Crumbl Cookies review #35 - Texas Sheet Cake (new) and Lemon Poppyseed (revisited)

Crumbl Cookies review #34 - Texas Sheet Cake (new) and Lemon Poppyseed (revisited), March 23, 2023

I only got two cookies when these came out. I've never jumped on the bandwagon of sprinkling salt on my cookies and I'd already tried the sea salt toffee before anyway and didn't need to get it again. I don't like Monster Cookies (not a peanut butter fan) or raspberry or cheesecake so no go on the Raspberry Cheesecake cookie. 

I did want to try the Texas Sheet Cake cookie though as it's supposedly new on the Crumbl roster plus I like Texas sheet cakes in general. The cookie was good warm, a bit cakey, but it is a Texas Sheet CAKE cookie after all. Thankfully it wasn't as overwhelmingly richly chocolatey like most of Crumbl's chocolate cookies are so I enjoyed it. I think I prefer the real Texas sheet cake though instead of the cookie version so this goes in the category of glad I tried it, don't need to get again.

Now, let's talk about the Lemon Poppyseed. Last year, I was getting pretty disillusioned with Crumbl Cookies. The ones in Las Vegas just weren't as consistently good as the one in Sparks, NV that I used to go to. But I happened to be back in the Sparks area the week these came out so I *had* to stop by for a cookie run. Although I'd given up on Crumbl's stuffed cookies (mine never had any discernible stuffing in them), I decided to give the lemon poppyseed another chance because I've had more consistently good cookies from the Sparks store than at any other Crumbl location.

I'm glad I gave the Lemon Poppyseed another chance as the Sparks store delivered this cookie as it was supposed to be - with actual lemon curd inside the cookie that you could see and taste. This was delicious. Texture of the cookie was spot on and the lemon curd filling was just right, not too sweet or too tart and I didn't get any flimsy excuses about the filling baking into the cookie or, as I suspect what I happened in Vegas, the filling being forgotten completely. 

You can see from the comparison pictures below what I'm talking about. The top picture was from last year from one of the Crumbls in Las Vegas. See the lemon curd filling? Yeah, me neither. The bottom picture is the Lemon Poppyseed from the Sparks Crumbl that actually had filling. Well done, Sparks, well done.

Crumbl Cookies review #34 - Strawberry Cupcake

Crumbl Cookies review #34 - Strawberry Cupcake, April 24, 2023

I'm going slightly out of order so I can publish this post about the Crumbl Strawberry Cupcake while it's still available at Crumbl through this Saturday (reminder that all Crumbls are closed on Sundays).

I had initially planned to skip this week as none of the flavors were appealing. I had already tried the Cookies & Cream Milkshake (FWIW, none of the Cookies & Cream Milkshake Cookies I've seen at any Crumbl are as light as pictured on their menu; they've all been dark), the Buttermilk Pancake and the Triple Chocolate, none of which I felt the need to repeat. 

That left the Strawberry Cupcake and I wasn't that interested because I don't like strawberries in baked goods. I like strawberries well enough but prefer them in their whole(some) fruit form, not incorporated into stuff. 

But I thought, heck, might as well try it because you never know, right? I was driving to the Bay Area for a work trip so I stopped off at the Rocklin Crumbl on my way to pick up a cookie. I sampled it in the car while it was still warm (seriously, do people not do that? So many of my Crumbl pics have the inside of my car as the backdrop).  

Anyway, I was half right/half wrong about this cookie. I loved the cookie itself. Perfect vanilla flavor and perfect texture. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the strawberry cream cheese frosting at all. I normally don't mind their cream cheese frosting, albeit they frost their cookies with a heavy hand. But the strawberry flavor was not to my liking. Too sweet, a little artificial tasting and had an odd aftertaste. I ate the first bite as Crumbl intended but ended up scraping most of the frosting off the rest of the cookie. It took me 3 sittings over 2 days to finish the cookie, not because of the cookie but because of the (scraped off) frosting. I wouldn't get this one again unless I could get it without the frosting but that's just me.

Crumbl Cookies Review #33 - Butterscotch Chip and Cookies & Cream

Crumbl Cookies Review #33 - Butterscotch Chip and Cookies & Cream, visited March 17, 2023

Back to the Crumbl reviews. The lineup of this particular week was Milk Chocolate Chip, Mallow Creme with Lucky Charms, Cookies & Cream, Mint Brownie, Butterscotch Chip, and Sugar (Gold Coin). It was also Mystery Cookie week when I went and the store I (deliberately) went to had Pink Velvet as their mystery cookie.

I had already had and reviewed (Gold Coin) Vanilla Sugar and Pink Velvet so this one focuses on Cookies and Cream and Butterscotch Chip.

Since I'd already had the other two before, they promptly went into the freezer for later so I had room to take 1/4 of the Cookies & Cream and 1/4 of the Butterscotch Chip so I could try them warm. 

I think I like the concept of Cookies & Cream more than the actual cookie. Nothing wrong with the cookie itself but it wasn't anything special to my taste buds. That's more of a personal preference though as I'm not as big a fan of Cookies & Cream in general as I am of Oreos in particular. This was good and my particular cookie had more of the chocolate base than the vanilla. It was fine. I'm glad I tried it but I probably wouldn't get it again. It was almost like a brookie (brownie + chocolate chip cookie). I'm probably damning it by faint praise but like I said, it was fine.

I thought I would try the Butterscotch Chip cookie because it was a new-to-me flavor. I typically love the smell of butterscotch chips and baking with butterscotch chips more than the actual cookies that have butterscotch chips in them as I find butterscotch too sweet for me. So I had a low bar for this cookie.

But I ended up liking it more than I expected. Butterscotch cookies are usually more brown sugar flavored with an extra pack of sweetness from the butterscotch chips. But the Crumbl version seemed to have butterscotch (not brown sugar) flavor in the cookie itself. It reminded me of those Werther butterscotch caramels. 

As you can see from the inside picture, that dense, chewy texture is also a hallmark of what I like in Crumbl cookies. This cookie was good both warm and at room temperature. Thumbs up for this one.

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 4 (Calamansi Cronut and Cannele des Bordeaux)

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 4 (Calamansi Cronut and Cannele des Bordeaux), visited March 12, 2023

Wrapping up this series of blog posts about Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas, at least for now. It seems fitting to close with finally trying the cronut flavor of the month. In March, it was calamansi and creme fraiche.

Calamansi is the Filipino version of a lime but it's really more a combination of lemon, lime and orange. In Filipino dishes, we often squeeze calamansi over noodle dishes like pancit or we squeeze what seems like hundreds of small calamansi to make calamansi juice.

Dominique Ansel is known for trying different, non-traditional flavors. This had creme fraiche to pair with the calamansi which I prefer over a jam or jelly. The cronut itself was flaky like an outwardly sugared croissant and the calamansi and creme fraiche filling was very refreshing. The filling didn't have a strong calamansi flavor but was still nicely flavored. Neither calamansi nor creme fraiche was overpowering but paired nicely together, another Dominique Ansel trademark. 

You can see from the earlier picture that, in addition to the cronut, I got my favorite DKA (Dominique Kouign Amann) and a Cannele des Bordeaux, another favorite. I've made canneles myself and they're a pain in the ass to make properly. They're actually not hard to make as they're essentially a custard baked to caramelize the outside. But they're still a pain to make so I gladly handed over my credit card to buy one from DAB Las Vegas. 

It was delicious with a crunchy, caramelized outer shell that gives way to the smooth custard inside. It's probably my second favorite thing to get at Dominique Ansel Bakery, second only to the DKA.

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 3 (The Perfect Little Egg Sandwich)

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 3, The Perfect Little Egg Sandwich, visited January 7, 2023

What the heck is this, you ask? It's a cookie shot robot dispensing machine. Doesn't every bakery have one? No? Just Vegas then. At any rate, the tourists seem to enjoy it. When in motion, the robot arm plucks a ready made "shot glass" that's made of a chocolate chip cookie and the mechanized arm pours the right amount of milk into it before dispensing it to the purchaser.

I admit I haven't tried it yet, either poured by a robot or a human. I have no objection to the chocolate chip cookie shot glass but I'm just not a milk person. Plus there are always other things to try whenever I go the Dominque Ansel Bakery so I haven't gotten to this one...yet.

I did try a slice of the Galette des Rois pictured in the advertisement above. Alas, I don't have a picture of the actual slice as it was one of those rare times when I forgot to take a picture before I demolished ate it. I like trying these limited time items so my FOMO doesn't kick in before the time period of its availability ends.

In this case, one of my business school roommates was in town with her kids and we met up for brunch at the bakery (where else?). In addition to the Galette des Rois, it gave me a chance to try one of the savory items on the menu, namely the Perfect Little Egg Sandwich. In case you wondered, that name is not an exaggeration. This was probably the lightest, fluffiest egg sandwich I've ever had. It was served in a brioche bun which was also delicious, light and soft. It was sooo good. I wish I'd taken more pictures of it but pictures don't do it justice and I was too busy eating and enjoying it to take out my phone. My friend and I were also yakking it up so that made me forget my normal picture taking as well. At least until it came time to take a selfie. Her kids probably thought we were weird but they're teenagers and would've probably thought that anyway, haha.

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 2 (Thanksgiving Bourbon Pecan Pie)

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 2, Thanksgiving Bourbon Pecan Pie, picked up November 20, 2022

Look at that pie - is it a thing of beauty or what? Even if I knew how to successfully make a good pie (I don't), I couldn't have made this. I follow Dominique Ansel on Instagram and every November, he has pie night in the run up to Thanksgiving. The pies always look amazing so I was glad I had the opportunity to finally try one this (past) year. 

He offered three flavors at his Las Vegas bakery: pumpkin, salted caramel apple and bourbon pecan pie. I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie so I had to choose between the other two. Or thought I had to choose. I was leaning towards the apple as apple pie is my favorite but I was getting this not for Thanksgiving but for my niece's birthday and I left the choice up to her. She chose the pecan pie. I briefly thought about getting both the pecan and apple but the price per pie was a bit steep, even with my YOLO mentality and, more importantly, between me, my mom, my sister, my niece and her boyfriend, I didn't think we could finish 2 pies while they were still fresh. So just the pecan pie it was.

Just one bite was enough to convince me this was not a bad choice. At all. It was feckin' delicious. You can't really taste the bourbon for anyone who's not alcohol-inclined (me, I don't drink). The caramelized pecans on top weren't just for looks but also contributed to the crisp-sweet and crunchy texture of excellent pecans.

Sometimes I'm leery of pecan pies because some of them have a gelatinous filling and only have pecans on top. Not so with this one as you can see from the pictures. Crust and caramelized pecans is what you get and it was amazing. Yes, it was worth the lofty price. The crust was more of a pate brisee than the flaky crust of a more traditional pie, almost like a shortbread. That, too, was delicious. Overall, so much better than birthday cake and I'm glad my niece chose this one. 

If you ever have a chance to get a Dominique Ansel pie, I advise pre-ordering and doing it early as they do sell out. Trust me, you don't want to miss out.

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - Part 1

Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas - visited October 23, 2022

I've been meaning to do this write up for awhile but time kept getting away from me. By now I've amassed so many pictures from Dominique Ansel's new bakery at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas that I can't do justice to all of it in one blog post. Hence, this is the beginning of a multi-part series because let's face it, I'm a huge fan girl of the man and his baking talent so I'm happy to rhapsodize multiple times about everything I've eaten and seen.

I'll start off by saying yes, his stuff is pretty fancy and, to some, rather expensive. I believe in spending for good food, especially great desserts, so that doesn't bother me as thankfully, I can afford this level of high end desserts and I don't spend my money on much else, besides travel. And YOLO....

I had moved to Las Vegas in the middle of 2022 (summer, triple-digit temps for weeks on end, I don't recommend it as an intro to Vegas) just as I was recovering from Covid. Not an auspicious beginning. But my outlook brightened in the fall, not just because of cooler weather, but also my favorite baker opened his new bakery less than a 30-minute drive from where I lived. Woot!

I didn't go quite on opening day as I figured that way lay madness and long lines but I was there only a few days later. The lines weren't quite as long but the small corner carved out of Caesar's Palace casino was pretty hopping. The bakery also had retail shelves where you could buy his cookbook as well as assorted DAB paraphernalia and more of his packaged treats. But for the initial visit, I focused on what was in the display cases.

My taste buds aren't as fancy as I would like and some of the more exotic flavors aren't my thing at all. But still, I enjoyed looking at all the fancy and appreciating the creativity and meticulous care that went into creating the mini-masterpieces. For Las Vegas, he created a special set of 7 desserts that are only available at the Dominique Ansel Bakery, Las Vegas. And they are mind-bogglingly beautiful. The pictures don't do them justice, both individually and as part of the set that makes up the display cases. If you ever get a chance to visit this bakery in Vegas, your eyes will get, well, an eyeful, of gorgeous patisseries.

If all that fancy is not your thing and you have more plebian taste buds, nothing wrong with that and there are options for you (and me) as well in the form of macarons (not for me), pain au chocolate and croissants (me, me) and cookies (also me).

I knew from my prior visit to the NY location of Dominique Ansel bakery that my favorite is the DKA - Dominique Kouign Amann. I was so happy to be able to get it again. I've had good kouign amanns elsewhere but the DKA is still by far my favorite version of it.   

I didn't buy the 4-pack, although don't think I didn't consider it. But they're best eaten the day they're purchased and even I can't eat more than 1 a day. So I bought a single and took it home to eat later. It was as good as I remembered from New York, with that crunchy-sweet caramelized outside and flaky layers. DKAs have spoiled me for croissants. Whenever I have a choice, I go for the DKA every time.

Now, of course, he's more famous for his cronuts and each bakery gets a new flavor every month. I didn't try the opening month's flavor and I've forgotten exactly what it was except it was some kind of jam. I'm not a fan of jam or any-berry-not-in-their-original-state so I didn't get it. Also because I had a single-minded focus on the DKA. But still, the cronut was pretty to look at. 

I did get my mom and my sister the Goldfish since it was flavored with calamansi (a popular Filipino flavor) as well as mango, my sister's favorite. I didn't try it but they said it was good. After they were finished, the poor goldfish look well and truly speared so I didn't take a picture of what it looked like once they were done; there wasn't much left, haha.

My sister before she killed the poor fish