The 8 Types of Cookies

by Kerry Cordy

Cookies, cookies, cookies! Who doesn’t love cookies? So many varieties to choose from. Whether it is a traditional chocolate chip cookie or an fancy cutout gingerbread cookie, there is a cookie for every occasion and every taste bud.  Did you know there are 8 different types of cookies based on how the dough is handled?  Try making one of each!

1. Drop Cookies

When most people think of making cookies giant bowls of cookie dough ready to be plopped on a sheet pan is what usually comes to mind.  Drop cookies are made of a soft dough that is dropped by the spoonful onto a baking sheet.  Most drop cookies spread and flatten during baking such as chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, but some drop cookie recipes such as certain macaroons or oatmeal drops retain much of their original drop shape even after baking

2. Bar Cookies

In many ways, bar cookies are the easiest and quickest way to make cookies.  With bar cookies all ingredients and dough is layered and pressed into a pan or baking dish.  The pan is then baked and cut into individual servings such as lemon bars, peanut butter bars or cookie pizzas.

3.  Rolled Cookies

Rolled and cut cookies take much more time and preparation than drop or bar cookies as the dough usually has to be chilled before it can be rolled and cut.  Once the dough has been rolled out it can be cut with cookie cutters, a knife or a pastry wheel.  Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread men are common rolled and cut cookie examples.

4. Molded Cookies

Molded cookies are made from a much stiffer dough that can be handled much like clay.  Molded cookies are usually rolled into balls or other simple shapes.  Peanut Butter cookies are one of the most common molded cookies as most recipes roll the dough into a ball and then press in a crisscross pattern with  fork.

5. Sandwich Cookies

Sandwich cookies can be made out of any basic cookie type depending on what you wish to put in the middle.  The traditional whoopie pie is made with two soft drop style chocolate cookies with a vanilla creme filling.  Jam sandwich cookies are frequently made with a rolled and cut shortbread

6.  No Bake Cookies

No bake cookies are quick and easy and perfect for a hot day when you don’t want to fire up the oven.  No bake cookies are usually a cross between candy and cookie and are usually fall into molded or bar cookie sub categories.  Some no bake cookies such as chocolate peanut butter  are molded into balls while others such as the famous Rice Krispies Treats are pressed into a pan and cut into bars.

7. Refrigerator Cookies or Ice Box Cookies

Refrigerator cookies, otherwise known as ice box cookies are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated in a log and then sliced into round cookies.  Shortbread is one of the most popular ice box cookies.

8. Pressed Cookies
Pressed cookies are one of the least common cookies made from home as they require a special tool to create. Pressed cookies are made from soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press (cookie gun) or pastry tube into various decorative shapes much like cake decorating with frosting.  Spritz cookies and butter cookies are good examples of pressed cookies.