All About Cookies, Bars and Brownies

Cookies

Cookies are a wonderful way to learn about baking or to become reacquainted with the joys of making treats from scratch. Choose a recipe to suit a special occasion or one just right for everyday snacking. The basics are easy and the results are delightful.

Kinds of Cookies:

Cutout: Made from stiff dough, these cookies are rolled into a thin or thick sheet. The rolled dough can be cut into just about any shape with a cookie cutter or with a sharp knife and pattern.

Drop: One of the easiest cookies to make, drop cookies are made from softer dough that is dropped from a spoon in mounds onto a cookie sheet.

Molded, Shaped and Pressed: To make these cookies, stiff dough is molded into shapes such as crescents, logs or balls. They can be pressed flat with a fork or the bottom of a glass. Cookies can also be made using a cookie press or gun.

Sliced: Also known as refrigerator cookies, these are made from stiff dough that is shaped into a long, smooth roll and chilled. To bake, slices are cut from the roll. These cookies can be either thin and crisp or thick and crunchy.

Bars and Brownies

Bars: Bars are made from soft dough that is spread in a pan. They can be layered or filled, chewy or crisp.

Brownies: Brownies are soft and chewy; they can be made in a wide variety of flavors.

Secrets to Successful Baking
Secrets for Cookies
Secrets for Bar Cookies and Brownies
How to Tell When Cookies, Bars, and Brownies are Done
Giving Cookies as Gifts