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Food For Thought? Lol
Cookie bakers have loyal clientele
Eric Akis, Times Colonist Published: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Trying to choose whose cookies my tasting panel would sample was a sweet struggle; numerous Island establishments are doing such a good job making them. In the end I opted for three businesses that, it turned out, offered three quite different styles of cookies. Two were well established and the other a newer one that a few readers said I just had to try. All had a very loyal clientele, always a good sign.
Joining me for this tasty survey was Stephanie Coombs, Times Colonist night news editor, and Darlene Chase, my neighbour and a dental assistant. Both women are also passionate and talented, let's-make-them-from-scratch cookie bakers with strong opinions on what makes a good cookie.
The first batch we sampled at my home came from the friendly, we-offer-something-for-everyone, Sidney Bakery.
"These look like store-bought cookies," said Coombs, when first viewing the uniformity of this bakery's chocolate-chip cookies.
"That's because when you make your own, you put in two packs of chocolate chips," quipped Chase.
We all agreed that the chocolate-chip and the oatmeal-raisin cookies sampled were pretty basic and could have used, respectively, more chocolate chips and raisins. If the bakery increased these ingredients, however, it would also have to raise the price from the modest $1.62 a half dozen (27 cents each). That would be fine with us.
"Nice peanut flavour," said Coombs of this bakery's peanut butter cookies, which I found deliciously bendable and very dunkable into the cup of coffee I enjoyed with them.
"These fruit bars are the most visually appealing," said Chase, of the moist, spicy cookies baked on a large sheet and cut into diagonal bars. The tasting panel was unanimous in declaring that these were our favourite offering from the Sidney Bakery. They were delightfully chewy and beautifully spiced.
The next array of cookies we tried came from the much-loved Italian Bakery on Quadra Street in Victoria. I chose five different types from the selection of more than a dozen types of cookies offered.
"Very attractive, artistically made," said Chase when first glancing at the cookies. Coombs and I agreed that a great deal of finesse was used when making them.
The first we tried, which turned out to be my favourite, was a dark and flavourful cookie called a raspberry jam tart. It consisted of two thin, dark and rich cookies layered and centred with raspberry jam. Chase could not stop eating hers, even though she knew we still had several other cookies to try.
"It's very deceiving, this cookie; it looks like it should be dry," said Coombs of the crescent-shaped cornetti cookies we sampled. Instead, this nut-filled cookie was surprisingly moist, and we detected a pleasing hint of citrus. "These would go well with a spicy cup of tea," said Coombs.
"(The apricot leaf cookie) has a very delicate, pretty shape," said Chase. But she and Coombs found its flavour a little too subtle for their give-me-a-big-flavour cookie taste.
They said the same about Italian Bakery's oatmeal cookies, which were thin and wide and flecked with finely cut oatmeal, not thick and chewy like the cookies their mothers might have made.
Ironically, the oatmeal cookie they just described was to be found on the last plate of cookies we tried from the Circle Cafe, which sits beside a traffic circle on the Selkirk Waterfront in Victoria. Coombs's reaction to them was immediate.
"These look interesting, homemade -- they look like they'd taste good," she said.
They did!
"This is what I'd expect an oatmeal cookie to be. Big raisins, big oats, nice spice to them (and) hearty," wrote Coombs in her tasting notes. Chase and I agreed.
I soon became addicted to Circle Cafe's dark and rich double chocolate cookies -- they seemed to have a big chunk of chocolate in every bite. Chase called them a big satisfaction -- crispy on the outside and moist and luscious in the middle.
Circle Cafe's peanut butter cookie looked better than it tasted, not having quite enough peanut flavour, but it did have a nice texture. The cafe also makes white chocolate pecan and chocolate chip cookies and, in jumbo cookie format, ginger snaps and trail mix cookies of a very good quality.
At the end of the tasting, we decided that the Sidney Bakery would be the place to get dependable cookies at a budget-friendly price.
The all-butter, beautifully prepared cookies from the Italian Bakery would be the place to go if you wanted a stellar selection to serve at a special tea, after a nice dinner or on your own with an awakening shot of espresso. And, for a very delicious, homemade and comforting taste, the Circle Cafe would be place to go. This trio of taste-testers were feeling nostalgic for our mothers' baking, because we chose Circle Cafe as our top cookie maker of the day.
"If you're looking for homemade cookies -- cookies that look and taste like you made them -- these are them," said Coombs.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006
Eric Akis, Times Colonist Published: Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Trying to choose whose cookies my tasting panel would sample was a sweet struggle; numerous Island establishments are doing such a good job making them. In the end I opted for three businesses that, it turned out, offered three quite different styles of cookies. Two were well established and the other a newer one that a few readers said I just had to try. All had a very loyal clientele, always a good sign.
Joining me for this tasty survey was Stephanie Coombs, Times Colonist night news editor, and Darlene Chase, my neighbour and a dental assistant. Both women are also passionate and talented, let's-make-them-from-scratch cookie bakers with strong opinions on what makes a good cookie.
The first batch we sampled at my home came from the friendly, we-offer-something-for-everyone, Sidney Bakery.
"These look like store-bought cookies," said Coombs, when first viewing the uniformity of this bakery's chocolate-chip cookies.
"That's because when you make your own, you put in two packs of chocolate chips," quipped Chase.
We all agreed that the chocolate-chip and the oatmeal-raisin cookies sampled were pretty basic and could have used, respectively, more chocolate chips and raisins. If the bakery increased these ingredients, however, it would also have to raise the price from the modest $1.62 a half dozen (27 cents each). That would be fine with us.
"Nice peanut flavour," said Coombs of this bakery's peanut butter cookies, which I found deliciously bendable and very dunkable into the cup of coffee I enjoyed with them.
"These fruit bars are the most visually appealing," said Chase, of the moist, spicy cookies baked on a large sheet and cut into diagonal bars. The tasting panel was unanimous in declaring that these were our favourite offering from the Sidney Bakery. They were delightfully chewy and beautifully spiced.
The next array of cookies we tried came from the much-loved Italian Bakery on Quadra Street in Victoria. I chose five different types from the selection of more than a dozen types of cookies offered.
"Very attractive, artistically made," said Chase when first glancing at the cookies. Coombs and I agreed that a great deal of finesse was used when making them.
The first we tried, which turned out to be my favourite, was a dark and flavourful cookie called a raspberry jam tart. It consisted of two thin, dark and rich cookies layered and centred with raspberry jam. Chase could not stop eating hers, even though she knew we still had several other cookies to try.
"It's very deceiving, this cookie; it looks like it should be dry," said Coombs of the crescent-shaped cornetti cookies we sampled. Instead, this nut-filled cookie was surprisingly moist, and we detected a pleasing hint of citrus. "These would go well with a spicy cup of tea," said Coombs.
"(The apricot leaf cookie) has a very delicate, pretty shape," said Chase. But she and Coombs found its flavour a little too subtle for their give-me-a-big-flavour cookie taste.
They said the same about Italian Bakery's oatmeal cookies, which were thin and wide and flecked with finely cut oatmeal, not thick and chewy like the cookies their mothers might have made.
Ironically, the oatmeal cookie they just described was to be found on the last plate of cookies we tried from the Circle Cafe, which sits beside a traffic circle on the Selkirk Waterfront in Victoria. Coombs's reaction to them was immediate.
"These look interesting, homemade -- they look like they'd taste good," she said.
They did!
"This is what I'd expect an oatmeal cookie to be. Big raisins, big oats, nice spice to them (and) hearty," wrote Coombs in her tasting notes. Chase and I agreed.
I soon became addicted to Circle Cafe's dark and rich double chocolate cookies -- they seemed to have a big chunk of chocolate in every bite. Chase called them a big satisfaction -- crispy on the outside and moist and luscious in the middle.
Circle Cafe's peanut butter cookie looked better than it tasted, not having quite enough peanut flavour, but it did have a nice texture. The cafe also makes white chocolate pecan and chocolate chip cookies and, in jumbo cookie format, ginger snaps and trail mix cookies of a very good quality.
At the end of the tasting, we decided that the Sidney Bakery would be the place to get dependable cookies at a budget-friendly price.
The all-butter, beautifully prepared cookies from the Italian Bakery would be the place to go if you wanted a stellar selection to serve at a special tea, after a nice dinner or on your own with an awakening shot of espresso. And, for a very delicious, homemade and comforting taste, the Circle Cafe would be place to go. This trio of taste-testers were feeling nostalgic for our mothers' baking, because we chose Circle Cafe as our top cookie maker of the day.
"If you're looking for homemade cookies -- cookies that look and taste like you made them -- these are them," said Coombs.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006
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