Cookie

cookies and cupcakes

For many people the smell of fresh baked cookies is the smell of home and happy celebrations. They are treats. In many parts of the world, they are called "biscuits". But in Canada and the U.S. biscuit refers to an individual serving size bread, usually raised by chemical reaction (like baking soda) instead of yeast.

They are usually stored in cookie jars to keep them from becoming stale quickly and to protect them from pests.

According to the Dessert wikia, cookies fall into six different types: drop, bar, molded, pressed, refrigerator and rolled cookies.

Cookies are relatively easy to bake. Some common types are sugar cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter and ginger snaps. Most cookie's ingredients are flour, sugar, some leavening (salt, baking soda or baking powder), butter or oil, milk and then whatever spice or flavoring that defines that type of cookie. Most are relatively flat and circular -- under 3 inches around, although it's popular for commercially baked cookies to be larger. And they cook relatively quickly -- often 7-15 minutes in an oven at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cookies are usually denser and crunchier than cake or cupcakes, but sometimes they are "gooey". Like other desserts, they may be decorated with frosting, icing, "sprinkles" or a dusting of sugar.

Recipe

Basic cookie

Varying amounts and proportions of butter, flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon flavoring, baking powder, salt. Roughly:

• 1/2 cup soft butter (1 stick at room temperature) some use oil or margarine instead
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (may use powdered or brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon extract or flavoring, may also use almond extract, cinnamon or ginger instead, or 8 oz of chocolate chips, nuts and/or raisins
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat over to 350F.
2. Blend butter (or oil) with sugar.
3. Add in and blend other liquids.
4. Blend the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking power and salt in a separate bowl. (This prevents having lumps or uneven distribution of the leavening ingredients.)
5. Either put small balls of dough (about 2" in diameter) on a cookie sheet or roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to cut it into the desired shapes to put onto the cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden (just short of browning).
7. Cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Related Phrases

From quotegarden.com[1]:

• Cookies are made of butter and love. ~Norwegian Proverb
• A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. ~Author Unknown

"Caught with a hand in the cookie jar" means caught in the act, as in a child caught taking a cookie when he or she wasn't supposed to have one.

"The way the cookie crumbles" is the way things happen, something relatively uncontrollable.

"Cookie cutter" indicates repeated, similar items -- often derogatory when used about things other than cookies.

"The Vice-Presidency is sort of like the last cookie on the plate. Everybody insists he won't take it, but somebody always does." - Bill Vaughan (quoted on brainyquote.com[2])

And the Cookie Monster is one of the much loved Sesame Street character.

Cookie Monster

Related

baking cake cupcake

party dessert candy

ingredient recipe

See the article on cookie on the desserts wikia.

External links

Recipe sites

• cookie article on the recipe wikia
• http://www.cookie-recipes.net/
• allrecipes.com on Our Favorite Cookie Recipes
• Wikipedia's article on cookie

• a search for recipes for cookies on epicurious.com
• cookie recipes on simplyrecipes.com