Cookies

About

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat-baked treat, containing milk, flour, eggs, and sugar, etc. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have different meanings—a cookie is a plain bun in Scotland, while in the United States a biscuit is a kind of quick bread similar to a scone.

Its name derives from the Dutch word koekje or (informal) koekie which means little cake, and arrived in the English language through the Dutch in North America.

Cookies are most commonly baked until crisp or just long enough that they remain soft, but some kinds of cookies are not baked at all. Cookies are made in a wide variety of styles, using an array of ingredients including sugars, spices, chocolate, butter, peanut butter, nuts or dried fruits. The softness of the cookie may depend on how long it is baked.

Cookie-like hard wafers have existed for as long as baking is documented, in part because they deal with travel very well, but they were usually not sweet enough to be considered cookies, by modern standards.

Information

Other names: Biscuits

Translations: Cepumi, Sausainiai, Cookie-urile, Koekjes, कुकीज़, Bolinhos, Печенье, Μπισκότα, الكوكيز, 쿠키, Sušenky, Cookie, 饼干, Galetes, Piškotki, Sušienky, Biscotti, עוגיות, Колачићи, クッキー, Kekse, Småkager, Galletas, Печиво, Evästeet

Physical Description

Cookies can be any shape, size, color and flavor. Cookies are broadly classified according to how they are formed, including at least these categories:

* Drop cookies are made from a relatively soft dough that is dropped by spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. During baking, the mounds of dough spread and flatten. Chocolate chip cookies (Toll House cookies), oatmeal (or oatmeal raisin) cookies and rock cakes are popular examples of drop cookies.

* Refrigerator cookies are made from a stiff dough that is refrigerated to become even stiffer. The dough is typically shaped into cylinders which are sliced into round cookies before baking.

* Molded cookies are also made from a stiffer dough that is molded into balls or cookie shapes by hand before baking. Snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies are examples of molded cookies.

* Rolled cookies are made from a stiffer dough that is rolled out and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Gingerbread men are an example.

* Pressed cookies are made from a soft dough that is extruded from a cookie press into various decorative shapes before baking. Spritzgebäck are an example of a pressed cookie.

* Bar cookies consist of batter or other ingredients that are poured or pressed into a pan (sometimes in multiple layers), and cut into cookie-sized pieces after baking. Brownies are an example of a batter-type bar cookie, while Rice Krispie treats are a bar cookie that doesn't require baking, perhaps similar to a cereal bar. In British English, bar cookies are known as "tray bakes".

* Sandwich cookies are rolled or pressed cookies that are assembled as a sandwich with a sweet filling. Fillings may be with marshmallow, jam, or icing. The Oreo cookie, made of two chocolate cookies with a vanilla icing filling is an example.

* Cookies also may be decorated with an icing, especially chocolate, and closely resemble a type of confectionery.

Colors: generally golden brown

Tasting Notes

Flavors: sweet, savory

Mouthfeel: Crunchy, Crisp, Sweet, Savory

Food complements: Fruit, Desserts, Jello, Chives, Pineapple, Lasagna

Wine complements: Red wine, Cabernet savignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, White wine

Beverage complements: Milk, Coffee, Hot chocolate

Substitutes: Cake, Crackers

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Peak: november, december

Choosing: Choose a cookie whose flavor sparks your interest.

Buying: Cookies should be made in your home not purchased somewhere else. The only exceptions are the cookies sold at farmer's markets that were made in someone elses home. Store bought cookies are full of bad things.

Preparation and Use

Cleaning: Not necessary.

Conserving and Storing

Store in an airtight container.

Social/Political

Cookies can range in size, shape and flavor, however every region and country has cookies that features the flavors and texture that are specific to it's culture and people.

History: Cookies appear to have their origins in 7th century AD Persia, shortly after the use of sugar became relatively common in the region. They spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. By the 14th century, they were common in all levels of society, throughout Europe, from royal cuisine to street vendors.

With global travel becoming widespread at that time, cookies made a natural travel companion, a modernized equivalent of the travel cakes used throughout history. One of the most popular early cookies, which traveled especially well and became known on every continent by similar names, was the jumble, a relatively hard cookie made largely from nuts, sweetener, and water.

Cookies came to America in the early English settlement (the 1600s), although the name "koekje" arrived with the Dutch. This became Anglicized to "cookie" or cooky. Among the popular early American cookies were the macaroon, gingerbread cookies, and of course jumbles of various types.

The most common modern cookie, given its style by the creaming of butter and sugar, was not common until the 18th century.

Author

Chap James Day

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