Being that it’s 2020 and pretty much every possible cookie flavor has been tried, blogged about, and then reinvented hundreds of times, it’s hard for me to come across a recipe that I haven’t seen before… until recently. Last month, I very randomly came across Red Gate Bakery’s Instagram page either through a mutual friend or one of the Bon Appétit staff members that I follow. The new, cozy bakery - it opened on December 19th- is located in the East Village in NYC and focuses on selling quintessential American desserts but with a twist. For example, there’s seasonally flavored homemade Oreos, burnt chocolate cookies, and toasted coconut banana bacon cake.
Although I haven’t been to the bakery and therefore haven’t been able to try any of their delicious treats, I’ve become obsessed with their Instagram page and seriously inspired not only by their menu items but their background story as well (you can read more about that here). One cookie in particular that jumped out at me was their grapefruit white chocolate cookie. Before this, I had never even heard of the flavor combination of grapefruit and white chocolate nor would I ever think it would work, and therefore was a bit weary of it. But every time the bakery would post a picture of the simple yet delicious looking cookie, my mind kept thinking that I needed to test it out for myself.
And I’m SO happy that I did because I found my new favorite cookie.
I took the base of a tried-and-true cookie recipe of mine and simply added a couple tablespoons of grapefruit zest and a good amount of chopped white chocolate and before I knew it, I had my very own version of Red Gate Bakery’s cookie. The grapefruit, which is my favorite citrus, gives the cookie a fresh and tangy taste while the white chocolate gives it that familiar taste from childhood and the perfect amount of richness. The two flavors work so well together that I’m surprised it took me 30 years to find it. There’s zero doubt in my mind that you won’t agree with me that grapefruit white chocolate cookies should be the new classic cookie.
Like what I do in most of my cookie recipes, I purchased a higher quality white chocolate bar and chopped the chocolate up myself instead of using the basic chocolate chips found in regular grocery stores. I bought a bar of Valrhona’s white chocolate (which is $17.99/lb but seriously worth it) from my local Whole Foods and the difference in taste compared to the chips is definitely apparent. But if you have extra white chocolate chips laying around or don’t feel like shelling out the extra money on the “fancier” stuff, then by all means, use the chips.
I’m not sure when I’ll be lucky enough to travel to NYC and visit Red Gate Bakery (maybe this year?!), but until then, I think my version of this cookie will suffice.
Grapefruit White Chocolate Cookies
Yields about 30 cookies
Recipe inspired by Red Gate Bakery
Ingredients
2 tbsp. grapefruit zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark works)
3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
8 oz. (1 cup) roughly chopped white chocolate, or chips
Directions
In a large bowl, using your hands or a whisk, massage/mix the grapefruit zest and granulated sugar together until fragrant (this helps release the oils in the zest). Add the brown sugar and melted butter and whisk until well incorporated.
Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and add this to the wet ingredients. Stir until no more flour bits remain and then fold in the chopped white chocolate. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop out 1-2 tbsp. portions of dough and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set.
Allow the cookies to sit on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!