Sweet and Epic Pastry Road Trip to Chicago

Guess what? I recently took a long drive. A really, really long drive. All the way from Seattle to Chicago. From the Rainy City to the Windy City. Across much of America, that great, big country.

And I ate a lot of sweet stuff along the way. While the driving schedule was fairly tight (I had to make it to Chicago in time for the Renegade Craft Fair), and I wasn't able to stop at every bakery I wanted to based on the hours I was passing through various cities, I did manage to put away my fair share of sweet treats; here are some of the highlights. Let's go:

Washington

Mary Lou's Milk Bottle, Spokane WAThe first stop? Mary Lou's Milk Bottle in Spokane. What could be sweeter than stopping for a shake at an establishment shaped like a milk bottle? The huckleberry shake was delicious here, perhaps slightly thinner than I would have liked, but the flavor and pretty hue made up for it in my mind.

Last time I road-tripped, I also stopped at Rocket Bakery, which some say makes the best pink frosted cookie in the state.

Idaho

Sadly, La Vie en Rose was closed by the time I rolled into Coeur D'alene, but next time!

Observation at an Idaho rest area: This is where I started to notice that we were seriously entering Huckleberry Country. Even the rest area had an end cap display devoted to the berry, including sweets like Huckleberry gummi bears. This trend would continue through Montana and Wyoming.

Montana

Missoula: 

Bernice's Bakery, MissoulaTime for some morning sweets!

Le Petit Outre was the first stop, for coffee and sweets, including a cranberry bread (not cake, I know, but quite good!) and cookies. And caneles.

Poppyseed cake from Bernice's Bakery, MissoulaNext up was Bernice's Bakery, where croissants and a slice of poppyseed cake were obtained. Of note: Poppyseed Cakes are apparently big business in Montana, and I have even heard a rumor that this is where they were invented (who knows? Do you?). I asked a local, who had an interesting theory on their popularity. She she said that drug use is big in the state, and that the poppyseeds might be popular because of the purported high they offer. I'm not sure if I'm convinced about that, but I thought it was an interesting thought.

Recommended by a hotel concierge was Black Cat Bake Shop, renowned for their chocolate eclairs.

Bozeman:

On the Rise, Bozeman MTFor morning treats, you must hit up either Sweetpea Bakery or On the Rise. This trip it was On the Rise, for a weighty oat bar, a tart, and a rich quiche (not sweet!). The reverence for carbohydrates is clear here, with buttery crust and deliciousness abounding. But on to lunch...

Burger Bob's, BozemanShake o'clock! At Burger Bob's, largely thought of as the city's best burger joint, the chocolate shake was made with vanilla ice cream and rendered “chocolate” with syrup—perhaps not ideal for chocolate shake die-hards, but I thought it was pretty good.Burger Bob's, Bozeman

Billings:

Caramel Cookie Waffles, Billings, MTIf you have time to go nowhere else, you MUST hit up Caramel Cookie Waffles in Billings, Montana. Owned by a cute-as-pie couple, this place is THE supplier of caramel-filled dutch waffle cookies, and they do a good job. But wait, there's more!

Chocolate chip cheesecake from Caramel Cookie WafflesThey make a mean cheesecake (which they will top with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles, thankyouverymuch), oatmeal cookies, huckleberry caramels, and—wait for it—they even had NANAIMO BARS!

Nanaimo Bar from Caramel Cookie Waffles, Billings MTThis made me feel right at home, and theirs have a delicious secret: instead of graham cracker crumbs for the base, they use the crumbs from their waffle cookies. Nom! Yum! Awesome!

...but that's not all that Montana had to offer.

Durango Restaurant rest area, MontanaAnother thing I love about Montana is that their huckleberry reverence is so clear in every eatery. Even a casino rest area had delicious huckleberry ice cream, though their shake maker was broken (what?!?). Last time I went on a pastry road trip, I had a fantastic Huckleberry bar at a rest area, too.

Wyoming

Sheridan, WY: Sadly I didn't get a chance to stop there, but I want to give a shout-out to Java Moon because it was so highly recommended by a reader. Next time!

In Sundance, WY, I spied this. I was sad to answer "no" at the moment the question was posed to me.

South Dakota

Krispie bar from South DakotaWhat would a stop to South Dakota be without a krispie bar or Special K Bar? I picked this one up at a gas station. Too delicious. But moving on to Wall, and Wall Drug...

Wall:

Wall Drug, South DakotaIf you have never been to Wall Drug, well then, consider it a must. Their doughnuts are pretty dreamy.

Wall Drug, South DakotaSo is the pie.Available for purchase at Wall Drug, SD

The ice cream was not as special as the baked goods to me, but still respectable. They also have fudge. Including a flavor called Tiger Butter. What's Tiger Butter? Oh:

Rapid City:

Guess what? I also got a speeding ticket in—wait for it—RAPID CITY, South Dakota. The police officer became my new best friend as we both have the same birthday, but he still gave me the ticket. Vive l'aventure, sweeties!

Mitchell:

A stop in Mitchell, South Dakota provided a sweet retreat: not only did I get a glimpse of the Corn Palace, but I also got to stop for some tasty vittles at what I was assured was the best breakfast in town, at the VFW Hall.

 The biscuits were simple but perfect morning fare, and the cookies and pie were down-home tasty.Buttered biscuit from Mitchell, SD

Down the street, highly-recommended Daylight Donuts had already sold out of treats, but I do hope I'll get to try them out one day: also disappointed were a husband-and-his-pregnant wife, the latter having a massive doughnut craving. Very cute, and clearly these are craveable doughnuts if the shop sells out so early!

Minnesota

Because I was booking it across the state to get to Chicago in time, I didn't have much time to stop and visit Cake Eater Bakery, and sadly the Minnesota State Fair was already over.

In Rochester, I had previously visited Daube's, and would have loved to have visited again.

Spied somewhere in MinnesotaI forget where in Minnesota, but I saw this display of fruit...puddings? They were called parfaits. It reminded me of retro cookbook pictures, but this was the real deal.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin: is there anything it can't do? It's got amazing dairy, delicious meat products, and plenty of sweet treats.

Carrot cake from Mauston Rest Area, WisconsinOne of the standouts, for me, was unexpected: the Mauston Rest area. This truck rest stop surprised me with a full-service bakery full of amazing (and huge!) treats. The carrot cake was seriously one of the highlights of my trip: moist and flavorful cake, with sweet-sweet-sweet cream cheese frosting with the perfect lightly-gritty sugar consistency to balance out the cake. It was divine. They also had all sorts of other goodies, including these enormous pig and cow cookies - the scale really isn't evident from this photo, but rest assured each one was as large as your head and half of someone else's head too.

Madison:

Obviously I needed to drive by Ella's Deli, but didn't stop this time. Sometimes when time is tight I like to hit up a local grocery store--sometimes they have baked goods from a bunch of local bakeries. And I had some good luck at the Willy Street Co-Op, where they had baked goods made on site, such as strawberry crumb bars:

Willy Street Co-Op, Madison WI...as well as sweets from local bakers Larsen Bakery, Batch Bakehouse (who made the monkey bread pastry pictured below), Greenbush Bakery, and East Side Ovens.Batch Bakehouse, Madison WI

Illinois

Reaching Illinois, a waffle was obtained at the Country Kitchen restaurant. Waffles don't hum to me frequently, but this one did, and I was rewarded by a pecan-filled and covered waffle. I was a little put off by the fact that the pecans on top, which were dry, but adding butter and syrup to the waffle made it into something really special.

In Chicago, once I made it to the Renegade Craft Fair, a mandatory stop was made at the Alliance Bakery, where I always enjoy a little something. Sadly no trip to the Angel Food bakery was in my cards what with the time restraints, but I can't wait to visit on my upcoming book tour! I wish I could have gone to every place on this list though.

Happily, Black Dog Gelato had a stand just up the street at the fair, so I finally got to sample some of their stuff. You will not be disappointed if you go.

Another sweet find was Puffs of Doom, a cream puff maker of epic proportions. The portions themselves are modest but the rewards are huge: filled with cream and creative fillings of both sweet and savory persuasions. 

Sweet and savory treats were obtained at Milk and Honey cafe, where pastries are made in-house and everything I have ever tried there is delicious.

A big highlight? Natalie of Bake & Destroy brought me one of her crack-filled Peanut butter pillow cookies, which kept me buzzing with happiness all day. Another huge highlight was a delivery of Vegan chocolate snickerdoodles by my pal Bunny Knuckles, who knows how to make me smile.

Vegan chocolate Snickerdoodles by Bunny Knuckles; heart cookie from Artemio BakeryI tried out some heart-shaped cookies from Artemio Bakery, which were sugary and crumbly and quite satisfactory.

My bff customer Margaret stopped by, and then the fair started and I sold so many copies of my book that I think I might be a bestselling author now.

I also had the extreme and exquisite pleasure of eating at a restaurant called Moto. This place made me want to say “golly” I was so delighted the whole time I was there. And for dessert, they had made a sweet surprise: cookies with a CUPPIE image transfer on top! I kind of freaked out, in a good way. They also let me tour the kitchen, which I thought was oh-so-kind of them. It reminded me of Scott of Seattle Food Geek, who would fit in gorgeously there.

Frozen Custard from Niko's GyrosAn unexpectedly wonderful treat was the custard at Niko's Gyros. I also had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Oak Park; my curiosity having been piqued after reading Loving Frank: A Novel, I also visited the once-home of Mameh Cheney.

Nearby, Petersen's Ice cream was serving up ice cream pies, as well as pints, scoops, and shakes. I saw a lady lose her scoop from the top of the cone while I was there, and it really made my heart hurt.

Prelimary sketches were made at the home of Michelle of Bleeding Heart Bakery—I'm gonna finish that when I go back for my book tour. But can I just tell you a bit about her newest location? Brunch is King there, and they have a doughnut breakfast sandwich and all sorts of crazy-delicious treats. If you live in Chicago, why are you not there right now, friend?

For more of my pastry traveling adventures, click here.

Have a Ball: Kimball Popcorn Balls from South Dakota

When I recently had some customers in my store who were visiting from South Dakota, it didn't take long for me to steer the conversation to something very near and dear to my heart: the Special K Bar I fell in love with in Sioux Falls last year. But after several minutes of waxing poetic about said treat, I turned it over to them: enough about me, what sweets do you like to eat?

Happily, said customers were more than happy to introduce me to a South Dakota sweet specialty: the Kimball Popcorn Ball. This is a sweet confection not unlike a rice krispie treat, but made with popcorn--and, you know, in ball form. Sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy, all at once, these are addictive little morsels that live up to their motto: "just try one...you'll want another!".

And the legend is interesting too. On the "about us" page on their website, they quote a passage about the origins of the popcorn ball (from the book America Eats)

There is a legend that the popcorn ball is actually a product of the Nebraska weather. It supposedly invented itself during the "Year of the Striped Weather" which came between the years of the "Big Rain" and the "Great Heat" where the weather was both hot and rainy. There was a mile strip of scorching sunshine and then a mile strip of rain. On one farm, there were both kinds of weather. The sun shone on this cornfield until the corn began to pop, while the rain washed the syrup out of the sugarcane. The field was on a hill and the cornfield was in a valley. They syrup flowed down the hill into the popped corn and rolled it into great balls with some of them hundreds of feet high and looked like big tennis balls at a distance. You never see any of them now because the grasshoppers ate them all up in one day on July 21, 1874.

before explaining how they got involved in the game:

We wanted to demonstrate that arguably the best popcorn balls are made right here in the heart of small-town America – Kimball, South Dakota. Our unique recipe has evolved into two deliciously inviting variations: original and honey (made with South Dakota honey). 

And for that, Kimball Popcorn Balls, CakeSpy salutes you.

Discover Kimball Popcorn balls here (site includes online ordering). Incidentally, if you're curious about other South Dakota specialties, check out South Dakota Flavor!

Pastry Road Trip: Serious Sweetness at The Cookie Jar, Sioux Falls SD

CakeSpy Note: This month I drove to and from Chicago on a Pastry Road Trip: here's the beginning of several installments detailing the deliciousness I discovered!

I am officially in love with The Cookie Jar in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Why?

It starts, of course, with the decor, which is a strange sort of retro 50's diner look--but I got the distinct impression that this was not executed ironically. It makes the space seem as if it's been there for a very long time--though according to their site, they've only been open since 2002.

But the rest of this love story is all about the sweetness. You can tell right away when you approach the bakery case that this place means business. They have row after row of fat, dense cookies in a variety of flavors, some sandwiched with a generous dollop of frosting; their case also dedicates a notable amount of space to decadent bars, including Seven Layer bars, pumpkin bars, enormous brownies, and Special K bars.

The CakeSpy selections included a chocolate creme sandwich cookie, a Special K bar and an apple-raisin sour cream bar.

The cookie sandwich was rich, with pillowy cookies studded with chocolate chips and a frosting which tasted vaguely like Oreo filling; it was clear immediately that while this was not a refined or sophisticated dessert, it was nonetheless a deeply satisfying, extremely nostalgic treat.

The Special K Bar (which, as I learned, is quite common in Midwestern bakeries) was bar none (get it?) the best one sampled on this trip, rich and chewy and peanut buttery--it even inspired me to try out my own version at home, which I wrote about on Serious Eats!

The sour cream bar, which Mr. CakeSpy tried, was decadent, with the sweet fruit nicely complemented by the tangy sour cream in the filling, with a nice added texture and flavor contrast from a crispy oaty topping.

Now, I hope I'm not coming off as overly dramatic, but I feel as if it is my public duty to tell you that if you happen to find yourself in Sioux Falls, you must visit The Cookie Jar. But don't just take my word for it: Roadfood loves it too!

The Cookie Jar, 125 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, (605) 978-0991; online at cookiejarsd.com.

Pastry Road Trip: Deliciously Dense Donuts at Wall Drug, South Dakota

CakeSpy Note: This month I drove to and from Chicago on a Pastry Road Trip: here's the beginning of several installments detailing the deliciousness I discovered!

Wall Drug is a tourist trap of epic proportions: you've barely entered South Dakota when you start to see billboards proclaiming "Wall Drug--Only 500 Miles!". From that point on, every few miles you'll see another Wall Drug sign or billboard, some advertising products or services, some simply updating you on how much closer you are.

By the time you've actually reached Wall, South Dakota, you'll be so curious that you've basically got to stop.

Of course, I had a reason beyond mere curiosity: I had heard the donuts were fantastic.

I pulled into Wall at about 5 p.m. and unfortunately the "Donut Factory" section of Wall Drug had already closed for the day, but there were still fresh donuts (and ice cream and cookies too) available in their cafe. I picked up two cake donuts: maple frosted and vanilla frosted.

I offered to share with some of the little critters nearby, but it seemed they had no stomach for donuts.

How to describe these donuts? They were extremely dense--none of that light-as-air business here. The cake was very moist and pleasingly greasy, but tastefully so--it didn't leave an oily slick in your mouth. The frosting was rich and flavorful--the maple had a deep, earthy-sweet flavor and the vanilla was surprisingly thick and rich--and it was soft and held together beautifully (nothing is worse, to me, than donut frostings that are hard and flake off!). To put it in a nutshell, these donuts tasted very old school. In a good way.

Wall Drug, 510 Main Street, Wall, SD; 605-279-2175. Online at walldrug.com.

Bonus! Though I couldn't find their donut recipe, the Food Network does have a pie recipe donated by Wall Drug; check it out here!