Ben's Sugar Shack

Ben's Sugar Shack is a maple syrup shack in New Hampshire, my home state.  The make, well, syrup, and like any good shack they offer tours, yadda yadda.  I haven't visited in person myself, as I have plenty of family members who make syrup, and have thus never needed to purchase it, and I've certainly have done my share of sugar shack visits over the years at my family/friend's places, so no need for that either.  So why have I heard of Ben's?

"Ben's Sugar Shack offers a wide range of award-winning, 100% Pure, New England maple products."

Because, in addition to the base syrup, they make a range of maple treats and snacks, such as maple salt water taffy, hard candies, caramels, and brittle, maple cotton candy, maple leaf cookies, maple flavored pancake mix and maple flavored coffee, maple beef jerky, maple bbq sauce, maple cranberry sauce, the list goes on and on.  But I of course honed in on one particular set of items in their lineup: popcorn.  They make both a caramel and a kettle maple popcorn, I went for the later.

I wasn't impressed.

Maple Kettle Corn. $6.59.

"This kettle corn makes an awesome snack for maple lovers! Lightly coated and popped with maple sugar."

Bo-ring.  That's the one word I'd use to describe this popcorn.  There is nothing *wrong* with it, but there is just nothing particularly good about it either.

The pieces are standard small sized, not the larger puffier style some gourmet brands use.  It wasn't perfectly popped, there were some half-pops and some entirely unpopped kernels, and bits of hulls.  It tasted fresh, but wasn't all that crispy.  Mediocre base.

And then the coating.  As they say, "lightly coated", which is accurate.  It wasn't particularly sweet.  It wasn't particularly salty.  The maple flavor wasn't particularly pronounced, but it clearly was a slightly deeper sweetness than just pure cane sugar.  Fairly muted, boring flavor.

And it lacked the slightly caramelized or charred nature of true cast iron kettle corn.

As I said, bo-ring.  No reason to get this again.  Half-hearted **+.

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David's Cookies / Annie's Euro American Bakery / Fairfield Gourmet Foods

Update Review, 2024

I've had tons of David's Cookies products over the year, always through wholesale or mail order gift baskets. I actually had no idea they also sold products in grocery stores.

Rainbow Cake.

“Five bright and colorful layers of vanilla cake alternate with creamy white chocolate mousse filling. Finished with lightly flavored vanilla icing and decorated with tiny white nonpareils, this spectacular cake is perfect for celebrating any occasion!”

I found this in my local grocery store (Safeway) when I had a $5 off bakery reward to use (for my birthday) and it seemed fitting.  I was very curious how David's cakes would be, a product line I had never tried before, even after having so many of the cookies and other items over the years.  I didn't realize they were distributed in grocery stores.  It was in the refrigerated section.  I was a bit surprised/worried by the fact that the expiration date on it was nearly 3 weeks in the future.  Fresh cake shouldn't last 3 weeks ...

It was also, um, not a healthy option, with this fairly average size slice clocking in at 800 calories, 52g of fat, 54g sugar, and an ingredient list full of strange to pronounce things and of course, all the colored dyes.  I guess this is why it lasts so long.

Anyway.  I still dug in, fairly excited.  It looked great after all!

Rainbow Cake.

It was actually very good cake.

The five layers of cake all tasted the same regardless of color.  The cake was moist, it was buttery and sugary, and dense, a real classic American style cake.  It tasted, simply put, like any good birthday cake should.  I was surprised by how much I liked even the plain cake layers. **** cake.

And then, the filling and icing.  The description called the filling between the cake layers "white chocolate mousse" and the icing on the exterior "lightly flavored vanilla icing", but I found them pretty similar; the interior filling perhaps a bit fluffier, softer, and mousse-like, the exterior a bit firmer and icing-like, but the taste seemed the same to me, one wasn't clearly white chocolate and the other vanilla.  I really liked these elements too - they were both sweet but not cloying, and surprisingly flavorful for simple flavors.  Sugary in the right way.  **** filling/icing.

The ratios of everything worked well too - I originally thought it looked a bit skimpy on the filling between the cake layers, but it actually ate really nicely as composed, I think because the cake itself was actually just so good, I didn't find myself "needing" frosting to enjoy it.  I also didn't find myself wanting ice cream to pair with it, again, something I normally do to accent a dessert and elevate it a bit.  This one was just good exactly as served.  ****+ overall, given how the complete experience really was everything I was looking for in a classic birthday cake.  Kudos, David's Cookies.

They also make a version with chocolate ganache instead of the white chocolate mousse between the layers, and chocolate frosting instead of the vanilla icing.

Update Review: Annie's Euro American Bakery 

"Annie's Euro American Bakery (acquired by Fairfield Gourmet Foods in 2010) is located in Longwood, FL. This 26,000 sq. ft. facility produces top quality elegant desserts including Premier Cakes and a wide variety of individual desserts." 

Today I learned ... that Annie's Euro American Bakery is owned by Fairfield Gourmet Foods, the same parent company as David's Cookies.  I've long been a fan of David's Cookies ... not the more common mail order cookies (review), but, for the "biscones" (review) they make for  food service distribution.

It turns out, the same parent company also acquired a bakery, for their little individual desserts, also wholesale items.

I only tried a few, to mixed results.

Princess Pineapple Coconut Cake.

"Three layers of white cake filled with Annie's signature sweet cream cheese, fresh pineapple and finished with a sweet pineapple-coconut glaze and ivory white chocolate sauce." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Thin layers of white cake are filled with pineapple white chocolate mousse, pineapple marmalade, our signature sweetened cream cheese and finished with a sweet pineapple coconut glaze and ivory white chocolate curl." -- David's Cookies

I didn't expect to like this.  I don't care for cakes.  I think pineapple and coconut are ... fine.  But this really was quite good, although extremely pineapple and coconut flavored, so you must be in the mood for a fruity, island experience!

The cake layers were very thin, moist, and barely noticeable with all the other layers.  For a non-cake person, I found them extremely non-offensive.

The cream cheese layers were delicious, thick, rich, sweet, and slightly tangy.  You could definitely taste the cream cheese, which helped compliment the sweet layers.

And sweet layers there were!  The pineapple-coconut glaze on top was sweet, pineapple forward, coconut forward, and immediately made me think I was drinking a fruity cocktail at a resort in the tropics.   I think you can tell where I wanted to be!  The inside pineapple layer was even more intense, fresh pineapple, juicy and flavorful.

This was fruity and quite delicious.  ****.

Individual Lil' Red Velvet.

"The perfect serving of rich red velvet cake, layered with sweet cream cheese filling, finished with a dark chocolate feather garnish."

Meh.

These were fine, but generic as can be.  The cake wasn't dry, but it wasn't actually flavorful.  The cream cheese frosting was sweetened, but thick in an unpleasant way, and too cream cheese-y, if that makes sense.  It was a bit cloying.

The chocolate on top was fine?

Overall, this was highly mediocre, nothing wrong with it, but nothing good either.  Low ***.

Update Review: 2018 - 2020 Tastings

Remember the blueberry "biscones" from David's Cookies I raved about.  Yeah, I loved them.  I've since had a chance to try other varieties, and they were even better.

These are a food service distribution item, designed for wholesale/catering, so they arrive frozen and unbaked, but you can also find them on Amazon or other specialty online grocers occasionally, fully baked and frozen.  I highly recommend.

Butterscotch Pecan. 2018.

"Made with butterscotch chips, crunchy pecans, heavy cream, butter and sugar."

Last time, I tried the large 4 ounce scones, and found them just a bit too big (well, for one sitting.  Part for breakfast, part with whipped cream for dessert was fine with me!).  This time, they were portioned differently, into mini scones, likely 2 ounces.  Baked fresh from frozen.  The size was absolutely perfect.  Not bite sized like a Starbucks petite scone, not too big to feel like you shouldn't finish it, but large enough to be absolutely satisfying.  Although, uh, of course I took two.

The texture was just like the blueberry ones, totally fascinating.  A bit fluffy and cakey, but also layered, like a biscuit, but also kinda firm like a scone (hence, the "biscone" name some distributors give them).  Not crumbly like an american scone, and very easy to eat.

Butterscotch Pecan: Inside.

They were loaded up with little bits of crunchy pecan, and full of totally caramelized butterscotch chips.  I loved how the butterscotch created caramely bits jutting out from the edges.

These were even better than the blueberry, and I'll gladly have more.  I'm certain I could easily take down the monster 4 ounce version of these with no problem!  ****+.

Butterscotch Pecan Scones. Full Size. June 2019.

I ordered these again the next year, remembering how awesome they were.  And I ordered them for dessert, even though I know they are sorta intended to be breakfast items.

The catering team baked them for us, and made them full size again, big monsters of scones, that none of us had *any* trouble finishing.  I failed to take a photo of the unwrapped scone, as I was too eager to dive into it.

And ... they were just as amazing as I remembered.  The texture, the scone-biscuit quality, is just so fascinating.  The pops of sweetness from butterscotch and the crunch from pecan kept you wanting for more.  Best warmed, and best with some whipped cream.

Everyone in the group raved about them, and I assure you, there were none left behind. ****+.

Cinnamon Chip. 

"This batter can make the kitchen smell amazing with warm spices and cinnamon chips throughout. "

It was hard to make myself order a flavor other than the butterscotch pean after such success, but, I finally did it and went for cinnamon chip.

The cinnamon chip were my least favorite, this time again baked off in the very large format.  Others all commented that they were simply too large, and either opted not to take one, or break it in half.  The smaller size was definitely more popular.  

Cinnamon Chip: Inside.

The texture was still the fascinating "biscone", kinda biscuit, kinda scone, and this time, studded with little cinnamon chips.  Everyone who had never had a biscone before loved them, commenting on the very unique flaky texture.

On top was cinnamon sugar crisp.

This was my least favorite variety only because it was a bit more plain, just cinnamon, rather then the caramelized goodness of the butterscotch, or the juicy blueberries.  But once I added whipped cream, and had it for dessert, it was still plenty good. ****.

Update Review, August 2017

I've reviewed David's Cookies before, when my mom received a mail order assortment of cookies and brownies, and I was quasi-impressed with the quality.

This time, I've had the opportunity to try several of the baked goods, available to foodservice vendors. And they are good. I was even more surprised.

Scones

"Butter and cream ensure a rich flavor and tender texture. 100% trans fat free. Sweet and savory varieties. Two formats available."

David's Cookies makes scones of several varieties (cinnamon chip, chocolate chip, raisin, cranberry orange, blueberry, butterscotch pecan, savory cheddar chive) in multiple frozen formats for food service distribution: thaw & serve, or individually frozen and ready-to-bake. My office occasionally offers the later for morning catering events, when they aren't able to bake fresh made items in-house.

The scones are a particular style. They are not the hard, crumbly style I tend to think of as "scones". Rather, they are soft and cakey, more like shortcake or biscuits. They are also very large, monster sized triangles, bigger than I really want as part of a balanced breakfast. They remind me a bit of Panera scones.

"The richness of a scone. The flakiness of a biscuit. The deliciousness of David's. It's all combined into one scrumptious biscone."

Amusingly, when I was trying to find out more about these, I saw one site labelled them "Biscones". I first thought it was a type-o, but I realize what they were getting at. Biscones = biscuit + scones. Cute. And more fitting.

Blueberry Scone.

"Incredible, delicious combination of blueberries, heavy cream, butter and sugar."

I liked these scones.  While I generally go for the more crumbly style of scones in the morning, I liked the tang to them, and the plentiful large blueberries inside.

It was also larger than I wanted, although I just saved some to have later in the day with whipped cream on top, and called it dessert.

So while too big, and not the style I prefer for breakfast, I think these are good, and, in particular, with some whipped cream, they make an excellent dessert, more like a shortcake. ****.

Crumb Cake

"A true crumb cake, rich and buttery, with a 50:50 ratio of crumb topping to cake. Fully baked, pre-portioned, 100% trans fat free. 48/6 oz portions per case. Simply thaw and serve."

David's makes crumb cakes in 4 flavors: original butter, raspberry, chocolate swirl, and caramel apple.  You can also purchase them fresh in regular sizes, but the ones I tried came through their foodservice distribution, a huge tray which arrived frozen, ready to serve upon thawing.

Original Butter.

"The American classic made with real butter cake base and cinnamon streusel topping dusted with powdered sugar."

"Our Original Crumb Cake is the perfect addition to a brunch or other gathering. Made with fresh butter, brown sugar and cinnamon streusel topping and gently dusted with powdered sugar, this pairs well with morning coffee or as a light dessert!"

"An American classic with a 60:40 ratio of cake to crumb topping. A dense & moist cake topped with a thick layer of scrumptious cinnamon streusel dusted with powdered sugar on top."

The website had 3 different descriptions of the product, so I give you them all.  The gist though?  Yeah, lots of butter, lots of streusel (which is either 60:40 or 50:50, depending on which part of the website you read ...)

The cake layer was moist, extremely buttery, and kinda plain otherwise.  It did not eat like a breakfast item, as it was too sweet, and too buttery, more like a rich pound cake.

OMG, the streusel.

The topping was delicious.  A very thick layer, as promised.  This first slice I had was more like 30/70, but I found later slices that were 70/30.  Soooo much topping.  Soft, sweet, cinnamony, buttery streusel.  The topping was a serious winner.

It was funny watching which slices different people went for.  Some clearly wanted more cake, less topping, and me?  I was all about the topping.

I think this coffee cake would make an excellent trifle layered with cream.

This is not a light item.  1/2 a piece has 430 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 29 grams of sugar.  Yes, half a slice.  It is made with palm oil, vegetable oil blend, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, invert sugar, etc, etc.  You get the point.  Not a wholesome item.  But delicious. ****+.

Individual Desserts

"Offering a wide selection of single serve cakes, cheesecakes and mousse desserts, these miniature masterpieces have flavor combinations such as raspberry with lemon, pineapple with coconut, and elegant dark chocolate mousse with edible gold pieces. Appealing to all types of foodservice segments, these pre-portioned desserts can shine in high-end establishments, catering services or small boutique stores. Every individual dessert is hand decorated and one of a kind!"

David's also sells some individual desserts to food service distributors, marketed as "Annie's Euro American Bakery", a variety of individual little cakes.

Cheesecake

Mango Guava Cheesecake.

"Refreshing contrast of both mango and guava cheesecake. Topped with a light mango puree mousse. Finished with toasted almonds."

This wasn't bad.

The base was classic graham cracker crust.  Decent texture, soft but firm, but it tasted like ... sawdust.

Next up is the mango cheesecake, fruity, good consistency.  Same with the guava cheesecake.  Good consistency, although I cared less for the flavor.

The "light mango puree mousse" layer I didn't like though.  It tasted like seriously fake mango.  And it was strange to have a fluffy layer on top like that.  Speaking of on top, why the almonds?

Overall, good texture to the cheesecake, but not flavors I really liked.

It also was not light, but, what should you expect from cheesecake? 520 calories each! ***.

Original Review, May 2015

Just to mix it up a bit, I'm going to stretch my "bakery" review day theme a bit to include ... mail order baked goods.  Hey, they still count as baked goods, and these are ones accessible to you anywhere in the US.  Expanding my review horizons!

David's is a large commercial "gourmet" baked goods manufacturer.  Given the name, you can guess what the signature product is: cookies.  They also make other baked goods such as brownies, scones, crumb cakes, and ruggalach.  Plus layer cakes, cheesecakes, chocolate truffle cakes, a slew of French tarts, and, randomly, chocolate covered strawberries.

I believe online is their largest market, although they seem to also have a large fundraising business, and have been around since 1979, so obviously their distribution channels have changed over time.  Corporate gifts and gift baskets seem to be the target market.

Cookie Brownie Party Tin, 5 lbs. $59.95.

When I was visiting my family, my mother received a lovely gift of a huge 5 pound party tin full of cookies and brownies from David's Cookies.  Ever curious, I had to try them.  All of them.  Even though you know I don't really like cookies.  I'd say it was for the benefit of the blog, but really, who am I kidding?  I can't resist trying a dessert, even if the chances of me liking it are low, as seemed the case with not even fresh cookies and brownies.

The tin had a selection of 6 types each of cookies and brownies.  The cookies were fine, but the brownies were far better.  Maybe next time someone will send her the decadent sounding cheesecakes ...

Cookies 

Cookies are obviously David's specialty, specifically chocolate chip cookies, although they make about 20 varieties.  Cookies come in tins, ranging from 1 to 5 pounds, or mixed with brownies or other items in gift baskets.  You can also buy the chocolate chip in mini form, or as frozen dough to bake off yourself.

Our tin had six varieties in it, and I obvious tried them all.  Sadly, our tin contained just the basics, not any of the fun ones like Butterscotch Pecan, Coconut Pecan, Red Velvet, Mint Chip or Smores, that David's also makes.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin.

"They are made with cinnamon, thick molasses, sweet brown sugar, and vanilla for a taste that will bring you back to the good ol days."

The oatmeal raisin was the first cookie I tried.  A fairly standard oatmeal raisin cookie.  Decent heartiness from the oats.  Good distribution of not-too-hard raisins.  Soft enough style.

A classic cookie, and Ojan liked it too.  My second favorite of our batch.  I am curious what was "old fashioned" about it though ... what do new age oatmeal raisin cookies look like?  ***+.

They also make a orange oatmeal cranberry, which sounds like a fun seasonal selection around the holidays.

Macadamia White Chunk.

"What do you get when you combine delicious white chocolate with succulent macadamia nuts into one cookie?"

Next I moved on to the macadamia white chunk.

It was another softish cookie, although a bit overcooked and crispy.  However, there was only one macadamia in the entire cookie.  The distribution of raisins in the oatmeal raisin was totally acceptable, but this was not.  There were also a few fairly boring white chocolate chunks.  I did at least appreciate the use of chunks rather than chips, as they provided more sweetness.

Overall, there was nothing interesting here, it was just inoffensive.  My 4th pick overall.  ***.

Cherry with White Chips.

"Silky smooth butter, sweet sugar, creamy milk, and powdery flour are paired with the perfect balance of tart dried cherries and sweet white chocolate for the ideal cookie flavor."

Next, cherry white chip.  It was very similar to the macadamia white chip, just with dried cherries replacing the macadamias.

It also was a bit overcooked and crispy.  The base cookie was pretty boring.  The white chocolate chips were generic.  The cherries were large, but rock solid.

My sister, Ojan, and I all did not care for this, and we ended up throwing out the extras.  Our least favorite, by far. **.

Chocolate Chunk.

"David’s has perfected the art of the chocolate chip cookie by using only the best ingredients. Our recipe calls for fresh eggs, milk, velvety butter, and loads of big Hershey’s Chocolate chunks to create the most irresistible cookies on this planet. "

Next, the one Ojan was most looking forward to: chocolate chunk.

It had another slightly sweet standard cookie base.  It was a nice soft style, not overcooked like the white chip varieties.  Although I doubted them for using Hershey, since I don't exactly endorse the the quality of Hershey chocolate, the milk chocolate really wasn't bad.  And chocolate chunks are obviously better than little chips.

Like the oatmeal raisin, this was a pretty standard chocolate chunk cookie, no more, no less.  My 3rd pick. ***.

Double Chocolate Chunk.

"They have gigantic chunks of Hershey's chocolate mixed into smooth and sweet chocolate cookie dough. It's a soft chocolatey cookie stuffed with delicious chunks of milk chocolate."

Like with the chocolate chunk, I appreciated the large chocolate chunks, and again I didn't actually mind the Hershey chocolate.  But the base cookie wasn't very chocolatey, so flavor-wise, it didn't offer much over the standard chocolate chip.  This was Ojan's favorite flavor, since he does love chocolate the most, but my second to last pick.  Low ***.

[ No Photo ]

Peanut Butter with Peanut Butter Chips

"Our original cookie dough made with fresh butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and milk is swirled with peanut butter and Peanut Butter Chips for one of our most divine cookies ever."

This was, hands down, the winner of the bunch, and I didn't get a photo of it.

The base was the winning component, full of peanut butter flavor.  It was accented with further peanut butter in the chips throughout.  The style was more like the macadamia and cherry cookies however, crispier than I would prefer.

My favorite, but still, not something I needed more of. ***+.

Brownies

David's also makes 6 varieties of brownies: Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Swirl, Cheesecake, Pecan, Rocky Road, and Macaroon, plus a Blondie.   Brownies are available alone, or mixed with cookies or crumbcakes in tins or boxes.

The chocolate varieties all use a chocolate chip base, "made with pure melted chocolate and loaded with sweet chocolate chips", Hershey again.   Each brownie is a large 4 ounce "slice".

Unlike the cookies that were loose in the tin, the brownie slices were individually packaged.  Our tin contained all 6 varieties of brownie, but no blondies.  The peanut butter swirl and cheesecake were my first picks based on descriptions, but both looked rather dried out, so I skipped them. 

Pecan.

"A luscious blend of our fudgy chocolate chip brownie with gently toasted buttery pecans."

The pecan brownie was indeed fudgy, fairly rich, and not dried out or stale, which surprised me a bit.  I did enjoy the addition of the chips for an extra chocolate burst, and the nuts for crunch.  For a packaged brownie, it was not bad. ***+.

Rocky Road.

"Indulgent black walnuts, rich peanut butter chips and a chocolate swirl on top make this brownie the one to cure any craving."

Next, the fun sounding Rocky Road.

There was a lot of goodness in this one.  Again, a very rich, fudgy chocolate chip base.  I liked the addition of the peanut butter chips and the nuts.  A good mix of textures and flavors.

Again, for a not fresh brownie, it was fairly tasty.  ***+.

Macaroon.

"Our newest brownie starts with our classic brownie and covers it deep in toasted coconut with a drizzle of chocolate."

This was a very dry brownie.

The base brownie was mild chocolate, fairly dried out.  It had a shredded coconut layer on top of that which was very dry.  Artistically drizzled with chocolate which looked nice, but didn't really add much flavorwise.

Definitely the losing brownie, way too dried out, and with no real flavor. *+.

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Amici's East Coast Pizzeria

Update Review, 2024

Another event with Amici's, and yeah, um, I don't like this pizza.

BBQ Chicken.

"Chicken, red onion, bacon, cilantro, romano, mozzarella, tomato sauce, bbq sauce."

I don't like chicken, but I do often tolerate bbq chicken pizza, as I love bbq sauce and red onions.  I usually just kinda eat around the chicken.  Unfortunately, the Amici's version left me extremely disappointed.  And confused at first.  Why ... why did I taste standard red sauce on my bbq pizza?  The answer?  Because that is how they make it.  They just add a little bbq on top of the red sauce.  The result, at least to me, was totally muddled flavors, not allowing the bbq I was looking forward to to shine, and just totally didn't work.  I don't think I've ever seen another a bbq chicken pizza use tomato sauce too, and, well, there is a reason for that.

Other than the muddled sauce situation, the rest of the slice was meh too - same not good crust and cheese of their other pies, and very gristly chicken that was mixed in with greasy bacon and hard to avoid.  Nothing I enjoyed about this at all. *.

Update Review, October 2023

A bunch of years ago, I wrote about Amici's East Coast Pizzeria, and, at the time, all I reviewed was the lackluster meatballs (see below).  I haven't sought out Amici's since, and never was that excited by their pizza, but recently attended an event catered by Amici's, so, pizza it was.

Our hosts ordered an assortment of pizzas (all large), and I tried a couple.  Note that this was just a few weeks after I returned from living in NY for a month, and, let's just say, it wasn't even in the same ballpark.  

Trentino. $42.75.

"Parmesan, crumbled feta, baby spinach, red onions, pancetta, herbs, meyer lemon olive oil, mozzarella (no tomato sauce)."

I did not know what kind of pizza this was when I grabbed a slice of the Trentino, I was simply drawn in by the red onions and crispy bits of what looked like delicious pork product.

The crispy bits of delicious pork product turned out to be just that - super crispy, very flavorful, quite salty, bits of pancetta.  I did quite like the pancetta.  There was a nice amount of it on one side, but the other half really was sparse.  Not exactly consistent in the topping application.

The red onion and baby spinach were good, they went well with the pancetta.  I'm not really one for feta though, so that brought this down a few notches for me, and, although I do think the lack of red sauce made sense, and let the toppings shine, it did eat a bit dry.

The crust was mediocre, not particularly good, not an interesting flavor, nor great chew, nor anything redeeming, but at least it wasn't soggy.  Lower end mediocre.  The cheese was average.

Overall, a pretty generic and mediocre piece of pizza, but, the pancetta and onions really were tasty.  **** for those, **+ otherwise, *** overall.

Trentino. $42.75.

"Parmesan, crumbled feta, baby spinach, red onions, pancetta, herbs, meyer lemon olive oil, mozzarella (no tomato sauce)."

A few weeks later, I was at another event with Amici's pizza, and was drawn back in by the memory of the tasty pancetta.  It was again good, but not quite as memorable, and I was more distracted by the strong feta and such lackluster crust this time.  **.

Hawaiian. $35.75.

"Honey-cured ham, pineapple, mozzarella, tomato sauce."

I know hawaiian pizza can be polarizing for some people.  I am not those people.  I don't generally go for pineapple in other places (meh to pineapple in sweet and sour dishes, meh to pineapple on ice cream, meh to pineapple in fruit salad, etc), but, I do like the sweetness with ham on pizza.  That said, I did not like this pizza.

The crust was the same as the previous slice, pretty meh.  The sauce was uninteresting.  Cheese mediocre.  Ham was like Canadian bacon, really porky, and tough.  I didn't care for it at all.  Pineapple was fine, just canned crushed pineapple.

Overall, just not good, and I didn't enjoy this at all.  *.

Combo. $42.75.

"Pepperoni, meatball, bacon, sautéed mushrooms, black olives, mozzarella, tomato sauce."

I didn't actually try the combo, this is just here for illustrative purposes.  The distribution of ingredients was really not ideal, soooo many black olives everywhere!

Original Review, April 2022

I don't really eat that much pizza these days.   This makes me a complete mystery to my parents, who have pizza night every single week, without fail, and love having the leftovers to eat for several days.  More than half the days of a week my dad eats pizza.  But me?  Eh.  

Back when I first moved to San Francisco, pizza was definitely heavy in my rotation, and that meant basically one of two places: Little Star (which I've reviewed several times before) or Patxi's (generally when in the South Bay because it was close to where I lived).  Always for deep dish.  Little Star cornmeal crust deep dish really is a special thing.  But I mostly moved on from frequenting the Mission (where I'd go to Little Star, despite the epic waits), and mostly just don't crave pizza (of course, I went through a thin crust Delfina phase, and had to check out the hype that was Tony's too at some point).

But even if I don't care about pizza, Amici's has been on my radar, a chain with locations all throughout the bay area, one of which I used to walk by regularly.  I remember having it a few times, always for delivery at an event and thinking, "meh".  Standard, "East Coast" style pizza.  Bo-ring.

During the pandemic Amici's pivoted, shuttering several of their locations and instead moving to takeout/delivery only, from ghost or cloud kitchens.  It is from one of those kitchens, located at 60 Moris street, that I finally tried Amici's again.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Beef Meatballs. $5.75.

Meh.

All I can say about these.

The sauce really had no depth.  Just, tomato sauce.  Actually, I think, pizza sauce?  It was no different from any grocery store jarred sauce.

The meatballs were like what I remember the mini meatballs in Spaghettios or Chef Boyardee being like, just, bigger. That is, they were mushy, not spongy exactly, but, soft in an odd way.  Eh.

The meatballs were served with no cheese or anything to jazz this up (ok, partial point for some herb garnish?).

I absolutely would not get again and was rather shocked at how low quality this dish seemed to be.  Only good with some penne and cheese, if you were, you know, craving canned-tasting meatballs.

**.

Caesar Salad (with Anchovies). $7.95.

"Crisp romaine, housemade croutons, freshly grated parmesan. Served with Caesar dressing. Complimentary anchovy fillets added upon request."

I moved on to the caesar salad, at least a legit offering with anchovies optional.  The salad came nicely packaged up, with the croutons and dressing on the side, so not to get soggy.  Points for that.

Salad Base: SO MUCH CHEESE.

There was, um, a lot of cheese on top.  Literally, a cup of cheese on here.  That said, it was indeed fresh grated, it wasn't dried out, and it was a decent quality, had some nuttiness to it.  Above average for a generic pizza place, and clearly they didn't skimp.  The meatballs really could have used some of this generosity.

Below the cheese was ... the ANCHOVIES!  Yes, you can ask for anchovies, complimentary, which I most definitely did.  Like the cheese, there were actually tons of anchovies.  Salty, briny, exactly what you'd expect from anchovies.  I adored these, and was so glad to see them on here.

And finally the lettuce, standard caesar base of torn romaine.  Seemed fresh, crisp, decent portion, good size chunks.

The base of this salad was remarkably solid, I was rather shocked to be honest, solidly above average.

***+.  

House Made Croutons.

I appreciated that the croutons were on the side, even though I didn't ask for this.  Yay to not soggy croutons.

The croutons, just like the salad base, kinda surprised me in their quality.  The portion was generous, the cubes were extremely well seasoned (tons of Italian herbs!), they were very crunchy but not too crisp (clearly lots of olive oil used!), and they tasted, well, like a pizzeria.

These were very good croutons. Again, ***+.

Caesar Dressing.

And finally, the dressing.

This is something I'm always polar on with Caesar.  There are two styles of Caesar dressing usually, the thinner, vinaigrette style, and the nice thick mayo style.  And of course some are loaded with parmesan.  Some use real anchovy.

My personal preference is the thick mayo style, minimal parmesan in the dressing, and bring on the anchovy.

This was somewhere in the middle.  It was a vinaigrette style, but a thicker one.  It was loaded with grated parmesan.  I'm not sure about anchovy.  The flavor was decent, not too tangy, and very cheese forward.  Certainly not my favorite Caesar dressing, but, good.  And seemed quite possibly house made?

***.

Read More...

Honey Mama's Cocoa Truffle Bars

I don't recall why I discovered Honey Mama's cocoa truffle bars.  I suspect I had a coupon for a free product to try?  I do vaguely remember going to Whole Foods to select my flavor.

"Honey Mama's is the Portland, Oregon-based maker of delicious refrigerated raw honey-sweetened truffle bars!

Honey Mama’s is beloved for its one-of-a-kind texture, often compared to brownie batter, chocolate truffles, or fudge – the real treat is discovering each bar is made from only a limited number of nutrient-rich whole food ingredients.

Setting the gold standard for what it means to be a clean label treat, all Honey Mama’s products are free from refined sugar, gluten, dairy, soy, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives.

Just imagine your favorite candy bar went to a meditation retreat and came back enlightened!"

The bars are all gluten and dairy and soy free, no refined sugar, paleo and keto friendly, no preservatives, etc, etc.  As such, they require refrigeration, much like Perfect Bars, however those are delicious, and these are not.

The bars come in fun flavors like peanut butter cookie or seasonal specials like peppermint crunch or pumpkin spice.  They also make "Truffle Treats", distinct from the bars, such as peanut butter cups.  I tried only a bar.

The bar I tried was not at all what I was expecting.  I thought it would be a chocolate bar.  "Cocoa truffle bar" to me sounded like a chocolate bar.  Referring to it as my "favorite candy bar ... enlightened" made me think it would be a chocolate bar.  Perhaps one with filling per the "truffle" name.  It was not.  It was more like a healthy nutrition bar.  The texture was firm chalky.  It didn't have a nice snap to it like chocolate, but it was very dense and compact.  Yes, it was "one-of-a-kind", as described, but certainly not "beloved" to me.

I later read more of their FAQ, when I went to write this review, and found more explanation:

"To be called "chocolate", products must contain a specific amount of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, which Honey Mama's does not use.  Instead, Honey Mama's Truffle Bars start with a base of organic raw honey and cold-pressed virgin coconut oil swirled together with dark cocoa powder. This combination give our bars a soft, fudge-like texture that melts in your mouth like a creamy chocolate truffle.  Traditional chocolate also uses an emulsifier (such as soy lecithin) in order to be shelf stable. Honey Mama's bars do not contain any food additives, and instead use cold temperatures to keep from melting. This is why Honey Mama's is refrigerated and not shelved with other chocolate."

Aha.  Well, I still didn't find the texture "fudge-like", but at least this explains some things.

Pumpkin Spice.

"A custom blend of spices and heirloom pumpkin seeds surround you in all that is fall. This surprise twist on a classic is the sensory experience of the season."

"Remember the feeling of being a kid during the holidays, with the smell of a pie baking in your grandmother’s oven filling the air? Well, this tastes like that. 100% clean, whole food ingredients create the grown-up pumpkin spice you’ve longed for.  Real pumpkin seeds, real spices, no natural flavors, no refined sugar - ever."

So, yeah.  This did NOT remind me in any way of pumpkin pie.  I certainly did not long for it.  I actively disliked it.  It did have plenty of pumpkin spices, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, but the flavor was dominated by other element.

Again, I was expecting more of a chocolate treat, and this was really quite bitter (from the pumpkin seeds?) and tasted of dates.  I dislike the taste of dates.  But coconut oil was really the issue.  I really didn't care for the strong coconut oil taste, and the mouthfeel it left behind.  Amusingly, I didn't taste the namesake honey at all.

So, taste I didn't care for.  Texture that gave off protein bar vibes.  At least it had some good grit and bits within?  

Read More...

Sweet Things Bakery

You know I eat a lot of baked goods.  A lot of desserts.  So of course I've explored nearly every bakery in the area, including Sweet Things Bakery.

"Sweet Things Bakery was founded in 1977 with the commitment of making wonderful “homemade” desserts. Today all these wonderful sweets are handmade by a crew of dedicated bakers."

Unfortunately for you, wholesale is their primary business, so slightly harder for you to get your hands on, but you can actually purchase directly from their store inside Cal-Mart in San Francisco. My purchases have always been through our wholesale distributor (GourmetXpress).

Delivery Van.

I spot their delivery van all over town.  I spot their products all over town.  I always laugh when I see them at grocery stores, coffee shops, and even on restaurant menus, particularly higher end grocery stores that package them up to look like they bake in-house (hi Woodland's Market!).  I can recognize them easily at this point.

"Sweet Things Bakery is famous for its tempting takes on classic American-style desserts."

Their product line is quite extensive, yet I've literally tried 95% of the Sweet Things offerings carried by our distributor: all the cookies, all the cakes, all the pies, all the tarts, most of the individual items and pastries ... the only product line I haven't fully explored is the bars.  Sweet Things does make more cookies, and a few more pastries and seasonal items that my distributor doesn't carry, but I've ordered everything I can.  Like I said, I've tried a lot.  Some are better than others, and I'd say that for a wholesale vendor, they trend above average.  They do also do some gluten-free items, if that matters for you.

Cookies

As you likely know if you've read my blog for long, cookies are rarely my dessert of choice, I don't mind them, but, unless made into an ice cream sandwich, or unless a phenomenal cookie, I'd just generally prefer a pie, a cake, a pudding ... But sometimes I do need something I can just grab, and thus, a cookie does have a place in my life from time to time.

I've tried a few from Sweet Things, and, actually found one I like.  They make more than this, but our distributor only has the two kinds available.

S'mores.  $2.25.

"Graham cookie topped with marshmallow and dipped into dark couverture."

I don't usually try cookies, since I don't generally like them, but, this one looked too curious not to try.  Plus, I knew I could likely just extract the marshmallow!

It really wasn't bad ... for a cookie.  A co-worker says its one of the best desserts he has ever eaten.

The base is a cookie that tastes exactly like graham crackers.  Fascinating, really.  On top of that is a classic, sweet, fluffy, gooey, marshmallow.  Covered in dark chocolate that pools out around the edges.

While still not what I would choose for a dessert, the elements were well done, and I was pleasantly surprised, and, glad I tried it!  ***+.

Update: I've had a few more of these, and, yes, always enjoyed them.  Sweet fluffy marshmallow and chocolate, hard to resist!

Big Roadies.

"Rich chocolate cookies with pecans, chocolate chips and marshmallows."
Another surprise?  This.

As I always say, I'm *not* a cookie eater for the most part.  But this was a very good cookie.

Super chocolately, and then loaded with more chocolate chips.  Great crunch from pecans.  Gooey from marshmallow.  It had a lot going on, fun textures, good flavor.  A very good cookie.  ***+.

Apricot Jammies.

"Sea salted butter cookies filled with apricots or raspberry jam."

Sweet Things makes these with either apricot or raspberry jam, I had the former.  I expected the cookie to be more like a shortbread, but it was a soft, sweet enough cookie, with a bit of texture to it.  The jam was substantial, and nicely fruity.

Overall, a decent enough cookie, but not one that I was particularly excited about.  ***.

Cakes

Next up, cakes.  They make some full size and many individuals, which our catering team often cuts in half for "proper" portion sizes.  Basically all the classics are available, nothing particularly novel.  I wasn't a fan of any really.

Petite Carrot Cake. $4.95.

"Bulging with carrots, pineapple, shredded coconut, without nuts.  Topped with cream cheese frosting and a slice of candied pineapple."

If there was a word for the most generic carrot cake, this might win it.  It was, simply put, boring.

Yes, the cake had bits of pineapple which was nice.  Yes, it had carrots.  But it was not moist nor particularly flavorful.  No spicing really.

The frosting was cream cheese frosting, but again, boring.  Not a very strong cream cheese flavor, although it was a decent consistency.

The candied pineapple chunk on top looked like it had potential, but, it too was just boring.

There was nothing wrong with this exactly, but, it just wasn't great. Very low ***.

Carrot Cake.

"A Sweet Things trademark cake. Bulging with fresh carrots, walnuts, coconut and crushed pineapple with a rich cream cheese frosting."

The also make a carrot cake in a traditional form, a layered cake, cream cheese frosting on top, in the middle, and on the back.  Different in that it includes walnuts, where the petite version did not.  And no little candied pineapple on top.

I appreciated the crunch from the walnuts, that was certainly an improvement.  Otherwise, it was essentially the same cake.  I liked it slightly more as it seemed more moist, the nuts were welcome, and it had better ratio of cake to frosting (as in, more frosting!), but it still wasn't an amazing carrot cake.  Again, low ***.

Lemon Drop.

"A lemony pound cake individually baked, drizzled with a lemon cream cheese glaze."

Lemon desserts are never my favorite.  I don't like pound cake.  So this?  Did not like.

The cake was dry.  Not buttery.  Not good.

The glaze was fine, although I didn't taste the cream cheese as advertised.

Did not like this item. *.

Salted Caramel Bundt.

"Chocolate cake with a hint of coffee topped with caramel and chocolate shavings."

This was not a good cake.  It was dry.  It wasn't chocolately.

The frosting was just cloying sweet.

Not good.  *.

Petite Red Velvet Cake.

"3" Petite Red Velvet Individual cake with chocolate butter and cream cheese frosting-  topped with a chocolate heart."

This was a pretty decent cake.  The cake was light and fluffy, nicely moist.  Good crumb structure.  I prefer a bit more buttermilk tang to a red velvet, but it was still quite good.  

On top was plenty of cream cheese frosting, I approve of the high frosting to cake ratio.  It was thick, rich, very cream cheese forward.  Good frosting.

Overall, above average quality for mass produced frozen item.  ***+.

Black Tie.

"Rich moist dark chocolate cake with creamy buttercream frosting."

Eh.  This was fine.  Mediocre but not bad chocolate cake, sweet and not particularly complex but not just sweet buttercream.

No more, no less, than your basic decent grocery store quality cake. **+.

Black Magic Cake.

"Rich moist dark chocolate cake with a creamy fudge frosting and chocolate shavings. A classic old fashioned chocolate cake – unbeatable!"

Eh to the "Black Magic" as well, basically the same mediocre kinda dry and not interesting chocolate cake, this time layered with a fudgey frosting.  The frosting was almost good, but still just very sweet.  I did like the dark chocolate shavings.  **+.

Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake.

"Three layer red velvet cake, with cream cheese frosting. Finished with red velvet crumble."

The red velvet crumble on top and the sides was a bit unique to this cake, not something I've seen before.  I can't say it added much to the eating experience of it, but, it was there to make it look a little bit better.

Red Velvet: Side View.

From the side you can see it was a nicely made 3 layer cake, cream cheese frosting between the layers, each layer the same thickness.

The cake was fairly moist, and decent enough, although not particularly remarkable.  It didn't taste gluten free in any bad way, but it also wasn't particularly good, no depth of flavor to the cake itself.

The cream cheese frosting was equally "fine" - it was sweet though, fairly cloying, and not all that cream cheese forward, and I usually like a higher ratio of frosting to cake.

So overall, for me, this cake was absolutely fine, it was nicely made, but it wasn't one I really wanted more of.  **+.

Fallen Angel Torte.

"A fallen chocolate soufflé covered with a very light chocolate mousse and chocolate shavings." -- GourmetXpress, Distribuor

"A light flour-less fallen chocolate soufflé, topped with fluffy chocolate mousse and chocolate shavings." -- Sweet Things

I saw "torte" on the menu, and almost didn't even take a look.  Eh, torte.  But ... then I read the description.  "Light chocolate mousse".  "Chocolate soufflé".  Ok, now we are talking!

Spoiler: This wasn't as good as it sounded.

The "very light chocolate mousse" or "fluffy chocolate mousse" wasn't really fluffy, it wasn't really chocolatey, it was just highly boring.  The "fallen chocolate soufflé" wasn't soufflé-like in any way, it was just very mild boring not very moist chocolate cake.

The dark chocolate shreds on top were fine?  Otherwise, there was really nothing redeeming here.  **.

Cupcakes

And of course, always trendy, always good for catering: cupcakes!  Sweet Things makes all sorts of holiday mixes, themed with colors and toppings for the occasion.  I have been surprised by the cupcakes, as they are generally better than the actual cakes.

Mini Black & White Cupcakes.

"Miniature dark chocolate cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting."

The black & whites are the cornerstone of the cupcake lineup from Sweet Things, featured in nearly every assortment (just differently dressed), and also available individually.

These are good, solid cupcakes.

Moist enough cake, and the frosting, although thick and sweet, was quite enjoyable.

***+.

Assorted Cupcakes: Red Velvet Xmas Mini, Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mint Butter Bite.

Here we had assorted cupcakes, dressed up for the holidays.

I skipped the red velvet with cream cheese frosting and red sprinkles.

I first tried the green topped one, which turned out to be a "Mint Butter Bite", a butter cake with mint frosting and white and green sprinkles.  It was much better than I expected.  Great mint flavor in the frosting, cake wasn't too dry, very buttery and sweet.  ****.

I also tried the chocolate fudge (chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting), and the fudge frosting was great, really, really intensely fudgey. ****.

These reminded me of "grocery store" cupcakes if you know what I mean, a bit heavy on the sweet, but, more enjoyable than I expected.

Mint Butter Bite.

I liked the mint one so much, that when they showed up at an event the next year, I eagerly grabbed one.

I again loved how minty the frosting was, and the cake was buttery, dense, and sweet.

Really, a decent little "bite".  ****.

Holiday Assorted Bites: Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mini Black & Whites, Bug Bites, Frost Bites.
.

The next assortment I tried was dubbed the "Holiday Assorted Bites", clearly intending "Holiday" to mean "Winter".  It featured their standard Black & Whites and Mini Chocolate Fudge dressed up for the holidays (the Black & White had green sprinkles and red balls), plus the crowd pleasing Bug Bites (carrot cake with cream cheese and nuts), and the very wintery "Frost Bites", which turned out to be vanilla with blue vanilla buttercream and white balls.

I tried the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

It too was far better than I expected.  Thick frosting, super creamy, excellent cream cheese flavor.  The cake was awesome, totally loaded with shredded carrot, decently moist.  Topped with crushed walnuts. ****.

Fall Assorted Bites: Mini Chocolate Fudge, Mini Black & Whites, Spice Bites, Orange Butter Bites.

The fall lineup has the two standards (the chocolate fudge and black & white), plus two seasonal varieties.

I tried them all.

Fall Mini Chocolate Fudge.

The chocolate fudge is the standard chocolate base with fudge frosting, and comes garnished with orange sprinkles this time.

I was again impressed with the fudgy frosting. ****.

Fall Mini Black & White.

The black & white has the same chocolate base, white frosting, and black & green sprinkles.

Orange Butter Bite.

New to the assortment is the "Orange Butter Bite", with orange buttercream frosting and yellow balls.

Since I had liked the butter cakes before I thought I'd like this, but I did not.  The cake was a bit dry, it tasted stale, and like a bad version of a "grocery store cupcake".  Orange refers to color only, not flavor in this cupcake, the cake was plain, the frosting just sweet.  Cloying sweet.

Overall, this was shockingly bad compared to the other offerings.  Side note: the yellow balls though were actually really good ... they were sour! And crispy!  Totally not what they looked like.  **.

Spice Bites.

The "Spice Bites" were actually interesting, with currants and pumpkin pie spices in the base, cream cheese frosting, and orange & green sprinkles.

I liked the aggressive spicing in the cake, it didn't really taste "pumpkin spice" necessarily, more like, uh, spice cake, like a more intense version of carrot cake.  The cake was moist, I liked the sweetness and texture from the tiny currants.

The frosting was cream cheese based so not just cloying sweet, and it too had some spicing.

Overall, one of the more interesting, and best tasting, offerings. ****.

Red Velvet.

"Red Velvet cake with cocoa, topped with cream cheese frosting and Guittard chocolate jimmies and a red chocolate heart."

This was a seasonal specialty, for Valentine's day.  I couldn't resist ordering.

The red heart on top was white chocolate, and totally delicious.  I really enjoyed it.

The cupcake though was ... fine?  The cake was a bit dry, but did actually have a slight cocoa flavor which you don't normally get in a red velvet (even though they usually have cocoa in them ...).  The frosting was rich and generously applied, and very cream cheese forward.

If you are looking for a decent red velvet cupcake, with plenty of cream cheese and cocoa notes, this is a decent option. ***+.

Classic Assortment Mini Cupcakes.

I've had many of these mini (1") cupcakes before, usually the seasonal varieties.

Chocolate Fudge

"Wonderful chocolate cake with rich chocolate buttercream and chocolate shavings."

The cake base was fairly average, but moist enough, nice crumb structure.  I really enjoyed the very thick, very chocolately fudge frosting though.  *** cake, ***+ frosting.  

White Butter

"Butter cake, with vanilla buttercream frosting."

The cake part was about the same as the chocolate one: fairly average cake, good crumb structure, moist enough, buttery flavor.  The frosting was very sweet, sorta like the inside of an Oreo cookie made into frosting, but I was in the mood for sweet, and I liked it.  *** cake, ***+ frosting.

Fiesta Cupcakes (not pictured)

"Moist butter cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and confetti!"

This was a classic bug bite mini cupcake, and I really enjoyed it.  Yes, very sweet, but moist cake, lots of sprinkles within. ***+

Strawberry Mini.

"White velvet cake with strawberries and a strawberry butter cream frosting."

This cupcake was a mixed bag for me.  The cake base I enjoyed - sweet, buttery, much like the white cake, but it had bits of strawberry in it.  The frosting though was ... too sweet?  Too strawberry.  I'm not sure exactly, but I wasn't into it and I'm usually a big fan of buttercream.  ***+ cake, **+ frosting.  I wouldn't get this flavor again.

Pies

Now we have reached a category I really do love.  Pies!  And Sweet Things really does make incredible homemade looking pies.

Blueboy Pie.

"Blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries in a flakey pie crust with crumb topping." 

This is actually decent pie, particularly for an item that I assume arrives frozen.  I've had it many times now.

Blueboy Pie a la Mode.

The crust is actually flaky.  Buttery.  It isn't stale nor dry, it isn't strangely moist, both problems that often happen with frozen pies.  **** crust.

The crumble top is excellent.  Slightly sweet, buttery, great texture.  I love it.  **** topping.

The filling is the weakest element, and also the part that seems not consistent.  Every time I've had the pie, I've really enjoyed the crust and crumble.  But the filling varies.  Sometimes it seems far too sweet, and sometimes far too tart.  I guess it depends on the fruit?  On how much extra sugar they add?  Plentiful whipped cream can help correct this, but, I wished they would do a better job with balancing the filling.

I appreciate the mix of berries, but, the other issue I have with the filling is the amount of seeds.  The little blueberries are great, but, the boysenberries just contribute way too much seediness for me.

So, great crust, great topping, but I don't generally care for the filling.  *** overall due to the strength of the components I like.  It makes me want to try some of their other pies ...

Pumpkin Pie.

"A traditional creamy filling with just the right balance of seasonal spices."

This was a pretty standard pumpkin pie.  The filling was creamy, pumpkin-y, spiced with classic pumpkin pie spices, but not too aggressive.

The fluted edges looked great, and it really had a "home made" appeal.  The crust wasn't particularly good though, not buttery nor flaky, just really, throwaway crust.

Overall, a very solid, standard, pumpkin pie, not offensive in any way, and a good looker.  ***.

Tarts

The pie lineup is quite small, but is augmented by a few tarts.  They were more unique.

Cranberry Mascarpone Tart.

"Chocolate 10" crust with a mascarpone cream base and a lemony cranberry top." - Sweet Things

"Chocolate crust with mascarpone custard and cranberry/ginger on top." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

From the top, this tart didn't look great.  It really looked like someone had dumped a can of cranberry sauce (a la cherry pie filling) on top of it and smeared it around.

It was much better than it looked.

There was a lot of the topping, and, it did taste like it looked ... really, just take cherry-pie-filling-from-a-can and pretend it is cranberry, and that is what this was.  Soft stewed berries, pleasant to bite into, covered in goo.  The cranberries were a bit tart, but, this was pretty sweet on top overall.  It wasn't a bad thing, really.

I didn't taste "lemony cranberry" as the manufacturer called it, which made me happy since I don't care for citrus desserts, nor "cranberry/ginger" as the distributor said.

Cranberry Mascarpone Tart: Side View.

From the side you can more clearly see the layers: chocolate crust, creamy white mascarpone filling, cranberry topping.

The filling was tasty.  Not as dense as a cheesecake, lighter than a custard, somewhat like a kinda thick mousse?  I didn't necessarily taste mascarpone, but it was creamy and I enjoyed it, and it helped offset the sweet/tart topping.

The crust was a chocolate crumb crust, decently chocolatey, and well formed, not too hard, but it gave some texture and didn't just crumble like some graham cracker crusts.  Basically ... Oreo crust, which when combined with the cream layer, really did remind me of an Oreo.  It also went well with the fruit.

Overall, this was pretty good, a good seasonal treat, but certainly sweet.  ***+.

I've had it a few more times since, and always really enjoyed it.  Cranberry Oreo pie is what I call it.

Apple Cheese Tart.

"Sweet crust with fresh apples on top of a sweet cheese filling with a pierced top crust.  " - Sweet Things

"Scalloped buttery pastry crust filled with sweetened cream cheese and layered with fresh apples, brandy, and cinnamon." - GourmetXpress, Distributor

Another seasonal "tart", but unlike the previous one, this one looked great!

This base was a sweet butter crust, somewhat like sugar cookie crossed with pie pastry, if that makes any sense.  Not quite as flaky as pie crust, but softer than a cookie.  It was good, not dry, not stale.

On top of that was a layer of creamy, sweet, cream cheese filling, like you find in a cheese danish.

Then, spiced apples, seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, other fall spices (and I guess brandy?).  Not too mushy, not too firm, good, for apple (not my favorite fruit).

The top was the lovely decorated top, made from more of the good pastry, with plenty of pearl sugar for extra crunch.

Overall, this was really quite good for a frozen, not homemade, product.  We had it served at room temperature, but I think it would be better warm.  ****.

Apple Cheese Tart: Side View.

Here you can see a bit better the way the layers were done.

The cream cheese filling in particular was a decently thick layer, enough to really add a creamy component, so whipped cream wasn't *necessary* ... although of course I still used it.

Lemon Meringue Tart.

"Beautiful, traditional sweet and tart dessert made with fresh lemons." 

I don't generally like tarts.  I don't generally like lemon desserts.  This ... no different.

Lemon Meringue Tart: Close Up.

I really, really didn't like this.

The tart shell was perhaps the best part, fairly sweet and buttery, but, still, just a tart shell.

The curd was, well, lemony.  It was a good custard texture though. The meringue was fairly impressive for a frozen item, lofty, generous.  But it was extremely eggy.  I didn't like it.

Not the dessert for me. *.

Lemon Chess Tart.

"Toasted almond crust filled with fresh lemon custard & decorated with lemon slices."

Yeah yeah, I hate tarts, I don't like lemon desserts, what am I doing?  It did look so pretty though, right?

The lemon custard was as bad as I feared.  Eggy, lemony in a way I dislike, basically, everything I was worried it would be.

The sweet lemon slices on top though were really fantastic, tart and sweet at the same time.

The crust was gritty from almonds which wasn't a bad thing, but it also had a strange taste that I didn't care for, I guess that was just the almond, like almond butter that I never like.

I liked this less than the lemon meringue even. *.

German Chocolate.

"Chocolate crust filled with coconut cream, coconut shavings and chocolate."

This wasn't quite when I expected when I ordered it.

The chocolate "crust" was at least 50% of the base, not the thin shell I was expecting.  The "coconut cream" um, wasn't cream?  I was anticipating coconut cream pie style, actual, cream.  There were actually coconut shavings and chocolate as advertised at least.

Once I got over my sadness that I didn't have a coconut cream pie with a chocolate tart crust, and treated it like the product it actually was, I was able to appreciate it a bit.

The base was better than a tart shell, actually.  It was basically a rich, thick, brownie.  Nothing tart shell like about it.  But a dense brownie wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I ordered it, and it wasn't a particularly good brownie.

The topping, clearly not coconut cream, was classic German chocolate cake filling, gooey coconut, pecans, in a very very sweet gooey base.  There was plenty of shredded coconut in it, and more on top.  Good texture.  It, however, was extremely sweet.  There was nothing to balance it  out.  Too sweet for me.

So, really, this was chocolate brownie with german chocolate topping, and wasn't great as it came.  **+.

Adding whipped cream to cut the sweetness was an improvement.  But really, what it needed, was to be entirely decomposed.  Which, of course, I did.

A warm chocolate brownie base.  Vanilla ice cream.  And then coconut-pecan topping.  A German chocolate brownie sundae.  That worked.

Other

Raspberry Almond Torte.

"Moist almond torte made with blanched almond paste, sweet butter and triple sec. Topped with a red raspberry puree and decorated with whole almonds."

This was actually pretty tasty, and torte style desserts aren't generally my favorite.

The raspberry puree on top really surprised me.  I expected it to just be a generic sweet goo, but instead it was actually really fruity, although, yes, it was quite sweet.  I liked the almond on top too, very simple, but a nice soft crunch in that bite.

 Almond Raspberry Torte : Side View.

The almond flavor was lovely, and the texture was fairly unique, like a firmer frangipane, almost like a crazy moist cake, but not quite.

Overall, still not the thing I go running for, as it is a cake, but nicely done.  ***.

Chocolate Decadence (Gluten-Free).

"A chocolate lovers dream!!!" -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Flour-less chocolate torte with a touch of brandy." -- Sweet Things Bakery

I ordered this for the gluten-free members of our group.

I didn't care for it.  It was a thick, dense chocolate cake, with a sorta ganache on top.  But it tasted a bit like chocolate sawdust, and lacked any enjoyable richness.

I tried warming it a bit, I tried adding whipped cream, but, I never actually liked it. **.

I was no alone, of our pie lineup, this one was the one no one wanted to take home the extra slices of.

Mini Pies/Tarts

I usually dislike mini pies and tarts, as the crust is often quite lame.  If real pie crust is used, it never is as good as larger size pies, and worse, I just hate tart shells.

But the Sweet Things mini pies had a really unique crust.  It seemed to be a shortbread crust, soft, buttery, and really not bad.  I wonder if it is the addition of rice flour that makes the texture like this?  Probably the first mini pie crust I haven't hated.

Packaging.

I got a chance to see how the pies arrive!  Shrink wrapped and frozen.

Mini Cherry Pie (2017).

The cherry pie filling I didn't love, but it had whole cherries in it, in a sweet enough goo.

I really liked the crumble top though, buttery, well spiced, generous.  ***.

Tiny Cherry Tart (2018).

The next year, the same item was rebranded slightly, "tiny cherry tart" rather than "mini cherry pie", which, actually, does set expectations better.

It again had the same soft, shortbread like crust, not a pie crust, but not a bad thing.  I again liked the crumble on top.

This time however, I even liked the filling.  Whole cherries, some goo, pleasantly sweet.

Overall, a fine little pie.  At room temperature it wasn't remarkable, but once I heated it up in the toaster oven, and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a crown of whipped cream, a drizzle dulce de leche, and a shake of rainbow sprinkles ... I really enjoyed it. ***+.

Mini Pecan Pie (2017).

The filling for the pecan pies was not classic gooey pecan pie as I am used to, but more like a caramel.  A bit chewy, which wasn't a bad thing, just, different.  It had a deep flavor, and was pretty good.  Lots of pecan bits inside.

So overall, very good, just not standard at all.  Shortbread crust, chewy caramel-like filling, but, it was good, and everyone liked these.  ***+.

Pecan Tassie (2018).

The next year, the mini pecan pies rebranded as tassies, but totally the same product.

I again was fascinated by the shortbread crust, and the caramel like filling, but this time, I detected something in the flavor I wasn't quite into.  It is what gave it the deep flavor, but ... it wasn't quite what I wanted.  When I looked at the ingredients it was immediately clear: dates!  Why did they put dates in my pecan pie filling!!!

I tried this warmed up as well, and with ice cream or whipped cream, but, the date flavor, once I tasted it, really ruined it for me. *+.

I don't want more of these.

Petit Rustic Applestack.

"Tart shell filled with fresh apples, cinnamon and custard topped with an oat streusel."

After the Apple Cheese Tart, I thought this would be good.  And it sounded right up my alley with oat streusel on top.

But ... I didn't really like it.  It wasn't horrible, but, it was very blah.

The shell was a quasi-crumbly, quasi-caramelized tart shell.  Not horrible, not good.  Inside was decently cooked, decently spiced apples in a kinda strange grainy custard.  The texture was odd.  On top, oat streusel, good amount of it, but it too just somehow fell flat.

Maybe they would have been better warm, or with ice cream?  I really wasn't excited by these at all. **.

Bars

Lower down in my list than cookies even, are bars.  Just, why?  Why ever pick a bar.  That is how I feel.  But Sweet Things makes a number of them, and I eventually tried a few.

Cranberry Coconut (Seasonal Special).

"Moist coconut and juicy cranberries make a delightful and refreshing bar."

This was almost really good.  The problem?  Well, I don't like cranberry.

But the shortbread base was decent, and I adored the sticky coconut layer above it, almost like the goo in pecan pie, but, with coconut mixed in.  On top of that, the tart cranberries that made me a bit sad but were juicy and flavorful, and flaked coconut.

If this was made with pecans instead of cranberries, I would have loved it.  **.

Raspberry Shortbread.

"Shortbread crust filled with raspberry preserves & topped with brown sugar & oatmeal streusel."

Although I'm not one for bars, and all the previous bars I've tried from other vendors have really been lackluster, the near success of the cranberry coconut bar made me eager to try one made with ingredients I prefer, like, raspberries and streusel.

It was a decent bar.  Again, a nice buttery shortbread crust.  Topped with just raspberry spread, not particularly amazing, and just goo, but, sweet and fruity.  Oatmeal based streusel on top, scattered a bit thinly for my taste, but, decent.

So, for a bar, it was good.  Not my go-to dessert, unless, uh, warmed up and served a la mode or a la whipped cream, but, decent.  **+.

Gooey Blondie.

"Made with brown sugar and a gooey browned butter layer filled and topped with pecans."

Eh.

A very mediocre blondie.  The blondie itself was actually just plain, no nuts, no goodies.  Pecans seemed to only be on top.  No real rich flavor from the browned butter either.  And not gooey in any way.  **.

Update: I tried it again, just to be double sure.  I think I liked it even less.  The texture, not gooey, the flavor, not brown butter.  Just ... a blondie, a very boring one at that.  #pass

Gooey Brown Butter Blondie.

“Made with brown sugar and a gooey browned butter layer filled and topped with pecans.”

I didn't realize I had tried, and not liked, this product before when I took one this time.  It had been many years though, so, worth giving it another try.

I was underwhelmed again.  It really isn't particularly gooey, and I would probably give it a higher rating if it didn't set me up for expecting something with the "gooey" in the name.  It is just a fairly plain blondie, soft, but not gooey.  I don't really taste brown sugar or brown butter.  The toasted pecans on top are nice.  But overall, just, boring.  **+.

Breakfast Pastries

I wish, wish, wish my distributor carried more of Sweet Things breakfast goodies.  Bread pudding muffins.  "Dirt bombs".  Buter pecan rolls.  Fruit galettes.  But alas, they only had the coffee cakes, so I ordered them all.

Hungarian Coffee Cake

"Featured in Bon Appetit magazine, this sour cream coffee cake is swirled with cocoa, brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. A great cake you can serve throughout the day." -- GourmetXpress, Distributor

"Sour cream cake with chocolate, cinnamon and walnuts." -- Sweet Things

This looked like a boring bundt cake, but turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

It was extremely moist, the sour cream flavor was great, just enough to give it some interesting complexity.  

Hungarian Coffee Cake: Side View.

But what really set it apart was the filling.  Really thick, slightly gooey, cinnamon-chocolate-brown sugar goodness.  I loved it.  And the a few scattered walnuts for crunch?  Yes!

This was very good, certainly a winner and far more exciting than it looked.  ****.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free)

 "Cinnamon Coffee cake. Made with rice flour."

The gluten-free version looked only slightly different from the outside, perhaps a bit shinier.

It too had some faint sour cream, but was more dry, made with rice flour.  It was still good, just, not as moist and rich as the regular version.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free): Side View.

But what made me really like it less was not the gluten-free texture, but rather, the filling.  This filling was only cinnamon-brown sugar, no cocoa, and much less generous.  It did have walnuts too.

Overall, don't get me wrong, this was still good, but not nearly as good as the previous one. ***+.

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