SHOPPING CART
Chip chip hooray! New ways to perk up the look of your favorite dessert. Plus, treats to order for the sweetest season:

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

SMART COOKIES

From left to right:

Nestle Toll House Swirled Real Semi-Sweet & White Chocolate Morsels , Ghirardelli (see next listing), Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate & Caramel Morsels and Nestle Toll House Milk-Chocolate & Peanut Butter Morsels , 12-ounce bags, about $2.69, at area grocery stores. Swirly looks that are fun to add to baked goods. However, the flavor of the white/milk chocolate chips is not as pronounced as the others.

Ghirardelli's 60 Percent Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips , about $3.19, at area grocery stores. An intense chocolate flavor that's terrific in chocolate chip cookies. The high cocoa content means they don't melt as smoothly as semisweet chips.

Smooth N Melty Petite Mint Chips by Guittard, 12-ounce bag, $2.50, at Safeway stores. A nice minty flavor that's not overpowering. They're decorated with mini-nonpareils so they're not ideal for melting.

In the Special Treats Dept.:

Get 'em while they're here: Ricciarelli are a kind of almond macaroon made once a year by the pasticceria Sinatti in Siena, Italy; $18, available at Bella Italia, 4844 Bethesda Ave., Bethesda, 301-654-2667 or go to http://www.bellaitaliaonline.com .

Don't worry if you can't bake (or don't have the time). That's what online ordering is for. We especially love the treats from www.tatesbakeshop.net , the source of terrific cookies, brownies, tea loaves and a killer sour cream coffeecake ($35). This Southampton landmark has been tempting New Yorkers for years. Now the rest of us can order from Tate's. Shown here: seven-ounce box of chocolate chip cookies, three for $35; five-ounce blondies and brownies, gift pack of either, $35. Available through the Web site, or call 631-283-9830.

Now's a good time to upgrade your cookie-making equipment inventory. Here are two solid, attractively priced standouts we've been testing recipes with:

For bakers who prefer to use sheets without a rim, Wilton's Performance Pan Cookie Sheet (aluminum, 14 by 20 inches; fits in 30-inch ovens) boasts an "87 percent larger baking area" than the standard 10-by-15-inch sheet pans, $14.39, at A.C. Moore, 9650 Main St., Fairfax, 703-764-2004.

Aluminum alloy rimmed baking sheets made by Beaconware (Lincoln Wear-Ever), $7.59, 13 by 18 inches, available at Beltway Restaurant Equipment, 10320 Southard Dr., Beltsville, 301-937-1690.