Cookies are one of the easiest sweet dishes and are loved b all from 6 to 60. Rather for a beginner cookies are the stepping stones to learn elaborate and sophisticated cooking. There are actually six main kinds of cookies that are prepared worldwide and each of it has its own unique preparation style. Here are the six types with their special features listed. You will also find a new type of cookie and a few tips that will help you while making and baking these cookies.
Molded Cookies
Molded cookies are generally prepared round in shape which is done by rolling the dough into balls with the palms. Then it is rolled out with a fork just the way it is done in peanut butter cookies.
Tip: To avoid the dough from sticking to the utensil or your hand, make sure you have them gently dusted with flour or sugar.
Dropped Cookies
Dropped cookies are cookies that need very little effort and no mastery. These types of cookies are made by simply dropping a teaspoonful of soft dough on a cookie sheet. The dough is dropped close to other cookies but one should make sure that there is enough space for the cookies to spread. The general principle is 2 inches between two cookies.
Tip: If you wish to make this cookie consistent in size then try using the cookie scoop.
Rolled Cookies
The dough used for rolled cookies (also known as the cut out cookies) is often firm. Firstly, the stiff dough is rolled out on a finely dusted board. Then, it is cut into the desired number of pieces and shapes with the help of a knife or cookie cutters. To make the process easy, you can use a portion of the dough at a time.
Tip: The lesser the flour the softer the cookie dough will be. Depending on the type of output you desire toll the cookies into thicker or thinner spreads as thicker cookies are soft and easy to chew and on the other hand thinner cookies turn out to be crispier.
Pressed Cookies
Pressed cookies are made using a cookie press, very similar to spritz cookies. The trick is with the dough. It should be decently soft to fit into the cookie press process and on the other hand it should be firm enough to get its shape!
Tip: If you have softer dough, store it in a refrigerator for a while and if your dough is too hard then add an egg yolk to make it ample soft.
Refrigerator Cookies
Refrigerator cookies are also popularly called sliced cookies. The cookie preparation involves rolling the dough into a thick bar. Then, the dough is refrigerated till it is ready to be baked. You can even store the dough for a week before you are ready to bake it. Once it is completely chilled, the dough is sliced into thin pieces and after that is set to bake.
Tip: To prevent the dough from absorbing odors from the refrigerator, nicely wrap the dough in a silver foil.
Bar Cookies
Bar cookie or square cookie is a softer variety of cookies that is very similar to cakes. Brownies are the best examples for bar cookies. You can either go for the crispy variety or for chewy ones. They can also be found in layers or with fills. These cookies are baked in a pan that has sides. It is very important to use the right size of pan to get well baked bar cookies. After baking these cake-like cookies are sliced into squares.
Tip: Hot cookies break easily. So, cut it into squares after it cools down completely.
No Bake Cookies
No bake cookies as the name suggests dont have to be baked in an oven. Actually these are not a type of cookies. These are generally stuffed and are similar to candies. The best example of this variety is the no bake chocolate oatmeal cookie. The preparation is more like preparing candies which uses a double boiler and a candy thermometer.
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