Cookie | Definition, Types, & Ingredients (2024)

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.

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.

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