PrintThe Dessert Files: One Girl Cookies
Beautiful bakery displays can be deceiving; those perfectly crafted confections might not taste as great your eye would have you believe. At One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn, most of them do—but others don't quite cut it. The good is phenomenal, but the bad isn't worth your time. After the jump, the breakdown of what to get, and what to avoid, at One Girl Cookies.
It's a beautiful bakery to look at, so pleasing to the eye with miniature cookies behind glass cakes, and overriding colors of baby blue and white—think Tiffany's meets country bakery. And there's a decent amount of seating, and if you've got the time, it's worth having your sweets to stay.
What to get?
The breakfast cakes. Flavors rotate on a daily basis; pictured above is the pear and ginger cake, moist with chunks of fresh fruit and just the slightest hint of spice. This pairs beautifully with an...
...affogato. Your choice of gelato flavor (I went with caramel) with a shot of espresso poured over the top. Served in a dainty blue and white teacup on a blue plate. It's a swell way to start the morning.
One Girl is best known for their whoopie pies, which come in two flavors: pumpkin and chocolate.
The pumpkin, with a cream cheese filling, is awesome (and recently included in our Fall Pumpkin Round-Up); the chocolate, in comparison, is fine, but nothing spectacular.
Cake slices. Like the coffee cakes, these also rotate frequently: red velvet one week; lemon curd sandwiched between layers of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream on another. The crumb is soft and delicate, the flavors mild, save for a tart curd.
I'm a fan of the nut bar, built on a shortbread base, covered with caramel and then almonds and hazelnuts, and finished in a sticky sweet glaze. Considering the sugar high it induced, this itty-bitty square was just the right size.
"Susannas" (the cookies each have names) are spicy mini oatmeal cookies with bits of crystallized ginger. I could easily wipe away a dozen in a sitting; it's only the price tag (four for $2.50) that stops me.
Same goes for the Juliettes, crunchy hazelnut cookies with a deeply spiced chocolate cinnamon ganache.
Raspberry oat squares are a must-have—simple oat bars smothered with raspberry puree and finish with crushed walnuts.
If you're a fan of super-fudgy, super-dense brownies, these are for you. I personally like brownies midway between cakey and fudgy, with handful of walnuts thrown in. These nutless numbers weren't for me, but for the right person, they'll make a solid bite.
Those are the good. What to pass on? Most of the single-bite cookies, except for those mentioned above, aren't worth the money or time. They're adorable to look at, and make pretty little gifts. But based on taste and flavor alone, you're better off elsewhere. The problem? If you're only going to have one bite, it better come with a bang. Most of these one-bites are dry, and, frankly, not particularly good cookies.
Like the "Penelope" apricot thumbprint cookie...
...or the Sadie, an orange butter cookie covered in shredded coconut. The cookie itself is a vehicle and not much more.
Olga, sugar cookies bound with mint chocolate ganache, suffer a similar fate.
Downright boring is the Lucia, chocolate and caramel on shortbread. At the very least, the shortbread could be buttery and not dusty.
And finally, two identically styled chocolate wafer sandwiches, one sandwiched with mocha cream, the Cecilia...
...and the Lana, with a center of raspberry jam. Forgettable and forgettable.
If you order the right things—whoopie pies, coffee cakes, affogati, and in the summer, whoopie pies sandwiched with gelato—One Girl is nothing short of fantastic. But walk away with nothing but a bag of cookies and you may well end up disappointed. It's hit or miss, so don't miss!
One Girl Cookies
68 Dean Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 (map)
212-675-4996
onegirlcookies.com
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5 Comments:
For the most part I can agree with your assessments. This is a well thought out piece. I still think you are being overgenerous about the whoopie pie (chocolate) which is tasteless and hard. The place is adorable, but the cookies are overrated in taste - they look great - but don't deliver. The attitude on how great these pretty little things are is over the top. The whoopie pie ice cream sandwich was also a big disappointment and given that they are using Salvatore's of brooklyn ricotta cheese - tasteless.
hondo3777 at 12:57PM on 10/19/09
Agree that if you order wisely there are delicious treats here, and that pear and ginger cake looks amazing. But as a Mainer, I have to say, these whoopie pies aren't worthy of the name. (They taste okay as far as 'things that contain sugar' go, but to me they aren't authentically whoopie pie-esque. And as noted, they aren't nearly soft enough.)
lobsterfest at 4:53PM on 10/19/09
good assessment. i have never been that into any of their cookies, and i am very bummed that bklyn larder has decided to carry their cupcakes which i really think are not worthwhile (and definitely not for the price).
cherrypatter at 7:31PM on 10/19/09
I can't speak as to the other products, but I have to say that the Lucia cookie is addictive - the caramel has a nice density and butteriness.
firni at 10:00PM on 10/19/09
We eat with our eyes first. Taste comes next. Sometimes the taste is not what you expected from your brain cells.
Annette Aaron
We make a S'mores: Caramel on one side and Warm Valrhona Chocolate on the other side of the slightly grilled graham cracker and the marshmallow is toasted. It's fantastic and very rustic looking and if you like gooey - this does it.
Annette Aaron Eventfulls
Annette Aaron Eventfiulls at 7:18AM on 10/20/09