Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
I recently visited a store in South London called Cöödie which looks like an Apple store but actually sells cookies. The wife of one of the owners was helping that day and explained the options to me: sobrasada, Mahón cheese and honey; hoisin, white and ruby chocolate; brie, pear and pecan; dark chocolate and basil; cheddar cheese and bacon. The latter was particularly delicious: a little salty and smoky with a lingering smell of cheese. The wife told me that she worked as a dentist; The irony of him selling cookies on his day off was not lost on us. But even the strictest dentist would find it hard not to recommend cookies as good as these.
Cöödie (@coodielondon) is the brainchild of four Spanish friends living in London who previously worked in aviation and hospitality. They shared an obsession with cookies and felt the options available were boring. The name is a combination of “cookie” and “foodie” with two umlauts for visual impact and phonetic mischief. “A cöödie is a person who has an ardent or refined interest in cookies, and who eats them not only out of hunger but also as a hobby,” they told me.
Under the guidance of Bilbao chef Cristina García, the kitchen has become a center of experimentation. Currently in development are creations made with spicy mango, beetroot, mascarpone and a cookie based on truffled torrija (a Spanish-style caramelized French toast). Wine evenings are also planned in which the cookies will be accompanied by sweet and sparkling wine.
Cookies have come a long way. Those of us with a sweet tooth are increasingly hungry for cookies that are bigger, brighter, and bolder. Historically, of course, cookies were primarily exclusive to weddings and holidays. But with the spread of industrialized products like baking powder and chocolate chips in the 1950s, they became favorites for year-round home baking. More recently, bakeries like Levain in New York have sparked an interest in cookies that are more like mini desserts, along with a growing appetite for versions with almost raw cookie dough interiors.
Crumbl’s Confetti Milkshake Cookie
Last Crumb’s Better Than Sex Cookie
fall apart (crumblcookies.com), which launched in 2017, last year became the fastest-growing dessert store chain in the U.S. (with more than 1,000 stores). Its rise can be attributed to the appearance and size of its cookies (some look more like cakes than cookies) and its weekly rotating menu of new flavors that reach Crumbl’s 9.6 million followers on TikTok and generate lines around the block. Flavors include Twix Butterscotch Cookies, Fried Ice Cream, Chocolate Covered Pretzel Cake, Pink Velvet Cake, and Confetti Shake.
The even more exclusive Last Crumb in Los Angeles (lastcrumb.com) promises “the gold standard” in gourmet cookies, made by a head baker whose identity remains secret. The core collection costs $140 for 12 and includes flavors like “Better than Sex” (chocolate chip), “The James Dean” (Oreo milkshake) and “Donkey Kong” (banana cream pie).
This time of year, cookie parties are also a phenomenon in the United States. The long tables are covered with parchment paper, a grid marked with Sharpie pencil, and names added for guests to arrange their homemade cakes. “It has become a great spectacle with extravagant colors and shapes,” says the food writer and former Los Angeles Times columnist Ben Mims. “People come with boxes, either to take cookies home as a gift or to try them themselves. And people vote for the best.”
Mims’ new book, Migas: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World (Phaidon, £34.95), is a bible of 300 options with an emphasis on biscuits from around the world that may be less familiar to Western audiences. These include Karachi cookies from India that look like terrazzo tiles, are made with candied papaya and custard powder (for a rich, eggy touch) and contain hints of rosewater or cardamom. “Everything you want from a new cookie that’s been around for a while,” Mims says. Another option is Swiss chräbeli, which is shaped like a bear’s claw, has the crunchy shell and soft, chewy interior of a French macaron, and is flavored with anise and kirsch. While Mims’ favorite is the diamond-shaped Algerian makroud, a date-filled semolina biscuit that looks like a Fig Newton, deep-fried and topped with honey and sesame seeds.
However, to claim first prize at a cookie party, my bet is on khanom kleeb lamduan, a flower-shaped shortbread cookie from Thailand whose floral, musky caramel flavor derives from the smoke of a scented candle (or tian op), which you can buy online. A cookie you smoke in a box? Now that takes the cake.