7 Unusual (But Delicious) Cookie Ingredients
Posted by Gwen Watson on Mar 13, 2015
Every now and then I’ll come across a cookie that surprises me. I once thought I was biting into a simple chocolate chip cookie, only to realize that it had bacon in it! It was unusual, but delicious. So that got me thinking – what ingredients may seem a little odd in cookies at first glance, but taste amazing? Here’s what I discovered:
Bacon
As I already mentioned, bacon is a very nice addition to any chocolate chip cookie recipe – so use your favorite! I also learned that overall, bacon is a natural compliment to chocolate. Who knew? It gives these chocolate cookies a bit of a crunch while delicately infusing the bacon flavor.
Potato Chips
Have you ever had pecan sandies? Well, as it turns out, if you omit the pecans and add crushed potato chips instead, it makes for a really interesting (and surprisingly yummy) cookie. The only difference is that in the potato chip version of the cookie, you shouldn’t refrigerate the dough because the chips will get soggy.
Wasabi
When I bit into a wasabi-flavored chocolate bar, and I actually liked it, I wondered if you could make a successful cookie with the ingredient, too. Turns out, you can. The secret is to add enough wasabi so that you can tell it’s in the cookie, but not so much that it overpowers the rest of the ingredients.
Rosemary
I have a rosemary plant growing on my countertop and I never thought to put it in a cookie! You can put it in anything from chocolate chip cookies to shortbread cookies. My personal favorite is these rosemary shortbread cookies. I find the bright flavor of the lemon to compliment the rosemary nicely.
Salt
Salt is a natural compliment to anything sweet. I used to put salt on watermelon when I was a kid! I think that’s why bacon works well in dessert recipes. When I’m not in the mood for bacon but still want to give my sweet cookies a kick, sea salt does the trick! It tastes especially good in butter cookies but if you’re adventurous, you can add a bit of sea salt to just about any cookie recipe you have.
Green Tea
I drink green tea nearly every day. When I saw that people have been putting it in cookies, I simply had to try it! They were amazingly good. The cookies had a hint of flavor that reminded me of the outdoors, and the rest was all sweet cookie goodness. The tastiest of the cookies use matcha powder rather than the brewed tea for a more intense flavor.
Garlic
Garlic is probably the most unexpected cookie ingredient I’ve come across. It’s a staple in my pasta, but in my cookies? This recipe uses up to ten cloves of garlic and rather than taste odd, they’re actually pretty delicious! The garlic complimented the rest of the ingredients rather than overpower them.