The Fearless Baker

Mixing Info

Different types of cookies call for different mixing methods, from blending (brownies and tuiles) to creaming (chocolate chip and oatmeal) to variations on foaming (meringues and macarons). But with any method (see Mixing Info for the basics on mixing), it is essential to mix just enough to incorporate all of the ingredients evenly, without overdoing it.

1. It’s important to scrape down the bowl as you go. Many cookie recipes have only a few ingredients, and you want to make sure they are uniformly combined. This applies especially to inclusions—you know, the yummy stuff you add at the end: chunks of chocolate, a swirl of caramel, a handful of toasty nuts, and so on. Here are two tips for success when incorporating inclusions:

• If you are working with a stiff dough, lift it out of the bowl and sprinkle half the inclusions into the empty bowl. Then put the dough back in the bowl and sprinkle the remaining inclusions on top. That way, you’ve started the distribution before you even turn your mixer back on.

• For a loose batter, you may want to toss the inclusions with a small amount of the flour (2 teaspoons per 1 cup inclusions). This will help keep them suspended and evenly distributed in the batter, rather than clumped together at the bottom.

2. Take care not to overmix the dough. You want to mix well enough to fully incorporate all the ingredients, but not so much that you overwork the dough. Cookies are all about tenderness, whether it’s a soft and chewy sugar cookie or a crispy, crunchy gingersnap. As with all flour-based baked goods, gluten forms during mixing, and prolonged mixing means longer gluten strands, which, in turn, mean tougher cookies.

Types of Cookies

Drop Cookies

Drop cookies are one of the most common types of cookies. Think popular standbys like chocolate chip, oatmeal, and peanut butter. Usually made from creamed batters, they are so named because the dough is scooped and dropped onto baking sheets for baking. They are some of my favorite cookies because of how quickly they can be thrown together.

My Advice: Drop cookies are perfect for dressing up. Consider unusual combinations of inclusions—crumbled pretzels in peanut butter cookie dough or chopped chocolate–covered espresso beans in Flourless Cocoa Cookies. Or try adding another component entirely—I love making drop cookies into sandwich cookies by adding a scoop of ice cream, a spread of Salted Caramel Sauce, or a hefty dollop of Dark Chocolate Italian Buttercream.

Cut-Out Cookies

Cut-out cookies are cut from a stiff dough that is rolled out to an even thickness. They can be any shape your little heart desires and are often decorated with icing.

My Advice: Whenever you roll out a dough, it’s best to use as little flour as possible. Any flour you throw onto your surface is going to be incorporated into the dough as you roll, and too much flour can make a dough dry and harder to roll out without cracking. Too much flour can also make your finished cookies tough. If you have trouble with your dough sticking, try rolling it out between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap—I don’t love doing this, because the sheets often bunch up and leave dents or lines in the dough, but the technique does come in handy for stickier doughs.

Also, if you’re using a cookie cutter that has a lot of intricate details (an elaborate snowflake, for instance), I recommend rolling out the dough, transferring it to a baking sheet, and chilling the dough on the baking sheet before cutting out the cookies. Then chill the cut-out dough again before baking, so those details stay sharp.

Pro Tip: Scooping Cookie Dough

I love cookie scoops. They make my cookies almost perfectly even every time, with minimal effort and no more cleanup than if I’d used the old two-spoon method. The most useful sizes are: #16 / ¼ cup (57 g), #30 / 2 tablespoons (28 g), #60 / 1 tablespoon (14 g). But if you’re scoopless, never fear—I provide volume equivalents in every recipe. My advice if you’re scoopless: Carefully measure out the first mound of dough, then eyeball the others to make them look like that first one. You can also do this with a scale, if you’re so inclined.

Icebox Cookies

Icebox cookies are made from a stiff dough that’s formed into a log, refrigerated or frozen, and then sliced into rounds. If you keep a log or two in your freezer, you can make freshly baked cookies at the drop of a hat. This is especially great for those times (cough, cough . . . holidays) when you need to make a lot of cookies.

My Advice: I learned a snazzy trick for getting an even log in no time at one of my very first bakery jobs. You need a big piece of parchment and a bench knife (or dough scraper; if you don’t have one of these, you can use the blade of a long offset spatula). Position the paper so a long side faces you, plop the dough onto the parchment, and form it into a rough log shape along that long side. (If the dough is very dry, lightly wet your hands to shape it; if the dough is very sticky, flour your hands.) Fold the parchment closest to you over the log. Press the bench knife firmly into the crease made by the paper folded over the log while pulling the parchment taut. Through the magic of pressure, the log will become smooth and even.

Shaped Cookies

Shaped cookies are formed in various ways:

Piped cookies (e.g., spritz cookies) are generally made from relatively stiff doughs that will hold their shape when piped and baked. Some doughs used for piped cookies are not stiff but are sturdy enough that they don’t lose definition when exposed to heat (e.g., Meringues).

Molded and stamped cookies include those made from thin batters piped into molds (such as Madeleines), and from stiffer doughs pressed into molds or shaped with stamps.

Sliced cookies, like biscotti, are baked twice, first as a log of dough, and then sliced and baked again. I love their long shelf life—they’re meant to be dry and they don’t stale during storage, so you can keep them on hand for coffeetime, anytime.

My Advice: Many of the cookies in this category look super-impressive even though they are beyond easy to make. Buy a nice mold or cookie stamp for your new signature cookie, and you can focus on finishing it in a pretty way (or leave it plain). These cookies are wonderful for finishing touches like a drizzle of, or dunk into, melted chocolate, which turns them into something even more special.

Stuffing Drop Cookies

There’s nothing like a cookie with a surprise inside, which is why I adore stuffing drop cookies with different ingredients. The doughs are firm enough to stuff before baking, and the spreading that occurs in the oven takes care of the rest. To stuff a cookie, scoop a portion of dough onto a prepared baking sheet, make a well in the center with your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon, and place the stuffing inside the cavity. Rather than trying to close the opening, scoop a small amount of additional dough on top and press down lightly to make sure it’s sealed. If the dough is firm enough, you can pick the cookie up and roll it gently between your hands to help seal it, then return it to the baking sheet and press down to flatten it slightly.

I like to stuff cookies with mini marshmallows, small squares of chocolate, caramels, sprinkles, chopped candy, nut butters, cream cheese, or even another cookie dough.

Sandwich Cookies

Sandwich cookies are a beautiful thing. They can be made with either drop or cut-out cookies, but choose a recipe for a cookie that’s on the softer side. Crisp cookies will shatter when bitten into, causing the filling to splooge out the back of the cookie—not good. Be sure to use a filling that can handle the weight of the top cookie. Jam or jelly makes a great filling, but it may need to be boiled down or otherwise thickened, or it may run out the edges when you sandwich it. But thinner/looser fillings can be used without thickening, as long as they are spread in a very thin layer (think linzer cookies). For more substantial fillings, I often use the same scoop that I used to shape the cookies to fill them.

For the classic look, place the filling in the center of an overturned cookie, place another cookie on top, and apply steady pressure until the filling flows out to the edges. You can stop there or, for a sharp look, continue applying pressure until the filling goes just beyond the edges, then smooth the filling all around the cookie with an offset spatula.

All of these make great sandwich cookie fillings: American Buttercream, Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting, Dark Chocolate Italian Buttercream, or just about any kind of frosting, really; Whipped Ganache; Caramel Pudding Buttercream or dulce de leche; marshmallow crème; nut butters; thickened jams/jellies/preserves/marmalade; Lemon Curd Buttercream; and, of course, ice cream.

Bar Cookies

Bar cookies are ten kinds of wonderful. They are easy to make and easy to shape (just pour the batter into the pan), and the batters can be layered to create a ton of amazing flavor combos. The only slightly tricky part is determining doneness. And once they’re baked, you can portion them however you wish (i.e., one huge one for now and a bunch of tiny ones for later).

My Advice: A bar cookie with multiple layers is impressive. I start by thinking about flavor, texture, and color and then use one of my favorite recipes to make a whole new, killer recipe.

• Flavor: Think about the base first: A layer of salty caramel might make your shortbread bar sing. A topping of tart rhubarb glaze will take those cheesecake bars to a whole new level. When in doubt, take flavor cues from classic combos like turtle, black forest, or German chocolate, and so on.

• Texture: You can go two ways: contrasting or melding. If you’re starting with a chewy base, like a brownie, you may want to top it with a smooth second layer, then maybe add something for a little crunch. Alternatively, go for three layers that are texturally similar, so that every bite is about the melding of the flavors of the components.

• Color: I am a big fan of the contrasting bar cookie: a brown sugar crust topped with bright lemon curd, or a pale blondie sporting a dark chocolate top layer. But they don’t necessarily have to be contrasting—chocolate on chocolate on chocolate never hurt anybody, after all!

Pro Tip: How to Line a Bar Cookie Pan

Sometimes the hardest part about bar cookies is wondering if they’ll come out of the pan cleanly so you can get nice slices. Here’s what I do:

• Spray the pan lightly with nonstick spray—make sure to get into the corners. Line it with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a 1- to 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides of the pan to serve as handles for removing the baked bar.

• Use scissors to make a cut in the parchment in each corner of the pan, cutting all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Press the parchment down to adhere the paper to the spray coating and boom: The cut corners will become flush and overlap at the corners of the pan cleanly. You may have to spray the back of each cut edge so it adheres to the other edge and doesn’t droop.

Glazing Cookies or Bars

In reality, you can glaze almost any cookie, but I especially love to do this with thin cookies (like cut-out cookies), cookies with texture (e.g., molded or stamped cookies), or bar cookies. Cookies must be completely cooled before they are glazed. They can be glazed in any of the following ways:

Drizzle: Use a thin or thick icing (see sidebar) for drizzling, depending on what you’re going for. The best way to get an even drizzle is to use a pastry bag—I use disposable ones—either with a small opening cut in the tip or fitted with a pastry tip. Arrange the cookies on a piece of parchment paper; you only need to allow a small amount of space between them. Then drizzle with the icing by moving the pastry bag back and forth in a line (either straight or on a diagonal) across the cookies. Generally, the faster you move, the thinner the drizzle, although the size of the opening in the pastry bag or of the tip will also affect this. Then let the cookies sit at room temperature until the glaze sets.

Dunk: Cookies can be dunked in the icing (oh, yeah!). If you use a thin icing, it will probably run down the sides of the cookies. A thicker icing will stay on the surface. Hold each cookie by the base, using your thumb and forefinger, position the cookie over the icing, and then dunk the surface of the cookie. Remove the cookie from the glaze and hold it above the bowl for a few moments to allow the excess to drip off, then turn the cookie over onto a piece of parchment. Let them stand at room temperature until the glaze sets.

Enrobe: Thin icing is best for enrobing a cookie—it will coat the cookie evenly because the excess will run down the sides. Small, thin cookies can be dunked into the glaze. One at a time, drop each cookie into the glaze, top side down, then use a small offset spatula to turn the cookie over and, using the spatula, hold the cookie above the glaze for a few seconds, allowing the excess to drip off. Transfer to a piece of parchment and let stand at room temperature until the glaze is set.

Thin or Thick Glazes

Glazes and icings can be made in various consistencies to produce very different results. It’s important to match the icing to the task at hand.

Thick: A thick glaze/icing is firm enough to hold its shape when piped, so it should hold a stiff peak after it is mixed. A thick glaze is best for more detailed decor because it’s firm and will give you control while you work.

Medium: A medium glaze/icing will be about as thick as buttercream. It should be firm enough to hold its shape when piped, though it may collapse onto itself and/or spread a little. It should hold a peak for a moment, then slowly fold over onto itself but still maintain the approximate shape. Medium-thick glazes/icings are multipurpose and can be piped, drizzled, or spread.

Thin: If you dip a spoon into a thin glaze/icing and hold it above the bowl, the glaze will first form a line on the surface and then be reabsorbed into the rest of the glaze. Thin icing is used for flooding (a technique that entails piping a firm icing around the edge of a cookie and then filling it with a thinner icing to make a smooth, lightly glossy finish) and for enrobing cookies.