I hope you all have been having a great week so far, especially getting back into the grind after the holiday. Before you know it, it's going to be the weekend again, meaning it'll be time to kick back, relax and enjoy......with a glass of wine & some cookies perhaps? YES. You heard that right-cookies & wine.
Recently, I was introduced to a company from Falls Church, VA called Cookies & Corks-a company that offers a one-of-a-kind experience by creating all-natural, gourmet, sweet and savory cookies carefully crafted to pair with wines (red, white & sparkling wines). By using some of the finest ingredients (even kosher salt in each cookie to tone down the sweetness, making it perfect) such as rosemary, espresso, bittersweet chocolate and more, these cookies make the perfect accompaniment to wine & even without wine, if you want to have a little treat for yourself while on-the-job or to share with your children. In addition, if you check out their website, they also have a great list of other "popular" pairings, such as with beers & teas, so there's really something for everyone to try. Trust me, even the pickiest tastebuds (like my mom & dad) will fall in LOVE with these truly, delightful bites.
Let's get started:
✽Beautiful boxes of Cookies & Corks: Red Wine, White Wine & Sparkling Wine Pairings
✽Sparkling Wine Cookie Pairings (Top to Bottom): Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal, Zesty Lemon & Parmesan Thyme. Individually wrapped, five cookies each.
✽Close-up of the Sparkling Wine Cookie Pairings:
-Parmesan Thyme (top left): such a great combination. The cookie itself was soft, yet packed with full of flavors. You can really taste the parmesan within the cookie, and the thyme just really sets it off as well. It had that fresh pizza scent to it (maybe it's just me).
-Zesty Lemon (top right): I've also been a lemon kind-of-gal. Meringues, pies, tarts, you name it. This cookie was exceptional-full of real lemon flavor, sprinkled with sugar on top to give it that crunch.
-Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal(bottom): The sea salt definitely sets it apart from other cookies I've had before. It balances out the sweetness from the chocolate, while still giving it a unique aspect, in addition to the oat-yness of it. My favorite out of the bunch, which was so hard to choose.
✽Since no one in my family drinks sparkling wine, I wasn't able to pair these with any sparkling wine, but like I mentioned earlier, these cookies are fantastic, even without wine. I really enjoyed the zesty lemon with my chai tea, and my dad loved the parmesan thyme with his specialty beers.
✽Red Wine Cookie Pairings (Top to Bottom): White Cheddar Rosemary, Shortbread, Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter. Some cookies were
broken in transit, but still delicious nonetheless.
✽Close-up of the Red Wine Cookie Pairings:
-Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter (top left): I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but I loved these cookies! The peanut butter was extremely subtle, as was the espresso flavor. These were kind of a twist on those black & white cookies, where white chocolate chips are used instead of peanut butter chips. Pretty darn tasty!
-White Cheddar Rosemary (top right): Since I'm slightly allergic to rosemary, I couldn't have any of these. But for my family members who love anything herb/seasoned, they loved these. They said the cheddar wasn't too overpowering, nor was the rosemary and that there were clear distinctions in flavors between the two.
-Shortbread (bottom): OH YES! Call me a shortbread fiend if you must-I absolutely love the buttery extraordinare known as shortbread. These were crunchy and were perfectly balanced, just like any shortbread should be. But unlike others, these didn't leave that dairy aftertaste in your mouth, and was instead, light and crispy. My absolute favorite of the bunch!
✽I think it was faith for me to pair these cookies with the red wines we had at home. Although I'm more of a white wine kind of gal, I had to try these pairings out. My parent's love their pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Why faith you ask? Because of the two cookies I paired, they were a great pair, according to the table. The rich, fruity undertones of red wine really brought out the flavors of these cookies, my mouth was in a wild rage of flavor, doing the cha cha. And it's understandable that red wine & chocolate just go together-it's an aphrodisiac.
✽White Wine Cookie Pairings (Top to Bottom): Apricot Sage, Ginger Molasses, and Peanut Butter Chocolate. Again, cookies were a little damaged in transit, but that didn't bother me a single bit.
✽Close-up of the White Wine Cookie Pairings:
-Apricot Sage (top left): My favorite! These were soft and chewy, and actually perfect if you microwaved them up a little bit (weird,I know). I love anything sage (especially fish and chicken), but the dried apricot pieces was really where it was at. It gave the cookie that incredibly unique texture, along with the savoriness from the sage.
-Peanut Butter Chocolate (top right): Yum! Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but I loved how subtle these were. No overwhelming peanut butter tastes, just what seemed like a chocolate chip cookie with bits and pieces of peanuts.
-Ginger Molasses (bottom): Before I say anything, my mom devoured these as she drank her daily hot tea, before I could taste it myself. But from what she said, she loves anything with ginger because of the spiciness and kick it gives when added to pretty much anything. She also loved that the molasses perfectly balances out the flavor, as well as the sugar crystals to give it just a little crunch.
✽I'm telling you I'm lucky. After the 4th of July, most of our wine was gone. Maybe about half a glass of chardonnay was left from the events of that night-which gave me the chance to sip and pair it with the apricot sage cookie and peanut butter chocolate (not ginger molasses since those were already gone). Wow-I've never tasted anything like that before-the dried apricots really just moistened up and was extremely pleasant as I continued to sip. In addition, the peanut butter chocolate was delicious as well.
✽TASTE (5/5): If it were possible to give it a higher, unrealistic rating, these would definitely have them! These cookies were incredible, some of the best I've had in a long while, and I don't say that often. They were fantastic alone, and amazing with wine-it's really just your personal preference. As I describe each cookie above, my absolute FAVORITE set was the sparkling wine set, even though I did not get to pair them together. If they were fantastic alone, I'm sure they'll be a mindblowing experience once I get my hands on some Brut or Prosecco. The red wine & white wine were JUST as fantastic! If you can't decide on getting one set, get all of them so you can experience something new. If you're strictly a red wine drinker, definitely purchase the red wine set, as the experts at Cookies & Corks really know what they're doing and how to pair the two perfectly. But don't forget to keep your tastebuds opened to new experiences, too!
✽RANDOM: When I was in high school, all of my friends would call me "Cookie Monster" from Sesame Street. My favorite color was blue and I absolutely loved my cookies, with my absolute favorite being chocolate chunk cookies. Naturally, upon seeing the chocolate flavors they offered, I had to snatch those up before my baby nieces and nephews and family members tore through them like ravaged fiends. Always have to make sure you get the good stuff for yourself first because as we're taught from a young age-sharing is caring ;).
Overall, I absolutely loved these cookies from Cookies & Corks and was so honored to have been sent a box each of their tantalizing wine+cookie pairings! It really gave me the opportunity to move out of my comfort zone of cheese&crackers with wine, and instead with cookies, which not to mention, is a million times better, honestly. You just don't get that sweet flavor you're yearning for when you drink a nice glass of wine with cheese and crackers, but having the option to get both savory (cheese & herb flavors and more) with the various sweet cookies they offer to pair with your wine, is really an eye-opening experience. I cannot wait to bring these to the next party I attend or the next girl's night in I host with my girlfriends because I promise, you're wine will have not tasted any more divine.
Check them out at:
Cookies & Corks
Show them some social media lovin':
Hope you all have a great day,
-Sandy
FTC: This product was generously sent to me for the purpose of conducting a review, but all reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
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