If you’ve been hanging around the food blogging world since the early days, you are likely familiar with Dorie Greenspan. If you aren’t, let me suggest that you make yourself familiar with the wondrous Dorie at your earliest convenience. To me, Dorie is precisely what we all hope to find in a cookbook or blog author. She has great taste and writes perfect reliable recipes while presenting them in a voice that feels like she has been your dear friend for ages. I can count on zero fingers the number of Dorie recipes I have tried that I have not liked at all.
When I saw her most recent cookbooks, Dorie’s Cookies, I’ll admit I was not all that enthused. An entire book about of cookies? Some “blogs” go that route, but it’s the same base recipe with a million different mix ins and allll the sponsored content. Pass. Given that this was Dorie though, I had a hunch it would be worth investigating. Indeed, Dorie understood my hesitation. In her introduction, she addresses this very notion when she says, “With this book, I wanted to get a fresh look at cookies, to see what they could be when, along with butter, sugar, eggs and flour, I added curiosity. I wanted to see if the cookies could stretch with me.” These lines piqued my interest. My interest held through the initial browsing and was thoroughly solidified when I came across the chapter “Cocktail Cookies”, as in, cookies to enjoy with cocktails.
As soon as I came across this section, I was SOLD. I was bookmarking recipes left and right. When my darling Josie came to visit for Thanksgiving, it seemed the perfect opportunity to try some of them out. I made five (!) varieties and that was the least I could manage. Each and every one I have tried so far has been wonderful, but these smoky cheesy cookies stood out as my personal favorite. They are simultaneously like and yet nothing like Cheez-Its. Call them crackers, call them cookies, call them perfection as Chandler surely would. Whatever you call them, do make them. They are the perfect addition to any appetizer spread and if you are attending any holiday parties, I highly recommend you bring some of these along. Trust me!