Archive for Cookies

Society Bakery in Dallas, Perhaps the Sweetest Ever!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Monday, May 14th, 2012

YeeHaw! Society Bakery in Dallas nearly earns 5 cherries for the concepts alone! First off: Bread Pudding Woopie Pies. Holy Smokes- GENIUS! These creative Whoopies have a distinct cinnamon presence and a sassy secret ingredient in the cream cheese frosting that makes them super delish!

Secondly: the name “Society” doesn’t stand for “high society,” but rather, this incredible bakery gives back to society, donating to over 100 different charities, schools, and non-profit organizations a year! Wow-wee! Now what could be sweeter than that?

If you’re in the Dallas area, you Must check out Society Bakery!

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Hansen’s Cookies.. they should stick to their day job… CAKES!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

When I stopped by Hansen’s Cakes to buy cupcakes for a friend’s birthday, I couldn’t resist getting some of their cookies. I’d never before seen cookies at the famous cake bakery and thought it my duty to try them, even if they looked unappealing in plastic wrap. Thankfully, the cookies didn’t smell of plastic the way some wrapped goods do, but that’s where the good news ends. I got a White Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cookie which were both nearly too firm to break. The rubbery crumbles in my mouth tasted stale, despite the fact that the sale’s lady swore otherwise. I call bluff. Cookies aside, Hansen’s makes the most delightful cupcakes, and at only $1 buck a pop, you can’t go wrong them. Stay tuned for Hansen’s cupcake review tomorrow.

For more info on Hansen’s Cakes, click here.

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Macarons from Miette in San Francisco

By Dessert Darling · Comments (6)
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012


This weekend in SF I made sure to stop by the historic Ferry Building to to visit Miette, a little bakery that Conde Naste deemed to be one of the top ten pastry shops in the world. While I had an incredible experience with their caramel panna cotta and coconut cake, I’d like to discuss their macarons.

As a refresher, macarons are meringue based, almond cookies that sandwich delicious ganache or jam fillings. Traditionally, macarons appear in festive and delightful settings ranging from intimate tea parties to elegant weddings. Additionally, they make wonderful little gifts. Half the charm of macarons is the range of playful colors and flavors in which they come. This trait is where Miette’s macaron’s fall short. Their cookies only come in natural shades of rugged almond, or perhaps chocolate, depending on the flavor. While I love natural and organic ingredients for my goodies, the macaron is not the cookie to downgrade the fun.

Furthermore, these cookies are extra chewy, thus lacking the melt-in-your-mouth quality that the best macarons possess. Three cherries for these natural yet drab and chewy cookies.

 

Miette Macarons

For more information on Miette, click here.

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Delightful Desserts at Monsieur Marcel French Restaurant

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Thursday, April 12th, 2012

Really, I love nothing more than my Ladies Lunches where my favorite girls and I catch up for hours on end, enjoying a string of desserts to make it last! Our most recent gathering was at Monsier Marcel, the charming French, outdoor bistro at the Farmer’s Market on 3rd and Fairfax.

We loved the natural looking Macarons which had wonderful flavor and perfect consistency from cookie to filling.

The Creme Brûlée was lovely the way that Creme Brûlée always is. Really, it’s hard to mess up Creme Brûlée.

Where we lose cherries is over the disappointing Profiteroles. Profeteroles are a childhood favorite from overseas travels, so I have a preset standard for how they should taste. Unfortunately, restaurants in America never quite nail them the way Europeans do. The pastry puffs at Monsieur Marcel’s were too dry and crumbly, the ice cream too bland, and the chocolate sauce generic. Blah. Bla bla blah.

Ultimately, we did a good job cleaning our plates.

Even the Profiteroles ;-)

For more information on Monsieur Marcel Gourmet Market and Restaurants, click here.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich at Sadie

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Taking a break from my Chocolate Indulgence Tour coverage to bring you this UHmazing Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich from my new favorite restaurant, Sadie. With local, organic, and delicious dishes, a cozy & chic ambiance, and desserts like this, what’s NOT to love about this new Hollywood joint?!

This comforting and creative dessert featured refreshing, vanilla ice cream and a dollop of jelly sandwiched between two crispy, peanut butter cookies. Whoopie!


My non-dessert-eating husband (yes, I have one of those) couldn’t get enough of this treat and fought me to the last bite. I’m throwing this dessert in for a Golden Cherry nomination- results TBD at the end of the year!

For more info on Sadie in Hollywood, click here,

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Macaron from Jin Patisserie in Venice

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

One of the things that excited Lynn and me most on the TOURific Escapes Chocolate Indulgence Tour was that between chocolatier stops, we’d get special treats on the tour bus. For some reason this made us giddier than 5 years olds on Christmas morning.

The first such treat was this Mint Chocolate Macaron by Jin Patisserie in Venice.

The buttercream was the most airy and lightly whipped filling I’ve ever experienced in a Macaron. This satin consistency only slightly threw off the balance for a perfect mac. Otherwise, it was a refined delicacy that you could tell had much love and care baked into it. I’d like to try the other flavors as they look like works of art on the Jin Patisserie website.

For more info on Jin Patisserie, click here.

For more info on the TOURific Escape Chocolate Indulgence Tour, click here.

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Gluten Free Desserts at the Coral Tree Cafe

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Thursday, March 15th, 2012

I love the Coral Tree Cafe. With all natural, organic ingredients, fresh salads, delicious brunch, and a Golden Cherry Mousse Cake (see here), what’s not to love? Um, their Gluten Free desserts… they’re very unlovable. Below you see a large Chocolate Chip Cookie (yea, where are the chocolate chips??) and a Chocolate “Fudge” Brownie. I put “fudge” in quotation marks since there’s nothing fudgey about this brownie. Indeed, both selections were tragically dry and crumbly, which confuses me since Gluten Free does not mean Butter Free.. or salt and sugar free. I mean, come on guys! Give us gooey butter and flavor at least! The bland, crispy cookie with its air pockets was the worst. At least I enjoyed eating the frosting off of the brownie. 1 cherry for the cookie, 2 for the brownie, resulting in an a 1.5 cherry rating.

Stay tuned tomorrow though, for my review of their regular Chocolate Mousse Cup. Now that dessert was Awesome ! :-9

For more information on the Coral Tree Cafe and their Southern California locations, click here.

 

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Brentwood Farmer’s Market Diet Devastation

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Monday, March 12th, 2012

You know the day that you swear you’re not going to eat ANY sugar as you take a hiatus from indulging? ..that day where you wake up early to go to yoga and then the Brentwood Farmer’s Market for some fresh kale and fish? Apparently, that’s also the day where the Farmer’s Market is chock full of delicious desserts and you’re starving from your yoga class! Arg. I’m never going to lose these three post-wedding pounds, am I? Alas.. the culprits to my downfall are as follow.

It first started innocently enough with these Macarons at the Grace and I stand.

These were hearty macarons with a large cookie to filling ratio (thicker cookie than most macs). This larger size made for a chewy experience that gave my mouth a work out. Then I stumbled across these delightful cupcakes by Temptations Cupcakes.

Naturally I had to buy them for the cocktail party that I was attending that night. The cream cheese frosting was pleasantly mild and absolutely wonderful, but we did have a complaint about nuts in the banana cake. I agree- no nuts in cupcakes. If you want to throw nuts in there, call it a muffin.

Then I came across these Gluten Free Russian Tea Cakes by Livia’s Kitchen and I mean, come on, they’re Gluten Free! I had to try those. And yea, for future reference, Gluten free does not mean sugar free, butter free, fat free, or diet friendly. Alas, it’s my sworn duty to find the best desserts out there for all consumers, so I mean, I had to buy these cookies for the party too. Sweet, buttery balls of glory~

Finally, after a wrong turn coming home from the party, I found myself explicably entering the Jack in the Box drive through. At that point, I figured that diets start on Mondays. So I bought two milkshakes to squeeze into the last remaining hours of Sunday night. Thankfully, I only needed a few sips of the Strawberry shake to determine that it tasted too artificial for me. The Oreo shake, however, didn’t have a prayer. I drank the whole thing… and was Reallllly satisfied.

Today though… I’m moping.

And that is the story of my Farmer’s Market Diet Devastation. The End.

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Macarons from La Provence Patisserie in the Brentwood Gardens

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Monday, February 27th, 2012


While a gift box of macarons from La Provence Patisserie looks as promising as a box from ‘lette macarons, your mouth will be disappointed. Compared to the refined perfection of ‘lette macarons, these almond cookies zing your mouth with their intense sweetness and artificial flavors. The orange cookie tasted just like Orange Fanta soda, and my friend couldn’t even eat the “Rose” flavor she was so horrified by the fact that it tasted like the way her toy dolls used to smell (you know, like the perfume scent on a Strawberry Shortcake doll). The Hazelnut is one of their most popular flavors and not surprisingly so; It’s one of the most natural in both taste and color. The sea-salt caramel offering was also pretty tasty.

 

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I’ve certainly had worse macarons in my day (eh hem, Little Next Door). These treats do look delightful and have the right consistency.  Ultimately, La Provence macarons lurk somewhere between a 2.5-3 Cherry rating.  That said, the Cafe in the Brentwood Gardens is a darling and bright shop that serves wine and beer as well as other baked and savory goods. It looks like a darling lunch or date spot.

For more information on information on La Provence Patisserie and Cafe, click here.

Photo by Sue Tofu.

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Best Gluten Free, Vegan, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (4)
Monday, February 20th, 2012

Last week I explained what GLUTEN FREE means in this post here. Today I am sharing with you a Super awesome, Vegan and Gluten Free, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I adapted from Leslie Durso’s blog (the Veggie Dreamgirl) here. Yes, it is possible to be Vegan, Gluten Free, and Super Delicious. TRY these cookies and see for yourself.

The Ingredients:

 

Always buy Organic when you can:

  • 1 cup creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 cup Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar (or half and half)
  • 1 small Banana, well mushed
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • dash of Vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

How to Make Them:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Mix all of the ingredients, minus the chocolate chips
  • Blend well, making sure that the banana is well mushed up
  • Add the chocolate chips, then stir
  • Use a spoon to scoop out the balls onto a buttered pan (not Vegan, but makes ‘em tasty)
  • Press the balls flat, or or else they won’t fully bake and the’ll be shaped like balls
  • Bake for 12 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and let cool
Note: these are gooey cookies thanks to the Peanut Butter & Banana, but fear not. You can safely eat the dough, raw or cooked, since it doesn’t contain any eggs.

 

Enjoy!!!

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