Cookies

Cookie

Chocolate chip cookies
Alternative names	Biscuit
Course	Snack, dessert
Place of origin	Persia, 7th century AD
Serving temperature	Often room temperature, although they may be served when still warm from the oven

A cookie is a baked or cooked good that is small, flat, and sweet, usually containing flour, sugar and some type of oil or fat. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips or nuts.

In most English-speaking countries except for the US and Canada, crisp cookies are called biscuits. Chewier biscuits are sometimes called cookies even in the UK. Some cookies may also be named by their shape, such as date squares or bars.

Cookies or biscuits may be mass-produced in factories, made in small bakeries or home-made. Biscuit or cookie variants include sandwich biscuits such as Custard creams, Jammie Dodgers, Bourbons and Oreos, with marshmallow or jam filling and sometimes dipped in chocolate or another sweet coating. Cookies are often served with beverages such as milk, coffee or tea. Factory-made cookies are sold in grocery stores, convenience stores and vending machines. Fresh-baked cookies are sold at bakeries and coffeehouses, with the latter ranging from small business-sized establishments to multinational corporations such as Starbucks.

In most English-speaking countries outside North America, including the United Kingdom, the most common word for a crisp cookie is biscuit. The term cookie is normally used to describe chewier ones. However, in many regions both terms are used.