So, as I’ve mentioned in the last few weeks, my friend Ali and I are opening a bakery in Brooklyn Heights at 330 Hicks Street. Ali owns Little Flower Cafe in Astoria, Queens, a cafe I frequented for the better part of 3 and a half years when I lived down the block. We became friends, and I even worked with their bakers in a consulting capacity to improve the pastry program there. Although I’ve yet to really dive into the particulars of the bakery (and I will in due time), for now just know that we want a stellar cookie on the menu. Now, the one’s I’ll be serving will be sourdough, but for the sake of baking something in under an hour, I’ve modified the recipe for you to try it out for yourself at home.
A few days ago, we set out to Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue for some R&D inspiration, not too far from the bakery space. This wonderful grocery offers, as described on their website, “ancient grains and exquisite spices, bulk bins of freshly roasted nuts, dried fruits, and imported olives, and old fashioned barrels of coffee beans. Sahadi’s is an old-world place where you can discover new tastes.” As you might imagine, this place is a bakers dream. We picked up various types of dates, apricots, nuts, teas, jams and spices. One of the most interesting things we saw was Black Lava Salt, so I decided to grab some and figure out what to do with it later (sprinkling it on cookies did indeed cross my mind, and if you don’t have this then just use some regular flaky salt).
