It is not a secret that I am married to the Cookie Monster. This man eats dessert first at every meal and will buy a whole pie if one slice satisfies him (then he devours that whole pie). Even our wedding meal began with dessert first for the entire bridal party at the sit down dinner and our French chef nearly lost his mind at the request.
While eating one of my favorite fish tacos in Cayucos, I was not surprised when he said, “Follow my nose” and forced me to leave my delectable tacos from Ruddell's Smokehouse. He lured me across the street into the Brown Butter Cookie Company. Nor was I surprised when the bill was as much as a new IPhone. When he is in the presence of impeccable, delicious and original baked goods, there is not a bag big enough to hoist his purchases home. He ate cookies in the store, on the beach, before dinner and for breakfast. Then he froze the rest in case of cookie emergencies.  |
| Owners Traci and Christa Hazie |
At the Brown Butter Cookie Company, the smell of brown butter delights your nose and draws you into this Wonka-esque factory. A couple of large steal table graced the center of the factory. Happy “Dough Rollers” were seated on bright stools and all meticulously rolling a sphere of dough into the perfect cookie. No mass machine production here, all the cookies are hand trundled with love. We were offered a taste of their new Citrus creation that they produced for Sunset Magazine. This surprising cookie has fresh orange and lemon zest with a little heat in cayenne pepper. It was wonderful.
The basis for the cookies and the nexus of this successful venture is the original Brown Butter Cookie. This sweet and salty treat that is simply butter that is browned on the stove top to bring out the nut flavor and touch of sea salt. They can drive a sweet tooth crazy. Started in 2009 by sister team Traci and Christa Hazie, this humble cookie has gone worldwide, opened a novel factory and a new retail shop in Paso Robles. It is now my Cookie Monsters favorite indulgence and if I can find a pack to smuggle into the movies with me, he will watch romantic comedies without insolent comments or eye rolling.
After satisfying his craving for the original brown butter cookie by devouring three, Gary moved on to try some new brown butter flavors and other baked goods. The Cocoa was a hit with the fresh taste of raw cocoa with the sweetness of the brown butter. He loved the Coconut Lime, while I went for the Cocoa Mint which is also gluten free. I really liked the Granola and was happy to have a new breakfast cereal that I knew was healthy and made with intense tenderness. The Brown Butter Company will create and ship your specialty made cookies or you can stroll into the cookie factory and try all the new and original flavors.
On we went to try the traditional cookies. I loved the Peanut Butter (with the fork pressing design on the top like Grandma did) while he adored the Chocolate Chunk and Lemon Sugar. Gary bought a dozen of the sugar cookies and later made his own ice cream sandwiches using his house made lavender ice cream. The traditional cookies must be enjoyed immediately, so they do not ship them.
This is one of those exemplary small business success stories. The sisters started with just one impeccable product, marketed it correctly and never took short cuts on ingredients or love. You can see that in the happy face of the Dough Rollers. This love is infused into every cookie and item they make. I rarely indulge in sweet treats, but when I do it is a Brown Butter Cookie, they are that good.
For the freshest of cookies, I would suggest a day trip to Cayucos to witness the delightful Hand Rollers, sample all the amazing and new cookies and buy cookie swag. I got the sweetest onesie for my grand daughter and Grandpa is sporting a Brown Butter shirt. You can special order your cookies by going to their website, www.brownbuttercookies.com or calling them at (805) 239-5894. The factory is located at 98 North Ocean Avenue in Cayucos and the new retail shop is at 801 12th street in the iconic Acorn Building in Paso Robles. They also can provide cookies for weddings and special events.
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