A Cookie Collection Worth Keeping
Cookies are the most re-made thing most people bake, which makes them the recipes where your own notes matter most and where they are most often lost.
Two batches of the same recipe rarely come out the same, and the difference is almost never the recipe. It is scoop size, dough temperature and how long you actually baked them.
12 recipes to start from
Each one opens as a recipe page here, with the ingredients and timings, and credits the creator who published it.
01
Peanut Butter Cookies
andianne.com · 19 min · makes 24
Store-cupboard ingredients only. 19 min, makes 24, 9 ingredients.
02
Mini M&Ms Cookies
andianne.com · 30 min · makes 20
Made with mini m ms. 30 min, makes 20, 9 ingredients.
03
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bars
caileeeats.com · 3h 20m · makes 12
Made with maple syrup. 3h 20m, makes 12, 8 ingredients.
04
Butter Cookies
cakemehometonight.com · 50 min · makes 2
Made with vanilla bean paste. 50 min, makes 2, 5 ingredients.
05
Cowboy Cookies
cakemehometonight.com · 1h 12m · makes 28
Made with cinnamon, quick oats and semisweet chocolate chips. 1h 12m, makes 28, 13 ingredients.
06
Sourdough Sprinkle Cookies
countryroadssourdough.com · 52 min · makes 36
Made with butter unsalted, sourdough discard and jimmie sprinkles. 52 min, makes 36, 9 ingredients.
07
S'mores Sourdough Cookie Bars
countryroadssourdough.com · 55 min · makes 9
Made with rectangular graham crackers, marshmallow creme and hershey's chocolate bars. 55 min, makes 9, 14 ingredients.
08
Protein Cookie Dough
eatwithclarity.com · 10 min · makes 8
Made with maple syrup and chocolate chips. 10 min, makes 8, 7 ingredients.
09
Gluten Free Cookie Cake
eatwithclarity.com · 40 min · makes 12
Made with chocolate chips. 40 min, makes 12, 10 ingredients.
10
Shark Cookies
funmoneymom.com · 33 min · makes 24
Made with refrigerated sugar cookie dough, graham crackers and white icing. 33 min, makes 24, 5 ingredients.
11
Tiramisu Cookies
funmoneymom.com · 2h 57m · makes 22
Made with strong instant coffee, mascarpone cheese and heavy cream. 2h 57m, makes 22, 14 ingredients.
12
Gluten Free Cookie Dough
lesswithlaur.com · 20 min · makes 4
Made with dairy free mini chocolate chips. 20 min, makes 4, 7 ingredients.
What makes a cookie collection different
- Chill time is the variable nobody writes down. The same dough baked straight away and baked cold are two different cookies, so note which one you did.
- Scoop size changes the bake time more than the oven does. Record the size you used, not just the minutes.
- Dough freezes better than cookies do. A recipe that says it makes 24 is really a recipe for 12 now and 12 whenever you want them.
- Most cookie recipes are near-identical on paper. What separates yours is the third attempt, which only exists if you wrote it down.
How to build it
- Save at the published yield, then scale from it rather than saving a doubled version.
- Note the scoop size and the real bake time the first time you make it.
- Tag the ones that freeze well as dough. They are a different shortlist on a weeknight.
- Prune once a year. A cookie collection gets worse as it grows.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my cookies come out different every time?
Usually scoop size and dough temperature rather than the recipe. The same dough baked warm and baked cold spreads differently, so record which you did along with the real bake time.
Where should I keep my adjustments to a cookie recipe?
In the notes on the saved recipe. By the third bake your version is the useful one, and it is the first thing you forget.