Can You Fry A Cookie?

Last updated on July 12th, 2022 at 02:09 pm

Everyone loves cookies. Coming in a variety of types, cookies are eaten by many people all over the world. Although they are only called by the name “cookie” in the U.S. 

In other English speaking countries, cookies are commonly called biscuits. 

These baked or cooked snacks or desserts are usually small and flat. They are sweet in flavor and made with flour, sugar, and egg along with types of oil, fat, or butter. Cookies can have other ingredients added in for extra flavors. Things like raisins, oats, chocolate, chips, nuts, etc are often added to cookies. 

Now, these sweet treats are made differently depending on the type of cookie they are. Some are more crispy while others are more soft. Some are cooked, but others aren’t cooked at all. If they are a type of cookie that needs to be cooked, then they are baked in an oven. 

Now, it is said that air frying cookies results in some delectable cookies so can you fry cookies in a pan as well? For one reason or another, what if you don’t want to use an oven? 

Can you fry a cookie?

Surprisingly you actually can fry a cookie. This method is not easier or better than baking the yummy desserts in the oven though.  This method is more work for you and it is easier for them to burn. But, if you want to make cookies by frying them, it can be done.

When cooking cookies, you roll the cookie dough into small balls and place them a few inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Then they are placed in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown. After they are removed from the oven and cooled, you can enjoy the crunchy exterior and gooey center of the cookie. 

Cookies are pretty much always made in the oven. But, some people have wanted to try something a little different when cooking the yummy treats. So, what about frying the cookie? Some have tried this method to cook cookies but unfortunately it doesn’t work as well as you might think that it would. 

It is much easier to just put your cookies on a pan and put them in the oven for a few minutes than it is to try and fry them. Frying a cookie may seem easy since you can just put them in a pan without heating up the oven and flip them over whenever one side has finished frying. But, it’s not that easy. 

One of the issues is you have to figure out exactly what temperature to fry them on and how long to fry them. Frying cooks food at high temperatures meaning that you most likely are going to burn your cookies or at least one side of them. That’s why in the oven, the cookies can slowly rise for a perfect combination of crunchy and soft. 

Another reason why frying cookies isn’t the best idea is that flipping them can be really difficult. In an oven the top and bottom of the cookie both spread out and harden but this ain’t the case in a hot frying pan. 

It won’t rise correctly and sliding a spatula underneath the cookie to flip it over is a struggle. So, you will probably end up with a smashed cookie instead. Frying cookies also only will give you 2 to 3 cookies per batch. 

While this may satisfy some people, most will want to make more than just a few cookies. It seems better to make an entire batch and then you can eat whatever you want instead of frying just a couple cookies every time you want to enjoy one. 

Also you have to stand there and fry cookies until you reach the desired amount. It’s much more convenient to just put them in the oven, set the timer and walk away to do something else while they bake. Then you can just grab them whenever they are finished cooking. 

If you are frying cookies, you have to be careful not to burn them, which means watching them very closely, flipping them over and waiting for the other side to cook, then continue this process for the rest of the cookie dough.

Frying involves using heated oil in a pan to cook food for a crispy exterior and a soft interior. There are many foods that can be fried from meats to veggies to some desserts. Cookies can be fried but it really just isn’t the best option. 

A TikTok video recently shared a recipe where cookie dough balls are dropped into a frying pan instead of cooking them in the oven. The result was delicious looking cookies, but it seems that some who have tried to copy the recipe weren’t that impressed with how it turned out when trying to replicate it. 

How Do You Pan Fry Cookies?

You may want to try frying cookies if you don’t have an oven or just don’t want to heat one up. In these cases, cookies can be fried in a frying pan. But, it isn’t really recommended to fry cookies, although if you have the patience to get temperature and timing just right, along with the flipping of the dough, then you could end up with some fried cookies. 

So, despite all of the difficulties I’ve mentioned, if you still want to, how do you go about trying to  pan fry cookies?

You can pan fry cookies by placing some cookie dough balls into a greased pan then lightly press on them with a spoon. Cover and cook for about 8 or 10 minutes and then flip over and let cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove the cookies and let cool.

This seems simple enough right? Well, it is actually a lot more work than just placing a baking sheet of cookie dough balls into the oven and removing them after about 10 minutes. According to myrecipes.com, pan frying cookies doesn’t seem to work well. It takes about the same amount of time to cook them with more work since you have to flip them over and avoid burning them. 

Plus you have to get the temperature and cooking time just right. 

This along with the fact that you can only cook a few cookies at a time makes pan frying cookies unappealing. But, if you are wanting to attempt to fry cookies, it can be done. 

To fry cookies just follow these steps:

1. Prepare your cookie dough. You can use a homemade recipe or just store-bought dough.

2. Chill the dough for about a half hour to an hour.

3. Grease the bottom of a frying pan with butter or baking spray. Regular frying involves using a lot of oil, but for a few cookies you only need a little bit of baking spray or butter.

4. Scoop some cookie dough into the pan. Most frying pans will fit about 2 or 3 scoops. These should just be flattened slightly with a spoon.

5. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

6. Flip the cookies over and cook for 5 more minutes.

7. Remove the cookies and let them cool. At first they will be soft, but will become more firm as they cool down.

Final Thoughts

You can fry cookies, but they won’t turn out as good when they are baked in the oven. This method has worked for some and not worked for others so it’s far from a foolproof method. 

You may end up with a yummy cookie, or you may burn several batches until you get one that is edible. Still, the best way to cook these delicious sweet desserts is the old-fashioned way of baking them in an oven. 

So, although it isn’t easier or better than baking them in an oven, cookies can be fried if you want to fry them.