A simple joy, multiplied: Bakers bring 27,000 cookies to Boston Common

Boston | Oct. 21, 2026, 4:11 p.m. ET | 3 min read From candied Goldfish crackers and freeze-dried corn to black sesame and garam masala, any ingredient – as long as it’s baked in a cookie – was fair game at Flour Bakery’s “Cookies on the Common” potluck.Sprinkled among the adventurous creations were endless brown-buttered, sea-salted variations of a classic: chocolate chip cookies. It’s these humble pastries that got Flour founder Joanne Chang into baking.“We all grew up eating cookies, many of us grew up making cookies. They’re a really simple, wonderful way to celebrate joy,” says Ms. Chang, a James Beard Award-winning baker. “I think the best thing that we can do to try to make the world a little bit sweeter, a little better, is just to connect with others.” The culinary entrepreneur’s recently released cookbook, “The Joy of Cookies: New Classics and Old Favorites to Share,” celebrates how cookies bring people together, both in the kitchen and through shared memories.She delivered that sentiment at the Boston Common on Oct. 18, inviting people to bring four dozen of their favorite cookies to swap with strangers in the historic public park. Ticket proceeds will go toward the No Kid Hungry nonprofit. The event raised over $25,000, according to Ms. Chang.More than 500 people braved the brisk Sunday morning for the potluck framed by colorful balloons and red autumn leaves against a blue sky. Bakers placed their confections on long white tables – on everything from battered Tupperware containers to silver tiered stands. When their group was called, each participant had five minutes to fill a box with as many cookies as they desired. “No elbowing,” Lisa Courtney told her young son, Ronan, with a smile. Ms. Courtney is no stranger to baking trades. She’s a member of Bake Club Boston, a community of bakers who get together to share recipes and test each other’s culinary creations.Participants waded through the pastry sea with their boxes held high. Cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar wafted through the city air. Ronan eyed a purple cookie made from ube, an Asian purple yam, and told his mother excitedly: “Find what you like, and get it!”Jenna Kazarian, an auditor who bakes every Christmas, says she sends her cookies to her friends every year – as far west as California, and as far east as Cardiff in Wales. Her Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie-inspired cookies, made from scratch with a ganache center, are her husband’s favorite.New York resident David Cooper says he hand-delivered his brown butter cookie dough in a cooler after driving up from Long Island. The potluck was a perfect excuse to visit his daughter, who attends law school in Cambridge, and indulge in their family’s favorite pastime, he says.High school student Bella Dubrovsky beamed proudly next to her tray of artfully frosted sugar cookies. She grew up baking every week with her mother, and dreams of opening her own bakery someday. “This is a recipe that my family makes every year for the holidays,” Bella says. “We thought it would be special to make them for the event.”Those who couldn’t wait to give their new treats a taste formed impromptu picnics. Lounging on the sun-warmed grass, they swapped baking stories, memories, and shared just one more bite. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.