Tag Archives: chocolate chip cookies

‘Tis Chocolate Chip Cookie Book-Buying Season

Book Signing

giftbksThe perfect gift for the chocolate chip cookie lover in your life: a copy of The Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Book personally inscribed by the author to your recipient paired with a tin of the real thing (or not!).

No doubt you’ve heard the saying, “Feed someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach them how to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” It is equally true of chocolate chip cookies and a book that offers great recipes and tips for a lifetime of great chocolate chip cookie baking and eating!

 

In the Cradle of the Cookie

Book Signing, Events, Talk, , ,

Ended Chocolate Chip Cookie Week 2014 by delivering a Powerpoint at the Boston Public Library, located just about 20 miles from where the cookie was invented. During the Q&A that followed, I learned of some Jordan Marsh department store chocolate chip cookies that at least one woman in the audience missed as much as their famous blueberry muffins. After that everyone rushed to the back of the room for some delicious cookies from talk partner bakery Kilvert & Forbes  (featured on pages 98 and 100 of the book). Visit the contact page to inquire about having me deliver this talk to your company or group!

I talk about Gov. Weld's love of the Fig Newton.

I talk about Gov. Weld’s love of the Fig Newton.

 

 

A Taste of Internet Radio

Press, , , , , ,

TasteofthePastlogoInternet radio host Linda Pelaccio and I had this fun half-hour chat about chocolate chip cookies (and Spam!) recently. My ex-Supermarket Sampler column partner Bonnie Tandy Leblang provided the link to Linda and her A Taste of the Past‘s radio show on the nonprofit Heritage Radio Network (neither of which I had heard of before) and now I’m working to catch up on A Taste of the Past’s archived shows about the history of candy, pizza, refrigeration and supermarkets (among other things). The guy who started Slow Food USA is also behind Heritage and both are well-worth your time/$!

Two Signings in my City of Cookie (and OK, also Cheesesteak) Love

Book Signing, , ,

Two Philadelphia book signings coming right up! The first is at Reading Terminal Market (12th and Arch streets), where I do my bi-weekly Taste of Philly Food Tours and also act as the Market’s eblast/website news correspondent. I’ll be signing copies of the book in the Market’s Center Court from noon to 3 p.m., Sat., Nov. 16. Signed books there will come with one free cookie from the Market’s Famous 4th Street Cookie stand, a multiple Best of Philly magazine award-winning business featured in the Chocolate Chips To Go chapter of the book and pictured on that chapter’s introductory page. chippixfour31

Why is it called Famous 4th Street when it’s located on 12th Street? Because these cookies were originally only sold at the Famous 4th Street Deli on 4th and Bainbridge streets. The Auspitz family sold the deli in 2005 but kept the side cookie stand located in Reading Terminal.

Their “Famous” chocolate chip cookie is from an old family recipe of David Auspitz’s wife, Janie. The deli originally had a grocery area, including an ice cream freezer supplied by the local Jack & Jill distributor. But when Haagen-Dazs ice cream was first introduced and became all the rage, David put some Haagen-Dazs pints in the freezer, to the extreme displeasure of the Jack & Jill distributor, who promptly took his freezer back. This also being around the time of Famous Amos’ greatest success, Janie suggested David trying selling her cookies in the newly empty space.

Thus did one Auspitz sweets sideline melt away and another rise (both literally and figuratively).

I’ll also be signing books at the Barnes & Noble in Rittenhouse Square from noon-2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5. Chocolate chunk cookies from the Barnes & Noble Cafe will be served at that event.

Come on down, say hi and enjoy some cookies while knocking off some of the most difficult folks on your holiday gift list. (Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies and, by extension, chocolate chip cookie books?)

Famous 4th St. Cookies: You know you want one

Famous 4th St. Cookies: You know you want one