Cookies as we know them fall into four basic categories based on the way they are made, according to Chef Richard J, Coppedge, Jr. certified master baker, professor in baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America:
Cookie Categories
Drop cookies
Also known as icebox cookies, drop cookies are made from a sticky dough that patient people refrigerate before baking, Coppedge explains. They can be scooped and dropped onto the baking sheet, no shaping required. While chilling helps cool the fat to increase fluff and height, expect drop cookies to spread fairly substantially, a product of sugar and fat.
Piped cookies
Made by squeezing dough through a cookie press, spritz cookies fall into this category. “They spread a little but hold their shape well,” Coppedge says.
Roll-out cookies
Cookie cutters are made for roll-out cookies, which are typically made from a 1-2-3 dough, that is, one part sugar, two parts fat, and three parts flour, Coppedge says. While binders such as milk or egg may also be included in roll-out cookie recipes, the result tends to be a firm but tender dough that holds its shape quite nicely.
Not-quite-cookies
Some specialty cookies technically fall into “cake” or “other” territory due to the way the batter is made. While we see you for what you are, rainbow cookies, most people still classify such ambiguous handheld treats as cookies, so we’ll include them on our list.
30 Types of Cookies
If there’s one common thread in every cookie we list below, this is it: They are full of sugar and often, fat, which is why they taste so good, Coppedge says. Here is an expansive list that will almost certainly make you drool, inspire you to dust off your mixer, or send you sprinting down the cookie aisle of the closest grocery store.
Black and White Cookies
Technically a drop cake made from vanilla cake batter baked in rounds on a cookie sheet, this delicacy is credited to Manhattan’s Glaser’s Bake Shop, which was owned by Bavarian immigrants who brought the recipe to town. The treat is flipped after baking and covered with black and white fondant icing. Try our favorite black and white cookie recipe.
Biscotti
Made from a firm dough that’s rolled out and baked as log, then sliced on a bias, rotated, and baked again, biscotti can be traced back to 14th-century Tuscany, where bakers set out to remove the moisture that led to mold. As such, biscotti is a hard cookie. Try our favorite biscotti recipe.
Butter Cookies
Technically all cookies made with butter are butter cookies. (Duh!) “They’re like sugar cookies but they aren’t garnished with sugar,” Coppedge says, adding that butter cookies can be dropped, pipped, or rolled out.
Chocolate Chip
While it’s hard to believe there was ever a time when ye ol’ chocolate cookies did not exist, the recipe dates back to the 1930s when it was introduced at Toll House restaurant in Massachusetts. “They get a lot of fat and sugar from the chocolate chips so they spread a lot,” Coppedge says. Try our favorite chocolate chip cookies recipe.
Crinkle Cookies
These confectioners’ sugar-covered chocolate cookies get their namesake texture when they spread, creating a cratered surface thanks to the reaction between sugar and other ingredients, Coppedge says. Try our favorite crinkle cookie recipe.
Fortune Cookies
With roots that date back to Kyoto, Japan in the 1870s, fortune cookies are made from a sugary pancake-like batter baked on a metal disk akin to a flat waffle iron, Coppedge says. The cookies are folded while warm, when a small strip of paper bearing a fortune is slipped inside. Try our favorite fortune cookie recipe.
Gingerbread Cookies
Easily the oldest cookie on this list, gingerbread first popped up in Western Europe during the 11th century. “The sugar hardens to create a nice, crispy snap,” Coppedge says of the firm cookies, which can also be made with the chemical leavener ammonium bicarbonate to add tenderness to the dough. Try our favorite gingerbread cookie recipe.
Hamantaschen
Named after “Haman,” the villain of the Jewish story of Purim, and “tash” which translates to pocket, hamantaschen is made from a disk-shaped piece of dough that is topped with a poppy seed mixture or jam, then pinched in three places to create a triangle-like cookie. “Good jam is the key to bringing moisture back into the dough,” Coppedge says.
Linzer Cookies
Allegedly named after a tort that originated from the Austrian city of Linz, these shortbread-style, roll-out sandwich cookies are a vessel for raspberry or apricot jam: The bottom cookie is a round disk and the top is a ring; the sugar from the jam sweetens and tenderizes the dough, Coppedge says. Try our favorite linzer cookie recipe.
Lofthouse Cookies
These cakey cookies are covered in pink buttercream frosting and topped with colored sprinkles. While commonly purchased at the grocery store, copycat recipes can seriously hit the spot.
Macaron
Sugar, egg whites, and almond flour come together in this lightweight melt-away cookie that can be baked or dried, then sandwiched around ganache or buttercream. Food coloring lends an Instagramable air that put macarons on the map about a decade ago, Coppedge says: “The color and flavor are what draw people in.”
Macaroons
Different from French or Italian macarons, these unleavened, flour-free coconut cookies are traditionally served during Passover. Made from desiccated coconut and egg whites, they’re sometimes garnished with melted chocolate because, yum! Learn how to make macaron here!
Meringue
An airy cookie is typically made from 2 parts sugar and 1 part egg whites, meringues can be baked or dried, no oven needed. To eliminate the risk of salmonella, heating is ideal: For instance, Swiss meringues are warmed over a simmering water bath to render the egg whites safe to eat, Coppedge says. Try our favorite meringue cookie recipe.
Milanos
First sold by Pepperidge Farm in the late 1950s, these vanilla wafer cookies sandwich a layer of dark chocolate and are said to be native to Naples.
Oatmeal
Similar to chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookie recipes replace some flour with rolled or cooked oats to both amp up fiber and enhance texture. Raisins typically stand in for chocolate chips in oatmeal cookies, which can also contain some molasses or cinnamon notes. “Chill the dough in the fridge before baking to firm the dough for a more cakey consistency,” Coppedge says. Try our favorite oatmeal cookie recipe.
Oreos
These packaged cookies need no introduction: Two chocolate wafers form a creme-filling sandwich in this iconic cookie that’s perfect for dunking in milk. Rather than recreate Oreos, we prefer to adorn them. Try our favorite no-bake-dipped Oreo cookie recipe.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter replaces some of the butter in these rich and nutty drop cookies. While they’re baked, Coppedge says they basically “fry themselves,” a reference to their high-fat content. “You’ll also get a little more spread with peanut butter cookies because they contain more fat.” Try our favorite peanut butter cookie recipe.
Pinwheel Cookies
Food historians trace pinwheel cookies back to the 1930s. Made from tinted sugar cookie dough rolled out into sheets, stacked, rolled into a log, then sliced, they’re all about presentation. Try our favorite pinwheel cookies recipe.
Rainbow Cookies
Essentially a bite-sized layer cake fashioned after the colors of an Italian flag, this almond-flavored cake is made with jam or marmalade ribbons and topped with a chocolate coating. Try our favorite rainbow cookies recipe.
Rugelach
These flaky Jewish pastries are made from a cream cheese-based dough that’s rolled up like a croissant or jelly roll with raspberry or apricot jam in the middle. “The cream cheese gives it a natural softness and layer of flavor,” Coppedge says. Try our favorite rugelach recipe.
Samoas
A Girl Scouts favorite, samoas are ring-shaped shortbread cookies topped with caramel and toasted coconut. They’re dipped in chocolate and drizzled in it, too—hey, more is more. If you don’t happen to know a Girl Scout, there are plenty of copycat recipes. Try our favorite Girl Scout cookie freezer cake recipe.
Shortbread
Firm and tender, shortbread is rolled out and cut into shapes. “When making shortbread, there’s not much that can go wrong as long as you don’t over mix the dough, which can affect the shape and spread,” Coppedge says. Try our favorite shortbread recipe.
Snickerdoodle
If Coppedge had to describe a snickerdoodle—and he does—he’d call it a blondie in cookie form, with a cake-batter-like texture since it begins with a wetter dough than, say, plain sugar cookies. But the cookie’s defining feature is really its flavor: The dough is rolled in cinnamon in sugar before baking. Try our favorite snickerdoodle recipe.
Snowball Cookies
Whether you call them snowball cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, or Russian tea cake cookies, powdered sugar is used instead of granulated for a dry, firm cookie dough that holds its spherical shape as it bakes. Try our favorite snowball cookie recipe.
Sprinkle Cookies
Essentially a sugar cookie with a little pizzazz, sprinkles make these decorated cookies distinct. Almost any garnished cookie qualifies. Try our favorite sprinkle cookie recipe.
Sugar Cookies
Made from a 1-2-3 dough (that is, a dough composed of one part butter, two parts sugar, and three parts flour), sugar cookies are rolled and cut, then brushed with water, milk, or egg, and sprinkled with coarse sugar. “They’ve got a little flakiness with sweetness that starts on top,” Coppedge says. Try our favorite sugar cookie recipe.
Thin Mints
This Girl Scout classic is similar to Keebler Grasshopper cookies: They’re both made of thin chocolate wafers covered in minty fudge. While recreations are overrated, applications are endless. Try our favorite recipes made with Thin Mints.
Spritz Cookie
Derived from the German word “spritzen,” which means to squirt, spritz cookies are made from dough that’s piped out of a bag onto a baking sheet using a decorative pastry tip.
Thumbprint
These butter-based cookies can be piped or scooped and dropped. Then, an indentation is made in the center using your thumb or a spoon and filled with jam, frosting, fudge or another miscellaneous delight. Try our favorite thumbprint cookie recipe.
Wafers
Paper thin and lightweight, these waffled dry cookies can be sandwiched with flavored cream filling and cut into bars or squares or used as a vessel or garnish for ice cream. Try our favorite way to use wafer cookies. Next, 200 of the best cookies.
