Cookies

A cookie is described as a thin, sweet, usually small cake. They can be prepared in myriad shapes, flavors and textures and are usually categorized by the way they are formed.

During the early part of the 18th century North Americans began to use the word 'cookie' to define a small, sweet, flat or slightly raised confection. The word 'cookie' appears to come from the Dutch word "koekje or koekie" and refers to a small cake. Alan Davidson in The Oxford Companion to Food states that "cookies were originally associated with New Year's Day....references from the early part of the 19th century show that cookies and cherry bounce (a cherry cordial) were the correct fare with which to greet visitors on that occasion."
Cookies are now eaten any time of the day - coffee breaks, as a snack, for dessert, and even given as a welcoming gift.

Cookies are one of the fastest and easiest things to make. Generally they are a simple combination of all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, granulated and/or brown sugar, eggs, baking powder/soda and flavorings. They come in many different shapes, sizes, textures and flavors. They are classified as:

• Bar - a soft batter is spread evenly into a shallow pan, baked, and cut into individual bars or pieces.
  
• Drop - a firm batter is "dropped" onto a baking sheet using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Each cookie should be of equal size and spaced evenly on baking sheet.
  
• Molded or Hand-Formed - a firm batter is shaped into balls, logs, etc. or pressed into a mold. The cookies are then placed on a baking sheet and baked.
  
• Piped or Pressed - batter is either put in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip or placed into a cookie press. The batter is then piped onto a baking sheet or pushed through the cookie press into fancy shapes and baked.
  
• Refrigerator or Icebox - batter is shaped into a log, refrigerated until firm, evenly sliced into rounds, placed on a baking sheet and baked.
  
• Rolled - a firm batter is rolled into a thin layer, shapes are then cut out using a cookie cutter, cookies are placed on a baking sheet and baked.