On-Demand Cookies with Doughbies

In a world where most anything seems capable of materializing with just a click or swipe on an app comes cookies delivered to you in 20 minutes after you’ve placed your order online.

That’s the premise of San Francisco startup Doughbies.

I should qualify that. In order for that to happen, you must live in San Francisco or as far south as San Mateo, as that is the region the company currently services with its drivers who deliver the cookies. You also have to order Monday through Friday, either between noon to 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. to get the cookies within 20 minutes. If you live farther south like I do, you get next-day delivery instead.

For orders within the on-demand delivery region, there is a minimum order of six cookies. For overnight orders, the minimum required is 12 cookies. There is no delivery charge.

I had a chance to try out the next-day delivery for free. From the menu online, I chose my cookies: three each of the Double Chocolate Chunk, Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chip with Sea Salt. The cookies are generally priced at $8 for three palm-sized cookies.

They arrived the next afternoon as promised, each cookie individually wrapped in plastic and neatly stacked inside a brown box.

The Double Chocolate Chunk was dark and bitter with the flavor of a brownie. It was quite soft and fell apart easily. The Peanut Butter was again quite soft and had a nice sprinkle of sugar over the top. The Snickerdoodle had the expected taste of cinnamon. The Chocolate Chip with Sea Salt was ever-so slightly chewier than the rest, and the garnish of salt over the top was a nice touch.

The cookies all have the same uniform texture throughout — soft and slightly cakey. As an avid home-cookie baker, I missed the varied texture of crisp edges giving way to a soft, crisp or chewy center.

Living outside the on-demand region, I’d probably opt to bake my own cookies or run out to a neighborhood bakery to buy some rather than wait overnight for delivery.

But I know not everyone likes — or has the time — to bake. I also know that — ahem, apologies — that so many millenials just can’t be bothered with yet another mundane task of everyday life. So, I can see the appeal of Doughbies for them. Or if you were wanting to send some cookies as a gift. Or if you lived in a congested city like Manhattan, where taking a cab, subway or getting in a car just to get some cookies because you had no bakery in walking distance, would make this a more convenient alternative.

Green Pea Cookies

I admit I had some trepidation in trying Green Pea Cookies.

I mean, peas in cookies? Really?

But I was pleasantly surprised.

The Bay Area cookie company is the brainchild of two Singaporean natives, who were craving a taste of their homeland. After a care package arrived in San Francisco from their parents, they were surprised how many of their co-workers went crazy for the green pea cookies. So, they decided to come up with their own version that’s made locally with organic flour, organic sunflower oil, organic powdered sugar, organic sea salt, and of course, salted green peas.

I had a chance to try a sample of the Original Green Pea Cookie, and the Earl Grey Green Pea Cookie.

Think a cross between a Mexican wedding cookie and wasabi peas — only without the wasabi. That’s what these cookies taste like. They are at once sweet, salty, savory and nutty tasting with a crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture. They’re about the size of a quarter with a mounded, domed shape.

And they are strangely addicting.

With the Earl Grey Green Pea Cookie, there is a faint tea taste. I almost like the Original Green Pea Cookie better because it really lets the toasted green pea flavor come through.

One box of 36 cookies is $14 for the Original and $16 for the Earl Grey. They’re available online or at Dolores Park Cafe in San Francisco.

Almondina Toastees

Think Melba toast made into a biscotti.

That’s kind of what the new Almondina Toastees are like.

Thin, dry and super crunchy, they are twice-baked almond cookies with no cholesterol, preservatives or dairy.

I had a chance to try samples of the four new flavors: Cranberry Almond, Lemon Poppy Almond, Coconut Orange Almond, and Sesame Almond.

These are not the cookies to reach for if you are craving something incredibly decadent, rich and over-the-top. Instead, these are far more austere. They are no bigger than a one-bite crostini. And their sweetness is restrained.

The Cranberry Almond has a slight sweet-tangy note from the dried cranberries. The Lemon Poppyseed has a muted citrus flavor, rather than a really bright one. Quite a few of the Lemon Poppyseed ones also had no almonds in them, probably just due to the random nature of the nuts being stirred into the dough. The Coconut Orange has a nice balance of flavors. My favorite is the Sesame Almond because the nuttiness of the sesame seeds accentuates that of the almonds. It’s almost like an Asian sesame cookie in taste.

One serving, 7 to 10 toastees, has about 65 calories or so, depending upon the flavor, making it a fairly guilt-free way to satisfy a small craving for something just ever so sweet.

A 5.25-ounce bag is $3.99. Find them at Sprouts.