It’s not even the weekend and I’ve already cried. And not the typical boo-hoo like when I wept over Carrie Bradshaw’s (Sex and the City) eventual marriage to Big even though he ditched her at the alter, or the cry when Denis Leary’s character on the phenom of a TV show Rescue Me (FX) fell off the wagon with his sad and destructive bravado. And not even the tears I shed as I trolled the streets of LA for six excruciating years trying to conjure up a decent cookie that would have just a scant trace of the sinfully rich peanut butter drop from NYC’s City Bakery. Thankfully I got the hell out of LA and moved to Napa. With a stop off at St. Helena’s weekly Farmer’s Market
(Fridays 7:30-12) I stumbled into cookie heaven by way of Annie the Baker’s bumping booth. She’s a diehard Steelers fan, a point you can’t miss between her color scheme, life-sized mascot and flaming yellow VW Beetle (her bakery mobile!). Annie entertains you at the moment you step into her domain. But quickly all arrows point elsewhere once she slips one of her magical cookies into your eagerly awaiting paw. With one bite of her peanut butter with milk chocolate chip cookie I shed my first tear, and by the time I finished up my taste test (oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, chocolate chip/toffee - all of which are killer) I was weeping like a colicky baby. All of her cookies strike a unique balance between sumptuous chewy cookie dough and dense flavorful baked cookie punch. One week under her spell and I've given her a permanent placement my calendar so that I never forget my weekly pitstop at her culinary dreamland. Instead of sugar plums I dream about how I can get me some more of that magic. Check her at the Market on Fridays and follow her on Facebook (ANNIETHEBAKER) so you don't miss any of her surprise cookie spotings/showings around town. Bring a hankie…tears have never tasted so damn good! Wacky WineSense Rating: 4 Grapes! (must eat)
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