How do I get a Sainsbury's-style cookie outside London?

March 30, 2005 2:17 PM

I lived in London for a while and fell in love with the fresh-baked cookies from Sainsbury's. They came in a pack of 5 for .99p (as I remember). There were double chocolate and chocolate chip versions and they always seemed to be soft and delicious. The problem is I just can't seem to find a cookie that stacks up to the ones from Sainsbury's. Anyone have any recommendations? I live in New York City. Or, even better, anyone know the recipe for Sainsbury's cookies? Even just knowing the name of these cookies (if there is one) would help in my quest. Thanks.
posted by nbrier to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

I've never tried the cookies at Sainsbury's but for soft and filled with buttery goodness, I go for the cookies at Subway, where one cookie has the same number of calories as many of their 6 inch subs. They have both double chocolate and chocolate chip versions, as well as oatmeal (my favouritest!) and white chocolate/macademia.

These aren't gourmet cookies, by any stretch, but they have a little something, something about them that makes me love them.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:40 PM on March 30, 2005

If they were soft and cakey, try the cookies at Lite Delight (there's one on Houston near Mulberry, there's also another one, but I don't know where it is). Their cookes are large and very cakey, and pretty good. I don't know if they make them or where they get them from.

I prefer a chewy cookie, and just had a good one from Olive's (on Prince Street, a block west of the Apple store). Again, I don't know where they come from.

On preview, I agree that Subway's (highly processed) cookies are quite tasty.
posted by o2b at 2:44 PM on March 30, 2005

If you like, I can buy some in London and send them to you, either Fedex or air mail.

But I am utterly shocked that you can't find superior cookies in NYC. As a Brit I find US baked products markedly superior to our own - and over here the vast majority of cookies I buy are hard and unimpressive. Millie's Cookies is the closest I get to cookie joy in London.
posted by skylar at 2:59 PM on March 30, 2005

These folks might know the name! I see a few packs that come in fives. If link doesn't work click "quick start" then search "cookies."
posted by fire&wings at 2:59 PM on March 30, 2005

This isn't directly related to your inquiry (as obviously a New York shop wouldn't get fresh-baked cookies in time), but if you have a hankering for other British food products, you should check out Myers of Keswick, on Hudson Street in Greenwich Village. They have most anything you can think of (that's shelf-stable). And don't judge them by the terrible website.

By the way, I feel your pain. As a Southerner, I sometimes get a hankering for barbecue that even the best NYC place can't satisfy.
posted by lackutrol at 3:17 PM on March 30, 2005

Get thee to 457 West 50th Street, Ruby et Violette.

Soft, chewy and they explode with flavor. Besides Mom's, these are the best ciikies I've ever had.
posted by Marky at 5:09 PM on March 30, 2005

Good Question! I also loved those sainsbury's cookies when i lived in england. Anyone have recommendations for the DC area?

only thing better? those MarY-Land cookies.
posted by stratastar at 9:59 PM on March 30, 2005

Best chewy soft home baked chocolate chip cookies in NYC, check out Levain Bakery at 167 West 74th, right off of Amsterdam. It's a tiny store, where they do all the baking right in front of you. Absolutely Yummy--you can hardly finish one cookie because they are so big and rich.
posted by Maishe at 8:36 AM on March 31, 2005

(quick derail)

lackutrol- Daisy Mae's BBQ. It's at 46th & 11th, and there's a cart on Park Ave. at around 46th as well. Lunch only, no table service. I've wanted to violently lash out for years at people who insisted that Virgil's was "the real deal", so trust me when I tell you that Daisy Mae's actually is.
posted by mkultra at 8:49 AM on March 31, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks a lot to everyone for the recommendations. Looks like I've got a lot of cookie eating in my immediate future. Also off topic, but speaking of BBQ, has anyone tried Blue Smoke, I believe it's on 26th. I've been in there for a drink, but never eaten. Looks and smells delicious, though.

Also, no bakers? No one has "the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world"? I'm sure I could Google it, but I was just curious.
posted by nbrier at 12:01 PM on March 31, 2005

Having moved to the UK from the US two years ago, I have the greatest respect for British culture in numerous categories, but frankly, when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, we Yanks have you beat, hands down.

Specifically, there is a chocolate chip cookie recipe which every American seems to take for granted, but which absolutely dazzles my British friends when I make it. The first time I served it at a party here, I had to endure literally two solid hours of being told that I was the best baker in the world and should open up my own cookie business. And all I did was make the recipe on the bag of Nestle's "Toll House Chocolate Chips." (And, yes, I know that Nestle's is a European company. But the chocolate chip cookie is an American phenomenon, dammit.)

Nbrier, go buy a bag of Toll House chips and try the recipe. You will never go miss Sainsbury's again. (One tip: if, like me, you like your cookies a little gooey, try underbaking the cookies just slightly.)
posted by yankeefog at 8:52 AM on April 12, 2005