The folks at my laundromat love me. I’d like to think that’s because of my effervescent personality, but in reality it’s because 1) I spend a lot of money there, and 2) I drop off a big box of assorted cookies during the holidays every year. I once heard one employee whispering to a new hire, “That’s the Cookie Man.” It’s a moniker I wear with pride.
“Cookies” — my first cookbook, a collection of New York Times Cooking’s 100 best cookie recipes — came out on Tuesday, and the response, coupled with the amount of times I’ve watched the new “Wicked” trailer, has me decidedly in my feels. I’ve spent the whole week reflecting on how cookies have changed me … for good.
One of the first times I ever flew solo in the kitchen was when I tried to make Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies around the age of 8 (emphasis on tried). I brought homemade cookies to my first ever professional job interview (I got the job, but not without some eye rolls). The first recipe I ever developed for New York Times Cooking was a cookie; the first NYT Cooking video I ever appeared in was about the famed $250 cookies. And, of course, I owe so much to Cookie Week and I love how connected it makes me feel to all of you.
Cookies have been there in every chapter of my story, and this book is an expression of my gratitude and love for them.
People ask me all the time what my favorite cookie is. I’ll respond, cheekily, “Whichever one I’m holding in my hands.” But truthfully, it’s a very good chocolate chip cookie, what I consider the greatest American sweet of all time. I dedicated a whole chapter in “Cookies” to it, and this month’s Monthly Bake is, to me, the cookie in its final form: salted butterscotch chocolate chunk cookies.
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