Snack Review: Damn Good Cookies
Hey Snackers! Quick intro, since I’ve meandered my way over here from Candy Addict: I’m Monica; I really like cookies; and I love four-letter words. (It’s true. I know exactly the one I will supply when James Lipton inevitably asks for my favorite curse word one day, and it has exactly four letters.) Now, armed with this all-important information, it wouldn’t be difficult for one to imagine the warm reception that greeted the package of Chocolate Gourmet’s Damn Good Cookies (and Ugly Truffles, reviewed over at Candy Addict) when they recently arrived at my house. Jammed inside an unassuming cardboard box was a selection of ten different gourmet cookies for my sampling, a quantity that necessitated an act that falls decidedly lower on my list of favorites: sharing. So, tasting cohort by my side, I settled in for a sugarfest this weekend, and am happy to report my findings.
Chocolate Gourmet is a Chicago-based company that specializes in handmade cookies, truffles, and rugelachs to order. Because of this, they cannot be found in stores. Orders can be placed on their website or over the phone in any number of configurations and combinations and, lest there be any question, the products arrived fresh and looking very much like their tantalizing promotional pictures. Across the board, they are decidedly bite-sized, but what they lack in diameter they make up for in decadence. So without further ado I give you, Damn Good Cookies….
COOKIES
Maternal Macadamia Nut
“Crisp, rich sugar cookie with macadamia nuts and a sprinkling of vanilla sugar”
This buttery sugar cookie has an extra crunch from the ground up bits of macadamia nuts dotting the dough. More crisp than soft, the texture complements the distinct macadamia flavor. Personally, I’m accustomed to (and a fan of) white chocolate macadamia cookies, so these kind of tasted like something was missing to me, but if that’s not your frame of reference or preference, these are wholly satisfying.
Chubby Wubby Chocolate
“Bittersweet ganache sandwiched by two soft, bittersweet chocolate cookies each studded with bittersweet chocolate chips”
I’m a chocolate whore and these immediately captured my heart. They are a beastly stack of a cookie and smell intensely of cocoa. The cookie is so soft it is virtually indistinguishable from its ganache filling, making for an almost fudge-like experience, minus that tooth-achingly sweetness. Oh, and the chocolate chips provide the perfect bit of “bite.” This is the best pure chocolate cookie I daresay I’ve ever tasted.
Controlling Coconut
“Crisp coconut-encrusted cookie rolled in powdered sugar”
These finger-shaped cookies are drenched in powdered sugar. Both crunchy and crumbly, but not hard to bite in to, they have an airy quality that I guess would be akin to toasted coconut. The coconut flavor, however, is mild and tempered by the sweetness of the powdered sugar. As someone who is not a fan of coconut, I liked this cookie much more than I expected – especially its surprising texture.
Overprotective Pecan
“Cookie-coated pecan halves and bittersweet chocolate chips”
Pecans accompany coconut at the top of my least-favorite-flavors list, so the chocolate chips really served as sweet redemption here. Barely a cookie, these drops seemed to have only enough dough to hold together the pecans and chocolate, making for a very crunchy bite. If you like pecans and chocolate, this is the cookie for you. Ultimately, however, the bitterness of the pecans lingered on my tongue leaving, as it were, a bad taste in my mouth.
Precocious Peanut Butter
“Rich, delicate peanut butter cookie filled with white chocolate peanut butter cream and topped with a honey-roasted peanut”
This is the ultimate peanut butter cookie. It smells insanely peanut buttery and sweet, sporting three distinct elements. The cookie itself is soft – almost mimicking the texture of a warm peanut butter cookie. It’s airy, not too sweet, and dissolves quickly, making way for the – how shall I describe it? Oh, yes: ultra smooth peanut butter cloud. I didn’t really detect the flavor of white chocolate, but whatever went into that combo worked like a dream, concluding nicely with the crunch and distinct simplicity of the peanut. Mmm.
Rockabye Raspberry
“Crisp, sweet sugar cookie coated with vanilla sugar and filled with homemade raspberry conserve”
This simple, crumbly cookie sparkles from its sugary coat. The tart jam “popped” in my mouth while the buttery smoothness of the cookie lingered. It was a good enough jam cookie, but it didn’t blow me away or anything.
RUGELACHS
“A variety of fillings… hugged like only mama could… with sweet flaky cream cheese pastry”
Hold My Hand Hazelnut
“Crisp on the outside, hazelnut, chocolate, and date filling with hazelnut topping”
There was no confusing which flavor this one was, with the scent of dates just oozing out the sides of this shiny, flaky pastry. With the nuts providing a crunch that contrasted deliciously with the chew of the dates, I was all over the textural elements of this rugelach. I did not, however, detect any of that chocolate they mentioned. Now, I know that dates and figs are two different fruits entirely, and that the differences between cookies and Newtons have been explicitly laid out for us in many an ad campaign, but in experiencing this sample, I couldn’t help but think, “Fig Newton goes to the Prom.” I’m not sure exactly what that means as far as a review goes, but there you have it.
Save Your Appetite Apricot
“Crisp on the outside, moist apricot, golden raisin filling covered in toasted pecans”
This rugelach is noticeably more substantial than its counterparts – like a little brick. The soft, chewy apricot is sweet, distinctive, and complemented by the crunch of the pecans; however, its flavor is tempered by the raisins. As an apricot fan, I would’ve preferred more apricot and less raisin.
Precious Peach
“Crisp on the outside, sweet peach filling with smoked almonds inside and out”
Peach is always such a tease, I find. It smells so strong and enticing and the flavor rarely lives up to the expectation. Here was no exception. I thought I would like this rugelach best, especially with the inclusion of my favorite nut, but the overall experience was just “Eh.” I found it kind of bland.
Cherished Cherry
“Crisp on the outside, moist cherry, pineapple, and coconut filling with a cinnamon-sugar topping”
This rugelach had the flakiest pastry of all and the cherry and pineapple made for an interesting mix. Personally, I would’ve liked plain cherry, but this was my favorite of the rugelachs, and I didn’t taste coconut outside of the decidedly “tropical” flavor of the cookie as a whole.
As a collection, I thought these cookies were very good. There were some stand-out stars like Chubby Wubby Chocolate and Precocious Peanut Butter, balanced by the likes of Precious Peach and Overprotective Pecan. But the overriding question in my head throughout the reviewing was always if they were worthy of their four-letter name. Upon finishing my last sample, I decided that they were straddling the darn/damn border, for sure, but in the right mood, I could go with it.
And then. And then I had a stroke of genius. You see, the good people over at Chocolate Gourmet sent me duplicates of a few of their cookies and, mercifully, Chubby Wubby Chocolate had been one of them. What would happen, I couldn’t help but wonder, if I stuck that bad boy in the freezer for a couple hours?
Well I never…. Truly. This lethally delicious treat BLEW MY FACE OFF. It tasted like frozen chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough, except not quite solid. Thank God I only had one because I would eat these UNTIL THE END OF TIME. They deserve a moniker of only the most aggressive of four-letter words, and on their strength alone the entire offerings of Chocolate Gourmet can move solidly into “damn” territory. Order quantities of Chubby Wubby Chocolate cookies. Freeze. Have your face blown off. Thank me later.
5 Comments
Alix on February 23rd, 2009
Can NO ONE use the subjunctive properly? The tagline should read “The kind you wish your mother had made.” Yes, I’m a grammar geek, so sue me. If these people can’t write proper English, I ain’t* buying their cookies, which is too bad, because the macadamia ones look heavenly.
*Ironic usage.
AnnaB on March 2nd, 2009
Alix: What if your mother COULD have made biscuits like these, but refused to? Wouldn’t they then be “Biscuits you wish your mother would have made”?
Candy Addict » Candy Review: Ugly Truffles on March 27th, 2009
[...] I received my generous shipment of Ugly Truffles and Damn Good Cookies from Chocolate Gourmet, however, I immediately recognized that the only way I’d be able to [...]
Lollirocks on November 24th, 2009
Alix my mom is an editor and I would totally buy these!
Jim on February 20th, 2009
Monica! Welcome to Snackerrific. Terrific debut review, and I have to tell you I need to get my hands on these cookies — they sound f*@#ing awesome! I mean, DAMN!