Bake

The Sampler Cookie

by:
December  2, 2019
3.7
3 Ratings
The Sampler Cookie
Photo by Rocky Luten. Food stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop stylist: Brooke Deonarine.
  • Prep time 3 hours
  • Cook time 14 minutes
  • Makes 24 cookies
Author Notes

I am not a holiday host who streamlines my holiday menu; that would be the practical thing to do, and holidays are the perfect excuse for me to be ridiculous—sort of like this cookie.

In my freezer, rolled into logs, and stashed away in containers are oddments of cookie dough. They hold up well for what seems like forever. So every time I make cookies, I prepare enough dough to serve a hungry family—all too aware it’s just the two of us at home—and then I feed my freezer the rest. I remind myself that those scraps will take care of dessert for some last-minute dinner party or guests I might have down the line. And those scraps definitely get eaten, more often by my own prowling hand than during eleventh-hour visits, yet it still proves to be a perfectly fine system worth keeping.

It was less than two years ago I created the practice of blending some of this leftover cookie dough—mashing them together like balls of play-doh to create a type of centaur-esque cookie. With some of my favorite mashups, the end bake would have a gnarly yin/yang look. And aside from eliminating the headache of nursing two hot and gooey cookies at once, I found that there was something novel about biting smack dab into the seam of two cookies, poles apart in flavor and indiscriminately fused, getting to taste a bit of it all.

During those moments, I’d also get to experience myself as I am beneath a wall of froyo dispensers—a girl with a face lit like a midnight Christmas tree. I am your ideal tapas and cheeseboard companion, a sample enthusiast, forever anticipating the joy of when I’ll get to tickle every last one of my taste buds in one sitting. Still, this wasn’t what inspired this particular cookie welding; my family is the one to blame.

My family has come to expect both mashed potatoes and rice at every Christmas gathering, along with baked potatoes and potato salad. I gladly comply and prepare it all. It’s because I understand that everyone has a different opinion of what Christmas should feel like, and usually, they are clear on the very dish or dishes or smell or piece of music that will help them tap that familiar feeling. I’ve made it my pleasure to facilitate their time travel, sure to leave no stone unturned, at least not in the kitchen.

Admittedly, this cookie is more for my own pleasure and inspired by each member of my family, literally a mashup of the foods I associate with them.

My dad, the polisher of the communal milk and cookies, and you remember my brother? I’ve already told many stories about him and his love for white chocolate–macadamia nut cookies. M sister, we call her the pretzel muncher. Mom can’t go a day without her coffee. My partner, Eric, ever the strawberry fiend, and me, pestering them all with my gluten-free experiments. I call this one the “sampler” cookie. —Jerrelle Guy

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: Food52's Holiday Cookie Chronicles —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Strawberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
  • 2 cups (180g) oat flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick, 1/4 pound, or 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups (30g) dehydrated strawberries, crushed into bite-sized pieces
  • 3 ounces (85g) white chocolate, chopped
  • 1/3 cup (50g) toasted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
  • Milk and Cookies Chocolate Cookies
  • 1 1/2 cups (135g) oat flour
  • 1/2 cup (50g) Dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons (10g) milk powder
  • 1 tablespoon (5g) instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick, 1/4 pound, or 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 12 chocolate wafer sandwich cookies, filling removed and crushed into 1/2-inch/1.2-cm pieces (gluten-free, if desired)
  • 1/2 cup (60g) mini pretzels, crushed into 1/2-inch pieces (gluten-free if desired), optional
Directions
  1. Make the Strawberry White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Dough: In a medium-sized bowl, sift the oat flour, baking soda and salt together, then whisk to ensure everything is evenly distributed.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle as you go. Add the egg and continue to beat until combined, again scraping the bowl and beater to make sure everything is well combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the stand, and using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the macadamia nuts, white chocolate, and strawberries, being careful not to crush the strawberries too much. Transfer the dough to a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to harden.
  3. Make the Milk and Cookies Chocolate Cookie Dough: Into a medium-sized bowl sift the oat flour, cocoa powder, milk powder, instant coffee, baking soda, and salt together, then whisk to ensure everything is evenly distributed.
  4. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl and paddle as you go. Add the egg and continue to beat until combined, again scraping the bowl and beater to make sure everything is well combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating until completely combined. Remove the bowl from the stand, and using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate wafer cookies and crushed pretzels, if using. Transfer the dough to a container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to harden.
  5. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C), position two oven racks in the center of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and set aside.
  6. Remove both doughs from the fridge and roll 12 golf ball-sized pieces of dough from each batch, being careful not to muddy them together. Carefully press one ball of strawberry and one ball of chocolate dough together, smoothing the edges to create a single round. Place the round on the cookie sheet and press down very gently to create a flat surface for even baking. Continue marrying the doughs and arranging them on the cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches (5cm) around each cookie. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes rotating the pans halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
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1 Review

Betty2021
Betty2021 May 9, 2021
I chose to make the milk and cookies recipe as a standalone cookie; the quantity of cocoa & coffee in it made a very strong, dark cookie, they didn't spread at all, and the overall effect sadly was rather dry. The milk & cookies effect I was looking forward to just didn't come across. I won't make them again, but for now I imagine they'll eat well with icecream.