Every cookie starts in a mixing bowl as cookie dough, with a bunch of ingredients mixed in a specific proportion.
The texture and taste of different types of cookies will depend on the ingredients and their ratios.
Thus, there are different types of cookie dough.
Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
The Most Popular Types of Cookie Dough
The basic ingredients of cookie dough are flour, eggs, butter, sugar, salt, and leavening agents, like baking powder and baking soda.
Additional ingredients like flavoring and coloring agents may also be used.
However, you can use these basic ingredients in a variety of ways to create different types of cookie dough, like the following.
1. Basic Cookie Dough
All enthusiastic bakers have a favorite basic cookie dough recipe.
It usually includes the following ingredients: Flour, eggs, melted butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
The dough isn’t edible if it contains leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda.
However, you can eat the raw dough if you skip these ingredients.
Traditional cookie recipes use refined flour in basic cookie dough.
Newer and healthier recipes may replace processed flour with whole-wheat or other types of flour.
The texture of the dough will depend on the amount of egg and the type of flour used. The cookies are usually soft and chewy.
It becomes chewier when you add more eggs. However, adding extra sugar makes the dough sweeter and softer.
Basic cookie dough holds up well in the fridge for two to three days.
So, you can prepare a big ball of dough and refrigerate it.
You can also store basic cookie dough in the freezer for several months.
Related: How Long Does Cookie Dough Last in The Fridge? | How to Bake Frozen Cookie Dough?
2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
This is an adaptation of the basic cookie dough recipe. The rest of the ingredients remain the same.
Chocolate chips are an additional ingredient.
The addition of chocolate chips changes the flavor of the cookie dough.
When you bake the dough, the chips melt. So, the result is chewy cookies with gooey chocolatey bits.
Chocolate chip cookie dough should be chilled before baking for a better texture.
If you chill it before baking, the cookies become firm and extra-flavorful.
You can also try variations of the basic recipe with cornstarch as an additional ingredient for a super soft center.
3. Chocolate Cookie Dough
Traditional cookie dough uses flour as the main ingredient.
However, chocolate cookie dough uses cocoa powder with refined flour as the base.
Traditional cookie dough produces soft and chewy cookies even if you don’t chill it.
However, chocolate cookie dough is too soft.
The addition of cocoa to the dough makes it very sticky. Hence, it needs chilling before baking to hold the shape.
Chocolate cookie dough can be eaten raw or baked into cookies.
You can add additional ingredients like chocolate chips, raisins, and nuts to enhance the taste of these cookies.
Related: Fixing Sticky Cookie Dough
4. Sugar Cookie Dough
Sugar cookies were originally called Nazareth cookies when introduced by the German protestants settled in Pennsylvania.
They are also called gemmels, crybabies, gimblets, jumbles, and plunkets.
The main ingredients of sugar cookies are sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, and baking powder or baking soda.
The dough recipe is simple. You can use white sugar or brown sugar to make these cookies.
The dough is firm and hence can be rolled out and cut into the desired shapes.
The mixing of ingredients plays a big role in deciding the texture of the cookies.
By creaming the butter and sugar, you can achieve a fluffy texture for the cookies.
Just mixing them will make the cookies dense.
Regardless of the method of mixing employed, they are predominantly sweet.
The addition of other flavors will add subtle changes to the flavor.
These cookies are perfect for decorating. You can add frosting, sprinkles, or other decorations to them.
5. Oatmeal Cookie Dough
Oatmeal cookies are believed to be healthier than regular sugar cookies or traditional chocolate chip cookies.
As the name suggests, one of the main ingredients is oatmeal.
The presence of oatmeal increases the fiber content of these cookies.
They also have fewer calories than other types of cookies.
The base of the dough for these cookies is oatmeal or whole rolled oats.
Baking soda and baking powder make the cookies puffy.
You can use either white sugar or brown sugar to make oatmeal cookies.
Brown sugar is preferred because it complements the flavor of oats better.
Other commonly used ingredients include sea salt, raisins, cranberries, bananas, and nuts.
By varying the recipe, you can make these cookies soft and chewy or thin and crispy.
Old-fashioned oats work best to make oatmeal cookies. Nonetheless, you can also make them using instant oats.
6. Drop Cookie Dough
Drop cookies are made by dropping balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet using a cookie spoon or scooping device.
The texture of the dough used for drop cookies is very soft and spreadable.
Hence, it can’t be rolled out like other types of cookies.
Basic drop cookie recipes use butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder or baking soda as the leavening agent.
The ratio in which these ingredients mix is different from that of traditional cookie recipes.
Hence, the dough ends up being very soft.
Additional ingredients like chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, dried fruit, candy, or even rolled oats are present in variations of the recipe.
The cookie dough spreads out as it bakes and develops crisp edges and a soft center.
7. Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough
Snickerdoodle cookies were commonplace in Amish and Mennonite communities.
However, they are a relatively new favorite amongst cookie lovers elsewhere.
The cookie dough uses a mix of cream of tartar, sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon.
Some recipes use baking soda or baking powder for leavening. Eggs may or may not be used.
The dough is prepared by mixing all the ingredients in a fixed ratio.
It’s then shaped into cookies and rolled in cinnamon sugar before being baked.
The cookies are soft and chewy, with a strong cinnamon flavor. The addition of cream of tartar makes it slightly sour.
Otherwise, the flavor and texture resemble that of regular sugar cookies.
8. Gingerbread Cookie Dough
Christmas is always associated with gingerbread men and gingerbread houses.
Almost every culture, from China to Europe, have its own version of gingerbread cookie dough.
The common factor about all these cookies is their hard exterior and dark brown color.
It’s because this cookie dough uses ingredients that are different from typical cookie recipes.
Gingerbread cookie dough usually includes butter, brown sugar, molasses, ground ginger, flour, butter, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In variations of the basic recipe, other ingredients like eggs, sprinkles, and chocolate chips may be included.
The mixing proportion of the dough ensures that it’s easy to roll out.
Hence, gingerbread cookie dough can be rolled out and cut into desired shapes.
The cookies will puff up during baking.
However, they will not spread much.
Hence, you can plan elaborate designs like gingerbread houses using this cookie dough.
The dark color of the baked cookies also creates a beautiful backdrop for different types of decorations.
Royal icing is typically used for decoration and drawings on gingerbread cookies.
