“You’ll be baking a variety of cookies daily, and taking home a dozen different cookies every day for the next seven days. Each cookie needs to be taste-tested, and your homework will be to write notes on flavor, texture, baking, and mouthfeel,” stated my Cookies and Confections instructor, Chef Rudolph Spiess, about eight years ago at the Culinary Institute of America. Sounds like a cookie lover’s dream come true, right? Wrong. After Day 2 of having to consume 12 cookies, my body went on strike, and I would have to bribe my roommate to taste them for me (in exchange for cookies, of course). Nowadays, I’m a little more excited to have a cookie, knowing it’s only one, not a dozen, and I won’t be graded on my tasting notes. For all the cookie lovers out there, here’s a collection of five cookies on Martha’s Vineyard that are worth the trip and calories.
Lemon Drop Cookie by the Scottish Bakehouse: It’s a cake-like lemon cookie topped with a lemon sugar glaze. I’m surprised I love this cookie so much, as an all-or-nothing chocolate fan. But the bright, tart flavor of the cookie balanced with the sweet, lemony glaze is just what you’re looking in a cookie — balance.
Val Cakes French Macarons: Finding a well-made macaron is a feat all on its own, but finding one on this Island is almost impossible. But thanks to Val Cakes, the impossible becomes possible. The light, airy, almond-based cookies are filled with the smoothest of fillings in flavors like Cherry Almond, Strawberry, White Chocolate Lemon, Raspberry, and Chocolate, and grace the boxes you can pick up at local Island markets like Edgartown Meat and Fish Market.
Butter Crunch Cookies at Humphrey’s: If you’re looking for a crunchy, thin cookie that ultimately melts in your mouth, these Butter Crunch cookies are just what you need. A recipe that has been handed down through generations, it’s packed with toffee bits and a base of brown sugar and vanilla.
Chocolate Chip Cookies by Harbor View Hotel: Whenever I feel down, heading over to Henry’s at the Harbor View Hotel is my go-to pick-me-up. Nothing lifts my spirits more than a warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie. It’s a thick and chewy cookie, with crisp edges that withstand a quick dunk in cold milk (nothing worse than a crumbled half-cookie floating in your milk!). Sometimes, it’s the simple things.
Dulce de Leche Alfajores from Sweet Bites: A cookie originally from South America, it’s a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread that’s sandwiched around smooth dulce de leche and dusted in powdered sugar. If you’re lucky, you can get them at Sweet Bites from their case, but they also make them for preorders.
Tweet us at @GoodTasteMV and let us know what’s your favorite cookie on-Island — or leave a comment below with your cookie opinions.