2023’s Best Cities for Cookie Lovers

What’s your favorite underrated holiday cookie?

A cookie that sometimes gets overlooked at the holidays is Jan Hagel. It is a Dutch cookie that is a favorite in my husband’s family. They are from Pennsylvania Dutch country and he always asks for it during the holidays. It is a flaky crispy cookie studded with sliced almonds. They are perfect to eat with coffee on Christmas morning.

What is your best tip for making delicious cookies that can appease a crowd?

Make them ahead. During the holiday season, there are always parties and potlucks that pop up. Making cookies ahead and freezing them before the rush of the holidays can really cut down on stress.

Also, look for cookies that are small bites, like the traditional spritz cookie. One recipe can feed a large crowd. Adding sprinkles or dividing the dough and coloring it can add variation to your cookie platter.

What is one key ingredient you can use in place of dairy products or flour when making cookies that adhere to veganism, gluten-free, or other dietary restrictions without minimizing the taste?

One of my absolute favorite secret ingredients in making vegan cookies is aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas). If I am looking to make a quick but festive gluten-free and vegan cookie, my go-to is always going to be a vegan meringue made with aquafaba instead of egg whites. Aquafaba is a little less fussy than the precision needed with whipping egg whites but you really need a stand mixer to whip them up into soft peaks.

What is one emerging trend in the world of cookies?

Using savory ingredients in cookies is a trend I’m seeing more and more. Rosemary, bacon, and cheese in cookies provide a savory note that is a counterpoint to the sweetness of the holiday season.

What is one reason for the rise in popularity of late-night cookie vendors and delivery services like Crumbl Cookies and Insomnia Cookies?

I live in a college town, so late-night cookie vendors and delivery services are really popular. Convenience is key –– who can resist having a melty chocolate chip cookie delivered for a 2 a.m. study break?

What’s your favorite underrated holiday cookie?

The cutout butter cookie. I grew up with that cookie, and it’s a familiar, but simple cookie.

What is your best tip for making delicious cookies that can appease a crowd?

Choose one that would not have multiple ingredients. If there are too many ingredients, people may not like certain elements. A good chocolate chip cookie is always a winner. You can’t go wrong with that.

What is one key ingredient you can use in place of dairy products or flour when making cookies that adhere to veganism, gluten-free, or other dietary restrictions without minimizing the taste?

A shortening instead of butter is a good option and won’t alter the taste the way margarine would. It would also make a crispier cookie. Nut flours, like coconut flour, are good options for swaps too.

Check out this recent story about the University of Richmond bake shop

What’s your favorite underrated holiday cookie?

I would say it’s pecan snowball cookies. They are not as easy to find as other popular cookies such as chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisins, molasses cookies, and thumbprint cookies.

What is one emerging trend in the world of cookies?

They are always the must-have items for many consumers, especially during holidays. Despite their nostalgic connotations, one emerging trend in the cookie world is the continuing innovation of the recipe.

It’s hard to stand out among the competition if stores always work around classic recipes such as chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and ginger molasses. I have seen increasingly interesting and unconventional recipes from bakeries. These unique flavors are often paired with a premium price but still are attractive to customers.

I remember visiting bakeries that have interesting combinations such as pretzel and salted caramel, pumpkin chocolate chip, and marshmallow and peanut in a single piece. I was happily paying a premium price and believed they were worth trying.

What is one reason for the rise in popularity of late-night cookie vendors and delivery services like Crumbl Cookies and Insomnia Cookies?

These late-night cookie vendors have gained much popularity in recent years. Both brands use the appeal of “the late night crave” to promote an indulging experience. I believe Insomnia Cookies is branded towards college students who often stay up late.

The idea of a late-night treat and early-morning snack has its market demand. That’s why many of their stores are usually located around college campuses. Likewise, but with a slightly different strategy, Crumbl Cookies is known for its rotating menu which has generated social media buzz for the brand image of being fun and tasty. Customer engagement plays a major role in its success.

What’s your favorite underrated holiday cookie?

My favorite cookie is a shortbread cookie, which is totally underrated. There’s so much you can do with the shortbread cookie.

What is your best tip for making delicious cookies that can appease a crowd?

To appease a crowd, generally a shortbread butter style cookie or a sugar butter style cookie will go really well. Then you can dip them in white chocolate, dark chocolate, sprinkles –– whatever you’d like. I also love to decorate sugar cookies with buttercream icing.

What is one key ingredient you can use in place of dairy products or flour when making cookies that adhere to veganism, gluten-free, or other dietary restrictions without minimizing the taste?

The key ingredient question is a really tough one. It’s hard to adhere to veganism, gluten-free, and sugar-free and have one ingredient that works. Peanutbutter is the one ingredient that comes to mind, but peanut allergies are so prevalent that even that ingredient is tough to use for everyone.

What is one emerging trend in the world of cookies?

One pan cookie bars are on the rise. They are versatile and easy for those on the run.

What is one reason for the rise in popularity of late-night cookie vendors and delivery services like Crumbl Cookies and Insomnia Cookies?

Insomnia cookies and all the other brands out there that deliver late at night are really very popular particularly among college students. We are a society that wants what we want when we want it, and just like checking into the Doubletree and enjoying a hot chocolate chip cookie, Insomnia Cookies and the other brands fit that need at any time of day.