© Provided by Southern LivingPhoto: Jennifer Causey
It's a little-known fact that Birmingham, Alabama is a destination for chocolate chip cookie lovers. There are notable ones at bakeries and restaurants all around the city, but there's one cookie that folks know by name: The Breakup Cookie. These thick, over-the-top buttery treats are filled with big pockets of chocolate and topped with a dusting of flaky sea salt. An ideal balance of chewy and crunchy, they are pretty hard to beat.
True to its name, The Breakup Cookie was originally made to soften the blow of rejection. In 2011, Emily Nabors Hall, a local chef and food stylist for Meredith Food Studios (which includes Southern Living), was on the hunt for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe. "I baked a batch that felt pretty perfect, invited the guy over, gave him a cookie, told him this wasn't working out, and sent him on his way with a ziplock bag of cookies to-go," she said.
© Photo: Jennifer CauseyBuy the dough for Birmingham's favorite cookie and see what all of the fuss is about.
At the time, Nabors Hall was working at Church Street Coffee & Books, which started selling the cookies. Soon, customers were coming to the shop just for a cookie fix and asking for them by name. They have such a following that the store still sells them in its bakery case today, and is the only place you can buy a baked Breakup Cookie. "On several occasions, I've overheard strangers in public rave about them, which is fun!" she says.
And now, cookie lovers across the country can experience this cult favorite-and while it's freshly baked and still warm. Birmingham-based company Nourish Foods Market, an online shop for Southern-made products, is now selling frozen ready-to-bake Breakup Cookie dough for $18.99 a dozen. Each container comes with baking instructions so you can nail that perfect texture.
Make a batch and see what all the fuss is about. (No breakup necessary.)