Cookies. Maybe the first thing you
think of is chocolate chip, but there are way more than
that that are worth trying. The beloved dessert has a ton
of variation across cultures. Let's take a look at
what cookies look like around the world. Chocolate chip cookies were
actually invented by mistake in the 1930s, when Ruth Graves
Wakefield and her husband were running the Toll
House Inn in Massachusetts. Ruth was trying to make
chocolate butter drop cookies but ran out of baker's chocolate. She used some semisweet chocolate, thinking it would melt and
disperse in the cookie, but it held its shape. Now this accidental cookie is one of America's most loved desserts. Soft, rich, and cakey, black and white cookies
are vanilla cookies coated with chocolate icing on one side and vanilla on the other. They were once thin and crispy,
but during the 20th century, they became the thick,
cakelike cookies we know today. Despite the name, Mexican wedding cakes are actually cookies that
are light and buttery with a nutty flavor. Food historians believe the cookie might have originated in the Middle East during medieval times before
they became popular in Mexico. These cookies are formed into balls and coated with powdered sugar. Alfajores de maicena are delicate,
crumbly cookie sandwiches made from cornstarch. These cookies are filled
with dulce de leche and often rolled in coconut. They can be traced back to Spain but are popular in a few
South American countries including Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru. Macarons are meringue-based
cookie sandwiches that are usually held
together by buttercream, ganache, or jam. The elegant treat is usually
associated with France, but it was likely brought over from Italy in the 16th century. Also known as Dutch windmill cookies, speculaas are spiced short-crust
biscuits that are thin, crunchy, and have an
image stamped on the front before being baked. They're especially popular
around Christmastime in the Netherlands, Belgium,
and parts of Germany. Invented sometime between the late 1700s and the early 1800s, the Netherlands are also
known for their stroopwafels. A thin layer of caramel sauce is sandwiched between two
halves of crispy wafer. Joulutorttu. These windmill-shaped
cookies are "Christmas tarts" made with flaky pastry and prune jam. The pinwheel shape is
achieved by making four cuts and folding the pastry in before baking. They're mostly made in Finland
but are also found in Sweden. Linzer cookies are two buttery
cookies held together by jam. The jam peeks through the
cutout made in the top cookie. They got their name from the Linzer torte, which originated in
the Austrian city Linz. Traditionally, the cookies are
made with flour and almonds and filled with black-currant preserves. Amaretti cookies usually
have a nice, crunchy crust and a soft, buttery center. They're made with amaretto
liqueur, egg whites, sugar, flour, and almond extract. They're traditionally
served with dessert wines, liqueur, or coffee. These crumbly cookies are
covered in powdered sugar and stuffed with fillings like agameya. Agameya is made of ghee, honey, and nuts. It's believed to date
back to ancient Egypt and is eaten by people to
celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Easter. Chin chin is Nigeria's
favorite cookie snack. The West African fried pastry
is made of dough with flour, sugar, butter, and milk. It's usually hard and crunchy, but it can be made softer with margarine. The cookies come in all kinds of shapes and are fried to get their texture. Mbatata cookies are soft and almost cakey. They're made with mashed-up sweet potatoes and combined with raisins. Because sweet potatoes
are filled with nutrients, these can be considered healthy cookies. Reshteh khoshkar is a
popular Iranian cookie made of rice flour. It's filled with sugar,
ground nuts, cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon
and then fried in oil. The traditional dessert is often eaten during Ramadan for iftar. Nankhatai are eggless
Indian shortbread cookies that are flavored with
ghee, cardamom, and saffron. They're usually garnished with pistachios and are a great treat for Diwali. Their slogan might be #NotACookie, but Australian Tim Tams
come pretty close to it. They're made up of two malted biscuits separated by light chocolate cream filling and covered in chocolate. Tons of flavors had been made
following their popularity. Afghan biscuits are made with
cocoa powder and cornflakes and topped with chocolate
icing and walnuts. The cookies are rich and have a nice touch of
crunch from the cornflakes. Which of these cookies
would you like to try? Let us know in the comments below.
