Dressing Up our Cookies – A Delicious Adventure

In the interest of trying something different,  we came up with several variations to using (and enjoying) our cookies without eating them in the most typical fashion. Enjoy the following compilations – and feel free to share your creations on our Facebook page! Enjoy! And Happy New Year to all you cookie lovers!


Snickerdoodle – warm up cookies in microwave or oven and push a Hershey’s Kiss into the center.

Ginger Spice – crush cookies and create a pie crust (follow a recipe similar to a home made graham cracker crust, or check out THIS one).

Lemon Drop – warm up cookies, put a scoop of raspberry sorbet, fresh raspberries, and, if your over 21 years of age, add a drizzle of Chambord. A tried and true recipe, compliments of Ashley at Pacific Cookie Company.

Almond Joe – crush cookies and set aside, soften some ice cream, create small ball shapes with an ice cream scoop or your hands, roll ice cream balls in crushed up cookies and then place in freezer.  Your own home made truffles.  HERE’s another recipe, different variation, equally delicious!

Dr. Midnight – break cookies apart in pieces and place around the walls of a frosted cake.  Creates a cool textured look and an unexpected yummy feature.

Mint Condition – crush cookies and put into brownie batter before baking for a minty twist on your basic brownie recipe.

Peanut Butter w/ Chocolate Chip – crush cookies over a bowl of vanilla ice cream; add chocolate syrup and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip – don’t mess with the best, simply enjoy with a glass of milk or cup of coffee.

Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot…

Ashley’s day is the third in our series A Perfect Day in Santa Cruz.

My perfect day in Santa Cruz starts with me waking up without the sound of an alarm clock. Now, if it is truly my perfect day, then that means my fiancé is already up and the Surf City or Java Junction coffee is freshly brewed and ready to pour. I can’t dilly dally for too long though. I’ve got my coffee in a to-go cup, dollar bills in my pocket, and I’m off to the Santa Cruz Flea Market. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure I say. I meet up with my friend Jennifer and we are on a serious mission to find the deals. This is what we do best and, on really good days, we have to make multiple trips to the car. Used bowling balls as garden art, frames and mirrors to redecorate, and fresh fruits and vegetables are just a few of the goodies you can find at the swap meet.

After the flea market we must fuel up for more shopping and walking. We head to The Crepe Place and sit outside in their quaint garden patio. I love the luscious feel of all the plants and flowers outside but inside it is funky and fun if it happens to be raining. I think The Crepe Place has the best Bloody Marys in town and so far I haven’t been proven wrong!

With our bellies full, we are off to our next destination, The Goodwill Thrift Store. We are still in the treasure finding mood and why buy full price when you don’t have too?! [For all the book worms out there, the Goodwill has a location that only sells used books located on Soquel Ave next to Tony’s & Alba’s.] We also make a trip to The Daisy; another one of our favorite places to bargain hunt. Added bonus: both The Goodwill and The Daisy raise money for wonderful causes within our community.

Okay, so there are some things I am willing to buy new. Like a new pair of Bunny’s Shoes. The draw of the cutest and hottest shoes around brings us to Bunny’s in Downtown Santa Cruz. But we can’t go there without heading across Pacific Ave to their sister store Bunny’s Too. There we find everything from yummy smelling soaps, colorful and sassy dish towels, sparkling candle chandeliers, etc… If you are ever in need of a gift for your best girlfriend, sisters, or mom this is surely a one stop shop.

With the car full of my goodies and the dollars gone from my pocket, it’s time to go home and justify all the bags coming into the house. [Tip: put bags inside of others so it looks like you have less bags and therefore didn’t spend as much.] After a short rest at home, the man and I are off on a walk through the Santa Cruz Harbor. If our timing is right, we can catch the sun setting over the ocean. We are so fortunate to live in this wonderful place. I love the sounds of the harbor; the mast on a sail boat clinking in the wind, the birds circling for fish, and of course the waves crashing louder and louder as we get closer to the beach.

We stop by Bayside Marine to say hi to friends and then continue our stroll to the Crow’s Nest. We head upstairs to the Breakwater Grill and from any table we have a great view. After our spirits and pupu pupus we walk along the beach and then head home. Once home, the man builds a fire in our outside fire pit and my perfect day in Santa Cruz comes to an end. Good night!

Lemon Raspberry Sundae Recipe

Ashley from the Pacific Cookie business office recently impressed her dinner guests with this ingenious dessert featuring our Lemon Drop cookies. Wow your own guests this summer with this gorgeous and oh-so-easy after dinner treat…

INGREDIENTS
Pacific Cookie Company Lemon Drop Cookies
Vanilla ice cream or raspberry sorbet
Fresh raspberries and/or blackberries
1 fresh lemon
optional Raspberry liqueur (such as Chambord®)

DIRECTIONS: Place one Lemon Drop cookie in a small dish. Top with one scoop of ice cream. Top ice cream with fresh berries. Drizzle with liqueur if desired. Garnish with lemon. Enjoy!

Buy Lemon Drop Cookies
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Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival

Pacific Cookie Company will be a participating vendor at the 2nd annual Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival. This event is organized by the UC Santa Cruz Women’s club and proceeds benefit scholarships for re-entry students at UC Santa Cruz.

Come by the Cocoanut Grove Sunday, Februrary 9th, 2009 from 2pm – 5pm to enjoy some of the finest chocolate available from Santa Cruz and the Bay Area as well as live jazz and a silent auction. (Map to the Coconut Grove here)

The Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival benefits a great cause so you can indulge your chocoholic tendencies guilt-free!

For more information or to find out how to purchase tickets, visit the festival website at www.santacruzchocolatefestival.org.

Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival Logo graphic by Andra Rudolph.