Forming

Cookie dough is shaped in several ways. Some cookies, such as Coconut Macaroons and Spritz Rings, are piped out using a pastry bag with a specific tip. In other recipes, the dough is divided into equal portions; which are rolled into ropes of uniform thickness and cut into cookies. These are known as icebox cookies, and this technique is used with Macadamia Nut, Hazelnut Butter, and all variations of Vanilla Butter Cookies. This method not only gives you cookies of uniform size, but also makes storage easier. If well wrapped, the logs can be refrigerated for days or frozen for weeks. The cookies can be baked and finished as needed, allowing you to produce fresh cookies with a minimum of effort. A third way of forming cookies is to spread the dough in sheets on a pan or roll it into ropes and press these on the pan. The cookies are cut to size as soon as the baked dough comes out of the oven.