Divine with Wine: Wine-Pairing Cookies from Cookies & Corks

It’s February! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the aroma of love is in the air.

In this month’s Best Bites box, we’ve included an especially romantic treat that’s perfect for every sweetheart on your list: Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies by Cookies & Corks.

These delicious cookies can be enjoyed old-school with a classic glass of milk, a foamy cappuccino, or a hot cup of tea. But what separates these bites from the rest is that Cookies & Corks are divine with wine.

Designed to pair with wines across the spectrum of red, white, and sparkling, take alternate sips of wine and bites of cookie for an experience that would make Cookie Monster envious!

Wine-pairing can be intimidating, you say? Never fear! Take a peek at Cookie Zen’s bright and colorful wine-pairing wheel for endless suggestions.

Zesty Lemon cookies can take on new flavor characteristics when paired first with a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, and then an earthy Merlot. Fan of Cabernet Sauvignon? Try it with the savory White Cheddar Rosemary cookie, and then the Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal.

Try several different Cookies & Corks flavors with a few different wines, and you’ve got the perfect plan for a romantic evening for two, or even a spa night with the girls.

It’s like being a kid again…only better!

We chatted with Chief Baker and Co-Founder Leah Kuo for the dish on Cookies & Corks.

Best friends and business partners Leah Kuo (left) and Laura Englander (right).

Cookies & Corks was founded by two mothers that met at a playgroup. How did that happen?
It was one of those chance meetings where you can find support from a parenting group and form great friendships beyond just having kids in common. Back in 2009 I had just moved from Washington, D.C. to Falls Church, Virginia to take care of my young family.

Since I was new to the area, I joined a mother-run playgroup to get to know other moms and children in the same age group as my own. The playgroup, led by Laura Englander, was part of a larger organization called the “Arlington Falls Church Metro Mommies”. Laura is our co-founder here at Cookies & Corks.

Laura and I meshed, and our kids became fast friends, too. Laura has a business background, and I have a culinary background, and as we formed a great friendship we found out that we both had the goal of running our own business.It was a natural fit for us: while being our own bosses, we had a friendship and could watch our kids grow up as pseudo-siblings.

How did Cookies & Corks begin?
We started out with 9 classic flavors, like Oatmeal Raisin and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, and made them to order for businesses and events. We knew that our original cookies were delicious, and to show this to everyone we knew that we had to do something different.

Our local wine and cheese shop also sold our cookies.

Now, what was that “something different” that we could do?

Laura suggested to the tasting room owner a “cookie and wine tasting event.” The owner didn’t want kids in the shop, and was incredulous at the idea of pairing cookies with wine.

We took this as our personal challenge, our chance to be different.

When we think of cookies, a tall glass of milk usually comes to mind. How did you figure out how to pair cookies with wine?
Right! When you think of a cookie you think of milk, or even tea.

When pairing wine with food, people usually think about it in terms of colors. Like, red wine is always full-bodied and heavy, and white wine is always light and crisp. But red wines expand over the spectrum from super-light to heavy.

What’s more important when pairing is the body of the wine. So the body of the wine could be like the fat percentage in milk. Skim milk is very light, while heavy cream is very rich, like a Bordeaux. In this way, wine is like milk! (Laughing) It’s really more accessible than you’d think!

Why is wine and food pairing so intimidating?
Using our cookies, we wanted to teach people a FUN way to do wine and food pairing.

According to our own “Cookie Sommelier,” Amy Reiley, pairing is difficult because the food can be altered such that the original wine recommendation no longer works as well. But with cookies, they cannot be altered. What you see is what you get! So, as a sommelier (soh-mel-yay, a professional wine steward) you can make a solid pairing recommendation.

Amy also created our cookie and wine pairing wheel, showing the best possible pairings.

While there are experts that can tell us what flavors work well together, we want our fans to experiment, have fun, and find their own favorites. Don’t feel constrained to “guidelines.” Be adventurous!

Valentine’s Day is coming up. What are some ways we can enjoy your cookies for a romantic evening with our sweetheart, or a fun evening with all our single friends?
We definitely think of Valentine’s day as a time for girlfriends and boyfriends or husbands and wives to give gifts that they can both enjoy together. Our cookies are a great size for sharing, too. Having a glass of wine with our cookies is romantic and whimsical, and can start a fun discussion as you talk about all the flavors.

We’re advocates of good food, good conversation and good fun. So for Valentine’s day, our cookies are great as a conversation starter.
Get a group of girls together, grab a few bottles of wine and Cookies & Corks, and have a great time without worrying about being attached. You don’t have to go out to have a good time, just spend time with the people you love the most. That’s the best recipe!

Craving Cookies & Corks? Our friends at Cookies and Corks is offering their Cookie and Wine Pairing boxes at 10% OFF + Free shipping. GRAB OFFER Now.

Learn more about Cookies & Corks at https://cookiesandcorks.com/

All photos courtesy of Cookies & Corks.

Get Cooking Tips and More

Share

Tweet