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Sweet and Savory

Discover sweet and savory cookie recipes with bold flavors, subtle spice, herbs, cheese, and unexpected combinations that somehow work beautifully.

Picture of umeboshi cookies

Umeboshi Cookies: A Japanese-Inspired Global Fusion Dessert

Some flavors sound like they belong in dessert. Umeboshi is not one of them. Every time I think of umeboshi, I think of my host mother from Japan. Whenever she saw them, she’d always remind me how healthy they were. Technically, what she said was 体にいい — “good for the […]

Smoky BBQ Cookie Picture.

BBQ in a Cookie? Stay With Me.

Some recipes come from tradition. Others come from curiosity. These BBQ passionfruit cookies came from a little bit of both. This one started with Isra from Tunisia, who answered the call to help choose my next flavor. She’s already inspired one Tunisian cookie (still coming!), but this time she flipped […]

Mango chiles with mango in the background and bird's eye chiles in the foreground.

Mango Chile Cookies: Where Tropical Sweetness Meets Chile Heat

I adore the combination of mango and chili in this cookie. This recipe was one of the first I developed, inspired by Kwelda, who had a passion for mangoes—and hot spices. She loved spice so much that she once asked where my ingredients for cooking were, but meant solely spices. […]

Vibrant, Spicy, & Totally Unique: Mango Passionfruit Fruit Chaat Crinkle Cookies

I adore this recipe for its vibrant, tropical flavors and the delightful kick of spiciness with every bite. They are thick, gooey, and absolutely scrumptious. More importantly, they bring back memories of Salaar and my first experience having people observing Ramadan living with my family. For those who may not […]

Thumbprint Cookies with a Twist: Manchego & Lemon Curd Thumbprints

I never thought that I would make a cookie made with cheese. But here we are. Manchego. It’s a sheep’s milk cheese that comes from the La Mancha region of Spain. I was more familiar with the La Mancha region of Spain from The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La […]

image of carrot harissa cookies

Sweet Heat Fusion: Harissa Spiced Carrot Cookies

I love these cookies for their subtle sweetness and kick at the end. They’re actually a little like Yasser, though he would take exception to being described as sweet. He’ll just have to deal with it. Harissa will always make me think of Yasser. He spoke of it lovingly throughout […]