Yes, There's Actually A Cheese That Pairs Perfectly With Chocolate Chip Cookies

What is your go-to chocolate chip cookie pairing? If you're like most of us, you'll probably say a nice glass of milk (even if you don't like dunking). You could also opt for ice cream — slap a scoop between two cookies and you have a super-easy homemade ice cream sandwich. What would you say, though, if we told you that chocolate chip cookies also go well with cheese? An unusual idea, perhaps, but one endorsed by Isabelle Brosen, who works for Murray's Cheese as an assistant manager of events and education. Brosen says, "I would absolutely pair cheese with chocolate chip cookies ... chocolate chip cookies, despite being a common classic, can hold a lot of nuance in terms of texture and flavor." When we asked what cheese would be the best chocolate chip pairing, she told us, "My gut instinct is to start with a well-aged gouda to match the brown buttery flavors in a chocolate chip cookie." (Here's how you can add brown butter in your chocolate chip cookie recipe.)

Brosen explains that "Goudas are classically known as a sweeter cheese" because they contain less lactic acid than many other types. "Goudas," she tells us, "can have a myriad of different sweet flavors, from nuts to caramel, butterscotch, and brown sugar." As all of these ingredients would taste good in combination with chocolate, this makes gouda a natural choice for cookie pairing.

While gouda might be a great entry point to learning to enjoy chocolate chip cookies with cheese, Isabelle Brosen tells us you needn't stop there. Among her other picks would be a triple cream cheese such as brie, since she says this "could provide a pairing not unlike cookies and milk due to the buttery sweetness." Brosen added, "Also, an alpine style cheese that expresses notes of toasted nuts could also go well for those folks who like walnuts or other nuts in their Chocolate Chip Cookies."

Even a sharper cheese like cheddar, Brosen says, could be partnered with chocolate chip cookies. "Cheddars can be saltier or more acidic," she tells us, noting that "Salty sweet is always a great combo." She points out that some artisanal cheddars also include other flavors, and these may or may not work well in combination with chocolate chips. Horseradish or garlic cheddar might be a bit much, but a sweeter blueberry or cherry-flavored cheddar would surely complement a cookie.

If we haven't mentioned your favorite cheese and you're wondering whether it would go well with chocolate chip cookies, Isabelle Brosen's advice is to take the texture of the cookie into consideration. Chewy, soft cookies, she says, go best with harder cheeses, while spreadable cheeses complement crunchier cookies. The type of chocolate chips used can also affect the cookie's flavor, as well. While a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for semi-sweet chips, Brosen says, "If you're using white or milk chocolate, that will be on the sweeter side, and could take on a saltier or more acidic cheese for an opposites attract pairing." If you're going with a high-cacao dark chocolate chip, however, you may want a sweeter cheese.

If you'd like to have a cookie-cheese tasting, either for yourself or as a novel twist on the old wine and cheese get-together, Brosen recommends serving both cheese and cookies at room temperature. The way to taste them both in combination, she says, is to " Take a bite of the cookie, chew a few times, then a bite of the cheese, chew together and swallow." She notes, though, that if you find the flavor combination enjoyable, you can take it up a notch by melting the cheese and using it to dip the cookies in a kind of cheese-dessert hybrid fondue.