What do you think of when you hear Midtown? Tourists. Neon lights. Broadway shows. People asking you just how much you like comedy. And let's not forget the plethora of chain restaurants. What you don't expect to find in this melting pot of everything wrong with NY, is the cutest bakery with the best variety of cookies I've ever seen.
Ruby et Violette is known for their gourmet cookies. But not just your ordinary cookie. They have
120 flavors, with about 18-20 rotating in the store. The selections change seasonally, so for the fall I was treated to cookies such as Cardamom, a chocolate cookie with a tinge of chai, S'Mores, perfect for pretending you're sitting by the campfire, and Carrot Cake. The cookies are average sized, about 4-5" lengthwise, so they're not overwhelmingly large like your Levain or Jacques Torres monsters.
Yesterday, I sampled 3. My favorite was the Candy Jar, because of all the amazing, unique combinations, I would choose the one that's a giant mish mosh of 15 different types of candy bars :) The Candy Jar is a combination of Snickers, Oreo, Reeses Pieces, Toffee and Butterfinger. I don't even like peanuts, but this just had the perfect amount of the classic candies, held together by a warm, not too buttery dough.
The second cookie I tried, I unfortunately forgot to write the name down of (and this is why no one will hire me to be a real full time dessert blogger!) But I'll tell you, it was definitely a close call between this and the Candy Jar for my top choice. It was dark chocolate, with white chocolate chips baked in that were thick but soft when you bit into the cookie and simply melted in your mouth. The cookie had a circle of cream cheese in the center, which I tried to avoid for calorie sake. Someone eating 3 cookies doesn't seem as bad if you leave the 'bad parts' behind. The cookies and creme looked like the result of the inside of a handful of Double Stuffed Oreos mixed together, with large chunks of the cookie baked in.
The fun part about this place is never knowing what you're going to expect when you get there. Some of the upcoming seasonal flavors are Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, and Monday Night Football. They separate their varieties into categories. My favorites fall under the 'Kids Choice' category (that doesn't shock me at all.) Smores, Caramel Popcorn, Mint Chocolate Chip - fun takes on our favorite desserts, in cookie form. Then you have your 'Intoxicating' category - these cookies include elements of liquor, such as the White Russian, - one part Kahlua, one part Cream, the Black Irish - Irish whiskey & Baileys, and the Pina Colada, amongst others. The full list of flavors can be found here:
Cookie flavors
Ruby et Violette also makes their own ice cream, so you can get cookie dough ice cream and have the best of both worlds. They make 6 kinds of brownies too, from your traditional brownie and blondie, to a champagne strawberry, 'Incomparable' (packed with caramel, toffee, peanut butter, dark chocolate and white chocolate), Lemon White and Molasses. You can also get coffee and other beverages, so stop by Ruby et Violette for an afternoon coffee/snack break (Ogilvy people, you finally have somewhere else to go besides the Intrepid now!)
Ruby et Violette is located at 457 W 50th street, between 9th and 10th Avenues (closer to 10th). You can also create customized orders to give as gifts for the holidays. Bring them to your Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone will be giving thanks to you :)
http://www.rubyetviolette.com/index.php
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