Cookies.
Maybe the first thing you think of is chocolate chip,
but there are way more than that that are worth trying.
The beloved dessert has a ton of variation across cultures.
Let's take a look at what cookies look like
around the world.
Chocolate chip cookies were actually invented by mistake
in the 1930s, when Ruth Graves Wakefield and her husband
were running the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts.
Ruth was trying to make chocolate butter drop cookies
but ran out of baker's chocolate.
She used some semisweet chocolate,
thinking it would melt and disperse in the cookie,
but it held its shape.
Now this accidental cookie
is one of America's most loved desserts.
Soft, rich, and cakey,
black and white cookies are vanilla cookies
coated with chocolate icing on one side
and vanilla on the other.
They were once thin and crispy, but during the 20th century,
they became the thick, cakelike cookies we know today.
Despite the name, Mexican wedding cakes
are actually cookies that are light and buttery
with a nutty flavor.
Food historians believe the cookie
might have originated in the Middle East
during medieval times before they became popular in Mexico.
These cookies are formed into balls
and coated with powdered sugar.
Alfajores de maicena are delicate, crumbly cookie sandwiches
made from cornstarch.
These cookies are filled with dulce de leche
and often rolled in coconut.
They can be traced back to Spain
but are popular in a few South American countries
including Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru.
Macarons are meringue-based cookie sandwiches
that are usually held together by buttercream,
ganache, or jam.
The elegant treat is usually associated with France,
but it was likely brought over from Italy
in the 16th century.
Also known as Dutch windmill cookies,
speculaas are spiced short-crust biscuits that are thin,
crunchy, and have an image stamped on the front
before being baked.
They're especially popular around Christmastime
in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Germany.
Invented sometime between the late 1700s
and the early 1800s,
the Netherlands are also known for their stroopwafels.
A thin layer of caramel sauce
is sandwiched between two halves of crispy wafer.
Joulutorttu.
These windmill-shaped cookies are "Christmas tarts"
made with flaky pastry and prune jam.
The pinwheel shape is achieved by making four cuts
and folding the pastry in before baking.
They're mostly made in Finland but are also found in Sweden.
Linzer cookies are two buttery cookies held together by jam.
The jam peeks through the cutout made in the top cookie.
They got their name from the Linzer torte,
which originated in the Austrian city Linz.
Traditionally, the cookies are made with flour and almonds
and filled with black-currant preserves.
Amaretti cookies usually have a nice, crunchy crust
and a soft, buttery center.
They're made with amaretto liqueur, egg whites,
sugar, flour, and almond extract.
They're traditionally served with dessert wines,
liqueur, or coffee.
These crumbly cookies are covered in powdered sugar
and stuffed with fillings like agameya.
Agameya is made of ghee, honey, and nuts.
It's believed to date back to ancient Egypt
and is eaten by people to celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Easter.
Chin chin is Nigeria's favorite cookie snack.
The West African fried pastry is made of dough with flour,
sugar, butter, and milk.
It's usually hard and crunchy,
but it can be made softer with margarine.
The cookies come in all kinds of shapes
and are fried to get their texture.
Mbatata cookies are soft and almost cakey.
They're made with mashed-up sweet potatoes
and combined with raisins.
Because sweet potatoes are filled with nutrients,
these can be considered healthy cookies.
Reshteh khoshkar is a popular Iranian cookie
made of rice flour.
It's filled with sugar, ground nuts, cardamom,
ginger, and cinnamon and then fried in oil.
The traditional dessert
is often eaten during Ramadan for iftar.
Nankhatai are eggless Indian shortbread cookies
that are flavored with ghee, cardamom, and saffron.
They're usually garnished with pistachios
and are a great treat for Diwali.
Their slogan might be #NotACookie,
but Australian Tim Tams come pretty close to it.
They're made up of two malted biscuits
separated by light chocolate cream filling
and covered in chocolate.
Tons of flavors had been made following their popularity.
Afghan biscuits are made with cocoa powder and cornflakes
and topped with chocolate icing and walnuts.
The cookies are rich
and have a nice touch of crunch from the cornflakes.
Which of these cookies would you like to try?
Let us know in the comments below.