look to the cookie

There's something special about a well-made cookie. It has the perfect combination of a crisp exterior, with the lusciousness of a chewy centre, along with the perfect balance of saltiness and sweetness.

When a cookie connoisseur finds the perfect one, it becomes his or her mission to spread the word and share the joy with all the cookie lovers out there. I'm no exception. Back in March, we let you all know about a bakery that stands alone on the island of Montreal when it comes to uniqueness, variety and freshness. So, we made the worthwhile trek (45 minutes!) all the way back to Cocoa Locale to treat ourselves to some goodies.

We took the week off to spend some quality time together and thought that we deserved a little indulgence to wrap up the vacation before we head back to work on Monday. On the way there we debated on some important topics, including how many cookies I would be allowed to get. I was shooting for three, but Dina thought that one would be enough, given the generous size of Reema's cookies. I finally agreed that I should keep those big eyes in check.

Once we walked through the door, the delicious scent of freshly baked cupcakes knocked all of our carefully planned strategy to oblivion. I'm not sure if it was Reema's charm behind the counter or the bounty behind the glass divider, but, much to our surprise, we ended up leaving with a banana, maple and cinnamon cake, a lemon cupcake and (two!) cookies (one peanut butter and one oatmeal chocolate chip).

I won't even attempt to describe how delicious the banana cake is. If you can somehow make your way to Cocoa Locale, only then will you understand how a cake should taste. Fresh, in-season ingredients combine almost effortlessly to create the kind of cake you would expect your grandma to pull out of the oven. Just take a look at this and tell me you don't want a slice as we speak.