The most popular Christmas cookie
It's chocolate chip. And I've got a baker's dozen worth of variations.
I read a scandalous bit of news this week. It was a poll out of Monmouth College that declared America’s favorite Christmas cookie was the iced sugar cookie.
(If you would, please appease Mr. Algorithm, and click the “like” button above.)
I’ve done extensive research into the history and popularity of the chocolate chip cookies for a cookbook proposal I’m working on (please think good thoughts!). I may have gotten my graduate degree in the history of the music hall in England during World War I, but I feel I’ve earned a PhD in cookies, with a concentration in chocolate chip.
Seven billion chocolate chip cookies are eaten every year in the United States, with over half of those baked up warm and gooey by home cooks. Nestle, who paid Ruth Wakefield, the creator of the Toll House cookie, a measly $1 for the rights to her recipe, now sells 90 billion chocolate chips a year. With about 660 chips per bag (yes, I counted), that’s over 136 million bags of Nestle chocolate chips, or about 150 cookies for every American.
And why not? They are versatile, far less fussy than a decorated sugar cookie and can be ready for eating in 30 minutes, or less (see my Emergency Cookie Recipe below).
Make sugar cookies if that’s your joy, cover your fingers in green food coloring, but me? I’ll be spending a fair part of the day making a selection of chocolate chip cookies to give out as gifts.
Below you’ll find a selection of different flavors and textures, along with gluten-free and diabetic-friendly options.
Remember: Chocolate chip cookie dough can be easily rolled into balls, wrapped well and frozen, which means you can have fresh, warm cookies whenever the need arises.
ps: there will be two more recipes arriving later today!
pps: Looking for a last-minute gift idea? Why not give them the gift of The Secret Life of Cookies newsletter, with its bi-weekly posts of recipes and kitchen history? Starting in January, I’ll be sharing many more stories about the kitchen and food lore.
Orange-Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Although the recipe calls for fresh cranberries, dried cranberries are a perfectly lovely substitution.
A “Perfect” Chocolate Chip Cookie
I tested Ravneet Gill’s so-called “perfect” chocolate chip cookie. Was this tender, gooey-with-melted chocolate that yielded gently as I bit into it perfect? Ooo, maybe you should try for yourself. Immediately.
Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This here is a cookie with a chewy middle and crispy edges, and rich with caramel flavor thanks to the alliance of brown butter, bourbon and toasted pecans, and of course plenty of dark chocolate chunks.
Irish Cream Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These happen to be gluten-free, but no one will ever know. These cookies are a family favorite.
Chocolate-Upon-Chocolate Cookies
A thick, chocolate, Levain-style cookie cookie with a just-crunchy outside and packed with a variety of chips. I used whole wheat flour, oat flour and almond flour instead of the usual all-purpose white flour for a tender, lush cookie that is ever-so chocolatey.
Mormor Cookies
“Mormor” means grandma in Swedish, and is also what you’ll be saying after having one. I don’t have favorites, but chunks of Lindt Chocolate Orange bar really up the chocolate chip game. These are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle.
Peanut Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Wait, wait. This one is my favorite. I mean, one of my favorites. I mean, my favorite for a peanut butter cookie that has chocolate chips in it. Yes. This is the cookie I turn to when cookies are needed medicinally, you know, for mental and moral support.
Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cakey lumps of love are laden with butterscotch and chocolate chip and are a family favorite.
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie is chewy with a delicate real strawberry flavor and flecked with pink dots (Let’s go, Barbie!)
Thick, Rich, Chocolate Chip Cookies
A thick, soft cookie with a just-crunchy outside, I used whole wheat flour, oat flour and almond flour instead of the usual all-purpose white flour. It bumps the nutritional content up, and also adds to the cookie’s tenderness.
Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
Even if you are one of those people who sneer at white chocolate—who, admit it, mock those people who think white chocolate deserves full-on chocolate status—you will enjoy this cookie. I know because I used to be that person. But hear me out: the white chocolate bits add bursts of sweet creaminess wherever they are put. And here, they play along with the buttery macadamia nuts and bright lemon flavor.
Not-so-Sweets for the Sweet
A diabetic- and keto-friendly cookie that everyone will enjoy. Promise.
Emergency Chocolate Chip Cookies
Always keep a bag or three of Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix in the cupboard. Plus, I show you how to turn the basic mix into a fancy pistachio garam masala cookie.
What makes for your perfect chocolate chip cookie?
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You are the best! Cannot wait for that cookbook!!
I pulse some oatmeal and bittersweet chocolate in my food processor and add it to my dough. Delicious! ❤️