Miss Zumstein Bakery & Coffee Shop
5027 NE 42nd Ave – Portland
$2
The most back-to-basic ccc I’ve found at a quality bakery since…maybe ever.
No irregular, misshapen chunks of chocolate dominating the cookie -only good, semisweet chocolate chip-shaped chips.
Read MoreCraftsman & Wolves
746 Valencia St. – San Francisco
$2.75*
I ate this a few weeks ago – during a (way too) quick trip to S.F. at the end of last month. And no, I don’t know what in the hell “Craftsman & Wolves” means.
Wait…I bet their website’s “about” page will clue me in. Okay, yeah. It does (sorta). Something about hard work in the name of pursuing your craft. I don’t feel like reiterating it so just check it out yourself if you care.
Read MoreTabor Bread
5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd – Portland
$1.75
I love buckwheat.
And I love that Tabor Bread embraces the many, many flours other than (but also including) wheat that exist in the world and uses them – to great effect – on classics like oatmeal raisin, shortbread, etc. Not to mention a compelling array of beautiful yeasted breads.
Read MoreHot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery
5427 Ballard Ave NW – Seattle
$3
Oh. My. God. If you enjoy a meringue like I do, go to this place. And if you enjoy toasted almonds inside your massive meringue, through and through like I do, don’t waste any time.
Duuuuuudes. This is a really good meringue.
Read MorePacific Pie Co.
1520 SE 7th Ave – Portland
.75¢ and $1.50
Hi cookie eaters. This is a two-fer post. I’ve never had two different cookies share the limelight of a single post, but I’m doing it now because these are, in fact, very nearly the same cookie. The only thing separating the ANZAC biscuit from the cowboy cookie sitting in a neighboring jar at Pacific Pie Company is the addition of chocolate chips.
First things first. You’re either hip to the ANZAC biscuit or…you are not. If you are not, here’s the main thing to know.
Read MoreBushel & Peck Bakeshop
3907 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd – Portland
$1.50
Q: Why have I never written about a snickerdoodle in my 3 whole years of cookie bloggin?
A: Because virtually every snickerdoodle that has ever been inside my mouth tastes like a whole lotta nuthin.
Q: Why am I writing about one NOW?
A: Because the simple addition of cardamom, a tiny bit of salt (even a little more wouldn’t hurt, frankly), added to the baker’s willingness to underbake it so that it remains soft and buttery and not dry and biscuit-y, makes this snickerdoodle worth talking about. And, more to the point, worth being inside my mouth.
Read MorePie Spot
521 NE 24th Avenue- Portland
$2
Yes, this is a place for pies. Little bitty personal-sized pies. An impressively prolific variety, I might add.
Which is cool. But more compelling than the pies, if you ask me, are the cookies. (Because, uh…this ain’t no pie blog.) I’ve been here twice (two days in a row because I was working around the corner in a studio a couple of weeks ago) and each day they were making both regular chocolate chip and these here Momofuku cornflake cookies.
Read MoreComet Coffee
5708 Oakland Ave – St. Louis, MO
$2.50
The following is the first ever GUEST POST on carpe-cookie. Here’s what’s true: I know very few, if any, cookie eaters who put as much time, planning, consideration and reflection into cookies as I do. Chris W. is one of these people.
Chris is currently visiting St. Louis; this afternoon he sent me texts (yes, plural) about a fantastic-sounding chocolate chip cookie that he was eating – in real time. In his words:
CW: Messy cc cookie just out of the oven. Comet Coffee in St. Louis, MO. I’m usually not into the
Read MoreSpielman Coffee Roasters
2128 SE Division St – Portland
$1.25
Spielman Coffee Roaster’s main gig, unsurprisingly, is coffee beans. But in the past year or so since they opened, they’ve also earned a reputation for baking some of the best bagels in town (Montreal style) – with lines regularly spilling out of their tiny Division Street shop. And even though I’m not a bagel chaser in general, it’s nice to know it is possible to get our hands on something more chewy, earthy, delicious and
Read MoreWhole Foods Market
NE 15th/Fremont – Portland*
99¢
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this a couple (or 9) times already, but my fondness for ginger molasses cookies runs deep. I LOVE them. Love.
Which means I’ve eaten (and written about) a lot of different ginger molasses cookies.
Read MoreBluebird Bakers
2390 NW Thurman – Portland
$2
I’ve been seeing cookies from Bluebird Bakers in stores like New Seasons and Zupans for the past year or two- and was lucky enough to happen upon a free sample or two (or four) once or twice.
Read MoreBakeshop
5351 NE Sandy Blvd – Portland
$2
This was actually purchased this at Ristretto Roasters on NE 42nd Ave, one of the few coffee shops where, in addition to their own retail space on NE Sandy Blvd, Bakeshop good are sold. (Note: it’s $2.50 Ristretto)
Read MoreTabor Bread
5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd – Portland
75¢
I might be on a shortbread jag. Like I said in my last post, I have not historically been a shortbread-chaser.
But… being that Tabor Bread mills all of their flours right there in the bakery – from several different kinds of whole grains (spelt, rye, whole wheat, kamut, and more) – their shortbread, naturally, offers a unique and welcome twist on the traditional.
Read MoreBakeshop / Ristretto Roasters
5351 NE Sandy Blvd – Portland (Bakeshop)
3520 NE 42nd Ave – Portland (Ristretto)
$1
The one I ate was the little round with rainbow sprinkles (above – I think those ones are 50¢, not $1), but I’m told that the same dough is used for the unadorned squares, pictured below. I found it at Ristretto on NE 42nd – not sure whether or not they’re sold at Ristretto’s other two locations. But I’m fairly certain that they sell at the squares (if not the sprinkly rounds) at their shop on N. Williams.
Read MoreTabor Bread
5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd – Portland
$1.75
Tabor Bread mills their own flours and bakes their bread and pastries in a wood fired oven – apparently the first retail bakery in Portland to do so. I was surprised to read this. I mean, this is Portland – D.I.Y. headquarters of America! But it says so on their website, and who am I to second guess the internet?
Read MoreWhole Foods Market
NE 15th/Fremont – Portland
$1.19
The Russian tea cake (aka: Mexican wedding ball/ Southern pecan butterball/snowdrop/Viennese sugar ball. etc.) is a cookie that I’ve purchased almost never, baked only once or twice in my life, but has been in my mouth more times than I could ever count.
Read MoreFleur de Lis
3930 NE Hancock St – Portland
$2
Is this really my first post ever about rugelach? Criminal. I have no excuse.
But…since Chanukah just started (this is the second night), I decided this would be the week to finally chase down a piece worth talking about. Rugelach are made year-round, but they have deep roots in Chanukah.
Read MoreBushel & Peck Bakeshop
3907 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd – Portland
$1.50
I said there would be more soon from Bushel & Peck. I wasn’t lying.
This one: a chocolate crinkle. But like the ginger molasses with sesame from the same bakery, it’s a classic with a twist that takes it from (sort of) ubiquitous to fairly unique. The orange (zest, I’m presuming) is a great addition to an already delicious cookie
Read More