Two Dozen Of Our Most Popular Types Of Cookies

Snickerdoodles

Rolled in cinnamon sugar before going into the oven, these tender cookies get their signature soft, chewy texture from an added secret ingredient: Cream of tartar. The origin of this cookie's name is debated; some believe it's whimsical nonsense, meanwhile The Joy of Cooking claims the name is derived from the German word Schneckennudel or Schnecken, which is a German cinnamon bun dessert.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the cookie you likely picture when someone says the word cookie. The American staple turns 85-years-old this year, and was originally invented by Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts. According to The New Yorker, "The recipe, which has been tweaked over the ensuing decades, made its first appearance in print in the 1938 edition of Wakefield’s Tried and True cookbook." Both the cookie and Toll House name was sold to Nestle in 1939 (for only one dollar!), and the rest is history. Today, there are countless recipes for the cookie, some soft, others crisp, but the Toll House recipe is still considered the standard.

Frosted Sugar Cookies

Synonymous with Christmas, sugar cookies are one of the most versatile cookies. From crisp cutouts decorated in royal icing, to soft and cakey sugar cookies, or even sugar cookies bars, the simple vanilla dough is a blank canvas for all sorts of designs and flavors.

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies get a bad rap. The soft and chewy cookie, loaded with rolled oats, is the definition of comfort. If you can't stand raisins, other dried fruits such as cherries, cranberries, or dates can all be used instead. And if dried fruit isn't for you, chocolate chips are always a great addition. However you choose to customize them, don't sleep on this classic but often maligned cookie.

Pistachio Shortbread

Shortbread gets its name from how short (another way to say crumbly) the cookie is. That super crumbly texture is thanks to a high proportion of fat in the dough, most often butter. The simplest of shortbread recipes can contain as little as three ingredients: Sugar, flour, and butter (preferably salted). Then from there you can add a variety of mix-ins, like chocolate chips or chopped nuts.

Peanut Butter Cookies

The popular nut butter is a baking must-have. Swirled into brownies, or whipped into a frosting, it lends baked goods a sweet and nutty flavor that pairs particularly well with chocolate. Peanut butter also doesn't require much to turn it into a soft, pillowy cookie. Often, you don't even need to use flour to turn peanut butter into cookies, making it a great gluten-free option. Just mix it with an egg, sugar, and vanilla, and bake. The signature look of the cookie features a crosshatch pattern made by pressing fork tines into the dough before baking, but you can style them however you please.

Gingersnap Cookies

Ginger cookies represent a broad swath of cookies, from crisp gingersnaps to soft and chewy ginger molasses cookies. The warm spiced cookies, no matter the texture, typically feature ground ginger, and sometimes freshly grated ginger, for added zing. The cookies also tend to use brown sugar and/or molasses instead of granulated sugar, and can include other warm baking spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Whoopie Pies

Whoopie pies are a special class of cookie sandwich featuring soft, cakey cookies held together with plenty of marshmallow fluff or buttercream in the middle. Originating in Amish communities in the Northeast, the first iterations of the cookie are believed to have been made using leftover cake batter. The classic version features chocolate cookies with marshmallow, but all sorts of flavor variations exist today, from red velvet to eggnog.

Biscotti

This Italian cookie is frequently accompanied by coffee, which many dip the crisp cookie into. Biscotti's signature texture is thanks to the cookie being twice baked, once as a log of dough, and then again after it has been sliced. (Biscotti actually translates to 'twice-cooked' in Italian.) The second trip to the oven helps dry out the cookie, which is typically sliced on a diagonal into long pointed strips.

Butter Cookies

Similar to shortbread, but typically more crisp, butter cookies as the name alludes, are made with plenty of butter. They're fairly simple cookies, consisting of not much more than flour, sugar, vanilla, and butter, but many recipes add mix-ins and decorate them with glazes or frostings.

Spritz Cookies

A staple of Christmas cookie tins, Spritz are a type of butter cookie formed using a cookie press. The crisp, intricately designed cookies are common across many parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. The simple cookie can be dressed up with sprinkles or food coloring in the dough. You can also create chocolate Spritz dough by swapping some of the flour for cocoa powder.

Thumbprint Cookies

Named for the thumb-sized indent in the center, these cookies are a holiday standard. Frequently filled with jam, thumbprints are also filled with icings, curds, or melted chocolate. The cookie base can be kept plain, or can be rolled in chopped nuts, flaked coconut, or sprinkles. For a super Southern spin, try our recipe for thumbprints rolled in benne seeds.

Crinkle Cookies

The crackled effect on these soft cookies looks impressive, but is simply the result of rolling the dough in powdered sugar before baking. Texturally, crinkle cookies are cakey, with lightly crisp edges and a soft, fudgey center. Chocolate is a popular base flavor, but red velvet and lemon are popular as well.

Gingerbread Cookies

The classic cookie is so sturdy and crisp it forms the base of our amateur architecture projects each winter. Gingerbread houses can be held together with only icing and candy thanks to the molasses-laden cookie dough enriched with warm spices. Even when only used to make gingerbread men, or other cutout cookies, you know these cookies will travel well in cookies tins, whether in the car or via mail to family members across the country.

Macaroons

This is a cookie for the coconut lovers since shredded coconut makes up the bulk of the dough. The only other ingredients in the mix are sugar or sweetened condensed milk, egg whites to bind everything together, and salt, vanilla, and almond extract for flavor. Some variations dip the cookies in chocolate, but you can decorate them however you please. Since the cookie doesn't use flour, it has become a go-to dessert for those observing Passover each year.

Linzer Cookies

These sandwich cookies are a twist on the Austrian linzer torte. The classic torte crust is a buttery base made using ground nuts, often almonds or hazelnuts, which is why Linzer cookie dough is typically a butter dough with nuts. The torte filling traditionally included jam, which gets incorporated into the cookie in the form of a jam filling, which can be seen peeking out through a cutout in the top cookie. Although many Linzer cookies swap out the jam for other tasty fillings like lemon curd or caramel.

Snowball Cookies

Also known as Russian tea cakes, these powdered sugar-covered butter cookies are essentially a form of shortbread. Super crumbly, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, the drop cookie may use simple ingredients, but that's what allows the flavor of the nuts in the dough to shine. (Pro tip: Always toast the nuts before adding them to the dough for extra flavor.)

Tassies

Tassies aren't exactly cookies, but they're also not, not cookies. A cross between a shortbread cookie and pecan pie, the two-bite treat is made with a cream cheese cookie dough. The cookie crust is contrasted by a sweeter, gooey filling, whether pecan (the traditional flavor), chocolate, or even Key lime.

Pinwheel Cookies

Aren't these cookies mesmerizing? Pinwheels are a simple sugar cookie dough taken to new levels. Using food coloring or chocolate, the dough is split into two contrasting colors and then layered together and sliced to create a spiral effect. The slice and bake cookie is incredibly easy to assemble despite the impressive presentation. The dough can be finished with sprinkles or kept plain, and you can also add baking extracts to create fun flavor combos like chocolate peppermint or coconut pinwheels.

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/christmas-pinwheel-cookies

Chocolate Cookies

Fudgy or crispy, drop cookies or cutout, chocolate cookies in some form are always in the cookie jar. Easily made flourless, and enhanced by the addition of instant espresso powder, chocolate cookies are versatile in much the same way sugar cookies are. A base chocolate dough can be combined with all sorts of complimentary flavors, from orange to bourbon, or even peanut butter.

Bourbon Balls

Are bourbon balls cookies? Kind of. They're traditionally made from store-bought cookies, like vanilla wafer cookies, which combined with corn syrup and bourbon forms a no-bake treat. You can swap out the bourbon for your favorite spirit of choice, but don't skip the alcohol all together as it helps moisten the dry ingredients to form a cohesive dough.

Sandwich Cookies

What's better than one cookie? Two cookies sandwiched together with frosting. Whether soft sugar cookies or chewy chocolate cookies, a sandwich cookie is a loosely defined format where two cookies hold a soft filling, typically frosting, together. This cookie category includes everything from an Oreo to oatmeal cream pies.

Cake Mix Cookies

For super soft, fluffy cookies turn to cake mix. Starting with cake mix is a clever shortcut that not only speeds up the baking progress, but yields a cookie with an extra supple texture. Often made with oil just like cake mix, these cookies stay soft and moist for longer than other cookies as well.

Cornflake Cookies

If ever there was a cookie that catered to every single one of your cravings, this would be the recipe. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy cornflake cookies are easy to make, fun for kids to help bake, and the first recipe to go at every potluck, picnic, or bake sale.