The present invention relates to the production of cookies which exhibit a cookie crumb-like structure and structural integrity. The extruder (10) is divided into a blending zone, a heat treatment zone, a conveyance zone and a mixing zone. The ingredients comprising flour and oil fed through the first dry ingredient feed port (30) and first liquid port (32) are thoroughly mixed and heat treated by overall conveying, churning and mixing action of the screws connected to motor (28) within the barrel. Upstream other drying ingredients such as crystalline sugar and leavening agents are fed into port (31) and water at port (33) which are further mixed. A partially baked and uniformly mixed, homogeneous cookie dough-like mass is then extruded from the extrusion die plate (79). The dough-like mixture is leavened and further browned using post-extrusion baking, such as microwave, dielectric radio frequency, infrared, conductive, or convection, frying, or a combination thereof.