Can I make the perfect gooey, CHEWY cookies and still use a cookie cutter?

[TheLightGetsIn]

Novice biscuit baker here. I have bought a collection of Christmas cookie cutters and was looking forward to trying out my first ever batch cookies, except that when I started googling for recipes for properly chewy, not crunchy, cookies all the recipes seem to say that you have to roll the mixture into balls rather than flatten them out if you don't want to end up with them hard and crunchy. All the pictures illustrate the recipes with Millies-style round cookies, not shaped ones. Does that mean that I will have to choose between gooey cookies and ones that actually look like the design on the cutter? Or is the perfect recipe out there somewhere? Help, expert bakers...

You might be able to do it if you could get the ratio of ball to cutter exactly right...not with a star, obviously, but maybe a heart?

Oh goodness I can see myself getting a little too invested...

Or pepperkake! Stupid auto correct. Great biscuits for tree decorations too as they keep the cut shape.

3cm is crazy thick

Yeah, even 2cm is too thick. If I was to try it baked in a sheet I’d go for 1cm.

But now I’m tired. So I’m going to bed, probably to dream of endless attempts at perfecting a chewy cookie cutter bake!

I agree shortbread is great for shape biscuits. And easy to ice if you want to make even more work for yourself :)

If you wanted something to do with a gooey recipe and your cutters, you could try baking them round, then just after removing from the oven, while still warm, press a cutter into the top of the cookie to leave an impression. When cold, use that impression as a guideline to pipe icing or melted chocolate or something on top in the design.

@Pythonesque

I agree shortbread is great for shape biscuits. And easy to ice if you want to make even more work for yourself :)

If you wanted something to do with a gooey recipe and your cutters, you could try baking them round, then just after removing from the oven, while still warm, press a cutter into the top of the cookie to leave an impression. When cold, use that impression as a guideline to pipe icing or melted chocolate or something on top in the design.

Ooh! Great idea Python

Sorry, had to go and deal with non-sleeping DC! Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, will have a read through now...

Only ever used cookie cutters at Christmas and only for very short sugar cookie type things.

Suggestion able to bake unshared and then cut out - I’m imagining Molton chocolate oozing out of cut sides (? Maybe I’m just hungry!)

The chewy gooey ones wouldn't work in a cutter because they have high sugar content which makes them so chewy and lovely, but when this melts in the oven it's what causes them to spread. So as mentioned something like a shortbread of gingerbread would work better for cutters, crisper cookies with less sugar ratio.