You know you’re in holiday spirits when familiar flavors stir fond flashbacks of being a kid. That’s why Santa Monica bakery Cookie Good aims to recreate something yummy from your Christmases past.
This bakery initially captured attention when it opened its doors in 2014 with a series of breakfast cereal-themed cookies. The young at heart couldn’t get enough of Cap’n Crunch, Apple Jacks, and Lucky Charms. And then came the glowing orange Cheetos cookie, and the rest is Instagram history.
Ruffles potato chips, Nilla Wafers, Snickers, the list goes on and on. It’s no accident that many of the dozens of flavors on Cookie Good’s menu read like a greatest hits of iconic American snacks. The company does brisk business with adults who connect with owner Ross Canter’s nose for nostalgia.
“I’m in my 50s, but I have the palate of a six year old,” Canter jokes.
This year’s holiday lineup includes a classic Christmas cereal: Cap’n Crunch’s Christmas Crunch. Canter has also recreated another of his childhood favorites in a Yule Log cookie with Oreo crumbs forming the outer layer of “bark.”
From candy canes to marshmallowed hot chocolate, Cookie Good’s holiday lineup is packed with nostalgia. The Danish Sugar Cookie, a new flavor this year, is a tribute to those blue tins that often get passed around during the holidays.
“The ones filled with tiny sugar cookies in pretzel shapes, little rectangles, round ones with ridges,” Canter remembers. “My favorite was always the little circles topped with sparkling sugar crystals.”
As a former screenwriter, Canter says he sometimes goes to Starbucks to sit with his laptop and compose cookie recipes like a scene in a film.
“I’m tasting it in my head,” said Canter of the process. He’s been known to go to great lengths to develop ideas. To master the true essence of a babka, Canter crisscrossed bakeries throughout New York sampling the most popular ones.
“The trick was to get the layers right,” he said. The result is a cookie with a slightly malty base with layers of cinnamon and chocolate, plus a sweet, buttery streusel topping.
But with any cookie, ya gotta have milk, right? Cookie Good prepares their own varieties of milk by dunking cookies in plain milk and filtering out the crumbs. Ask for samples of holiday milk flavors including Oreo Candy Cane and Gingerbread Latte.
You can pick up Cookie Good’s holiday cookies and milk in time for Santa, and they’ll continue to be available through Dec. 30. In addition to cookies, you’ll find a selection of brownies, pretzel bars, blondies, and flavored popcorn. Though the deadline for holiday shipping has passed, you can still order online for local delivery or pickup at the Santa Monica shop.
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