Restaurants turn to cookies for dessert

When you think of restaurant desserts, images of carefully composed quenelles of whipped cream placed beside a gorgeous slice of cake may come to mind. Some restaurants are turning their attention toward something a little more humble: cookies. Pastry chefs are giving cookies a makeover, introducing new flavors and making other tweaks, and placing them on their dessert menus.

According to Miro Uskokovic of Gramercy Tavern in New York City, “Cookies don’t get the attention they deserve because people think cookies are too simple and ordinary.” He thinks that chefs don’t need to have elaborately plated, complex preparations to showcase their talents. His ‘Cookie Plate’ features rotating combinations of unique creations and updated classics, served with a cold glass of  milk. 

Another trend is the super-sized cookie, perfect for sharing at the end of a meal. Restaurant Avvio in Rhode Island offers a huge Almond Cornmeal Cookie, which the server smashes tableside. The resulting shards are ideal for dipping into the butterscotch and whipped cream served alongside the cookie.

Photo of Edouard’s chocolate chip cookies from Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan