Cookies & Crumbs: Chunky, Chewy, Gooey Cookies for Every Mood

Hengstenberg, founder of Stokholm’s Krümel bakery, debuts with a tempting collection of 34 inventive cookie recipes. After opening with an account of how she founded her business during the pandemic, Hengstenberg runs through handy tips (toast nuts before using them to release their flavor), instructions for choosing the best ingredients (look for butter with the highest possible fat content), and an inventory of necessary equipment. The recipes are sorted into “gooey and chunky,” which are loaded with goodies and seem almost underbaked; “gooey and soft,” which have an “airier and lighter crust”; and “chewy and soft,” which are slightly denser due to using melted butter. Alongside fresh twists on old standbys, such as brown butter chocolate chip cookies, adventurous flavor combinations include prune and five spice cookies; a saffron, pistachio, and white chocolate batch that is “perfect for Christmas”; and tomato and vanilla cookies made with dried tomato powder and black onion seeds. Hengstenberg rounds things off with a handful of vegan and gluten free options, including hazelnut and Earl Grey cookies made with buckwheat flour, and suggestions for using up any leftovers (make “krüm’balls” by mixing cookie crumbs with milk and espresso, then rolling them in chocolate and nuts). This creative and encouraging handbook is sure to get home bakers fired up. (Apr.)