Eleni's Cookies

I don't know what exactly took me so long to get to Chelsea Market. I'm sort of disappointed in myself! It's weird...I had known about it, but I neer really thought about it being a place to go to until it was recommended by someone at my gym. So, I planned it into my weekend schedule and I went yesterday.

My goodness! The bakeries are so cute. I also like the transparency to it. I really like looking at kitchens so it was lovely getting to see the dough kneading going on at Amy's Bakery. I didn't buy any bread from there, although I feel like I should have, but I did go into a lot of the other stores to try them out.

Now I'm not going to buy almond flour from anywhere but Buon Italia. I've never seen the flour so fine before...and it's way cheaper than the stuff I pick up at Whole Foods. Fat Witch's brownies were completely disappointing. You would think that if brownies were their specialty, they would be better. Afterwards, they inspired me to make this blondie recipe I've been working on for dinner and they were well received, so it wasn't all bad. I ate my first rugelach yesterday and the judges are still out on that one. Taste good, texture...ehh. But the real treasure of yesterday was finding this cow cookie at Eleni's. Most decorated cookies don't taste very good b/c they need to be firm. This isn't an exceptional cookie, but despite being dry and hard, it's got good flavor. It actually reminds me of something, but I haven't been able to figure out. Right now, my best guess is Nilla Wafers. So, it has more flavor than the typical cardboard tasting cookies...and well...it's a cow. How can I resist the cow? I also wanted to get this googly-eyed dinosaur, but I knew if I ate one cookie, I wouldn't eat the other so I wasn't about to throw away $4 just to own the googly-eyed dinosaur. That's for next time.

Whimsy & Spice

Last summer, I was blessed enough to get a table next to Mark, founder and baker behind Whimsy & Spice, when I was selling at the Brooklyn Flea. I also got the chance to see his two daughters and wife, Jenna. Although we didn't interact that much, I gave his youngest daughter a few treats and when I left, he gave me a brownie. I was on Etsy the other day and much to my surprise, I found them again!

I was so excited when I found Whimsy & Spice online that I went a little crazy and ordered practically one of everything. One thing I didn't order, which I think is probably their first shop staple, is the marshmallow. For some reason, I just get grossed out by chewing on marshmallows. What I did order was the brown sugar gingerspice shortbread cookies, the rose & black pepper thumbprints, the lucious brownies (espresso with dulce de leche), hazelnut whisky sandwich cookies, and the chocolate & butterscotch layered bar cookies. After waiting a whole week, (for some reason the commute from Brooklyn to New Jersey took priority mail like 4 days) I finally got them!

Gingerspice shortbread cookies: Really yummy. The ginger leaves a nice aftertaste that almost makes my tongue tingle.

Rose & Black pepper thumbprints: To be honest, I already knew I don't like the flavor of rose, but I was curious about the combination and I thought they were so pretty. The rose flavor wasn't as strong as it was for many of the other rose desserts I've had before, but it's still there. The aftertaste is strongly of black pepper.

Lucious Brownies: First thought - espresso! The dulce de leche takes a backseat to the espresso flavor.

Hazelnut Whisky Sandwich Cookies: This was a big winner for my mom. She doesn't like really sweet things in the first place (she claims it hurts her teeth). It tastes like the whisky is in the chocolate center so it's both strong and subtle. Not really sure how to describe it...it definitely tastes of liquor, but not of whisky. Hm.. The cookie is really tasty. Anyway, my mom was heading up to bed and she grabbed out off the table and ran like I wouldn't even notice.

Chocolate & Butterscotch layered bar cookies: The sweetest of the bunch! A very strong butterscotch taste. I can't taste the chocolate at all. The graham cracker is a nice touch though...b/c it gives some texture. However, since I never ate butterscotch as a kid, the butterscotch flavor is really intimidating.

So, my final review: My favorite overall was the gingerspice shortbread cookies and Lemon-zest agrees.. The hazelnut whisky sandwich cookie was a hit with one old lady. Lemon-zest scarfed down a thumbprint before even noticing that it had rose or pepper (really weird). Least favorite: chocolate & butterscotch cookies. I think the cookies are really delightful though. I think they're really cute to give away as gifts. The packaging is really professional, even though I know they're done at home b/c I read their blog. If you're into really sweet or really soft cookies/brownies, then this probably isn't for you, but if you're up for a little bit of adventure...you should give them a try. Or at least check out their blog.

xoxo,

lemonie