Miss Zumstein Bakery & Coffee Shop
5027 NE 42nd Ave – Portland
$1.25
A classic coconut macaroon. No flour – only coconut, egg whites, sugar…vanilla?
Read MoreAlmond Meringue* at Hot Cakes
Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Cakery
5427 Ballard Ave NW – Seattle
$3
Oh. My. God. If you enjoy a meringue like I do, go to this place. And if you enjoy toasted almonds inside your massive meringue, through and through like I do, don’t waste any time.
Duuuuuudes. This is a really good meringue.
Read MoreTwo Rhubarb Cookies at Two Tarts Bakery
Two Tarts Bakery
2309 NW Kearney Street – Portland
75¢/each
I’ve had it in mind to talk about Two Tarts for ages. I’ve been enjoying them ever since they first started plying their tiny wares 3-4 years ago at The Portland Farmers’ Market. They’ve since opened a small retail shop on NW 23rd Avenue, and continue to sell at the market, as well.
The problem is this: if I am to tell you about about Two Tarts, I am required to talk about not less than 10 different cookies at once. And it turns out that as much as I love to talk about cookies, I’m pretty lazy. So I’m compromising and talking about only three different Two Tarts cookies. It’s a start.
Read MoreLemon Meringue Cookie at Proof Bakery
Proof Bakery
3156 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles (Atwater Village)
$2
Before visiting L.A. recently, I had read that a brand new bakery called Proof (opened in December ’10) was making a cookie called a zimsterne. I’d somehow never heard of these, which is surprising because it is a cookie that is completely after my own heart. I have a soft spot for anything almond – particularly almond paste, marzipan or almond flour – the latter being a key player in the zimsterne. Also, I love cinnamon. I was sold – enough so to make the somewhat out-of-the-way drive (from where I was) to Atwater Village (not far from Silverlake).
Read MoreAlmond Meringue at The Bread Peddler
Note: This meringue is sitting on a dinner plate, not a saucer, not a salad plate. What I’m saying is: this is a big-ass cookie.
The Bread Peddler
222 Capitol Way North – Olympia, WA
$1.35
Meringue, probably more than most cookies (and pie toppers, for that fact), is divisive. I have friends who ADORE meringue, and others who tell me that it is not so much different than eating a stick of sidewalk chalk. I am not sure if I know anyone who sits on the fence with meringue, anyone who says: “eh, it’s alright. I can take it or leave it.” A person will either take it – with gusto, or leave it – happily. And like all matters of taste, there is no accounting for it. We likes what we likes.
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