The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (2024)

This incredible all-purpose workhorse can make at least seven types of sweet treats.

By Lynn Andriani

Why You May Want to Ditch Your Bulging Folder Full of Recipes

The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (1)

Hannah Whitaker

The holidays are stressful enough, so make things easy by appointing this the season of one basic butter-cookie dough. Then, you can customize it based on the occasion, whether you're going to a bake sale or cookie exchange, throwing a dinner party or just having a late-night craving for a little something sweet. This brilliant recipe calls for just five ingredients: salted butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and flour. No matter how you shape them or upgrade them with flavors, they're wonderfully buttery, crispy, light and rich.

Get the recipe: Holiday Butter Cookies

Inject It with Flavor

The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (2)

ginauf/iStock/Thinkstock

Keep the same format, pressing each cookie with the bottom of a decorative glass, but step up the taste with one of these tweaks to the dough:

Almond: Decrease the vanilla to 1 tsp., and add 1 tsp. of almond extract

Cinnamon: Add 1 tsp. of cinnamon

Citrus: Add 2 tsp. of finely grated lemon or orange zest

Roll It Up

Mark Edward Atkinson/Tracey Lee/Blend/Getty Images

The basic dough is a bit crumbly, so if you aren't up for forming it into circles, as the original recipe instructs, take the lazy (but no less delicious) way out, and turn it into a slice-and-bake cookie. Form the dough into a log, using plastic wrap or wax paper to help round it into a cylinder. Refrigerate for a half hour, then unwrap and brush the outside with egg yolk thinned with a teaspoon, or so, of water. Roll the dough in coconut or sanding sugar and slice it into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Bake as usual. (You can also store the rolled dough in the freezer and slice off rounds as you want them, baking slightly longer.)

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Use Your Thumbs

The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (4)

Glow Cuisine/Glow/Getty Images

Jam-thumbprint cookies never go out of style, and they're ridiculously easy to make. Spoon off teaspoon-sized chunks of dough, roll each into a ball with your hands and set them on the baking sheet. Press each one with your palm to flatten it lightly, then make an indentation with your thumb. Fill with any kind of jam (hint: a small amount goes a long way), or a variety of jams for a rainbow-like array of cookies.

Cover It with Icing

The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (5)

cobraphoto/iStock/360/Getty Images

A little frosting can hide a multitude of sins (or cracks, or slightly burnt edges). Instead of stamping each cookie with the bottom of a glass, bake them plain. When they're cool, mix 1 cup of confectioners' sugar with 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (start with one, and add more if you want a thinner glaze). Drizzle the icing over the cookies, topping with a sprinkling of sanding sugar for extra shimmer, if you'd like.

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5 Upgrades To Create The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever

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The Only Cookie Dough Recipe You Need To Know (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a perfect cookie? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  • Always use butter.
  • Choose the right sugar.
  • Choose the right flour.
  • Check your flour is in date.
  • Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  • Cream the butter and sugar.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Fold in the flour.

What are the 15 common mistakes in making cookie dough? ›

14 Cookie Dough Mistakes That Everyone Makes
  • Assuming you can never eat raw cookie dough. ...
  • Using the wrong type of flour. ...
  • Throwing all your ingredients in at the same time. ...
  • Measuring your ingredients poorly. ...
  • Overmixing your cookie dough. ...
  • ‌Forgetting to chill your dough. ...
  • Softening your butter too much.
Feb 28, 2024

How to make cookie dough in Little Alchemy 2? ›

Little Alchemy 2
  1. Dough + Cookie.
  2. Dough + Sugar.
  3. Dough + Chocolate.

What is the difference between raw cookie dough and edible cookie dough? ›

Cookie dough is an uncooked blend of cookie ingredients. While cookie dough is normally intended to be baked into individual cookies before eating, edible cookie dough is made to be eaten as is, and usually is made without eggs to make it safer for human consumption.

What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

Different types of sugars affect the texture because they absorb different amounts of water. Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies.

What makes cookies chewy vs. crunchy? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

What to avoid when making cookies? ›

15 Common Cookie Baking Mistakes You Might Be Making
  1. Your cookies aren't baking evenly. ...
  2. You use eggs straight from the fridge. ...
  3. You use the wrong kind of flour. ...
  4. You measure flour the wrong way. ...
  5. You soften butter too much — or not enough. ...
  6. You use stale baking powder or baking soda. ...
  7. You overwork the dough.
Nov 4, 2020

How long should I chill cookie dough before baking? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Can you over mix cookie batter? ›

Unless you want extra-crispy cookies, avoid overmixing your dough. "Overmixing your dough will result in flatter, crispier cookies," Cowan said. If you overmix, you will end up aerating (adding air to) the dough, which causes the cookies to rise and then fall, leaving you with flat cookies.

What is the hardest thing to craft in Little Alchemy 2? ›

Life. Creating life is the ultimate goal of the game, and it's also the most difficult. You need to combine several elements in the right order to create a living organism. Life is a complex phenomenon and the essence of existence.

How to make evil in Little Alchemy 2? ›

Things You Should Know
  1. Purchase the "Myths and Monsters" content pack in the Little Alchemy 2 Store.
  2. Create a Human with Clay + Life. Create a Pandora's Box with Good + Container.
  3. Create Evil with Human + Pandora's Box.
Mar 20, 2023

Why can't you bake edible cookie dough? ›

We do not recommend baking our Bite-Sized Edible Cookie Dough [flavor/products]. It does not contain eggs or leavening agents, which are key ingredients in developing texture and lift in baked cookies. (If needed) Exposure to high oven temperatures will cause the product to liquefy and possibly burn.

How unhealthy is edible cookie dough? ›

Raw Dough Can Contain Germs That Make You Sick

That means it hasn't been treated to kill germs that cause food poisoning, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella.

Why is my edible cookie dough chewy? ›

Milk: In place of eggs, milk helps to make the cookie dough "chewy."

How to perfect your cookies? ›

Not over baking them.

One way to make sure they always turn out perfectly baked is to set your timer for five minutes less than the recipe states. You want your cookies to be barely browned and not look wet in the center. When you press on them, you should be able to make an indent but it should not feel raw.

How to bake cookies like a pro? ›

How to Bake Holiday Cookies Like A Pro
  1. Use room temperature butter. ...
  2. Mix the wet ingredients first, then add to the dry ingredients.
  3. Don't over mix—it makes the dough tough. ...
  4. Make your dough a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator so it the flavors mingle, and it has time to chill.

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