When summer draws to a close, we often find ourselves looking back at the summer memories we’ve made this year. Although holiday celebrations, convivial cookouts, and travels to new and exciting places are highlights of the year’s hottest months, we at Whisked! believe that can keep the spirit of summer alive throughout the year through the time-honored tradition of baking.
With that in mind, please allow us to take you on one last summer trip. No luggage or airline tickets are required — all you need is a kitchen, an oven, and an open mind for this virtual tour of... cookies from around the world!
Jamaica: Jamaican Chocolate Cookies
Jamaica has long been a major exporter of cocoa beans, so it’s no wonder that chocolate is a significant part of Jamaica’s culinary and cultural history. In celebration of Jamaican heritage, these distinctive chocolate cookies are made with a few surprising ingredients that are closely associated with Jamaican cuisine: ginger root, yams, and allspice, among others.
Via Taste of Home
Guyana: Guyanese Lime Cookies
Next on our tour is Guyana! Located at the northern end of South America, Guyana is known for its lush rainforests and tropical climate, as well as being the only South American nation to use English as its official language.
This recipe incorporates ingredients you might not think would go together (including cinnamon, nutmeg, and limes) to make a complex, flavorful cookie that’s perfect for end-of-summer festivities.
Via ButterYum
Argentina: Alfajores
Alfajores, otherwise known as dulce de leche sandwich cookies, are a classic dessert popular in latin countries around the world. This particular recipe is from Argentina, and contains many versatile ingredients you’ll find in Argentinian kitchens, like cornstarch, coconut, and dulce de leche (a caramel-like ingredient made by heating sweetened milk).
Germany: Chocolate Lebkuchen
Moving on to Europe, Lebkuchen are traditional Christmas cookies somewhat resembling gingerbread. Their history dates all the way back to ancient Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans, who all used honey as the main sweetener, but today’s German Lebkuchen are mostly distinguished by the nuts and proportions used in each variety.
This particular recipe uses a chocolate glaze that’ll make you say “auf wiedersehen” (meaning “see you later” in German) to any other desserts on the table.
Via Taste of Home
Finland: Finnish Pinwheel Cookies
Despite a reputation for cold and dark winters, Finland has been ranked as the world’s happiest country for the second consecutive year. If you’re wondering how that’s possible in a place where one quarter of the country lies above the Arctic Circle, the answer may have something to do with Joulutorttu, a traditional and delicious Christmas dessert which is like a cross between a cookie and a jam tart.
Joulutorttu, meaning “Christmas tart” in Finnish, is tough to pronounce, so we won’t hold it against you if you just call them ‘Pinwheel cookies’.
Via Taste of Home
Egypt: Kahk Cookies
Ramadan 2019 has come and gone, but we at Whisked! believe cookies are great for any time of year. Kahk cookies, a traditional Middle Eastern dessert typically made to celebrate the end-of-Ramadan feast known as ‘Eid-el-Fitr’ in the Islamic faith.
Kahk cookies are believed to date all the way back to 10th century Egypt, when palace kitchens made cookies stuffed with gold pieces to give to the poor. Thankfully, this modern recipe omits gold in favor of a healthy coating of powdered sugar and your choice of filling, so you’ll have plenty of time to experiment and find a favorite before next year’s Eid-el-Fitr.
Via Cleobuttera
China: Chinese Almond Cookies
Though not as well-known as the fortune cookie, Chinese Almond cookies are widely seen in Chinese-American cooking. Usually made in celebration of Chinese New Year, these cookies are meant to symbolize coins and bring good luck to those who eat them. This recipe yields a delightfully sandy, crisp cookie that pairs well with tea and festive New Year celebrations.
Via Simply Recipes
United States of America: Chocolate Chip Cookies
We end our journey in the United States: home to the chocolate chip cookie. In the 1930s, Ruth Graves Wakefield, the co-owner and head chef at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, chopped up bits of a Nestle chocolate bar and used them as an ingredient in her already-tasty cookies. They were an instant hit, and before long, Chocolate Chip cookies were sold in bakeries, restaurants, and stores across the world.
We at Whisked! honor the humble, homemade heritage of the chocolate chip cookie in our own recipe, and although we’re a little biased, we think we’ve made something that Mrs. Wakefield would be proud of. You can buy chocolate chip cookies online from Whisked! but we also order so many other delicious treats. Order cookies online, check out our mail order pies, or order vegan desserts online.
