Coffee talk at Rockenwagner with The Great American Bakery Hunt

I've been a pretty busy nonprofit worker bee recently, so I splurged and treated myself to a little Rockenwagner coffee break.  This was a day worthy of a double shot and the delicious baked good of my choice.  And while usually my heart belongs to their freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, the hidden gem of Rockenwagner is the Linzer cookie.  Now, the instinct of the typical American bakery patron is to go for the chocolate chip cookie.  But try the Linzer one of these days!  Don't be afraid!  It's the more rare species of cookie, and while every bit as delicious, you're much less likely to whip up a batch of these at home on a whim.  And if you have one of those mysterious people in your life who does not like chocolate, it's a great treat to introduce to them.   Not to mention that it's the perfect mid-day sweet treat to keep any worker bee going. 

The great land of Davis inspires some homemade pretzel making

On a recent trip to visit Davis, my friend Lindsay spearheaded a genius homemade pretzel making project. Since I'm officially addicted to Rockenwagner's pretzel bread offerings, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that basic pretzel making is a relatively simple process. After prepping the dough, we planned to bake it over at a friend's house pre- dinner party.



Below, Lindsay, our noble Protector of Dough, cradles the dough to shield it from the chill Davis air. We were a little concerned about the yeast and potential temperature changes while traveling. Bakers, heed this warning: When homemade pretzel making on the run, you must have a Protector of the Dough.



After boiling the pieces of pretzel dough, we brushed them with an egg wash, kosher salted them, and baked them. Then, voila! Pretzels hot from the oven and devoured immediately by yours truly.



Thanks to friends Sarah and Lindsay for introducing me to this recipe! It is also worth mentioning that Davis was a great farmer's market city. The Saturday market featured a great variety of vendors, including several bakeries. Upon entering, we were greeted with free naan samples, then eventually wandered over to the flourChylde bakery. The flourChylde's retail location is in Marin County, where they offer several wheat and gluten free options for people with alternative diets.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Davis has a grocery store called the Nugget. You really can't go wrong when you're buying ingredients from a place like that. Not only because the exterior of the Nugget features (naturally) a sign that says "Nugget", but also because there are Roman-like grocery goddesses governing the top of the building, adorned with billowing frocks, looking down on passers-by, regally balancing baskets of stone fruit on their heads, and beckoning you to explore the magic that is cooking and baking in the city of Davis. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not used to seeing majestic robed women towering over me whilst I enter grocery stores.



See what I mean? Here's one pretzel recipe from Alton Brown, if you're looking to get into the pretzel spirit. Enjoy!

7:00 pm cookie coffee interlude (Pacific Standard Time)

There are days when you simply need a 7:00 PM cookie & coffee interlude (Pacific Standard Time, in my case). But no matter your time zone, this generally seems like a good idea.

Today being farmer's market Wednesday in Santa Monica, my buddy and I planned ahead for a nighttime treat with a lunchtime walk to the Rockenwagner booth. After first winning me over with their savory bacon-y cheesey poppy seed bread (unofficial name), I just recently began experimenting with their cookies.

At first, only white chocolate macademia nut cookies were available for purchase, but today the unthinkable happened! A miracle was unveiled, to my delight! Little did I know that they started selling one of my most favorite cookie varieties at the market: the chocolate chip walnut.

I couldn't eat it immediately-- for a Rockenwagner chocolate chip walnut is not a cookie you casually snack on during an evening work session. Now, this was only my first journey of consumption as far as Rockenwagner's C.C.W. was concerned. Even so, I could tell just by its beautiful texture that it was not merely a cookie to nibble on, your eyes glazing over as you squint at the harsh lines of your Microsoft Office calendar. No my dear readers, a Rockenwagner chocolate chip walnut is made to be savored.

A Rockenwagner C.C.W. is a cookie for a 7 pm cookie coffee interlude, an opportunity to enjoy its sweet, beautiful cookie respite and reflect on the day. Thus, prior to consumption, this warranted a well thought out pre-cookie stroll down 4th street over to Leonidas, the best coffee spot in town (heavenly Mochas with real melted chocolate inside and a 10% off discount if you work nearby...not to mention a free square of chocolate with every drink, and ridiculously friendly service.)

When it finally came time for my 7 pm PST cookie coffee interlude, everything fell exquisitely into place. As it turns out, the cookie had a Pain du Monde-like quality to it. If this analogy doesn't speak to you, seek out Pain du Monde's treats next time you're in Orange County-- they make one of my favorite cookies. They will earn your good faith with reliability and freshness. It's great to find a kindred spirit in Rockenwagner's Santa Monica offerings. If you don't have reliability in your neighborhood cookies, then what else do you have left?

Happy farmer's market Wednesday to all, and to all a good night.