Our cookies have gone, well, kooky. And I like it.
It’s hard to put down a choco chip, or to not reach for that oatmeal raisin in the jar. But for pastry chefs and home bakers whose adventurous minds have driven them to concoct intriguing combinations, shelving the classic cookies has become a willing task.
Break the classics habit with these interesting and insanely delicious takes on cookies.
Nutella Crinkle
The Mess Hall has messed around (pun intended) with some of our favorite cookie combos, like chocolate mallows and white choco walnut—to delectable results. Proof of which is this best-selling variant, a hybrid of two popular items in the realm of confectioneries: Nutella and crinkles. Think of it as the cookie version of a
lava cake—crack one open and the rich hazelnut goo oozes out.
Available at the Mess Hall, 2316 Karrivin Plaza, Chino Roces Extension, Makati; tel. 8699284 loc. 114.
Matcha Almond Cookie
This one is puzzling, there’s more to it than what the name reveals.
Born of a friend’s delightful cookie discovery in Hong Kong, baker Roshan Samtani made her own inspired adaptation to surprise her friend. As it turned out, Roshan’s creation was much better as it lent a subtle aroma and flavor of rose, which rounded out the foolproof marriage of matcha and almonds.
Homemade by Roshan, tel. 6317786, 6336286
White Chocolate and Olive Cookie
Bacon is no stranger to sweet cookies and so are chili and herbs. But olives?
Wildflour, which known for its clever, sweet-savory creations (there’s cheese in its orange custard cake!), has got the right idea when it added black olives in its white chico chip cookies— as the wine snack acts as the saline and lightly peppery counterpoint to the sweetness of the pastry.
Wildflour, G/F, Net Lima Bldg. 26th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; tel. 8567600.
Matcha Blossom Cookie Pot
Scout’s Honor released its line of cookie pots months ago as a unique way to introduce a molded pastry that can hold different kinds of soft fillings like custard and fudge. Its latest variant is a nod to the current food trends as it combines matcha and a floral flavor.
Inside the hollow matcha and dark chocolate cookie is a pool of matcha and orange blossom custard filling.
Scout’s Honor, 4/L, Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Makati; tel. 8872698
Black Velvet Cookie
“I’m not the biggest fan of red velvet because of the food coloring,” says baker Cy Ynares (yes, he’s bald). “So I experimented using various types of chocolate instead.”
But he didn’t stop there. He topped his chewy confection with a lightly sweetened cream cheese filling to mimic the icing people have come to expect from a red velvet. The winning outcome is a rich, quadruple choco cookie crowned with a thin layer of vanilla bean cheesecake.
Visit www.thebaldbaker.ph.
Coconut Macadamia Cookie
Sometimes, the conception of great things comes from bizarre circumstances.
Take this cookie, for example, which was created because baker Roshan Samtani just wanted her house to smell like toasted coconut, vanilla and butter one fine day. That longing spurred this lovely pastry, which does taste like the tropics.–CONTRIBUTED
Homemade by Roshan, tel. 6317786 and 6336286
