TIE
NATURAL NECTAR Sea Salt Caramel Crispy Crepe Wafer Cookie
FROM SEA SALT CARAMEL GELATO, TO SEA SALT CARAMEL BROWNIES, to just plain sea salt caramels, this sweet and salty combination has become more ubiquitous than ever. It comes as no surprise, then, that this year's Outstanding Cookie sofi Gold Winner features the trendy pairing done just right. Natural Nectar founder Francois Bogrand takes pride in using premium ingredients and ecological packaging to deliver healthy, natural products. The company's track record is healthy too: In 2010, the Huntington, N.Y., company was a sofi Silver Finalist for its Original Mediterranean Crackers.
This year's Gold Winner is a crispy wafer cookie with a remarkably delicate texture and a secret recipe behind it. "Growing up in Brittany [France], Francois always had these cookies and wanted to bring them to the states," says Kelly Hofer, operations manager at Natural Nectar. "There's a secret way of making each layer, and the ingredients are gathered from local farms in the Breton region."
Sea Salt Caramel Crispy Crepes are ideal alongside coffee or tea. Hofer suggests crushing them over a neutral- flavored ice cream, like vanilla bean, so as not to overpower the cookie's subtleties. The cookies are also available in milk chocolate and dark chocolate versions and can be found, along with other Natural Nectar products, at health food stores nationwide. Suggested retail price: $3.99/2.12 ounces. Contact: Kelly Hofer, Natural Nectar; 631.367.7280; kelly@natural-nectar.com; natural-nectar.com.—A.M.
➊ CLAIRESQUARES Buttery Shortbread Squares
Contact: Claire Keane claire@clairesquares.com 415.722.2080 clairesquares.com
➋ QUEEN CITY COOKIES Rosemary Sesame Pachyderm Pack Contact: Peggy Shannon queen@queencitycookies.com 513.591.0022 queencitycookies.com
SEPTEMBER 2012 S17
COOKIE