From Dropped to Pressed: Betty's Guide to Every Type of Cookie

Published 11/08/2021

If there’s anyone who knows cookies, it’s Betty Crocker! The queen of all cookie creations is here to walk you through the many different types of cookies—yes, there’s more than one! Rolled, dropped and pressed (just to name a few) are all types of cookies that should be in your baking repertoire.

Loading component...

Rolled

Also called “cutout” cookies, these cookies are cut from a stiff dough that’s been chilled and rolled out flat before cutting out with cookie cutters—think gingerbread, sugar cookies and similar.

Shortbread Cookies
3.5 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 24 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 3
Servings: 24
It’s almost hard to believe that these cookies come together with only three basic ingredients. With a melt-in-your mouth texture and a distinct butter flavor, this iconic shortbread recipe is the rolled cookie you’ll turn to time and time again.
Classic Sugar Cookies
4.2 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 508 reviews.
Prep time: 60 min
Total time: 7 hr 50 min
Ingredients: 13
Servings: 55
A tried-and-true classic for holidays, this classic sugar cookie recipe is good enough to eat even when it’s not snowing. Made from-scratch, the buttery dough is rolled to ¼-inch thickness and cut out with your favorite cookie cutters.
Vegan Sugar Cookies
4.6 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 37 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 1 hr 15 min
Total time: 3 hr 15 min
Ingredients: 12
Servings: 60
Don’t knock it before you try it! These delightfully tender treats are the perfect rolled cookie for the vegan in your life. Prepared like most sugar cookie doughs, with the exception of butter and milk, these sweet-as-can-be cookies are iced with a vegan vanilla frosting that’s totally over-the-top.

Loading component...

Drop

Perhaps the most common type of cookie, and one of the easiest, drop cookies are made by dropping spoonfuls of a soft dough onto a cookie sheet.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
4.2 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 1830 reviews.
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 1 hr 30 min
Ingredients: 10
Servings: 24
Consider this recipe the only drop cookie you’ll ever need in your life. Deemed ultimate for a reason, this chocolate-chip-loaded dough is dropped in heaping tablespoons on your baking sheets for a cookie that’s a cut above the rest.
Double Butterscotch Pudding Cookies
5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 24 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients: 7
Servings: 30
Packed with butterscotch chips, these cookies are extra soft and chewy thanks to the addition of pudding mix. Lovers of this caramel-y flavor will be in dessert heaven when you serve these up!
Small-Batch Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
4.1 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 99 reviews.
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 9
Servings: 12
When you’re craving chocolate, this cookie’s the fix. With a double dose of chocolate (from both chips and cocoa powder), a short ingredient list of pantry staples and 30-minute total cook time—there’s a lot to love about this recipe!

Loading component...

Refrigerator (or icebox)

To make this type of cookie, a stiff dough is shaped into a log and refrigerated until firm. Then, it is sliced into pieces and baked, which is why these cookies are commonly referred to as “slice-and-bakes”

Orange-Chocolate Slice-and-Bake Cookies
5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 3 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 4 hr 30 min
Ingredients: 6
Servings: 32
Whipped up with Betty’s sugar cookie mix and brought to life with toasted almonds, orange zest, dark chocolate and coarse sparkling sugar—these slice-and-bakes are both easy and elevated!
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pinwheels
4.8 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 6 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 4 hr 45 min
Ingredients: 9
Servings: 96
With 96 servings and everyone’s favorite flavor combination, this cookie recipe is made for the cookie exchange. Plus, the eye-catching swirl is bound to get people talking!
Holiday Swirl Shortbread Cookies
4.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 17 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 2 hr 55 min
Ingredients: 7
Servings: 24
This cookie is just about as fun and festive as it gets. Bright red and green dough gets rolled in coarse sparkling sugar for the ultimate Christmas look. Don’t forget to let the dough hang out in your freezer for an hour and half before slicing and baking this signature shortbread.

Loading component...

Bars

This type of cookie is baked in a pan and cut into individual pieces or “bars.” Before baking, the texture of bar cookies can vary from a batter that’s poured into the pan and bakes into a cakey cookie to a soft and crumbly dough that’s pressed into the pan and bakes into a shortbread-style cookie.

Linzer Torte Bars
4.4 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 37 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 hr 35 min
Ingredients: 6
Servings: 48
This twist on a classic cookie is seriously the jam. With a from-scratch base that’s layered with a sweet-tart raspberry filling, these scrumptious bars come together with just 6 basic ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time. Line the pan with foil to make cutting these bars a breeze!
Sugar Cookie M&M's™ Bars
4.4 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 274 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 hr 35 min
Ingredients: 5
Servings: 24
Studded with red and green candies and packed with white chocolate chips, these crowd-pleasing Christmas bars are a cookie exchange essential—yielding 24 serving and made in your 13x9 for extra easy holiday baking.
White Chocolate-Cranberry Cookie Bars
3.8 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 12 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 1 hr 45 min
Ingredients: 11
Servings: 24
These soft and sweet cookie bars are pretty good all on their own, but the scratch-made cream cheese frosting makes them truly irresistible!

Loading component...

Hand-formed (or molded)

These types of cookies are made from a stiff dough that’s shaped by hand into balls, crescents, logs and other shapes. Sometimes, they’re called ball cookies though that’s technically just one of the shapes that hand-formed, or molded, cookies can take.

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
4.2 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 308 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 1 hr 10 min
Total time: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients: 6
Servings: 66
Classic sugar cookie dough gets rolled into tiny balls and pressed with your thumb, and is filled with tart raspberry jam, creating the iconic thumbprint look. For a showstopping finish, these cookies are drizzled with melted white chocolate.
Russian Tea Cakes
4.6 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 1033 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 60 min
Total time: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients: 7
Servings: 48
Buttery, nutty and tender, these round tea cakes are formed into 1-inch balls and rolled in sweet powdered sugar to complete the snowball look. And since the recipe makes 48 servings you’ll be able to share and keep some for yourself, too!
Viennese Almond Crescents
4.5 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 11 reviews.
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 6
Servings: 40
These classic cookies have a delectably light texture thanks to the inclusion of almond meal—finely ground almonds—and a sweet powdered sugar coating that makes them a perfect Christmas cookie.

Loading component...

Pressed

These types of cookies are made with the help of a cookie press, which is a tube with a stencil attached to the end. The tube is filled with dough and pressed through the stencil, to create decoratively shaped cookies, like Christmas trees, stars and flowers.

Classic Spritz Cookies
3.7 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 171 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 1 hr 5 min
Total time: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients: 8
Servings: 72
These buttery and bite-sized cookies are bound to bring back memories of Christmases past. Customize the colors and decorations, just don’t leave them off your list of must-make Christmas cookies.
Easy Spritz Flowers
5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 4 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 1 hr 20 min
Ingredients: 7
Servings: 76
You know ‘em, you love ‘em—these are classic spritz but with an easy twist! We shortened the prep time with a little help from Betty’s sugar cookie mix and added some jolly touches, including mixing red and green sprinkles into the dough and pressing a maraschino cherry into the center for a pop of color and burst of sweetness.
Eggnog Spritz Cookies
3.7 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 41 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 10
Servings: 48
Spiced with the flavors of eggnog and drizzled with rum extract-spiced frosting, these spritz certainly make the season bright!

Loading component...

Sandwich Cookies

Most commonly made with two drop or rolled cookies sandwiched together with a frosting, cream filling or jam—sandwich cookies can take many different forms.

Raspberry Cream Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
5.0 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 3 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 8
Servings: 20
Fluffy marshmallow frosting and raspberry preserves sandwiched between two buttery shortbread cookies? Hello, sweet-tart treat of our dreams!
PB&J Sandwich Cookies
4.7 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 70 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 1 hr 10 min
Ingredients: 5
Servings: 18
This tried-and-true flavor combination is one kids of all ages will adore. Crunchy peanut butter cookies are sandwiched together with peanut butter frosting and jelly for a salty-sweet twist on everyone’s favorite sandwich.

Loading component...

And more!

Rosettes
4.5 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 22 reviews.
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 11
Servings: 36
Deep-fried cookies? These light, crispy cookies are fried to golden perfection using a special rosette iron.
White Chocolate Haystacks
4.2 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 93 reviews.
Kitchen Tested
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 1 hr 25 min
Ingredients: 7
Servings: 40
This festive spin on a classic no-bake treat is a special addition to your holiday cookie tray. Chow mein noodles and salted peanuts are tossed with melted white chips, marshmallows and a surprise ingredient--vanilla frosting--and finished with holiday sprinkles. This recipe makes a large batch, perfect for holiday get-togethers.
Orange Madeleines
4.6 out of 5 stars, average rating value out of 13 reviews.
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 42 min
Ingredients: 10
Servings: 2
These pretty shell-shaped cookies are just right for your next tea or coffee party. They get an extra boost of orange flavor from grated orange peel.

Loading component...

Try these

Loading component...

Bake Up Something Special

Nothing warms a room quite like a warm oven. Make something special for birthdays, anniversaries, or an after-dinner snack with baking recipes sent right to your inbox.

Loading component...

From Dropped to Pressed: Betty's Guide to Every Type of Cookie

Loading component...

Rolled

Loading component...

Drop

Loading component...

Refrigerator (or icebox)

Loading component...

Bars

Loading component...

Hand-formed (or molded)

Loading component...

Pressed

Loading component...

Sandwich Cookies

Loading component...

And more!

Loading component...

Try these

Loading component...

Bake Up Something Special

From Dropped to Pressed: Betty's Guide to Every Type of Cookie

Rolled

Drop

Refrigerator (or icebox)

Bars

Hand-formed (or molded)

Pressed

Sandwich Cookies

And more!

Try these

Let's be Social