Updating Classic Cookies

By Charlie Baggs and Kirstin Massmann, Contributing Editors

When we talk about classic cookies, a few automatically come to mind: Chocolate chip, sugar, shortbread, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin. However, we all have run across other types, such as biscotti, macaroons, cake-like madeleines and the cookie version of a Linzer torte, linzer cookies, from time to time.

Although all of these cookies are still made, within the last few years many classic cookies are being updated and transformed into something a little differentor in some cases, very different--much like we have seen with cupcakes rise to newfound popularity. The exciting part is that cookies are even more versatile than cupcakes, especially considering their culturally diverse roots, many of which have found a home among the myriad classic American options.

Around the world and back

Each culture has its own classic specialty cookies. Italian cookies include the aforementioned biscotti, but another Italian classic is the pizzelle (a waffle cookie). The oldest gingerbread recipe from the 16th century is in the Germanic National Museum, and Germans use a similar recipe to bake Lebkuchen. The spritz cookie (its name taken from Spritzgebäck; spritzen in German means squirt"), especially popular around the holidays in wreath and Christmas-tree shapes, is another German classic. The French have the increasingly popularand always colorfulmacaron, with two cookies sandwiching a buttercream filling. Some cultures have similar cookies that have remained popular. For an example, Italian wedding cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, Russian tea cakes and butterballs are the same shortbread-like cookie made with pecans and butter, and rolled in powdered sugar.

Classic cookies can be broken down into different types categorized by how the dough is handled. Drop cookies--dropped in a ball onto a cookie sheet--are some of the most common. The most-common drop cookie is also our most famous cookie, the chocolate chip. Molded cookies are shaped with hands, often into balls, or baked in molds. Forcing dough through a cookie press creates pressed cookies, like spritz. Icebox, or refrigerator, cookies start off with dough rolled up into a log shape that is chilled, then sliced and baked. Icebox cookie types are common in retail refrigerated cases, as slice and bake" cookies. Rolled cookies are made by rolling out the cookie dough and cutting out different shapes and sizes with cookie cutters. These cookies are often iced and decorated once baked and cooled. Another type of cookie is the sandwich cookie, generally more common in retail than homemade, with two cookies sandwiching a filling. Most of these types of cookies can be replicated by manufacturing equipment, such as wire-cut machines, rotary moulders, extruders and sheeters/cutters.

By bringing together cultural diversities and cookie types, new updated cookies will continue to develop. A few trends, including natural ingredients, allergy-free and healthy indulgence" cookies, as well as those that highlight new and interesting ingredients, will all find their place in the upcoming cookie craze.

Local, natural and organic

The idea of consuming natural, local and sustainable foods is not just affecting the meat and vegetable industries, but cookies, as well. Consumers are starting to look forand findspecialty cookies that meet these needs at grocery stores, bakeries and restaurants, as well as from manufacturers.

Luckily, cookies ingredients are capable of being all natural." Likewise, using organicand, in some cases, localingredients, including butter, eggs, sugar, oats, nuts and chocolate, is a clear option for cookies. Since the commercial leaveners commonly used in cookies are not organic, products would fall into the organic" (95% organic ingredients) or made with organic ingredients" (70% organic ingredients) categories.

Local takes on cookies can yield some particularly interesting results. For instance, a Michigan-style oatmeal cookie might contain a bit of wild-rice flour and have dried cherries vs. the more-traditional raisins, while Oregon might produce a hazelnut shortbread cookie instead of relying on the familiar pecan. A trail mix" oatmeal cookie from Colorado might include various dried fruits and nuts. In the South, cookies might take a sweeter route using regional pecans in a praline cookie, while in Kentucky cookies could benefit from an accent of bourbon flavor.

Allergens and intolerances

Four years ago, you had to scour all grocery and specialty stores in hopes of finding one brand of gluten-free cookies. Today, gluten-free options are expected at restaurants, and grocery stores carry a wide variety of gluten-free products, including cookies.

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats. Milling companies have begun to recognize the demand for gluten-free products and have produced substitutes for wheat flours, such as tapioca, sorghum, corn and potato flours. These ingredients provide the starch that is needed in cookies, as well as some protein. However, they dont produce the same desired texture as gluten-containing standards.

White or brown rice flour is a common substitute for gluten-containing flours in cookies. Other options include almond flour, tapioca and potato starch. These alternatives do, however, lack the binding properties that gluten provides in cookies. To prevent excessive crumbling in gluten-free cookies, xanthan gum or guar gum can be added for their binding properties.

Other significant allergens include nuts, dairy and eggs. All of these ingredients can be replaced in cookies to appeal to individuals with allergies. Gums can help replace the functionality lost when avoiding use of egg products, and seeds, like pumpkin or sunflower, can add crunch to nut-free cookies.

A healthy indulgence

Cookies, in general, are never going to be considered healthy. However, bakers can take steps to make cookies a bit healthier.

When looking to improve the nutritional aspects of cookies, substituting some of the fat can come into play. After lard fell out of favor in the early 20th century, cookies were generally manufactured using partially hydrogenated shortening due to its longer shelf life, desired mouthfeel and lower cost than butter. But then researchers found that partially hydrogenated shorteningsby way of their trans fatty acidswere negatively affecting human health. By 2006, mandatory labeling of trans fats and outright bans on their use catalyzed sweeping changes in use of fats across the industry.

Many alternatives have been developed, including trans-free shortening and fats created via enzymatic interesterification (EIE). EIE rearranges the fatty-acid profile of the shortening without hydrogenation, eliminating trans fats and lowering saturated fats. For high-end cookies, butter can be substituted for shortening or margarine in cookies to help eliminate trans fats (beyond what naturally exists in dairy). In addition, special types of canola, soybean and olive oils that are higher in heart-healthy unsaturated fats are being used in cookies. However, bakers and formulators need to pay close attention to changes in mouthfeel, texture and, in some cases, flavor, when switching fats. To make cookies even healthier, substituting some of the fat with ingredients like applesauce or prune purée can cut fat levels and add fiber, with the bonus of a natural" ingredient on the label.

Bakers and product designers are also making other changes to the nutritional makeup of cookies. After USDA advised, in its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, that at least half of daily grains should be whole-grain, some bakers and manufacturers began replacing some or all of the refined white flour in cookies with whole-grain flour. Again, the differences in the finished product are mostly related to texturewith whole-grain cookies lacking the soft texture of those made with refined flourbut flavor and appearance, especially in a light-colored vanilla or butter cookie, can also be a factor.

Partially or completely substituting sugar in cookies has also grown in popularity. Options like sucralose and saccharin have now been joined by stevia. Only partially replacing the percentage of sugar in a formula will help cookies retain desirable chewiness. Alternate caloric sweeteners include honey, agave nectar and even dried fruit and/or fruit purées.

Executing flavor updates

But when pastry chefs and retail manufacturers are not trying to lure in health-conscious consumers with lowfat, sugar-free cookies, they are generally doing the opposite. Cookies can be quite an indulgence. There are three key ingredients that make these bites worthy of the indulgence: fat, sugar and salt. No matter what kind of cookie youre making, with these three ingredients, it becomes an indulgent treat.

Like everything else in our current flavor-forward generation, flavor trends with cookies have evolved into limitless possibilities. Some of the top cookie flavor trends have been born by taking a classic cookie base and adjusting it to make something new and trendy. For example, oatmeal-raisin cookies are traditionally sweet, with a touch of cinnamon. But an oatmeal cookie can successfully be flavored with sage or rosemary, omitting the cinnamon and raisins. They still have a sweet taste and visually resemble the childhood favorite, but provide a new twist for grown-up palates. Beyond traditionally savory herbs, cookies might also include hot peppers, interesting fruits like mango, and even bacon. Savory, fatty bacon is a natural to complement to chocolate, so adding real bacon piecesor perhaps a bacon flavorto the classic chocolate chip cookie is an option. Both mango and chiles can instantly update a macademia-nut cookie, bringing it into sweet-heat territory.

Restaurants and specialty bakeries have been busy mastering these innovative flavor concepts. Takahachi Bakery in New York is known for its Asian-inspired creations, like its Miso-Almond Cookie and Yuzu Macaron. The Miso-Almond resembles the classic almond cookie, but has salty and umami notes, which remind you that these arent your moms almond cookies.

Cookie Bar in Chicago has a number of out-of-the-box cookies, including the Jalapeño Chocolate Chip cookie and the Vegan Oatmeal Chile Mango Macadamia cookie. Cookie Bar has taken liberties with almost every classic cookie and created brand-new versions that only visually resemble their traditional counterparts.

Savor Fine Foods, located in Waterbury, CT, has a wide assortment of savory cookies. Options range from Lavender to Black Olive cookies that are made with Moroccan olive oil and cured olives. Seasonal options include Roasted Leek and Smoked Red Onion cookies. Its Krakatoa cookie features an intense chocolate flavor accented with orange and cardamom.

Although these interesting flavors are helping drive the cookie trend, giving them a more-updated profile, it does not mean that the basics are being left behind. You would be hard-pressed to walk into almost any cookie shop, store, restaurant or bakery that serves cookies and not find a classic chocolate-chip cookie.

Nevertheless, we are changing the face of desserts by taking our classically loved cookies and updating them into flavorful masterpieces. But remember, at the end of the day, in the world of cookiesand food in generalits all about flavor.

Charlie Baggs is president and founder of Charlie Baggs, Inc. (CBI), Chicago. He studied Hotel, Tourism, and Restaurant Management at Purdue University and Culinary Arts at the Culinary Institute of America. He has worked in many famous kitchens around the United States, including Ambria, Spiaggia, Marriot Hotels and Walt Disney, to name a few, and is a member of the Research Chefs Association. Kirstin Massmann is a culinary nutritionist for CBI. She earned her degree in Food Science, with an emphasis in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, from Clemson University. For more information, visit charliebaggsinc.com.