I’ve told you before that I’m obsessed with The Chew. It is an hour of happiness in the middle of my day. I like all of the hosts for varying reasons. Carla Hall never fails to make me smile with her always upbeat, positive attitude and funky dance moves. Not to mention she, of course, has crazy awesome kitchen skills.
But did you know Carla Hall has a cookie company? Alchemy by Carla Hall has been in my bookmarks for just about ever. In fact, since before The Chew, I think, as I am also a Top Chef junkie and cheered for Carla on there (hootie-hoo!) And now, I finally got around to ordering the cookies.
They offer both sweet and savory varieties, but you know I went with sweet ones. I ordered Almond Cherry Ginger Shortbread and Hawaiian Wedding Cookies. I had no idea what to expect, but a couple days later, a small box arrived. Inside were two cute containers of the cutest, smallest, most adorable cookies I’ve ever seen.
Each one is perfectly shaped. While I’m typically a giant, soft, chewy cookie girl, these instantly appealed to me with their popable, bite-sized awesomeness. The Almond Cherry Ginger Shortbread is super crunchy, not quite like a traditional shortbread, but delectable nonetheless. The bite of ginger is prominent and welcome, as is the gentle sweet-tart flavor of dried cherries, along with their slight chewiness. I am in love with the cherry-ginger flavor combination. The almonds weren’t really noticeable, but that was okay.
I have to admit, I like the Hawaiian Wedding Cookies even better. Also crunchy, they have a little more crumbliness to them. The coconut flavor comes through, as does that of the macadamia nuts. What surprised me the most was that I could also taste the lime juice and zest. I absolutely loved that bright citrus punch. With all of these flavors you might think these would be overwhelming, but they’re not. Instead, they are perfectly delicate. And somehow the confectioners’ sugar coating isn’t even messy!
The only thing that’s not good about these cookies is that they’re dangerous to have around. It’s too easy to reach for another and another and another over the course of the day until they are gone. They’d also be a huge hit at a party as part of a dessert spread.
I’m so glad to be a fan of Carla and these cookies!
Carla Hall says
Laura, thanks so much for taking the time to not only order our cookies, but writing a blog piece about them. They’re very close to my heart, so when folks “get the size & burst of flavor “, it makes me very happy.
Laura says
Thank you so much for leaving a comment, Carla! It means a lot to me. I loved the cookies and couldn’t wait to tell my readers all about them. I hope they’ll give the cookies a try too.
Dad says
These were really, really good.
Laura says
Glad you liked them, Dad!
Ruby @ The Ruby Red Apron says
The Hawaiian Wedding cookies sound amazing.. coconut and macadamia… I LOVE that. What a cute and unique shape for cookies!
& I love watching The Chew too!
Laura says
The wedding cookies were my fave. So yummy! The Chew is the best!
Katy @ Katy's Kitchen says
I love that those cookies are in the shapes of squares! So cute. I’m also a huge fan of the chew. I plan my gym time around it so I can be running on the treadmill while watching it. Its so great!
Laura says
I always watch food shows when I exercise. I’m afraid sometimes there’s something wrong with that picture!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
Oooh how cute!
Laura says
Very cute indeed!
Natalie says
These sound amazing! Cute shapes and great flavors.
Laura says
Yes, the flavors are amazing. I keep craving the wedding cookie with the coconut and macadamias and lime. Yum!
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
They are cute cookies. Maybe worth trying a new shape the next time I make my own! But I think I’d even eat more that way!
Laura says
It is so easy to eat a ton of these because you feel like you haven’t eaten much since they’re one bite. Very dangerous 😉
Raymund says
Thats an interesting looking cookies, nice and looks yummy!
Laura says
They are interesting and very yummy!
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat says
These are the first time I heard of these, but they sound great! I must give them a try!
Laura says
You should give them a try. They’re really fun cookies. Thanks for visiting, Holly!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Didn’t know she had her own cookie line! That’s awesome and glad you tried them!
Laura says
The cookies were really fun to try and I’d never had anything like them before.
Jeff says
Both were good on there own, but togther they were even better.
Laura says
I didn’t even think to try them together. I’ll have to order more to try that!
Lendon says
Both have very unique taste. But I like the The Almond Cherry Ginger Shortbread cookies the best.
Laura says
Glad you liked them, Lendon 🙂
Rick says
Great little cookie. Small portions so I can watch my figure. If you eat 100 is that bad?
Laura says
It’s not hard to eat 100 with these! Thanks, Rick!
sal says
A LITTLE DIFFERENT BUT VERY TASTY,ENJOYED THEM.
Jessica says
These were wonderful, thank you so much for sharing! The Almond Cherry Ginger Shortbread were my favorite.