Biscochito Bliss
Albuquerque, New Mexico
It’s either biscochito (like “bis” in biscuit) or bizcochito (like “biz” in business), but no matter how you spell it or how you say it, they taste pretty good. Biscochitos are crispy, crunchy, anise-flavored cookies covered in cinnamon and sugar.
Although the recipe originated with Spanish colonists, today’s biscochito has been influenced by both Mexican and Native American cultures. Biscochitos are specific to the region. New Mexico legislators even adopted the biscochito as the state cookie in 1989, which also made New Mexico the first state to have an official state cookie, said Heather Briganti, senior communications and tourism manager for the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Golden Crown Panaderia has been hand-making biscochitos for more than 30 years. The bakery gives a free one to every child who comes in, “but they give you one even if you’re an 80-year-old kid,” Briganti said. Golden Crown has also introduced chocolate, cappuccino, blue corn and sugar-free biscochitos.
Celina’s Biscochito is also doing the traditional cookie differently, infusing it with other classic New Mexican elements: red and green chiles. The bakery makes red chile biscochitos, green chile pecan biscochitos and lemon biscochitos.
El Pinto restaurant dishes up a dessert called the Levante that uses the cookie in “their take on tiramisu,” Briganti said. The Mexican restaurant soaks homemade biscochitos in Patron XO Cafe, Kahlua, brandy and coffee, then layers them with mascarpone and whipped cream and tops it all with curls of shaved chocolate.
Sweet Treat Trail
Cayuga County, New York
The Cayuga County Office of Tourism started the Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail in 2013 as a way to showcase the region’s plethora of locally grown and locally made goods. The trail features more than 20 restaurants, bakeries and shops where guests can taste honey, jams, cookies, doughnuts and more, said special projects coordinator Susan Marteney.
Locals can’t wait for Reese’s Dairy Bar to open every spring, she said, and tourists can’t get enough of the homemade ice cream, including flavors that feature local blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. The shop also created a concoction specifically for the Sweet Treat Trail: a maple syrup and bacon sundae that has “become wildly popular,” Marteney said.
Maple syrup is a local specialty. Smokey Hollow Maple Syrup in Jordan welcomes groups and just added a new pavilion at the “sugar shack.” Smokey Hollow has pancake breakfasts and makes a range of maple confections and condiments: maple-syrup mustard, maple-syrup cotton candy and “to-die-for popcorn with maple syrup,” she said.
With so many local orchards, apples show up in all sorts of desserts, sweets and ciders. Owen Orchards makes giant apple cider doughnuts, Marteney said, and the Apple Station’s apple cider doughnuts are “two to three nibbles.”
Beignet Headquarters
New Orleans, Louisiana
Acadians, who were French settlers in the Canadian maritime provinces, brought beignets with them to New Orleans in the mid-1700s. Historically, the patisserie was sometimes filled with fruit, but today’s beignets are deep-fried fritters piled high with powdered sugar, and eating one is a delightfully messy affair.
“It’s our version of the doughnut,” said Lauren Cason, director of marketing and communications for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In a city known for its food, beignets still stand out, and among beignets, Café du Monde is the gold standard. The famous open-air café first opened in 1862 and is open 24/7 today. Café du Monde limits its menu to beignets, cafe au laits and chicory coffee, plus milk and orange juice. The pavilion, with its recognizable green-and-white awnings, sits in the French Quarter next to the French Market, Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, making it “great for people watching,” Cason said.
Café Beignet serves traditional beignets at its two French Quarter locations. The Royal Street shop is the smaller of the two, and the Bourbon Street location is across from the Royal Sonesta Hotel and next to the New Orleans Musical Legends Park. Morning Call is also popular, Cason said, and serves beignets at its 24-hour coffee shop that opened in 2012 in City Park.
But beignets aren’t always powdered sugar bombs; New Orleans chefs are taking the pastries for a savory spin. La Petite Grocery on Magazine Street does a blue-crab beignet appetizer, and SoBou in the French Quarter has a sweet potato beignet with foie gras fondue.
