Sazerac Cooler Cookies Think They're Cocktails
A cookie that thinks it's a cocktail
This is the second in our monthlong series, 12 Days of Cookies, featuring classic and inventive recipes from across the country.
We're known to occasionally order another cocktail in lieu of dessert. But Taria Camerino, pastry chef at Atlanta's The Optimist, did us one better by creating these Sazerac Cooler cookies (see the recipe). The buttery numbers are subtly flavored with the key components of the classic drink: rye, Herbsaint and Peychaud's Bitters.
Camerino came up with the recipe as a tribute to her grandparents, who met in New York and drank Sazeracs every Sunday with their New Orleans-born neighbor. "My grandfather worked in a shipping yard. He hated the cold and loved to listen to his neighbor talk about New Orleans's warm southern climate," says Camerino. "Ultimately, the New York winters became too much, and my grandparents moved down south, inspired by the Sazeracs and stories."
We'd bet that Gramps would love these rounds of spiked shortbread; the iconic flavors of bitters, anise and whiskey equal instant sugary warmth.