Regret: I did not have time to visit Dorie and Josh Greenspan's pop up shop, CookieBar, in NYC on my recent visit.
However, the earth does seem to balance itself out, and when I visited the Serious Eats offices, they happened to have a box of sweeties from the shop.
What does this mean? I got to try Dorie Greenspan's cookies, that's what it means (ok, ok, she also had some stellar bakers helping with the baking: per Serious Eats, helpers included Johnny Iuzzini, Bradford Thompson, and Megan Fitzroy, along with volunteers fromThe French Culinary Institute.
I had chosen at random, and the one I chose, as it turned out, was the coconut lime cookie. It was a good decision.
Now, let me tell you about eating it. The first thing that hits you? The butter. The rich, tongue-coating buttery flavor.
And then a powerhouse of a sweet duel, from the sugar and the coconut, blossoming in perfect harmony with the butter and then giving a subtle sweet taste, which is then countered by the bright ray of zingy lime sunshine.
And then a small sea of more subtle flavors: the nuttiness of the coconut as an aftertaste, the lightest touch of bitterness (from zest perhaps?).
And finally--finally--the salt. And all Dorie stalkers--er, fans--know how important that is. As she says in Paris Sweets
salt is pastry's unsung hero...a pinch is enough to balance the sugar in a tart crust, underscore the flavor in any chocolate dessert, give caramel that certain je ne sais quoi.
In a word: perfection. Or should I say parfait?
Alas, the CookieBar was only open through February 12, but you can read all about it here, or read a comprehensive roundup of the deliciousness that was CookieBar at Serious Eats.