King Arthur Baking Company: The Essential Cookie Companion by King Arthur Baking Company

    • Categories: Cookies, biscuits & crackers; Afternoon tea
    • Ingredients: light corn syrup; apple cider vinegar; dark chocolate chips; unsalted butter; eggs; vanilla extract; unbleached all-purpose flour
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Notes about Recipes in this book

  • The essential chewy chocolate chip cookie

    • twoyolks on January 13, 2014

      The chocolate chip cookies were okay but weren't great. Some of the cookies spread normally, some didn't spread as much as to be expected, and some appeared to have melted. They were all baked in the same batch.

    • Zaranthenia on December 11, 2024

      This book gives metric measurements so if you want consistent and accurate results you need to weigh!! I modify this recipe a little bit to make a chocolate dough cookie with white chips and they are my husbands favorite! I think this calls for too many chocolate chips so for a regular chocolate chip cookie batch I do 2/3 what the recipe calls for - and in my chocolate dough with white chocolate chips batch I use 1/2 the chip amount that the recipe states. To make the cookies chocolate dough I substitute 50g of the flour for 20g Dutch process cocoa and 30g regular Hershey's cocoa powder (This is preference, you could use all Hershey and it turn out fine!) The cocoa powder will make the dough a little 'wet' but just place it in the fridge before scooping and they come out perfect.

  • Classic crunchy chocolate chip cookies

    • Foodiewife on July 12, 2017

      I was a little hesitant about the cider vinegar. Whatever...it worked! I used Butter Flavored Crisco. The cookies were crispy and deliciousl

    • MollyB on September 05, 2024

      Great crispy chocolate chip cookies! If you, like me, are frustrated by all the chewy or soft chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, this hits the spot! They freeze well.

  • Chocolate-peppermint snaps

    • twoyolks on December 22, 2015

      These cookies have a good balance between the chocolate and the mint. They're very Christmasy in flavor.

    • MollyB on September 23, 2024

      Very nice, very chocolate-y, crisp cookies. My 13 yr old saw the recipe and wanted to make them, and it was simple enough for him to do it on his own. If you're using peppermint oil, the recipe gives a range of 1/8 to 1/4 tsp - I'd recommend 1/4 tsp. I went with the lower amount because peppermint oil is potent, but would have liked the cookies with a bit more mint flavor.

    • KCKB on September 28, 2024

      These were tasty, but mine came out softer and thicker than I expected, not crispy like a “snap” implies. They have the flavor of Girl Scout thin mints (as described in the headnote) but not the texture. The instructions didn’t say to flatten the dough before baking, but I will try that next time, as they didn’t spread much on their own. ETA: after a couple of hours, the cookies have firmed up quite a bit. Still thick (so I think flattening is still in order), but much more of a “snap” texture now.

  • The essential chewy sugar cookie

    • twoyolks on May 23, 2016

      This is a great, almost addictive sugar cookie. They're too soft when they first come out of the oven but they firm up as they cool for the perfect texture. If I had any complaint, they're almost too sweet.

    • msmuggins666 on March 24, 2023

      Truly spectacular recipe and as others have noted, they are addictive. I used a combination of butter vanilla emulsion, regular vanilla, and freshly grated nutmeg as flavouring. I'll be experimenting with the base recipe to make a lemon variation in the future. The size (using a 1 tbsp cookie scoop) is also perfect.

    • dwager on November 19, 2024

      In a convection oven, cook for 8 minutes. The nutmeg really elevates this recipe!

  • King Arthur's special roll-out sugar cookies

    • twoyolks on December 26, 2018

      The cookies taste fine and are easy to roll out.

  • Vanilla dreams

    • Lindacakes on June 11, 2011

      Excellent cookies with a superb texture (baking amonia). Everyone loves these.

    • twoyolks on December 27, 2017

      These are a great sugar cookie. The texture is really crispy and they taste great.

  • The essential chewy oatmeal cookie

    • AngelNewsi on May 25, 2017

      Exactly what I want in a chewy oatmeal cookie. I definitely recommend using parchment paper to bake on though - the cookies are a little soft when they first come out of the oven.

  • Soft molasses cookies

    • taste24 on September 21, 2020

      These were absolutely outstanding.. the best molasses cookies I've ever had. So soft (and they stay soft!) and packed with flavor. This will be my only molasses cookie recipe from now on..

  • On-the-fence molasses cookies

    • thetinkhams on September 27, 2019

      Made these on Wednesday & by Friday night, there’s only 2 left with only 2 of us in the house. So good! They started off super soft, went crispy as they cooled, and then settled down to this fantastic happy medium - neither entirely crispy nor entirely chewy but not not either one either. Near the end of the batch, we discovered that putting a scoop of lemon bar ice cream between a pair of them was fantastic! Note: when making these, the dough needs to rest in the fridge for an hour, so don’t start them at 9PM on a work night like I did unless you’re a night owl!

  • The essential peanut butter cookie

    • twoyolks on June 28, 2016

      The cookies are not too sweet but they lack a strong peanut butter flavor.

  • Peanut butter chews

    • taste24 on September 29, 2020

      These are delicious, easy, and very soft. Everybody loved them

  • The essential shortbread

    • jenmacgregor18 on December 30, 2019

      Very good. I made a plain batch and an orange vanilla poppyseed, using KAF's Fiori di Sicilia flavoring.

  • Butter-pecan shortbread

    • Wojtanowski on October 09, 2018

      really nice cookie - roll dough into a log and refrigerate until firm - slice about 1/4 inch and bake - light brown - it crisps up nicely....sandwich with chocolate ganache - delish

  • Butter-pecan biscotti

    • Aggie92 on January 17, 2019

      I love these biscotti. I use the Italian-style recipe with no butter and substitute butterscotch flavoring for the butter rum flavoring. Can also substitute toffee bits for the butterscotch chips.

  • Fudgy brownies

    • Kinhawaii on March 07, 2025

      I think most brownies are good but these were a little thin. I meant to make their fudge brownies & didn’t realize they are different recipes. Their fudge brownies recipe has more of each ingredient which would make a thicker brownie.

  • On-the-fence brownies

    • Bloominanglophile on July 05, 2013

      I brought these to a 4th of July potluck. They aren't the fanciest of brownies, but this is a good recipe to please a variety of people. I did leave out the nuts so my daughter (who wears braces) could eat them. They would add a nice crunch to the chewy texture, though. I also didn't modify the recipe for our higher altitude (6500 ft.) as far as ingredients--just had to bake them a bit longer, and they turned out just fine.

  • Decorator's dream cookies

    • twoyolks on December 13, 2016

      These are nice sugar cookies. They crisp up nicely and have a nice flavor. If they're a little too thin or too small, they tend to get a little too brown.

  • Ruth Wakefield's chocolate chip cookie bars

    • SACarlson on October 17, 2016

      These are super-soft. Great if you like very chewy chocolate chip cookies.

    • taste24 on October 05, 2020

      These were excellent and EASY - no stand mixer. I made them in a 9x13 and baked for 30 minutes and they were perfect. Nice and chewy with plenty of chocolate chips!

  • The very best hermit bars ever

    • ashallen on July 20, 2021

      Recipe available online at https://archive.vcstar.com/lifestyle/you-wont-want-to-hide-these-hermits-ep-368214561-348769961.html/

  • Summer berry crumble bars

    • Wanahca on September 04, 2016

      Bake in a 9x9 pan for a thicker bar. Glaze makes cookie a little too sweet. Add both cinnamon and cardamom. Frozen berries work great.

  • Strawberry cheesecake bars

    • beck31 on April 09, 2025

      Page 210

  • Tender toffee-chocolate rounds

  • Chocolate crinkles

    • hailey_tthlx3 on September 16, 2025

      My partner loves these cookies and always begs me to make them!

    • hailey_tthlx3 on September 16, 2025

      I bought this book to make cookie boxes for Christmas and the chocolate crinkles quickly became my partners favorite cookie! He regularly asks me to make them.

  • Toffee crunchers

    • MarielRose on February 05, 2026

      Super good once necessary modifications made. First, an egg is 100% needed. According to a blogger I came across, she reached out to King Arthur and they confirmed the omission was a typo. Second, measuring the chips and rice krispies by weight resulted in way too high a ratio of dry ingredients imo. It'll still be nice and crunchy with half the amount of chips.

  • Cardamom-almond cookies

    • znorman on December 13, 2022

      These are really good. If you love cardamom and almond extract you will love these. They are very light almost like pie crust in texture.

  • Spiked coffee cookies

    • MarielRose on February 05, 2026

      Delightfully soft! Espresso powder definitely enhances the chocolate but I wouldnt say the coffee flavor comes across that strongly. I'd probably try to add more coffee flavor if I make again.

  • Speculaas

    • hillsboroks on May 05, 2023

      These cookies are acceptable but nothing special. I was worried about the large amount of ground cloves called for but the cookies actually turned out a bit bland. I baked the first batch 20 minutes and they seemed like they could bake a bit longer so I ended up baking the rest for 24 minutes to get them quite crispy. The flavor, despite all the spices, is very much that of flour. I will continue my search for the perfect Speculaas cookie recipe.

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