Today I put a big ol' check next to One Girl Cookies. It's in Cobble Hill, which is one of the most quaint and lovely neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Carroll Gardens are all essentially the same area. Their technical divisions are arbitrary. They all have the same great vibe. Tree-lined streets with majestic brownstones, top-rated restaurants (like Saul and Frankie's 457), adorable cafes (Cafe Pedlar), and this area also includes Brooklyn's only Trader Joe's, which is a major bonus in my book. It's on my way to/from Manhattan so I'm surprised it took me as long as it did to stop into One Girl Cookies.
Walking down Dean Street you will spot this bakery haven immediately because of the large sign that simply reads, "Cookies" in all capital letters. These people know how to attract a crowd. Only upon closer inspection would a pedestrian observe the specific bakery residing humbly beyond the enticing sign. The inside matches the atmosphere of the neighborhood, it's adorable. Light blues and off-whites color this store, which perfectly compliments the simple, sparse decorations. It is a relatively small space, so its sparsity creates the illusion of a more spacious display room and seating area. Today was a gorgeous day, I suspect it was the last Indian summer of the season, so the doors were wide open and the seating area felt even more open than it might otherwise feel.
I went with my friend Janelle and we were tempted to indulge in their whoopie pies, array of seasonal cakes and pies, cookies, and gelato, but we eventually decided to stick with the original plan: cupcakes! Per usual, I asked the woman behind the register what her personal favorite was, and she answered that she typically goes for the vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream on top. I went for it and loved every bite. I almost got a second (I would have switched up the flavors) but decided to refrain. The one cupcake was incredible and I suppose that quality beats quantity. Janelle got the vanilla cake with colored vanilla buttercream. We went simple because fancy flavors (lemon, carrot, banana), as delicious as they are, can make a strictly ordinary cupcake seem tastier than it actually is. If a simple cupcake wows, however, then you know it's impressive. Wow, indeed. Each portion of this cupcake was just right. The cake was moist and the buttercream was rich and creamy. Most importantly: the two were ideally proportional to each other. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion of cake/icing ratio. Some people are cake fans (a girl I worked with used to dump her cupcake upside-down on a napkin and eat it that way because she didn't like frosting at all) while others forsake the cake entirely just to lick off the icing. I am a 50/50 gal. That doesn't mean equal amounts of cake and icing, but the two tastes have to balance each other out equally. For example, Magnolia Bakery, a favorite of many, offers cupcakes that, in my opinion, have so much frosting it overpowers the entire cupcake. One Girl Cookies has the ratio down pat.
Oh yeah, in a tiny seating area that had five people total in it, Janelle and I were surprised to discover that Kerri Russell sat down next to us with a latte, something that looked like a square chocolate muffin (from the seasonal collection, I think), and reading materials. She was chatty with the people working there and I got the feeling she frequents often. Looks like Ms. Russell is a fan, too. I should have asked her what her favorite cupcake flavor is...
