Cookie | Definition, Types, & Ingredients (2024)

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Also known as: sweet biscuit

cookie, (from Dutch koekje, diminutive of koek, “cake”), primarily in the United States, any of various small sweet cakes, either flat or slightly raised, cut from rolled dough, dropped from a spoon, cut into pieces after baking, or curled with a special iron. In Scotland the term cookie denotes a small, plain bun.

Cookie | Definition, Types, & Ingredients (2)

Recipes for cookies are highly variable. Probably the most popular cookies in the United States are those that are based on a simple dough of flour, butter, sugar, and egg, to which a variety of flavouring and texturizing ingredients, such as chocolate chips, oatmeal, raisins, or peanut butter, may be added. Sugar granule size has a pronounced effect on cookie texture, influencing spread and expansion during baking, an effect partly caused by competition for the limited water content between the slowly dissolving sugar and the gluten of the flour. With the exception of soft types, the moisture content of cookies generally is below 5 percent after baking, resulting in crisp texture and good storage stability.

Cookie | Definition, Types, & Ingredients (3)

Britannica Quiz

What’s on the Menu? Vocabulary Quiz

Delicate, decorative, or exotically flavoured cookies, such as macaroons, fruited pastries, and gingerbread, are traditionally associated with baking done for holidays, particularly Christmas.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.

Cookie | Definition, Types, & Ingredients (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 cookie types? ›

Here are the 4 main types of cookies:
  • Session cookies. These are temporary web cookies that are only present as long as your web browser stays open or your session is active. ...
  • Persistent cookies. ...
  • Third-party cookies. ...
  • First-party cookies. ...
  • User experience. ...
  • Advertising and marketing. ...
  • Analytics and web optimization.
May 22, 2023

What are the basic ingredients used in all cookie types? ›

THE THREE MAIN INGREDIENTS present in nearly every type of cookie are wheat flour, sugar, and fat, but you'll see other ingredients such as leaveners, eggs, liquids, such as milk, perhaps some chocolate, coconut, spices or nuts.

What is the definition of a cookie quizlet? ›

COOKIES - DEFINITION. -SMALL SWEET CAKES OR PASTRIES THAT ARE CATEGORIZED INTO 8 TYPES DEPENDING ON HOW THE DOUGH IS PREPARED AND SHAPED FOR BAKING. -NO SET MIXING METHODS FOR PREPARING COOKIES. SOME VARIETIES USE THE CREAMING METHOD OR MAY CONTAIN CHEMICAL LEAVENERS.

What is the number one cookie in the United States? ›

The chocolate chip cookie is far and away America's favorite cookie This should come as no surprise to anyone who enjoys the tasty treat. More than 53% of American adults prefer the cookies over the next most popular kind, peanut butter.

What are the three main types of cookies culinary? ›

Icebox cookie dough is shaped into a cylinder, wrapped in parchment or plastic wrap, and chilled before slicing and baking. Molded cookies may be shaped by hand or pressed into a mold. Piped cookies, like a spritz cookie, are made from soft doughs that are portioned onto a sheet pan or into a mold.

What are the 6 categories of cookies? ›

What are the different types of cookies?
  • Drop cookies.
  • Rolled or cutout cookies.
  • Sandwich cookies.
  • Filled cookies.
  • Cookie bars.
  • Molded cookies.
  • No bake cookies.
  • Pressed cookies.
Dec 31, 2023

What is the strongest type of cookie? ›

Ristretto. A Ristretto is the strongest coffee type! It's similar to an espresso in the way that it's made. Water is still pulled through coffee beans to create the coffee but a Ristretto uses less water.

What are the 7 cookie methods? ›

There are many varieties of classifications for cookies. This refers to the way in which the cookie is prepared after the dough has been made. For example, there are drop, icebox, bar, sheet, cut out, pressed, rolled, molded or wafer.

What ingredient makes a cookie soft? ›

Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies. Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk.

What is the most important cookie ingredient? ›

Flour is the main ingredient that provides structure in a cookie – without it, there would be no cookie! The gluten in flour forms a web of sorts – the framework that catches the air bubbles/gasses given off during rising. This helps provide the structure.

What makes a good cookie? ›

The best cookies have layers of texture. A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

What is a cookie simple definition? ›

Cookies are small files of information that a web server generates and sends to a web browser. Web browsers store the cookies they receive for a predetermined period of time, or for the length of a user's session on a website. They attach the relevant cookies to any future requests the user makes of the web server.

What qualifies as a cookie? ›

cookie, (from Dutch koekje, diminutive of koek, “cake”), primarily in the United States, any of various small sweet cakes, either flat or slightly raised, cut from rolled dough, dropped from a spoon, cut into pieces after baking, or curled with a special iron. In Scotland the term cookie denotes a small, plain bun.

Why is cookie called a cookie? ›

From 1808, the word "cookie" is attested "...in the sense of "small, flat, sweet cake" in American English. The American use is derived from Dutch koekje "little cake", which is a diminutive of "koek" ("cake"), which came from the Middle Dutch word "koke".

What are the top 10 most popular cookies? ›

Top 10 Cookie Flavors
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are the quintessential cookie. ...
  • Snickerdoodle. ...
  • Sugar Cookies. ...
  • Peanut Butter Cookies. ...
  • White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies. ...
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. ...
  • Gingerbread Cookies. ...
  • Black & White Cookies.

What are 6 basic types of cookies? ›

  • Bar Cookies. Baked in shallow pan and then cut into bars or squares. ...
  • Drop Cookies. Made from soft dough dropped onto a cookie sheet. ...
  • Rolled Cookies. Made from stiff chilled dough cut into different shapes with cookie cutters. ...
  • Molded Cookies. Shaped by hand. ...
  • Refrigerator Cookies. ...
  • Pressed Cookies.

What are regular cookies called? ›

Most English-speaking countries call crunchy cookies "biscuits", except for the United States and Canada, where "biscuit" refers to a type of quick bread. Chewier biscuits are sometimes called "cookies" even in the United Kingdom. Some cookies may also be named by their shape, such as date squares or bars.

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