Midtown Lunch

Dorie Greenspan’s Annual CookieBar Pop-Up opened yesterday at the Mizu Salon (Park btw 59th+60th) and I stopped by to check out some of her new flavors including the new “Cocktail Cookie Collection”, which come in tubes for $10. These cookies are meant to be served as before-dinner appetizers, and come in flavors Cocoa-Cayenne, Rosemary-Parmesan, Sesame-Sea Salt, and Cranberry-Five Spice. All I have to say is where were these Sunday night!? I will say this… if you’re one of the smart guys cooking their lady dinner next week, having these on hand would win you bonus points. But I didn’t indulge in the savory, I went straight for the sweet, picking up a new flavor and an old classic.

The new flavors this year are Brown Sugar and Spice Jammers, Peppermint-Chocolate Sables, and the return of the Crash-O-Cookies. Being a crazy Thin Mint fan, I went with the Peppermint-Chocolate Sables. Sable are French butter cookies, but crumblier and made with just egg yolks. They’re less sweet than American cookies which allows for other flavors to come through. This cookie is made with Valrhona cocoa and a decent amount of peppermint, and ends up tasting like everything the Thin Mint wishes it could be. Just the right amount of minty high notes, with a rich chocolate base. The top is sprinkled with white sugar bits that add more textural contrast than flavor.

Dorie’s Chewy, Chunky Blondies have been on the menu each year, but this is the first time I’ve picked one up. They’re made with a heavy hand on the brown sugar, mini chocolate chips, coconut bits, and toasted pecans, and definitely live up to their chewy name. At $3 it’s the most expensive thing there, but don’t be led off by the price since it’s big enough to be the perfect mid-afternoon treat. Other returning cookies are World Peace (which is buy two, get one free), French Vanilla Sable, Blueberry Jammers, and Espresso-Chocolate Shortbreads.

The CookieBar will be at Mizu through this week.  And you can follow them on twitter, @cookiebarnyc

CookieBar @Mizu Salon, 505 Park Avenue, btwn 59+60th