Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/375622
INNOVATION FOR DESSERT These creative cookie producers have turned traditional cookies upside down. Sheila G's Brownie Brittle: Merging Two Classic Treats into One Thinking different is how Sheila G. Mains found success with her Brownie Brittle, which was first introduced in 2000. "My focus was coming up with something good," she says. "But it was really about doing something different." Plenty of cookies and brownies were on shelves at the time, but nothing quite like this snack, she believed, which takes inspiration from the crispy edges of fresh-baked brownies. In a sense, it is a cookie version of a brownie. Initially called Brownie Crisps, the product didn't take off right away. So Mains took them off the shelves and went to consumers to find out what needed tweaking. She went back to her kitchen to experiment with new flavors—and new packaging—before relaunching the product in 2011. Then it became a hit. Thinking outside the box continues to be Mains' strategy as she develops the next generation of her product. Next up: a Blondie Brittle and a variety of new flavors to join chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, salted caramel, and toffee crunch. Tate's Bake Shop: A Gluten-Free Version as Good as the Famed Original Its original chocolate chip cookie has brought Tate's a steady stream of success. But rather than sticking with one product, owner and founder Kathleen King keeps an eye on trends to inspire new offerings. "I'm always developing and testing new recipes to add to our lineup," she says. The latest creation is a full line of gluten-free baked goods, including ginger cookies, fudgy brownies, and blondies. The company decided to go for a gluten-free variety simply because customers—both at its Southampton bake shop and through Facebook and Twitter—asked for it. But customers weren't simply looking for gluten-free products; they wanted the cookies to taste as good as Tate's traditional offering. Crafting a new recipe while continuing to use top-notch, all-natural ingredients, the company found a happy result: a gluten-free cookie that tasted as good as the original. "Lots of these people haven't had a really good cookie in years," King notes. "I'm glad we could change that for them." HannahMax Baking: Rethinking the Cookie with a New Twist and Healthful Focus "Customers today are very informed about what they eat," says Rachel McGowan, HannahMax Baking's marketing manager. "They want to be able to read and pronounce everything on an ingredients list." So when pastry chef Joanne Adirim decided to launch a line of cookies, she believed it was essential to create a product made with simple, whole-food ingredients. Seeing her daughter Hannah's love of crunchy snack chips, she create a super-thin cookie that had a satisfying crunch. Dessert hybrids were already a concept she toyed with successfully; her Donut Muffins combine elements of their namesake baked goods. The crispy Cookie Chips line is available in five varieties, including chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, and sea salted peanut butter. "If you look at the ingredients list, you can find [all of them] in your pantry," says McGowan. HannahMax Baking uses only all-natural ingredients like butter, bourbon vanilla, fresh juices, fruit purees, and chocolate. The company says it uses no GMOs in its products. Adding to its natural appeal, the cookies are handcrafted by a team of bakers using scratch baking techniques, like those Adirim used when she first started baking from her own kitchen. 58 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com