Treat House - Rice Krispie treats enjoyed by all

Who doesn't love Rice Krispie treats?  As a child of the 80s and someone whose parents were of the first to obtain a 'Price Club' membership before Kirkland was a household name, we had those shiny blue Snap, Crackle and Pop wrappers by the dozen - chocolate drizzle, rainbow, chocolate chunk - I have a special place in my heart for RK treats.

Until they started making me sick.  To be fair, a lot of things were making me sick before I was aware of my gluten/soy/life allergy.  But who would think that Rice Krispie treats WEREN'T gluten-free?!  After all, rice is the preferred carb of choice by celiacs everywhere.  Well, sorry Kellogg's, but you're not getting any love from me on this one.  When I learned that malt flavoring was one of the ingredients in Rice Krispies cereal, and soybean oil was thrown in as a binding ingredient - they were wiped from my list of snacks that I can eat guilt and pain-free.

So you can imagine my excitement when I first heard about Treat House opening up on the Upper West Side.  Treat House makes Rice Krispie treats in dozens of flavor combinations; and nearly all are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and Kosher.  So basically, unless you're allergic to rice or marshmallows, you're good to go!

Each mini square is flavored, colored and topped with a different theme: birthday cake, chocolate mint, M&Ms, cookies and creme, pink bubble gym, chocolate peanut butter - they were all beautifully decorated and I couldn't decide which to try.  I tried to elicit a recommendation from the woman behind the counter, but she wasn't super helpful.  She seemed annoyed that I asked for a recco, and unfortunately even though I mentioned I was writing for the blog, she didn't seem to care to help me find the best RK treat.  Her attitude aside, I opted for the M&M and the chocolate mint.  At $2.25 apiece, two was just the right amount - the squares were on the small side, and the cost was definitely more than I was expecting.  But once you label something gluten-free, you know how it goes.

They came boxed in mini containers that perfectly fit each square.  The M&M was a bit bland; it didn't stand out with a thin layer of marshmallow and a sprinkling of mini M&Ms.  The chocolate mint was much better though; there were little pieces of mint chocolate chips throughout the rice krispies.  With a layer of chocolate on top and a wedge of York peppermint patty completing the treat, this was absolutely excellent.  I wish they were a bit larger, since it was gone in 3 bites, but I suppose that means I'd just have to get more next time.

Treat House is located on 452 Amsterdam Avenue between West 81st and 82nd street. They're open Monday-Wednesday 7:30am-9pm
Thursday-Friday 7:30am-10pm
Saturday 9am-10pm
Sunday 9am-9pm

http://www.treathouse.com/

Milk and Cookies and Bacon?

Milk and Cookies, a bakery in the West Village, has been on my hitlist for the longest time. To be honest, I'm not too familiar with all of the street names in the W. Village and Commerce Street, to me, could have been in the village, Soho, the financial district, or 100 other places around New York that are one block long. On a recent walking tour of the area, we were walking down a street past the narrowest house in New York (only 9 1/2 feet wide!), and passed right by Milk and Cookies bakery!

Being that I'm gluten-free 50% of the time, and was with a friend who's gluten-free all of the time, he didn't understand my overwhelming excitement over a random bakery full of poisonous wheat-filled goodies.  I, however, knew that since this WAS the West Village, there was a high likelihood there would be a G-F treat for Dan, and one for me to have along with my gluten-filled cookie.

When we walked in, I was immediately overwhelmed with the options in front of me.  There were dozens of different types of cookies. From standard chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin to chocolate mint, peanut butter and cream filled.  Their specialty, and why I had read about them in the first place, was their Bacon Smack cookie - maple syrup, candied  cherry wood smoked bacon, dried cranberries, 72% dark chocolate chunks, toffee and graham cracker pieces.  Since chocolate covered bacon, or chocolate bars with bacon bits sprinkled throughout is a trend that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, these are one of their best-selling cookies.

 

There were also tons of amazing assorted treats - ice cream
sandwiches filled with il laboratio del gelato, brownies, magic bars, rice krispie treats, shortbread - on and on. They also had special little cookie dog bones, and since Foxy was out with us for the day, she got her own treat. Poor thing couldn't wait to get into the bag! Sadly once I gave them to her she was less enthused; we left half of the treats on the floor under the bench in front of the shop. Foxy usually loves peanut butter biscuits, but she might have just been overwhelmed because she devoured the rest of them once we got home. 

But now on to the cookies for people (Foxy is important, but our readership amongst canines on this blog is still fairly low).
Dan and I each had the gluten free cookies, since as I mentioned he is gluten free and I am sometimes.  We had the chocolate chip and double chocolate GF cookies.  The chocolate chip cookie was so good that Dan ate it in 2 bites and I didn't actually try that one! The double chocolate was perfect - you would never know it was gluten free.  It was soft, a consistency hard to find in GF baked goods.  There was a perfect allocation of chocolate, and the size was perfect for an afternoon treat.  We judge cookies by the size because while some of New York's finest - Le Vain, Jacques Torres, Paradis, City Bakery - are fantastic, they're tremendous and if you eat the entire thing you are forced to spend the rest of the night in back to back Soul Cycle classes.  This was a normal cookie size, so you can have one guilt-free.  The ingredients used are of the finer quality - Valrhona chocolate, E Guittard chocolate chips, etc. I brought home the bacon smack cookie to try, even though I'm not a huge bacon fan (I don't like to eat pork since Charlotte's Web was my favorite book growing up!) that was their specialty cookie and everyone had raved about it.

To be honest, this was not my favorite cookie.  It might be chalked up to my not being a bacon enthusiast, but the hickory scent overwhelmed me before I even took a bite.  There were large chunks of soft bacon, large chocolate chips, and cranberries - there was just too much going on in my mouth simultaneously.  I pulled out the chocolate chips and gave Foxy the remainder, and this one she went crazy for - much more than her special dog treats. If you're a bacon lover it's definitely worth a try, but otherwise I would stick to Milk and Cookies' many other varieties. 

The last thing I'll note is the shop was pretty small, so unless you're stopping in with one person, you probably will take the cookies to go.  There was a bench in front of the store that we ate on, but I think these are better to be enjoyed at home.  They also deliver, and there are special gift baskets you can order. And they show up in this neat little truck!

19 Commerce Street
Sunday-Thursday 11AM-10PM, Friday and Saturday through 11PM
212-243-1640
http://www.milkandcookiesbakery.com/site/

The first cupcakes, straight from the West Coast

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since we've last written! Lori's been off traveling the world, and Caryn felt guilty finding new snacks on her own. But the Chocoholic Cjaps are back, and are going to pick up our reviews to help clue you in on what's happening in the wonderful world of desserts in NYC (and, on occasion, surrounding areas).

While we were in blog-writing hiatus, a wonderful thing happened. Sprinkles (https://sprinkles.com/), a cupcake shop from LA that we've heard amazing things about for years, opened it's first location in NYC! Located on Lexington Ave off E. 60th street (Only one block away from Dylan's Candy Bar, Serendipity, and the 40 Carrots inside Bloomies - lots of competition) - this new location was still exciting because in our trips out to the West coast, we'd never made it to Sprinkles to try. Sprinkles are THE ONES that started the cupcake trend.

Luckily, I had to order a dozen cupcakes for a project and was able to try a few different flavors, which was perfect for reviewing purposes. The flavors change daily, with only a handful available 7 days a week. Black and white, chocolate marshmallow, cinnamon sugar, dark chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, and vanilla milk chocolate are available daily. Others, including non-chocolatey flavors like banana, carrot, chai latte, and pumpkin, are available select weekdays.

From the outside, the shop is colorful and reminds you of walking down CandyLand's gooey gumdrop lane. Inside, the colors swirl, the workers behind the counter are super nice and cheery from all the sugar they're inhaling all day, and although it's small, people huddle around to get a taste of these west coast delights.

The Cjaps aren't the biggest fans of cupcakes. We usually eat the frosting off and the rest is garbage, with the exception of Crumbs which usually has a filling that we pick out too. The cakes on cupcakes are usually pretty bland, and we just like the overly sugary parts.

The Sprinkles cupcakes were way better though. The frosting is perfectly sweet, not too overwhelming, and the cake part is soft and moist and surprisingly enjoyable. My favorite was the gluten free red velvet. I usually don't even care for red velvet, and this has nothing to do with trying to eat less gluten-filled products, but this one really did have the best taste. My least favorite flavor was surprisingly the dark chocolate, which was just too basic and the frosting and cake tastes didn't really separate, and I felt like I was just eating pieces of ok-tasting chocolate on a spoon.

They even have special cupcakes for dogs! Now, I will admit, $2.50 for a cupcake 1/4 the size of the people cupcakes (which cost $3.50 each) is a little bit ridiculous. And the only difference the girl at the counter said is that they don't have sugar or chocolate.  But I got one for Foxy, and her little eyes popped out of her head in excitement as she eyed the mini cupcake with a plastic bone on top. She devoured it in 2 bites, and seemed to enjoy it although she also digs through garbage so I'm not sure how accurate her contribution to the review is.

Other flavors I personally liked were the chocolate coconut and carrot. Although I probably won't be bringing home a dozen of anything ever again - too much sugar, and a limited time to eat it til it goes bad! They label the boxes with what flavor is what (very helpful, since most of ours were chocolate), and close it of with a pretty little sticker with the Sprinkles logo.

The shop accepts orders for pickup and delivery, and inside you can buy coffees and teas. You can cater them, or have them designed into a platform for your wedding. The founder, Candace Nelson, will be a judge on Cupcake Wars this season.

But what makes them truly special?  They use good, natural ingredients - sweet cream butter, bittersweet Belgian chocolate, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fresh bananas and carrots, real strawberries and natural citrus zests. Their sprinkles come from France, which along with their European-designed shops, provide them with an air of international sophistication. All of their boxes, napkins, plates, etc are made from recycled material. They are good people, with great cupcakes, and we are so happy to have them on the east coast!!