“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like a cookie,” says Bonnie Benwick.
That’s probably true, and she would know. Benwick spent the last 15 years testing and curating exactly what recipes appeared in the Washington Post‘s Food section.
After leaving the Food section this summer, Benwick’s retirement has been anything but a respite from the kitchen. The former deputy editor and recipe editor now writes cookbook reviews for Publishers Weekly, caters dinner parties, assists on photo shoots and even prepped a demo meal when Lidia Bastianich was in town for a TV segment. Benwick’s thinking about writing a cookbook, too.
And why wouldn’t she? Benwick says she’s tested about 1,000 cookie recipes in her life. Yes, that number just refers to cookies.
Benwick is sharing her cookie baking tips in Holiday Cookies with Bonnie Benwick, a class on Dec. 14 at 2 p.m in Cookology’s Ballston Quarter location. Attendees will learn how to shape a sugar cookie into a mouse (Charming Cookie Mice), dab Nutella on a chocolate cookie (Salty Chocolate Nutella Thumbprints) and turn cereal, cranberries and cashews into a no-bake treat (Cranberry Nut Cookie).
Leave with a print-out of Benwick’s best cookie tips—like using an empty cardboard paper towel roll to protect dough while chilling in the refrigerator or freezer—and a tub of cookies to gift … or not. // Holiday Cookies with Bonnie Benwick: Dec. 14, 2-4 p.m. at Cookology Ballston Quarter, 4238 Wilson Blvd., Arlington