Author: Tess Aurore

Shop Local: Last Minute Gift Ideas

We’re a small business, and we love supporting our fellow downtown small businesses, too! Pacific Cookie Company goods are delicious, but they’re even better when paired with goodies from our friends downtown. If you’re wanting to buy a gift basket for your loved ones, you can buy a baker’s dozen… but why not add some socks or cooking utensils, too?

Here are some of our local recommendations to pair with your favorite cookies – it’s the ultimate self-care basket!

Ginger Spice & Botanic and Luxe’s Mayan Copal Incense Pack

Botanic and Luxe’s incense smells of woodsy pine; bring in Christmas by lighting it while eating Ginger Spice by the fire.

Lemon Drop & flower bar’s Madeleines et Macarons

With a scent you COULD eat and a cookie you CAN eat, these sweet flowers are perfect for the kitchen, with the smell of roses complementing the taste of our Lemon Drops.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip & fybr’s Hot + Cold Therapy Pack

Peanut butter and chocolate chips soften when warm; as the cold creeps in, heat this therapy pack and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies in the oven for a tasty, luxurious night in.

Cahootz & Go Ask Alice’s Rose Coconut Body Butter

Cahootz’s coconut adds a sweet element to the cookie, and it also pairs nicely with Go Ask Alice’s Rose Coconut Body Butter – soothe your skin and your palate.

Snickerdoodle and IT’SUGAR’s Marshmallow Mania Big Cereal Box

Go hard with sugar by pairing a dozen cinnamon-sugar Snickerdoodles with a giant marshmallow-only cereal box. We dare you to finish… eventually, at least.

Chocolate Chip with Walnuts and OM Gallery’s Winona Whale Bowl

Did you know that walnut trees grow well by seaside areas? This whale bowl is appropriate for serving cookies in.

Mint Condition & Paper Vision’s Stationery

Mint Condition is sophisticated, and the most sophisticated have stationery. Paper Vision’s options are endless, and perfect to write holiday wishes on.

Peanut Butter & Sock Shop’s Me When My Song Comes On Socks

Peanut Butter is fun and a little kooky, so pair it with an equally silly pair of socks from the Sock Shop.

Chocolate Chip & Toque Blanche’s Raine & Humble Oven Mitt, Honey Bee

Choose a cute oven mitt when pulling your classic Chocolate Chip cookies straight out of the oven. Support and save the bees, after all!

Almond Joe & Birichino’s 2019 Lilo Pinot Noir

Almonds and Pinot Noir pair nicely together, and Lilo Pinot Noir’s mild tannins and low acidity go well with Almond Joe’s sweet, toasted almonds.

Oatmeal Raisin & Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.’s Steve’s Smooth French

Brown sugar in Steve’s Smooth French bring out the top notes of cinnamon in our Oatmeal Raisin cookies, while currants elevate the sweet fruitiness of raisins.

Dr. Midnight & Penny Ice Creamery’s Chocolate Sorbet

Chocolate on chocolate? How can you say no? Penny’s has become a Santa Cruz icon, with locations around the county, but Cedar Street in downtown was where it all began.

We hope you enjoy these pairings! Do you have any gift suggestions? Are you putting together a local gift basket? Share with us in the comments!

National Cookie Day

Saturday is National Cookie Day, and we thought we’d celebrate with our favorite cookie pairings! We are proud to offer a variety of flavors, including gluten-free and vegan options! For those who can’t get enough chocolate, we also offer chocolate dipped cookies. Yes, that’s right. Cookies covered in rich, velvety Guittard chocolate. The best part: you can get all of these in a half- or baker’s-dozen!

If you’re wondering which cookies go best together, these are our favorite pairings. You can’t go wrong either way, but why not give you a little friendly advice?

Snickerdoodle and Ginger Spice

This is the ultimate holiday pairing – what’s more Christmas-y than cinnamon and ginger? They’re practically the hallmarks of winter.

Mint Condition and Dr. Midnight

Mint is a strong flavor, so don’t fight the taste. Instead, match its chocolate with even more chocolate to bring out the green mint chips in full force.

Cahootz and Almond Joe

Both Cahootz and Almond Joe have hints of coconut. And coconut mixed with both macadamia nuts and toasted almonds? A chef is kissing their fingers right now.

Chocolate-Dipped Lemon Drop and Chocolate Chip

Our Lemon Drops have a strong flavor that tastes delicious when dipped in chocolate, so pair them with Chocolate Chip. Buttery goodness complements the sugary bite, while chocolate chips and chocolate dips mingle with lemon – without fighting for dominance.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Raisin

We know it sounds weird, but salty peanut butter actually tastes delicious with sweet raisins. And oatmeal tastes good with everything, so the combination is extremely flavorful without clashing.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and chocolate-dipped Chocolate Chip with Walnuts

Of course the chocolate chips go together, and peanut-butter-walnut-mixes are a healthy source of energy that won’t cause a carb crash.

Vegan Chocolate Chip and Vegan Oatmeal Raisin

We occasionally offer Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, so pair our Vegan Chocolate Chip with our Vegan Oatmeal Raisin for that sweet bite minus the animal products.

Chocolate-dipped Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip with Gluten-Free Double Chocolate

If you can’t have gluten, our Chocolate Chip dipped in chocolate will deceive you. And paired with our chewy Double Chocolate, the combo will taste and feel like a fudge brownie.

What are your favorite cookies to pair together? Share your favorite combinations in the comments!

Pacific Cookie Company’s Holiday Gift Guide

Did you know that as Christmas comes around, Pacific Cookie Company doesn’t just give away solid-colored cookie towers? Yep – we have plenty of gifts for everyone, and they’re not just your standard one-dozen box. Read on for our favorite gifts for everyone in your life that you can find in our store and online!

Gifts for Him:

Santa Pants

Our Santa Pants gift bag is super cute, and the guys in your life are bound to laugh. Stuffed with two dozen cookies.

Straight to Your Heart

The sleek, silver design of our Straight to Your Heart Tower is ultra-cool. Stacked with one dozen cookies.

Gifts for Her:

Adorn Me Cookie Tower

Our Adorn Me Cookie Tower is perfect for the woman who looks forward to decorating the tree… in March. Includes one dozen cookies.

Snowfall Cookie Box

The glittery ribbon on our Snowfall Cookie Box adds a dainty touch to the standard bow.

Gifts for Kids:

Got Cookies?! Gift Basket

Let the kids set out cookies for Santa – and eat some of them, too. This comes with five dozen, after all!

Gifts for the Locals:

Surf City Sweets

Drawn by local artist Lynn Piquett, the Surfer Statue is memorialized on this cookie tower.

Baked in Santa Cruz

The Giant Dipper sits behind our gorgeous ocean, watched over by the iconic Surfer Statue. Find two dozen cookies nestled inside this gift box.

Gifts Under $25:

Country Rustic Holiday Gift Box

This rustic box may not have literal bells and whistles, but it still captures Santa’s magic.

Harlequin Cookie Tower

Have a movie fiend in the family? These Harlequin cookie towers are perfect for your DC comics lover.

Gifts Under $50:

The Santa Cruz Cookie Tin

Sunny days and Saturn Café – this cookie tin will transport them to Santa Cruz whenever they pull out this tin.

Rose Gold Reflections

For a glittery, gleaming box, you can’t beat a shimmery bow in rose gold to hold two dozen cookies.

Gifts for the Traditional:

Warm & Cozy Cookie Gift Box

Red and green plaid bows are a classic for Christmas, making these boxes perfect for the Christmas traditional.

Seasons Eatings Holiday Cookie Tin

Fill their stockings and wish them Seasons Greetings… with three dozen cookies to feast on.

Gifts for the Homesick:

Home for The Holidays

Say you miss your loved ones with the three hos: Home, Holidays, and Hope.

Quarantine Cookie Care Package

It’s hard when you can’t see family; send them a quarantine cookie care package with one dozen cookies and toilet paper. (You have to have a sense of humor!)

Which gifts will you be giving your loved ones from Pacific Cookie? Tell us in the comments!

Cookies and Coffee Pairings

At Pacific Cookie Company, we pride ourselves on our Nellie’s Special: two cookies and a coffee to wash them down. The special is extremely popular – after all, what pairs better than Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.’s coffee with a Chocolate Chip during a late-night stop? Plus, there’s no better feeling than supporting local small businesses during the holidays.

While we don’t serve every coffee from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting with our cookies, we can recommend the best brews to try when you walk down the street. Here are our favorite pairings.

Chocolate Chip: Santa Cruz Full City

We serve Santa Cruz Full City at the store, because it’s a classic from Santa Cruz Roasting Co. (and it’s “Santa Cruz” Full City – we have to represent the town). A medium roast, the coffee’s vanilla mingles with the slight bitterness, perfect to pair with the cookie’s semisweet chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip with Walnuts: 40th Anniversary Blend

What goes better with our walnut-filled cookie than a medium-roast coffee that has walnut flavoring? On top of this, the buttery brown sugar in the Chocolate Chip cookie matches the brown sugar tasting note mingling with the walnut in the 40th Anniversary Blend.

Almond Joe: Colombian Supremo

Almond Joe has almonds (of course), but it also has semisweet chocolate. Colombian Supremo’s medium-body roast has a fragrant, floral taste with notes of roasted almonds and caramel. It’s a sweet pairing balanced by the nuttiness.

Cahootz: Bean of the Earth

Our Cahootz cookie is, arguably, our sweetest cookie, thanks to its macadamia nuts, white chocolate, and hint of coconut. Rather than tamper it down with a dark roast, we recommend celebrating the taste with Bean of the Earth, which has notes of apricot and vanilla.

Dr. Midnight: Kenya AA

It might not seem like it at first taste, but part of Dr. Midnight’s delicious darkness includes grape juice, so pair it with a fruity, wine-like coffee. Our recommendation: Kenya AA, which has a crisp taste of bright, wine-like acidity.

Lemon Drop: Indian Monsooned Malabar AA

Our Lemon Drop has a strong, lemon taste, which we’re extremely proud of. Pair it with the Indian Monsooned Malabar AA, which is extremely light to keep a cedar-like note. For those not in-the-know (like myself), cedar notes taste sweet, like vanilla, so it’ll pair with the light, sugary dusting throughout the Lemon Drop.

Mint Condition: Chocolate Moka Java

Mint can be hard to complement outside of chocolate… so pair it with chocolate! Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.’s flavored coffee, Chocolate Moka Java – which is smooth and sweet, with chocolate flavoring – doesn’t fight with the mint in the cookie, but melds with the dark chocolate.

Oatmeal Raisin: Steve’s Smooth French

Oatmeal raisin has a hint of cinnamon on top of its raisins, so pair it with currants and brown sugar. And by that, I mean pair it with Steve’s Smooth French, with tasting notes that pull out the raisins and warm spices without overwhelming your palate.

Peanut Butter: Mexican

This light French, medium-body roast pairs with the strong taste of peanut butter. It has a nutty, buttery flavor that mingles with the sweet and savory taste of our peanut butter, while milk chocolate and brown sugar add extra oomph.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: Santa Cruz Organic Espresso

Espresso is strong, which is perfect when paired with semisweet chocolate chips. The Organic blend is rich and sweet, rather than bitter, lessening the peanut butter in a yummy way. You might even want to dip the cookie in the coffee, but that’s just us.

Snickerdoodle: Try the Nutcracker as we enter the holidays!

Our Snickerdoodle basically needs a coffee with cinnamon tasting notes. Enter: this coffee, full of cinnamon with a hint of hazelnut, which complement the sweet notes of our Snickerdoodles.

Ginger Spice: BluesBreaker

Our Ginger Spice is filled with ginger. Like, baked with crystallized ginger and ground ginger, then sprinkled with ginger sugar. It’s a Christmas miracle! It’s also supported by nutmeg, so underscore that tasting note with BluesBreaker, featuring hints of chocolate and nutmeg in a full body, dark roast.

What is your favorite cookie and coffee pairing? Will you be trying any of these? Tell us below!