As a summer baby, I never experienced the joy of a classroom birthday party (unless you count that one day where they lumped all the summer babies together, which was the opposite of special). I used to get so jealous when kids would walk in with plastic bags full of grocery-store cookies and cupcakes; I’d complain to my mom the whole way home about being born in July. Hell hath no fury like a Leo left out.
Looking back, I should have put more stock in my half-birthday, because any reason to celebrate more is a welcome one. That’s why I want to fete a very special half-birthday today: Cookie Week!
Six months ago, over the first week of December, we flooded the feeds with seven glorious cookies. We even took things a step further with a whole book about them — and oh, what fun that all was. But if I’m honest, I burned out on cookies after it was all said and done. Consciously or not, I put them out of mind. Eventually, I realized that by not highlighting many cookies in Bake Time these past few months, I had forsaken the very sweet that made me. I’m sorry I ever took you for granted, cookies.
I promise I haven’t forgotten who I am. Cookies are still the G.O.A.T. treat and they deserve a midyear moment — you’ll find below a few of my all-time favorites from the New York Times Cooking annals. (Also, it’s almost time for me to start planning this year’s Cookie Week, so I’m considering this a warm-up.) Join me in wishing Cookie Week a very happy half-birthday! In lieu of gifts, they ask that you bake a batch of cookies.
Eric Kim’s homemade version of the iconic Lofthouse cookies (coincidentally the very cookies that made me jealous of classroom birthdays) evokes the cakelike texture of its reference. The secret ingredient here is cream cheese. It gives the cookie itself more flavor than its clamshell-bound counterpart and, more important, an irresistible “melt in your mouth” texture. Finely ground freeze-dried raspberries get folded into the frosting, making it both wonderfully tart and hot pink. But feel free to play around with flavors and colors to make them your own.
How gorgeous is this double chocolate chip cookie from Samantha Seneviratne? So gorgeous, in fact, that it was chosen as our cover girl for the book “Cookies.” I love how Sam puts it: “With plenty of cocoa powder and big wells of dark chocolate, these double chocolate cookies are so fudgy that a tall glass of cold milk is not only delicious, but essential.” As with any good chocolate chip cookie, they benefit from an overnight chill in the fridge, and the dough freezes well, too. We all know I love presents for a future me.
PB&M
Krysten Chambrot’s peanut butter-miso cookies are the perfect treats to bring to your next park hang. You know, I had a peanut sensitivity for about 10 years, and up until recently, I could only imagine the flavor of these cookies in the hypothetical. I felt so left out (like having a summer birthday) when I heard the lore of how amazing they were. When my doctor gave me the OK to eat peanuts, these cookies were some of the first things I baked to celebrate. They’re my ideal cookies to bring to gatherings because they’re sparkly, sweet and surprisingly savory. Their chewy and tender bite, though, is the thing that will have everyone head over heels.
The Monthly Bake: Cosmic blondies
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The creativity! The artistry! The glitter! I’m blown away by your cosmic blondies already. Shout-out to Nichola for that precision cutting. And Karin, I’m running to get some of those flower-power sprinkles. Keep sharing your out-of-this-world bakes with me on Instagram @vaughn or send them to me by email at baketime@nytimes.com. (By submitting photos to us via email, you agree to our reader submission terms here.)
