The past week has been somewhat of an interesting adventure for us here in New York City, New Jersey and the outer boroughs. As you are well aware, Hurricane Sandy came and ripped right through the northeast leaving a wake of destruction in her path. It also forced the coffee crawl to take a week off. I apologize for that, but not for where it led me for this week’s crawl. Due to the fact that many businesses were down and out of food and electricity for a week, I had to walk up to Hell’s Kitchen and Times Square to track down my nourishment (and coffee). Quite the walk. Well after having a delicious brunch on 54th street, seeing the hilarious Wreck-It Ralph (go see it!), and having dinner at Don Giovanni’s MidTown I walked beside this amazing little cookie shop: Schmackary’s.
Taken right from their website, Schmackary’s has “lip-schmackin’ good cookies” and let me tell you, they definitely lived up to that name. Located at 362 West 45th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) this cookie and coffee shop is conveniently located near every bar that you could ever want to go to in Hell’s Kitchen (and I say this because it’s not only a fantastic after-dinner treat, but also an amazing treat after a few cocktails). The decor inside was simple, you don’t need much when you have cookies of all shapes, sizes and flavors. There were coffee mugs lining the walls, places to sit and people watch will schmackin on your cookies and then of course the counter to not only place your order but to see all of the sweets come out of the oven and onto their serving platters. It was enough to make your mouth water (and it definitely did mine!) The shop itself was pretty busy, assuming a pre-theater rush, so I wasn’t able to really get a good read on the baristas and counter people, however from what I could tell they were pretty nice and helpful.
Seeing as this was my first time there, they took the time to explain the flavors to me as well as offer up a latte or coffee. I was very pleased with this as the employees at most places that are busy and popular tend to come off as rushing you or not being helpful at all.
That being said, I want to jump into the cookies and treats that Schmackary’s had to offer. I don’t even know where to begin though. The assortment of flavors was simply overwhelming (in a good way). They have two groupings of cookies: ones that are offered all year-long and those that are seasonal. For their “always on” offering there were the Classic Chocolate Chip, Cookies and Cream (dark cocoa, white chocolate, Oreo pieces and vanilla buttercream frosting on top), Maple Bacon (candied bacon, maple syrup, toffee bits and sea salt – YUM), Oatmeal Scotchie (oats, butterscotch chips, cinnamon and vanilla), Peanut Butter Cup, Red Velvet, and the Sweet Corn (gluten-free, corn flour, cornmeal, sweet corn, cranberries and pecan bits). Needless to say, all of those looked and smelled amazing. For the seasonal cookies, they featured the Caramel Apple Crisp (oats, granny smith apples, white chocolate, caramel and streusel topping), Fluffer-Nutter (peanuts, peanut butter, peanut butter chips, peanut butter-marshmallow frosting on top – amazing), Peanut Butter After Dark (peanut butter, cocoa, semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter chips), and Pumpkin Spice (pumpkin, autumnal spices, cranberries, cinnamon chips, pecans, and maple buttercream). Out of vast array of cookies that were offered, I chose the
Peanut Butter After Dark and the Caramel Apple Crisp.
They. Were. Amazing!
The Peanut Butter After Dark, as you can tell from the ingredients, was so incredibly peanut buttery that it almost killed me (in a good way!). I don’t even have words to describe. If you like chocolate and you like peanut butter then you must check this cookie out. Hopefully they have it when you’re there. The Caramel Apple Crisp, how I love thee. Growing up my mom and I used to visit apple-picking orchards and then when we got home she’d make me the most delicious apple crisp that I still have ever tasted. This cookie was somewhat reminiscent of that flavor. The caramel gooey-ness combined with the crispy apple and streusel topping were to die for. I strongly urge you to visit this cookie-heaven-land before the fall season up so you can snatch up this cookie….or 5.
At the end of the day Schmackary’s, hands down, has the absolute best novelty and specialty cookies that I have yet to try. I highly recommend going there at least once a season and relaxing with a few cookies and cup of their fabulous Kobrick Coffee. It was the perfect way for me to end an incredibly stressful Hurricane Week and I would recommend that whether or not you experienced it, Schmackary’s will make your week happy too.
























