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“A Pie to Die For (plus wine and more!) at One Girl Cookies”

Many of you know all about One Girl Cookies, the pretty blue-trimmed Cobble Hill bake shop known for its delicate, buttery bauble-sized cookies, whoopie pies, ricotta gelato ice cream sandwiches, and freshly frosted red velvet cake (and cupcakes).

But the place has undergone some exciting new changes recently. A few weeks ago, owners Dawn Casale and Dave Crofton turned their former garage into a breezy café with room for about 20 and a lofty al fresco vibe thanks to a glass garage door that gets pushed up to let the sunshine in. And this week, they got their liquor license so they’re serving wine by the glass and the bottle including fizzy festive sparkling rosés (the Vin du Bugey-Cerdon “La Cueille”), crisp whites (Domaine la Fond “Lirac”), and juicy reds (Grosjean Freres “Gamay”), and Sherries to go with their desserts and their new Stinky Cheese Plate ($7), a combination that includes Tallegio (aged in Stinky’s aging room), Leonora, a Spanish goat’s milk cheese with a lemony tang, and San Joauquin Gold, a cow’s milk cheese from California that’s sharp and walnuty, all served with homemade accompaniments like apricot tarragon compote.

In addition to the new wine list, Dave is doing something I didn’t realize he did. He’s baking pies. And not just any pies. Possibly the best fruit pies I have ever tasted. I had a slice of his strawberry rhubarb—picked straight from the Greenmarket to his kitchen—and I almost wept. Instead, I just smiled for a long, long time. Then I ate another.

The Strawberry-Rhubarb Beauty in the Flesh

The crust is made from lots of butter and it’s flaky but substantial and just heavenly and it blankets a fresh (and bubbly when warm) summery fruit filling that’s got the perfect balance of sweet and tart. He bakes his pies according to what’s in season in the market, and soon he’ll be switching to peach-blueberry. But for now, get the strawberry rhubarb while you can. I promise you it will knock your knickers off. Bring one as a hostess gift to a dinner party and you’ll not only be invited back, you may be knighted. The pies are $25 each and must be ordered 2-3 days in advance so he can go to the market and shop for the fruit. Trust me on this one, people. It’s enough to have me considering a follow-up bakery called One Guy and his Pies. Maybe not.

Anyway, while we’re taking about One Girl Cookies, I should also mention their weekend dessert bar, Confection, which just got a lot sexier with the addition of the new café seating area and the wine list. It’s a great spot for a date, or just to sit and linger and chat with friends.

Every weekend, from 8-10:30 on Friday and Saturday nights, Confection’s pastry Chef Francina Stewart turns One Girl Cookies into her own dessert studio, baking a rotating list of treats to complement her regular menu that always features a Mini Whoopee pie flight ($6)—banana filled with peanut currant, chocolate with mocha toffee, and vanilla with lemon coconut, a Mini Cupcake flight—carrot ginger with cream cheese pecan ice cream, lemon thyme with summer berry frosting, and chocolate zucchini with cocoa orange frosting.

Last weekend, her specials menu ($7 each) included a zippy lemon ricotta tart with a pine nut crust and homemade blackberry sorbet, a key lime parfait with homemade graham cracker ice cream layered with lime curd and while vanilla crème fraiche, and a warm chocolate fondant cake with market raspberries and orange sherbet. After dessert, Francina always sends guests home with a little free takeaway like a French macaroon or something small and sweet, for morning, or more likely, a midnight snack. Enjoy!

One Girl Cookies is located at 68 Dean Street, 212-675-4996.

 

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Posted: July 18, 2008

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