Food: Earthquake Cookies

I don’t usually find cookies exciting. Sure, chocolate chip harkens back to our childhood and oatmeal raisin reminds us of our grandmothers, but does anyone really put cookies in the category of thrilling? In fact, most attempts at elaborate cookies just end up being a jumble of undecipherable sugar.  But there are exceptions to every rule.

The Earthquake cookies at Sofra, Ana Sortun’s bakery/cafe, are just the tiniest bit mind-blowing.

photo of Sofra pastries from Gourmet.com

Sofra, and her big sister Oleana, are two of my favorite places in Cambridge. Sortun’s command of Turkish spices and local produce from Siena Farms makes both venues simultaneously exotic and embracing. But it is Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick’s expertise that gives the Earthquake cookies their brilliance. Chewy, dense, rich with layered flavor, these chocolate drops are reason to pass up trays full of extravagant cakes and tarts.

I’ve been craving these cookies lately, but, unable to make a trip to Sofra, I put my previous baking failures behind me and looked up recipes to make my own batch. Fortunately, Earthquakes don’t require fancy ingredients, expensive kitchen appliances, or an extensive amount of time. And they are pretty foolproof – they would have to be, as mine turned out to be a pretty close facsimile to Ms. Kilpatrick’s on the first try. Admittedly not as rich or as dense as those purchased at Sofra, my batch was still worth sharing. Try them for yourself, but be sure to have a glass of milk on standby.

my batch