Curated Cuisine: The joy of cookies with chef Joanne Chang

Curated Cuisine is a monthly series examining all things edible, from the chefs cooking the food to the writers reviewing the recipes. Meet the people shaping the food industry, both local and national and enjoy a post-show bite inspired by the conversation.

James Beard Award-winning baker, co-owner of the acclaimed Flour bakery and beloved cookbook author Joanne Chang returns to her first baking love: cookies. Known as the “cookie girl” during her time at Harvard, Chang celebrates a lifetime of baking in her new book, "The Joy of Cookies: New Classics and Old Favorites to Share." On Point senior producer Paige Sutherland moderates a conversation with Chang about the recipes in the book, tips every home baker should know and stories behind the cookies she’s shared throughout her life.

Copies of the cookbook will be available to purchase from our bookstore partner Brookline Booksmith, Chang will sign and guests will enjoy cookies from the book following the conversation.

About “The Joy of Cookies”

Joanne Chang says it all started with a chocolate chip cookie. Specifically, the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie — the first she ever baked as a child with her mom: perfect, gooey and warm. She baked cookies for her fellow Harvard students and study group and became known as the “cookie girl.” When she left her career as a management consultant to pursue her baking passion, she did it with a tray of cookies, jokingly declaring to her former colleagues that one day, these cookies will be famous! Now, the critically lauded baker, co-owner of the acclaimed Flour bakery, and beloved cookbook author is here to celebrate the joy of cookies that she’s shared all her life.

Joanne begins the book by answering a baker’s dozen of baking questions to help home bakers grasp the basics and avoid mistakes, then dives into cookies of all kinds, from classics to the new and adventurous. Chapters are organized by cookie-kind: Drop Everything and Bake These, The Bar Is High, Bake Rattle and Roll, Icing on the Cookie, Pipe Dreams, Art of the Cookie Sandwich and Some Like It Savory. Alongside the recipes, Joanne shares, with effervescence and humor, stories of the cookies, the people behind them and bits of her inspiring baking journey.

Ways To Save

WBUR’s Legacy Circle, Murrow Society, Sustainers and Members save $5.00 on tickets to this event. To apply the discount to your ticket purchase online, you’ll need to enter a promo code. You can get your code by emailing membership@wbur.org.

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