Summer sweets in New York City

I haven’t been posting much lately. I’ve been too busy eating.

Banana bread with chocolate chips and candied ginger from Peels.

Along with bircher museli and pancakes with cherry compote.



A vegan doughnut from Cowgirl Baking.


A blueberry bar at Think Coffee. Berries + oats = super healthy, no??

Chocolate brioche bread pudding at Union Square Café. Sigh.

Giant, crumbly, banana-y s’mores bars from Baked.

The chocolate white chocolate cookie from City Bakery is next.

“Bite me, vegans”

I didn’t say it. It was the headline for an ad for Life Thyme Market in the West Village.

In fact, I’m all for vegan baked goods lately. Between Cowgirl Bakery, Babycakes, Tu-Lu’s and now Life Thyme, I could easily do biscuits and baked goods without eggs and butter (wellll… maybe).

It’s tempting though. Just look at these chocolate chip blondies.

And cakes and cupcakes.



And cookies: peanut butter, oatmeal, ginger lemon and Life Thyme’s signature Tollbooth cookies.



Ever a sucker for the chocolate-raspberry combo, I took home a raspberry Tollbooth cookie. I was not disappointed.

Chewy. Sweet. And full of chocolaty and berry bits.


Bite me, indeed.

Ta-dah! Tu-Lu’s gluten-free cupcakes

The last thing I need is another cupcake stop in the neighborhood. But Tu-Lu’s, on 11th Street, has been on my radar for months and I finally stumbled upon the gumdrop-sized spot this weekend. Naturally, cupcakes were consumed.


What makes Tu-Lu’s different is it’s a 100% gluten-free bakery. Thank god I don’t have any wheat allergies, but I’m becoming more and more of a fan of vegan baked goods, which Tu-Lu’s also has.

They have vegan cookies…

And also cookies made with dairy…


Chocolate, vanilla and red velvet cupcakes…



And mini cupcakes…


Seeing as I wanted to sample more than one flavor, but unwilling to spend $6 or $9 for an afternoon sugar fix, I opted for three minis (pretty, no?).

The vanilla on vanilla was good, but my least favorite. It lacked at special umph.

Red velvet, the bakery’s most popular flavor, was moist and creamy. Three quick bites of dreaminess.

My favorite, however, was the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. It shared the same perfect balance of moistness and creaminess, but had better contrasting flavors.


I definitely don’t need more sweets on my radar. But three wee cupcakes is like one regular-sized one—pas mal, right??

Giddy up! Back to Cowgirl Baking

It’s too close to home. I feel the pull of those vegan cupcakes all the time.

And I can tell you, the chocolate with vanilla icing (though cruelly small)…

…and the red velvet…

… are just as delicious as the peanut butter bomb.

Next time I go, I’m hoping they have the tres leches or tiramisu cupcakes.

One bite, and I was in love

Cowgirl’s Baking is only one-week-old, but it’s already one of my favorite bakeries.

With flavors like Rocky Road—chocolate chocolate-chip cake with marshmallow filling, caramel frosting and chocolate-caramel drizzles—and Tres Leches, vanilla cake soaked in vanilla bean creme anglaise with dulce de leche and vanilla frosting, well…I was pretty certain without even ordering that I was going to love this place.

I wasn’t sure what flavor to get. The Coffee & Donuts, a vanilla cupcake soaked in coffee, topped not only with coffee frosting but also a mini doughnut?

The Midnight, a chocolate chocolate chip cake with chocolate frosting? Or the aptly named Heaven: vanilla on vanilla with rainbow sprinkles?


After my Nutella-banana French toast at the Brindle Room, I was pretty sure I shouldn’t be getting anything.

(At least I didn’t also have a doughnut at the Brindle Room.)

But I figured it was too auspicious that Cowgirl was just a few doors down from the scene of my gluttonous breakfast. I knew my day wouldn’t be complete without sampling something.

So I ordered the Chocolate French Toast cupcake.

Where to begin? Creamy frosting with a cinnamon-spicy kick. Uber rich chocolate cake, flecked with chocolate chips. It was moist. Delicious. Pitch-perfect.

It wasn't just a fluke, was it? Would a different flavor also send me over the moon? In a word, yeessssss.

I can’t even describe to you how delicious the Peanut Butter Bomb is.
Chocolate chocolate chip cake with peanut butter frosting.


Oh yeah. All of these are VEGAN. Which makes me think that maybe everyone in Manhattan should start baking vegan?

With cookies, doughnuts, tarts and other pastries on the Cowgirl menu, just blocks from home, I am in trouble. I am in heaven—but I am in trouble.