Cookies: Varieties, Recipes, and Preparation Techniques

Cookies : All recipes and menus

Here you’ll find all the recipes for cookies or those that include cookies as an ingredient.

Cookies are sweet or sometimes savory treats made from flour, sugar, fat, and often eggs, with textures and shapes that vary depending on the techniques and recipes used. Their history dates back several centuries, and their diversity makes them ingredients that are both enjoyable to eat on their own and extremely useful in cooking and baking.

Types of Cookies

There are several main families of cookies:

Shortbread cookies: crispy and low in moisture, such as shortbread, cookies, tea biscuits, or speculoos. Their firm texture makes them perfect for crumbling into preparations like pie crusts, cheesecake bases, or gourmet verrines.
Soft cookies: these have a tender crumb due to a higher moisture content, such as spoon cookies, financiers, or madeleines. Widely used in pastry making, they are used to make tiramisu, charlottes, or to form layers in layered cakes.
Rolled or flaky cookies: such as jam-filled rolled cookies or palmiers, which can be filled and shaped before baking. Their light, crisp texture makes them ideal for elegant presentations or for creating edible decorative elements.
Flavored or aromatic cookies: incorporating cocoa, citrus zest, spices, dried fruit, or seeds, they are often used to add flavor and contrast to layered desserts or to enrich preparations such as truffles, desserts, or ice cream.

Uses of cookies in cooking and baking

In cooking and pastry making, certain cookies serve a specific technical purpose:

Sponge cake is light and spongy, perfect for soaking and providing structure to desserts.
Shortbread cookies are often used as a base for tarts or cheesecakes.
The cookie or crunchy biscuit can add textural contrast to mousses, verrines, or ice creams.
Speculoos, with its spicy aroma, allows for the creation of original sweet-and-salty combinations, such as a verrine with blood sausage, banana, and speculoos crumbs, offering a surprising marriage of textures and flavors.

Thus, understanding the different types of cookies not only allows you to vary the pleasures on the palate but also to use them functionally in pastry and creative cooking, by playing with the texture, structure, and flavor of your preparations.

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Homemade whole-grain crackers

With this recipe for homemade grain crackers, you’ll be able to wow your guests at cocktail hour! This recipe for homemade appetizer crackers is simply magical—thanks, Mom! 🤩 In no time at all, you’ll ...

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Chocolate-Banana-Oat Cookies

Here’s my recipe for chocolate, banana, and oat cookies with other grains. I adapted it from a recipe I found at my favorite Biocoop😋. Personally, I have a soft spot for the combination of chocolate ...

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Shortbread, mascarpone, and passion fruit

Here’s one of my recipes that always impresses guests: mascarpone and passion fruit shortbread cookies. These little cookies are a delicious, gourmet-style dessert—yet quite easy to make. You’ll just ...

Italy

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Tiramisu in a glass

Have you ever made tiramisu, that iconic Italian dessert? This recipe for tiramisu in verrines will convince you that it’s very easy and that the result is stunning! Since tiramisu isn’t very firm ...

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Almond and Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Whenever I want to bake cookies for an afternoon snack or a special breakfast, these almond-lemon shortbread cookies are one of my go-to recipes! Compared to other recipes I’ve found online, I’ve ...

United States

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Homemade Dark Chocolate Cookies

It was my buddy Freddie who used to bake these cookies in our dorm, to share with all our friends on the floor. He gave me the recipe after I promised him I’d always use dark chocolate to make them ...

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Chocolate-Caramel-Speculoos Cookie

Here is my recipe for chocolate, caramel, and speculoos cookies.These homemade cookies are the perfect way to add a touch of sweetness and crunch to your tea (or coffee!) time.Enjoy! ...

Provence

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Provence Almond Crisps

Here is my recipe for almond croquants, just as my father makes them for the holidays.Croquants are one of the thirteen Provençal desserts served at Christmas. They are a very popular treat during ...

Brittany

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Breton Shortbread with Salted Butter

Here is my recipe for Breton shortbread with salted butter—it’s easy to make and includes all the preparation details. Origins Breton shortbread is a regional specialty, rooted in the pastry ...

United States

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Pumpkin Cookies

Here’s my recipe for pumpkin cookies—delicious treats that kids and adults alike will love! The pumpkin flesh adds a delicate flavor and a beautiful orange color to these cookies. Thanks to this ...