe here.
Pinwheel Cookies
Pinwheel cookies start with cookie dough that is rolled out and then another dough is put on top of it or something like a filling is spread on the cookie. Then the dough is rolled up into a log and frozen or chilled in the fridge. Then the log is sliced into ½ inch slices and baked.
Get the recipes here.
Pecan Pie Pinwheel Cookies
This cookie is a sugar cookie base with pecan pie filling rolled up inside.
Get the recipe here
Filled Cookies
Filled cookies are any cookie with frosting or jam or something in the middle.
Stuffed Cookie
These cookies are the hardest in my opinion. They start by taking a portion of cookie dough and flattening it out. Then take a scoop of filling and putting it in the middle. Then the dough is pinched around the filling to form a ball.
Sandwich Cookies
Sandwich cookies are 2 cookies sandwiched together with jam, frosting, iced cream etc.
Linzar Cookies
A Linzar cookie starts by taking sugar cookie dough and rolling the out thin. Then 2 cookies are cut out and a second hole cut out of the center of one of them. Then the cookies are baked. After the cookies are baked and cooled, a sweet jam or jelly is spread on the bottom cookie. Lastly, the second cookie is placed on top and the topped is dusted with confectioners sugar.
Get the recipe here
Copycat Oreos
This recipe is a copycat recipe of milk’s favorite cookie, Oreo’s. If you have never had an Oreo before. It’s 2 crisp chocolate cookies with a sweet vanilla cream in the middle.
Get the recipe here
Macarons
Macarons are a sandwich cookie in which frosting or filling of some kind is sandwiched between 2 cookies made of egg white and almond flour.
Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprint cookies are a bit like a molded cookie in that the dough is rolled into a ball and then baked. After about 5 minutes, press your clean thumb into the top of each cookie. Then the cookies go in to finish baking. Then when the cookies are baked and cooled, the holes are then filled with whatever filling you want.
Nutella Peppermint Cookies
This is part of my Christmas Cookie recipe. It is essentially a sugar cookie filled with Nutella in the thumbprint hole and crushed candy canes.
Get the recipe here
Chocolate Chip Thumbprint Cookies With Cheesecake Filling
Chocolate chip cookies with a sweet cheesecake filling.
Get the recipe here.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
A Peanut Butter Blossom is a peanut butter cookie with a Hershey’s kiss in the middle.
Get the recipe here
Bar Cookies
These kind of cookies are ones where the dough is pressed into a baking pan and baked and the cut into bars.
Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread is a very dense and crumbly dough made of flour, sugar and butter. The dough is baked in all kinds of forms but is typically baked in long bars.
Biscotti
This is a long sliced cookie that is very hard and commonly dunked in coffee to soften and eat.
No Bake Cookies
No bake cookies are cookies that, just like the name suggests, are not baked. These are usually made of oats mushed together and covered in chocolate.
Pressed Cookies
The dough for these cookies is forced through a cookie press directly onto a cookie sheet.
What is a Cookie Press?
A cookie press is a long tube with a plunger. You first feed your dough into the tube and the add one of the design disks for whatever you want you cookie to look like, place the press flat down on the cookie sheet surface and press the plunger, viola!
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Butter Christmas Cookies
Butter Cookies are a cookieI dough that has a high ratio of butter. This dough is then put into a cookie press and forced though to create the beautiful shapes.
Refrigerated Cookies
These cookies start with dough that is formed into a log and then wrapped in wax paper. Then the dough is frozen or refrigerated for hours and then sliced.
Pecan Sandies
Pecan sandies start with a sugar cookie dough base with pecan pieces folded in. The dough is then rolled into a cylinder and then refrigerated before being cut into slices and baked.
Checkerboard Cookies
These cookies are 2 different flavors of dough arranged to look like a square checkerboard. This square log of dough is then wrapped in wax paper refrigerated and then sliced into cookies and baked.
Cookies 101 – How To Beat Butter
Creaming the butter and sugar together is the first step to making a great cookie. Creaming the butter and sugar is super simple.
All you do is beat the two together until light and fluffy. This will take about 2 minutes.
Creaming the butter creates air bubbles. This cause a few benefits.
This doesn’t only mean texture but color as well. The butter should go from a deep yellow color to a pale yellow color.
The benefit to creaming your butter and sugar together is to make your cookie more airy. It can also be like a natural leavener.
Be careful not to over beat your butter because this could cause the mixture to separate and be grainy and soupy. It will also lead to dense baked goods.
Equipment That You’ll Need
Cookie Sheet
Cookie sheets come in all shapes and sizes. Some have rims to them and some don’t. What you like is entirely your preference. I like the ones without a rim because it makes it a bit easier to line up the cookies onto the sheet.
 Bun Cookie & Sheet Pan 16 Gauge, 18″ x 26″ (Full Size) – $17.90 Commercial Quality, 16 Ga. Heavy Duty Aluminum Will Not Warp Or Buckle In Hot Oven Professional, Evenly Baked Cake Each Time |
 Wilton Recipe Right Air Cookie Sheet, 16 x 14 Inch – $14.65 Wilton Recipe Right Air Cookie Sheet, 16 x 14 Inch Recipe Right is constructed of heavy-gauge steel that provides an even-heating performance, baking experts prefer for perfectly-browned baked goods. The non-stick coating makes food release and clean-up a breeze! Constructed of Two sheets insulated by a layer of air. |
Cookie Scoops
Cookie scoops also come in all different sizes. A cookie scoop and an iced cream scoop are essentially the same thing. They are a scoop with a handle and a lever that is attached to a mechanism in the scoop that push the contents of the scoop out.
They just make for uniform sizes of cookies for the whole batch. They aren’t entirely necessary to portion out your cookies, although I always use them when I am making cookies.
The other alternative is just using your hands or just using 2 spoons.
 Oxo Small Cookie Scoop – $15.99 Oxo Cookie Scoop Portioner Size Volume Diameter of Cookie Yielded 1044083 (Small) 60 2 tsp 2″ 1055893 (Medium) 40 1.5 tbsp 2-3/4″ 1044082 (Large) 20 3 tbsp 3-1/2″ For easy scooping and consistently round cookies, try the OXO GOOD GRIPS Cookie Scoops. The Small, Medium and Large Scoops all have soft grips that absorb pressure while you squeeze to easily release your cookie dough. Dishwasher safe. Soft grips absorb pressure A simple squeeze releases cookie dough Dishwasher safe |
Oxo Medium Cookie Scoop – $16.99 Oxo Cookie Scoop Portioner Size Volume Diameter of Cookie Yielded 1044083 (Small) 60 2 tsp 2″ 1055893 (Medium) 40 1.5 tbsp 2-3/4″ 1044082 (Large) 20 3 tbsp 3-1/2″ For easy scooping and consistently round cookies, try the OXO GOOD GRIPS Cookie Scoops. The Small, Medium and Large Scoops all have soft grips that absorb pressure while you squeeze to easily release your cookie dough. Dishwasher safe. Soft grips absorb pressure A simple squeeze releases cookie dough Dishwasher safe |
Oxo Large Cookie Scoop – $17.99 Oxo Cookie Scoop Portioner Size Volume Diameter of Cookie Yielded 1044083 (Small) 60 2 tsp 2″ 1055893 (Medium) 40 1.5 tbsp 2-3/4″ 1044082 (Large) 20 3 tbsp 3-1/2″ For easy scooping and consistently round cookies, try the OXO GOOD GRIPS Cookie Scoops. The Small, Medium and Large Scoops all have soft grips that absorb pressure while you squeeze to easily release your cookie dough. Dishwasher safe. Soft grips absorb pressure A simple squeeze releases cookie dough Dishwasher safe |
Mixing Bowl With Lid
In making cookie dough, a mixing bowl is a must and a mixing bowl with a lid is pretty helpful when you are putting the dough back in the fridge to chill because you do not need to use plastic wrap or anything more to cover it.
Silicone Spatula
My personal favorite utensil to bake with is a silicone spatula. They are firm enough that you can stir with them but yet flexible enough that you can scrape around the bowl with them in order the get all the batter or dough out.
 Dexter Russell 91530 Silicone Spatula, 11″ – $7.90 Dexter Russell 91530 Silicone Spatula Kitchen tools that can take the heat. Silicone overmold offers comfort and heat resistance up to 500oF. A stainless steel core provides a rigid structure for strength in commercial use. One piece construction for ease of cleaning 11″ long Heat resistant up to 500oF Dishwasher safe NSF certified |
Phew…. that was a lot. If you have made it this far, thanks you so much for reading and I hope this answers all of your questions about cookies.
Making cookies can be a little tricky but is really is quite simple once you figure out the tips and tricks. It just takes some trial and error.
If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. And if you have any techniques or tips that I didn’t share, I would love to hear them in the comments below.
If you liked this post and you want to learn how to tackle cheesecake next, click here. And here for bread. If you would like to learn more about making cake, click here. For brownies, click here. And lastly, for chocolate, click here.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, pinterest , twitter and snapchat to see what I’m up to next. Remember, don’t be afraid to bake a mess. And I’ll see you all next time. Happy Baking!