Red Bench

The Red Bench (611 Yonge Street, Toronto)

(647) 748-4868

info@findtheredbench.ca

Hours: 1 PM - 10 PM daily. 

 A full ice cream sandwich: $6 plus tax. Brookie and Cookies n Cream cookies with Peanut butter ice cream.

For the full sandwich, you can choose two types of organic cookies, the ice cream flavour (on rotation), and a topping. There is a decent selection of toppings, but I opted for roasted almonds. The Brookie cookie (described as "brownie in a cookie costume") seemed softer and worked better in the ice cream sandwich. The other cookie was a bit harder, which made eating a bit messier. My advice would be to pick the Brookie or an equally softer-looking cookie. Overall, pretty good. I split this with Julie, and the half is a pretty decent size for a dessert/snack.

Photo by Phoebe.

Would I return? I might. I'm not crazy about ice cream in general, but ice cream sandwiches are a bit nostalgic for me. The cookies are organic, and they have some fun flavours. The made-to-order cookies reminds me of Sweet Flour, but this place is more conveniently located. Come to think of it, I never did try the ice cream sandwiches there... they'd probably be awesome since their cookies were fluffy and soft.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are awesome because the easy ones only involve three ingredients: peanut butter (1 cup), an egg, and sugar (1/2 cup). Bake at 325 F for about 15 minutes and that's all it takes for some soft, warm cookies.

I tried a little harder to make them nicer than I usually do. But I still refused to touch the raw "dough" with my hands.

According to the recipe, it should've yielded 24 cookies. Instead, I made 10 oversized ones. Yay! Monster cookies! Nom nom nom.

Koala Cookies

Cheesecake flavoured koala cookies

Same cute prints as the chocolate version with a different filling. Jo said that the inside tasted like white chocolate with a weird aftertaste. I have to agree with her. Casey thought that they tasted like cheesecake, until he hit the aftertaste as well. 

Cheers to Jo for sharing!

Shortbread Cookies!

Andrea came by to make cookies together, but it ended up with her doing most of the labour. She meant to bring over brown sugar, but it turned out to be brilliant yellow sugar. The cookies still tasted okay, but a bit different from the usual. Oh well. Cookies! Much thanks to Andrea for making and sharing them! 

Ding Dong Pastries

Ding Dong Pastries (321 Spadina Avenue, Toronto)

416-640-2761

How can one resist going into a place called "Ding Dong"?

I had been craving some butter cookies with a chocolate button.

They weren't as nicely made as last time. The chocolate drizzles off to the side of many, and doesn't stay mainly in the centre. The box is different, possibly smaller. The chocolate part was more melty than before (perhaps because last time I had these, it was winter). The cookie part was also a bit softer than I remembered.

Downgrades aside, I'd still get them again. 

Total damage: 2 boxes for $5. 

Snacks from T&T

Rice Crackers... or MSG CRACK, as I like to call them.

So crispy, so full of MSG goodness, so addictive. I can finish a whole bag in one go on my own.

These were on sale. A box of 10 little packs was $4.99. 

So cute!

My other crack food.

Koala cookie commercial! I will totally ignore the fact that they were recalled in 2008 because they are just so darned delicious. 

Total damage: approximately $10 for two packs of MSG rice crack and one giant box of koala cookies.

Koal Cookies!

More koala cookies. They're just so good! Sadly, they're getting harder and harder to find for some reason.

Haha, that's what I look like when I drink too!

Mad Batter Bakers

Mad Batter Bakers
416-516-4759
cookies@madbatterbakers.com

Picked up these awesome gingerbread cookies at the One of a Kind Show. Aisle C was where all the food booths were!

They come in a fancy box that closes with magnets!
Cookies!
They come ten snowflakes in a box. The cookies are soft and delicious. The mildly sweet icing sugar works well with the spiced cookie. The icing isn't really hard or stale. Soft gingerbread cookies in the shape of snowflakes... in a box printed with snowflakes... I must have more.

Cookies!

Total damage: $12.42.

Ding Dong Pastries

Ding Dong Pastries (321 Spadina Avenue, Toronto)

416-640-2761

Right in Chinatown, this Chinese bakery delivers some great cookies ($2.50).
The cookies were softer than they appeared, and they didn't taste greasy. The chocolate bit on top was a nice touch. In Jess's words, "they're not mega hard and not so mega soft so that your hands get greasy."
The two of us cleared this snack package easily with continuous cookie consumption.

Yummy cookies!

Sweet Flour

Sweet Flour Bake Shop (2352 Bloor Street West)
http://www.sweetflour.ca/

These are cookies made to order. You start by choosing the type of dough you want. The options are original, peanut butter, and oatmeal. Then you choose two of many mix-ins. The friendly staff puts your dough ball in the oven, and in a surprisingly short time, warm cookie goodness is ready for you!

Peanut butter cookie with pistachios and dark chocolate chunks:
The cookie is super soft and has a fluffy texture on the inside. The size of it is slightly larger than my palm and about the same thickness. The major appeal really lies in its warmth.

Andrew's cookie: original dough with M&Ms and chocolate chunks.
He said that he should not have chosen two sweet mix-ins.

This specialty cookie shop also sells muffin tops (both also made to order) and cookie sandwiches. I'll have to go back for those.

Damage: $2.50 per cookie + tax.