Greetings, fellow yuletide travelers. Are you struggling to decide which cookies to leave out for Santa? At Washingtonian, we aren’t, because we made all of them—all of this year’s New York Times holiday cookies, that is. To aid you in your festivities, we sampled them and decided which ones we liked best.
Far and away, the office favorite were the Dark ‘n’ Stormy Cookies, which are like a zippier gingerbread cookie blasted with extremely flavorful lime-and-rum icing. The Mortadella Cookies were a prime conversation starter, and the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies were popular, too. The least favorite was a tie between the Coconut Cake Snowballs (tasters found them merely “fine”) and the Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies (the texture seemed off and some tasters found them bitter). Read on for more in-depth reviews.
Popcorn Bucket Cookies
By Ike Allen, staff writer
I love kitchen-sink type cookies like the coconut-oat-M&M “ranger cookies” my mom used to make, so I was excited to try these. The Times just recommends “gummy candy” as an optional add-on topping once the cookies are out of the oven, and I went for Sour Patch Kids. That was a good choice: Their tart, fruity flavor complemented the salty, toffee richness of the cookies nicely. In fact, I should have added more than one per cookie. This recipe isn’t necessarily going to enter my regular holiday cookie-baking rotation, but it definitely accomplishes what it set out to—it reminds me of scooping up alternating handfuls of sweet and salty snacks at the movies. For anyone watching at home: add more Sour Patch Kids. Don’t be afraid.
Mortadella Cookies
By Emma Spainhoward, senior graphic design and UX specialist
Charcuterie, but make it dessert! I highly recommend these so-ugly-they’re-lovable cookies that look remarkably like slices of cured meat. Their sweetness is understated but balanced, and the bright strawberry and almond flavors are beautifully harmonious. If you enjoy the process of baking as much as the product, the recipe is simple but fun to follow, with lots of different but easy steps. One thing to consider is that several of the ingredients aren’t exactly pantry staples, and they might cost a little more to make than your average cookie. That said, they would be a delightful co-bake with a loved one and a fun conversation starter around the dinner table. What more could you ask of a holiday cookie?
Coconut Cake Snowballs
By Eric Wills, home & real estate editor
I found the prep work for the coconut cake snowballs to be an easy and enjoyable lift: grind some coconut, grind some more coconut, add coconut oil, bake, dip in coconut. These little treats, in other words, live up to their billing. Alas, my coconut snowballs lacked some of the finesse that a star baker might have brought to the presentation: reds and pinks for the coconut topping instead of just a pale blue. And in hindsight, I wouldn’t have ground the coconut topping but kept the flakes larger, to add a more texture to the top. How do they taste? I’ll leave that to the office experts. But points for the ease of execution.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Sylvie McNamara, staff writer
These cookies weren’t my top choice to make—mint can be such a touchy flavor—but in fact, they are great. As intended, they taste bizarrely similar to mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is an effect unlike any other cookie I have ever encountered. Recipe developer Eric Kim is right when he says, in his video, that biting into them makes your mouth feel cold. The taste is North Pole, the look is chic. I’m very impressed. These cookies are also easy to make—so straightforward, no drama, few dishes. And as a bonus, Kim’s video taught me to cream sugar and butter with a wooden spoon, rather than beating it, which I think I prefer.
Peanut Brown-Butter Cookies
By Kate Corliss, junior staff writer
As the only person below the age of 103 who actually kind of enjoys Payday bars, I was excited to test out this recipe, which creator Sue Li explicitly notes is an homage to the caramel-smothered nougat-and-peanut candy. The steps are easy enough—the most technical part is browning the butter—and it all comes together in one bowl. After much trial and error (and not one but two nearly-burnt batches, which I will blame on my geriatric oven), I shortened the baking time from the recommended 13 minutes to nine and wound up with 16 cookies that I think are fine. They’re nutty and salty as promised, and I quite like the brown butter flavor. Would I make them again? While assembling my third batch, I decided no. I appreciate the effort to elevate a peanut butter cookie, and I would eat them if they were in front of me (in fact, I did). But they are still just about as memorable as their candy bar muse—literally peanuts compared to a hypothetical dessert inspired by a Snickers or a Twix or even a Baby Ruth, the Payday’s marginally superior cousin.
Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies
By Rob Brunner, politics & culture editor
These weren’t great? The texture ended up being weird—more like fudge than a brownie or a cookie. I followed the baking instructions as closely as I could but perhaps I left them in too long. They also taste kind of bitter and under-sweet, even though I typically prefer a less-sweet dessert. On the plus side, they were easy to make: You basically just whisk stuff together in a bowl and bake. These are intensely chocolately, which isn’t really my thing, but I was excited about the coffee part. Sadly, I didn’t taste much coffee in the end, despite adding both espresso powder and ground beans. Wouldn’t make them again.
Dark ‘n’ Stormy Cookies
By Jessica Sidman, food editor
To answer the question I’m sure you’re asking: Yes, this cookie does actually taste like a dark and stormy cocktail, in large part thanks to the rum- and lime-spiked frosting. If you skip the frosting, it’s a great ginger cookie. Bits of crystallized ginger add some extra spice, which is accentuated by a hit of cayenne. Don’t skip the frosting, though—lime adds a wonderful extra dimension. Overall, these are relatively easy to make. I am only annoyed that I had to buy a whole bottle of dark rum. Oh well, guess I will have to make some dark and stormy cocktails, too.
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