Sweets I am thankful for

Orange-kissed cinnamon rolls from The Smile to Go—vegan, no less.

Teuscher champagne truffles. Perfection.

One Girl Cookies, in general.

Receiving the gift of Levain cookies.

Breakfast club with Bennie. Especially one that includes almond croissants at Lafayette.

Or gluttony at Doughnut Plant.

Peanut butter cookies from City Bakery. Sigh.

Butter Lane cupcakes. Take your pick.

And from Paris...

The untouchable praluline

Les escargot from Du Pain et des Idées.

Anything from Jean-Paul Hévin.

A light and lovely Gerard Mulot croissant.

And the Ispahan croissant from Pierre Hermé.

So, so much to thankful for.

If you go to Greenpoint...

Where?? Green-point! Just north of Williamsburg. Join all the hipsters for brunch at Five Leaves. The ricotta pancakes await.

And while you're (inevitably) waiting for a table, saunter over to Ovenly. Tres adorable; Brooklyn at its best.

Breakfast at Cookshop

When two fellow Sweet Freaks invite you to meet for a pastry breakfast at which the talented pastry chef will be present, what do you do?

Duh.

 

Needless to say, I was all too thrilled to join Niko and Kathy recently for a casual breakfast at Cookshop, at which Chef Amanda Cook talked to us about the development of the restaurant’s breakfast and pastry services. Since April, they’ve been serving up fresh baked muffins, scones, cakes and other pastries—including the most divine pain au chocolat I’ve had since Paris.

Much more chocolaty than anything you’d find là-bas, but with about the same amount of butter (that is, a lot), it was nothing short of heavenly. And Chef Cook graciously offered to start serving them with Kleenex as I told her it made me want to weep.

On the American front, she’s just as adept. A butternut squash chocolate chip muffin?? Genius.

Deliciously moist and spongy, it’s her favorite baked good with good reason.

And though I too loved it, and the blueberry muffin and Have a Nice Day muffin...

... I was especially crazy for the cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies that are gritty with sugar and butter and wonderfully laden with boulders of chocolate. And the peanut butter cookies: also magically moist, both savory and sugary.

The daily offerings, which come out of the oven right before the restaurant opens at 7:30 and are served supremely fresh until 11, change daily. So I think Niko, Kathy and I are going to have to return to sample some more.

Cookshop
156 10th Avenue

Wee & sweet finale at Lincoln

Saturday was one of those "I love New York" days. Unseasonably warm. The Union Square greenmarket was filled with pumpkins, sunflowers, and bees buzzing around the sweet-smelling Concord grapes. I had a date with a good friend to see the Palm d'Or-winning French film, Amour, at the New York Film Festival. And we met for a pre-matinee brunch at Lincoln.

  

Elegant but leisurely, it was one of the best restaurant experiences I've had in a long time. The glass walls brought the energy from Lincoln Center inside, though it remained impossibly serene. Every detail, from the pour of the olive oil to the shape of the sugar spoon to the shavings of ricotta, was exquisite. And the petit plate of treats—caramels, truffles, biscotti and butter cookies—that came at the end of the meal was all I needed to make me a very happy girl.

Lincoln

142 West 65th Street

Big and Dough-y

There was plenty of eatin’ at Smorgasburg this Saturday.

Walnut chicken bruschetta.

The “Bamberg”: a parsley and panko breadcrumbed chicken sandwich with pickled cucumbers and daikon and spicy dijon mustard on a pretzel roll. Delicious.

Even some sweets like Brown Butter Salty and Oat Chocolate Chunk cookies from The Good Batch.

But it was all about the doughnuts.

I’ve long heard about Dough (“We fry in Bed-Stuy”) and wanted to try their doughnuts.

 Saturday was my chance. I had two eating partners.

From all the amazing flavors (Blood orange! Dulce de leche!), we chose café au lait...

... and hibiscus.

Giant. Dense and doughy. Sweet and perfectly pitched.

Smorgasburg was dreamy. But the doughnuts were to die for.

One Girl Cookies

My crush on Brooklyn deepens. My awe and envy of girls who have made their sweet dreams reality make me nearly weep. It happened a couple months ago at Sugar Shop, the bright, poppy, delicious candy shop just off Court Street opened by Jen Bischoff and Sara Houchins. And it happened this weekend at One Girl Cookies.

Just look at this place. Opened a couple years ago by Dawn Casale and Dave Crofton, it’s the essence of a neighborhood gem.

Adorably decorated…

…with café seating with a view of the tree-lined street. Sigh.

And simple, beautiful homemade baked goods.

Trays and trays of cookies, many named after special people in Dawn’s life.

Dangerously spiked cupcakes.

A rotating roster of moist coffee and layer cakes.

And… whoopie pies.

Old-fashioned yet modern. Comfortable, authentic, original, heartfelt. This girl wants her own One Girl Cookies!