Baking Epiphanies

It’s a gorgeous day in New York – an improvement from the cold, gray weather we’ve been suffering through even though rumor has it that it’s almost going to be summer time soon. As I heard one guy say on the street today, “Well, we’ve moved up into the 60’s, so at least we’re on our way up.” Sigh, where are you summer?

Anyway, it was still sunny and cool, more like early spring, but I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and set out to visit two bakeries that I’ve heard and read about ad nauseum but had yet to visit. I don’t know if it’s just me, but for the most part, I read about a place and have such high expectations that by the time I get there and sample the goods, I’m inevitably disappointed.

Well, not this time. I went to two tried and true New York bakery establishments and they both deserve every bit of the fanfare following they get.

First up was Amy’s Bread. I went there expressly to try the Lime Cornmeal cookie, which is a little weird, I know, since they are a bread place after all. But I had heard so much about this Lime Cornmeal cookie over on my baker-role-model Joanne Chang’s blog that I was literally dreaming about it and decided it had to be the first thing I tried there.

It was great. It had a great corn flavor which made me think that using good quality cornmeal probably makes all the difference. It’s like eating a lime-corn version of a classic NY Black & White cookie. Big and soft.

Over the weekend, inspired by my anticipated consumption of this cookie, I made an experimental version of corn muffins. I based it off the Magnolia Bakery cookbook recipe, and added lime zest and and a little cayenne to the batter. Why cayenne, you ask? Because I have an addiction to heat. It’s….problematic.

Need more evidence of my addiction? I decided to make a lime glaze for my corn muffins and added finely chopped Thai Bird Chilis to the glaze. Umm, yeah a little wacky. I don’t know what it is, I apparently can’t keep from adding hot stuff to my food, even when it’s supposed to be sweet. Anyway, the sweet-spicy combo is classic for Thai cuisine, and Bangkok’s where I grew up, so it must be in my blood. It didn’t taste half bad, actually. The glaze had a little bit of a bitter aftertaste, I’m not sure if it was ‘coz the confectioner’s sugar I used was sub-par (ugh, I bought store brand, lesson learned), or if the combo of the lime with the chili gave it a little bit of a bitter edge.

My muffins were a moderate success, but the Lime Cornmeal cookie from Amy’s was pretty dang awesome.

Next up was Levain Bakery, home of the “best chocolate chip cookie in Manhattan”. And yes, it was good. Really awesomely, cosmically good. My only complaint, as so many others have already attested to, is that it doesn’t seem to qualify as a “cookie” per se, because it’s so big, it looks more like a scone.

Then again, at the end of the day, if it tastes good, who the hell cares whether it falls in the category of cookie or scone, no? Let’s just call it a Fat Cookie and get on with the more important task of eating the thing. I got the classic Chocolate Chip Walnut – and they do not gip you on them walnuts – so nutty, chocolatey, doughy (in the best way possible) and yummy. Ultra-satisfying.

I walked the 40 blocks back to Port Authority but after all that yummy goodness,  I’m not sure it made much of a dent in the calorie tally.