When cookies are grouped by their ingredients, they fall into two styles: butter cookies and egg cookies. So how do the two differ? Let's find out.
If you love baking cookies, you have probably come across plenty of recipes and seen what ingredients they call for. Regular bakers will know that some cookie recipes use eggs and others do not. Grouping cookies by the ingredients they use gives us two categories:
1. Butter Cookies
Cookies in this group use the same ingredients and mixing method as cake, but with less liquid. As a result, the dough can be dropped, piped or cut and still hold the shape you want. Butter cookies can be further divided into three types:
- Soft butter cookies. These have a high moisture content and use a large amount of egg to give the cookie its structure. They stay soft after baking, so to keep them that way, place a slice of bread in the cookie jar.
- Hard butter cookies. These contain less liquid than the soft type. During baking the water evaporates, leaving the cookies dry and crisp.
- Crumbly (short) butter cookies. These are high in fat and bake up crisp and crumbly. The fat that gives cookies the best flavor is butter.
2. Egg Cookies
These cookies use a larger amount of egg to form their structure and to trap air, which helps them rise. They are mixed in the same way as egg-based (sponge-style) cakes and can be divided into three types:
- Macaroons. Made from ground almonds mixed with sugar and egg whites, and optionally flavored with coffee, chocolate, nuts, fruit and more. Macaroons originated in Italy during the Renaissance. The mixture is dropped onto a baking tray in small rounds or shaped in other ways.
- Meringue shells. Made by whipping egg whites with granulated sugar until stiff, then folding in the other ingredients as briefly as possible to keep as many air bubbles as possible. The mixture is piped or dropped onto a tray and baked at a low temperature so it dries and sets with little or no change in color. Many modern recipes that use these same ingredients are actually sold under the name macaroon.
- Sponge cookies. Made the same way as sponge cake but with more flour. The batter is piped or dropped onto a tray, and the baked cookies are crisp on the outside and soft inside.
Butter Cookies vs Egg Cookies
The clear difference in ingredients between butter cookies and egg cookies is the egg, and that is the variable that sets them apart. Butter cookies made without eggs are crisper and more crumbly than egg cookies. Egg cookies, which contain egg, have a denser dough than butter cookies, so they hold together without spreading and may have a less rough surface than butter cookies.
