Lowrider Cookie Company....When The Doughnut Place Is Closed
It has been quite the doughnut palooza in Seattle since I have been here and there are still several places to go. Once such spot, which shall currently remain nameless, it a bit of a hike from my small pad but if reviews and recommendations are any indication then the walk seems like it will be worth it. Plus, I can justify it by walking off the calories in both directions! One day during my still searching for work time I decided to get out and about and found myself heading in the direction of said spot for what I was hoping to be a nice just after lunch sweet snack. Alas, upon my arrival, turns out the place is closed on Wednesdays. Seriously?! Ugh, I mean, I guess I should look at opening hours more closely, but still, Wednesday?
Flash forward a few months and me and my friend Mr D are out running errands when doughnuts seem like a good idea and we just so happen to be on the side of town where that place is located. The parking goddess shines on us as we get a spot close-ish. But when we get up to the doors—and they are closed! WTF?! It is sometime still before 2pm on a Saturday, and yet, still a no go (seems if they sell out of doughnuts they will just up and close). I’m beginning to dislike this place and I haven’t even been the door yet. Doubly said as this spot does doughnuts and cake! It is like my dream place, yet at this point and unfulfilled and unrealized one I will have to continue to wait to experience.
While I will need to let my disappointment subside some before I trek back over there, each time my sweet dreams have been crushed, a short block wander away was an alternative I stumbled upon on my first failed jaunt. Called the Lowrider Cookie Company, cookies weren’t exactly what I was jonesing for but sometimes you gotta make do with what is available and I didn’t want to come all this way just to go home empty sweets handed.
It is a small narrow space tucked between a bike shop and an accessory store and to be honest, first time by I would not have know it was dealing cookies if I had not sign the sidewalk sign. (the store sign says Lowrider Baking Company but website is Lowrider Cookie Company—so some minor confusion) Or, more to the point, I saw the word cookie and was like, well, if I can’t get a doughnut, it may as well be a cookie. This day they had about eight different ones to choose from and the guy behind counter said something like get four save a buck or whatever, which worked for me because I was gonna probably get that many anyway.
a four pack of cookies
I decided to go classic with the chocolate chip then tacked on the salted toffee pecan, the double chocolate with peanut butter chips and something called lemon crackle—the only one without some kind of sea salt sprinkle on top. The cookies are all standard circumference, but what they lack in width they make up for in thickness, except for the lemon.
A lot of whether you like these cookies will depend on how you like your cookies baked. These are, for the most part, suitably lightly crisp on the outside and soft almost cookie dough like inside due to their thickness. I enjoyed the mix of textures in the bake and each seemed to pop with their flavor. Plenty of chips where necessary, nuts to add some crunch and just enough salt to keep them from being too terribly sweet. This style of bake might not be to everyones liking but I was down for the chewy bites.
The lemon was the only one I didn’t click with. I’m pretty sure it is one of their signature things but the crisp crackle doesn’t run quite as complete with this one and much of it was too soft and mush for me. Yes, it is distinctly lemony but more in the lemon candy range than says a lemon meringue pie or lemon cake. Maybe it was my taste buds after all the other brown sugar and chocolate leaning ones, but I just couldn’t get into it.
peanut butter filled chocolate cookie
My second time around with Mr D I decided to just keep it to the one cookie and went with one of their stuffed cookies. Since I can’t seem to pass up chocolate and peanut butter together the peanut butter stuffed chocolate was right up my alley. And it definitely delivers on both though I think they could have toned down the sugar a bit as, even with the peanut butter addition, this was a super sweet bite even for me. As you can see though, you get a thick fudgy cookie and enough peanut butter to compliment the chocolate. Eat the whole thing and expect a sugar crash in an hour. Even eating half of this made me a little drowsy. Either that or I’m at that age where any sugary bite causes a food coma. I think I will deny reality for now and say it was the latter.
Cookies at Lowrider Cookie Company are gonna set you back about $3 for a regular and $4 for a stuffed one (plus tax) and outside of that lemon thing, I thought each was pretty worth it for a sweet treat if soft chewy interiors are your thing. And, if you are really into cookies they do cookie cakes, which is exactly what it sounds like. Each layer is a giant cookie with frosting inbetween. If you are a cookie fan in general they are worth a try (at one of their three locations around the area) and they are also a decent alternative when you are craving a doughnut but the place is closed. Sometimes that is how you find new things you weren’t expecting and get lucky that they turn out pretty tasty. Plus, lesson learned, be sure to check store hours so your sweet cravings don’t suddenly turn sour.
