Little Goat Bakery, the sideline business of the popular Stephanie Izard diner (and little sister to Girl and the Goat), is shifting focus from its homemade breads and bagels to new, sweeter items with flavor inspiration coming from the depths of your third-grade lunch box.
Luckily for my sweet tooth, I was invited to check out some of the new items at an intimate gathering at the bakery, hosted by the Top Chef winner herself as well as her executive pastry chef Mathew Rice. Rice became well-known last year for designing Izard's wedding cake, which consisted of strawberry Nesquik, chocolate-covered Cheez-Its and bacon frosting, and a lot of that playfulness has gone into the new items.
I mustache you to get your own cookie!Photograph: Jessica Berson
There were a plethora of chewy, buttery cookies in flavors like s'mores, butterscotch and brownie that would be the envy of anyone's bake sale, as well as a peppermint Swiss cake roll that looked like it was right out of the Little Debbie packaging, but was packed with cream filling that had bits of crunchy candy cane in it. The "Wookie Pie," so named because it was first made for a Star Wars–themed Sunday dinner back in May, was a pretty standard snack cake that paled in comparison to some of the other more adventurous goodies, as did the mustache cookies made from a dry shortbread. (But getting to decorate the facial hair–themed sweets alongside the chefs did made them taste a little better.)
Stephanie Izard, sous chef Mini Rafalski and Gina Mangiameli debate their color choices.Photograph: Jessica Berson
Fans of Little Goat's breads have no need to fear that their favorites are going away because even more flavors have been concocted by head baker Gina Mangiameli. The pumpkin Parmesan sourdough was hearty, nutty, cheesy and tangy, but the miso brioche was too salty for me, and although its texture was light and moist when warm, it turned a little mushy as it cooled.
The star of the evening was Mathew Rice's oatmeal cream pie cake, inspired by another Little Debbie favorite, that brought back memories of that moist, dense cookie sandwich and its almost too-sweet filing. Other cakes to be featured in the bakery have equally nostalgic flavors, like honey graham, devil's food and, yes, Cheez-It, but if you don't see something you like on the menu, the bakery is happy to create custom flavors to make anyone's childhood sweet dreams come true.
"Wookie" pies and peppermint Swiss cake rolls, now available at Little Goat Bakery.Photograph: Jessica Berson
These goodies, as well as lots of other new items, are available now at Little Goat Bakery at 820 W Randolph St, which is open from 6am-6pm Monday–Sunday, and if you stop in to the bakery on Wednesday November 12th from 8:00am-11:00am, you can snag a mini version of one of these nostalgic treats for yourself!