Are Cookies Pastries? The Great Pastry Paradox And Debunking the Cookie Conundrum

Updated: March 15, 2025

In my series of cookie questions, one of the top questions was, “Are Cookies Pastries?”.

To settle this pastry predicament, let's first define our terms. A pastry is a baked product made from dough, typically consisting of flour, water, and fat. It encompasses a wide range of treats, from flaky croissants to buttery Danishes. So, where do cookies fit into this framework?

Believe it or not, cookies are considered pastries. They may not have the flakiness of a croissant or the buttery layers of a Danish, but they are made from dough that is shaped and baked.

But here's where it gets interesting: While cookies fall under the pastry umbrella, not all pastries are cookies.

The thing about food too, is that terms are sometimes meant to help us define certain things to help guide us and give direction of categories. But, terms can also be fluid and flexible, since there are so many varieties and qualities that even something in the cookie category can cover. When in doubt, it’s always safe to refer to them as a “baked good”!