Dating Around The Epcot Holiday Cookie Stroll ~ His and Her Favorites

Oh, it’s that time of the year when the smell of peppermint, gingerbread and other holiday scents tickle the senses.  Holiday treats are being baked in mass quantities and Epcot at Walt Disney World has some of the best treats from around the globe.  At the Epcot Festival of the Holidays (being held November 29th through December 30th this year), Guests can even participate in a Holiday Cookie Stroll.  Hubby and I made a date night out of it, so I thought I would share our thoughts, reactions and favorites with you!

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Dating Around The Epcot Holiday Cookie Stroll

Hubby and I are all about the holidays and there is no better place to celebrate them than at Walt Disney World.  One of our favorite places to visit together as a couple is Epcot and this time of year is no different!  We enjoy listening to the cultural traditions and stories being shared in various pavilions and dining on special plates featured at each of the fourteen or so holiday kitchens.  However, our very first visit to Epcot THIS season was all about the cookies!!

The Holiday Cookie Stroll is a challenge (of sorts) that we decided we wanted to take on early this year.  In 2018, we barely got through the season because we were so caught up in trying all the other food being offered.  This time, we decided “cookies first!”  So, we made it our first goal.

What Exactly Is The Holiday Cookie Stroll?

This time of year is big for baking.  Epcot knows that and is fully aware that Guests LOVE cookies.  So, they designed a “hunt” that takes Guests around World Showcase in search of specific treats.

First things first, though.  When you enter World Showcase this time of the year (or during any festival), it’s important to pick up the Festival Passport.  This is a booklet chock full of information about the entertainment, food and activity options being offered around the park.  

If you go to the back cover and open up the flap, you will notice that there is a page of circles to one side and a list in the center. The list shows you a list of each cookie and where each of them can be found. 

 

When you approach the register of that particular holiday kitchen and purchase the cookie being sold there, you then hand your passport over to the Cast Member and he/she will stamp one of those circles to show that you have made your first purchase.

The ultimate goal is to purchase all five before the end of the festival on December 30th.  Once that task has been completed, there’s something special to collect at the end.

But first….let’s take a walk around World Showcase together.

Our Holiday Cookie Stroll Adventure

Hubby and I started off on our holiday Epcot adventure around 2:30 / 3 PM on a Sunday afternoon.  I believe it was the third day of the festival this year, so everything was still pretty fresh and new.  At first, we actually had no set goal except to explore.  However, Hubby decided during a Facebook LIVE that we were going to commit to completing the cookie stroll ALL IN ONE DAY!

Okay – we can do this.  It’s not that far-fetched of an idea, right?  Sooooo – let’s get this cookie party started!  

Cookie #1 ~ Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie

Our first stop was near the Canada Pavilion.  The Yukon Holiday Kitchen had the Peppermint Pinwheel cookie.  Now, I’m a HUGE fan of peppermint and had been looking forward to this cookie since July after attending a media preview event showcasing what was coming to the Resort this holiday season.

It was a very colorful and festive cookie, as well as very fresh.  We could definitely taste the peppermint in there.  However, if we were both being honest, it just wasn’t enough.  The peppermint flavoring was almost muted, barely there.  Don’t get me wrong.  We both liked the cookie and would eat it again, but we just expected more in the way of tasting the peppermint.

Cookie #2 – The Black & White Cookie

We had to travel all the way to the back to find the second cookie.  Along the way, we stopped to hear Father Christmas share the traditions celebrated in the United Kingdom this time of year.  This is one of my favorite stops around World Showcase this time of year as Father Christmas talks about Christmas cards, carols and mistletoe!

We then made our way over to the L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen between the France and Morocco pavilions.  Here, along with smoke salmon potato latkes and egg creams, Guests can find the Black and White Cookie.

This one was bigger than we anticipated and it was an easy share!  Again, the cookie was quite fresh and easy to cut.  It was also full of flavor!  This definitely trumped the first cookie we had, but we weren’t quite ready to call it our favorite.  The cookie had a lemon taste to it and was covered in delicious icing.  For the moment, this was at the top of our list!

Cookie #3 – The Gingerbread Cookie

Once we had devoured that cookie, we headed towards The American Adventure pavilion where we found our third selection.  At the American Holiday Table, Guests can find a traditional Gingerbread Cookie, decorated and ready for consumption!

If we were to be completely honest, this was just so-so.  The icing was minimal and the flavor was standard.  You could taste the ginger and molasses, but there wasn’t anything about the cookie that stood out to us.  We enjoyed it ~ it was good.  However, it didn’t taste as fresh as the other cookies we had tasted to that point.  Hmmm…..

Quick Stop For the Candlelight Processional Break from

We took a quick break from eating cookies to enjoy the 5 PM Candelight Processional.  This is one of our favorite parts of the entire holiday season and we have the pleasure of saying our middle son has been an active participant as a high school choir member for two years now.

That evening, Ming-Na Wen was narrating and she was a delight to hear tell the nativity story. She was animated, energetic and completely engaged.  The music, as always, was phenomenal.  We were glad we took the half hour to 45 minute break to enjoy the processional.

But – forward and onward we must go!  We still had a few more cookies to eat!

**Check out my post that shares all the other exciting holiday happenings at Epcot this season: Seven Must-See Events and Items At The 2019 Epcot International Festival of the Holidays

Cookie #4 – The Linzer Cookie

Our next stop was near the Germany pavilion for the Bavaria Holiday Kitchen.  Here is where we found the Linzer Cookie.  This one was PACKED with flavor  ~ even more than the Black and White!

This one has powdered sugar and jelly involved and it was soooo good.  It was tough to split in half, but we found a way to do it and each enjoy our share.  The competition was getting fierce, though.  Now that we had two that were packed with flavor, it was going to be a tough call to name a favorite.

But we had one more cookie to find….

Cookie #5 – The Chocolate Crinkle Cookie

Located just near the entrance to World Showcase is the Feast of the Three Kings Holiday Kitchen.  This is where the last and final cookie of the actual Holiday Cookie Stroll is located (or the first if you’re going in reverse order).  The cookie sold here is the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie and I’m not going to lie ~ just like the Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie, I had been waiting to try this scrumptious-looking treat for months.  

So ~ how WAS the last cookie?

Oh – Em – Goodness!!!  It was moist, chocolaty, sweet and absolutely perfect.  Hands down, THIS was MY favorite of the night.

So – Recap and Favorites??

So, we did it!  We completed the Holiday Cookie Stroll in one night.  Now, we didn’t have anything else to eat or drink that evening, but we have the opportunity to return for multiple trips this season.  All in all, though, the entire trip around the World was quite fun and we enjoyed every cookie we purchased.  Of course, we had our favorites and least favorites.  So, how would each of us rank the cookies from the Epcot Holiday Cookie Stroll?

Hubby’s favorites in order

At first, Walt was all over that Black and White cookie.  He loved the lemon flavor and the icing, but he quickly changed his tune when he had the chance to bite into the final option.  So, in order, Walt’s favorites were:

• Chocolate Crinkle Cookie – #1
• Black and White Cookie – #2
• The Linzer Cookie – #3
• Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie – #4
• Gingerbread Cookie – #5

And what did I think????

Tina’s favorites in order

• Chocolate Crinkle Cookie – #1
• Black and White Cookie – #2
• Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie – #3
• The Linzer Cookie – #4
• Gingerbread Cookie – #5

So, as you can see, our tastes are nearly identical when it comes to cookies, though we did flip-flop the Peppermint and Linzer.  I just happened to enjoy the peppermint taste a little more than that of jelly, and Hubby vice versa.

They were all delicious, though.  There wasn’t a single cookie that we wanted to not finish.  However, if we were to enjoy any of them again – it would likely be either a Chocolate Crinkle Cookie or the Black and White.

Time For The Completer Cookie and Milk:

Oh, but we’re not done!!!!

Once we purchased all five cookies around World Showcase and had our Passport completely stamped with the corresponding cookie stamps, we made our way over to the Holiday Sweets and Treats Holiday Kitchen (Refreshment Port).  When we got there, we went up to the window on the left and showed our completed passport.  At that point, the Cast Member behind the counter gave us a completer cookie and a small container of Fairlife milk!

The completer cookie is the The Santa Mickey Sugar Cookie.  So, you have a traditional sugar cookie with chocolate icing for the ears and a white chocolate candy appropriately colored for the Santa hat.

It was good and we certainly enjoyed the spoils from our hunt.  However, we are still sticking with our favorite being the Chocolate Crinkle Cookie.  Yeah – I don’t think there’s going to be much to beat that one!!

Are you visiting Epcot this holiday season?

Will you be visiting Walt Disney World this holiday season and is Epcot one of the parks on your must-visit list?  If so, we highly encourage giving the Holiday Cookie Stroll some of your attention.  It’s a fun way to visit the holiday kitchens and a great way to satisfy that holiday sweet tooth.

Oh – and if you’re not interested in eating five or six cookies in one trip (we shared each of ours) or purchasing more than just one at each location, you can purchase an adorable glass jar to hold those cookies until you’re ready to enjoy.  These can be found at multiple market locations around World Showcase!

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