Sweet Treats in Hudson, OH – Great Lakes Baking Co.

I accidentally traveled down to Hudson, OH this morning (it was four miles of futile attempts to either turn left or turn around – I’m not a very good driver), but I was glad I did – Hudson is adorable. They have a cute little Main Street (S. Main Street, actually) with toy stores, restaurants, bars, and cupcake shops (I won’t hold that against them). Reminds me of Hudson, New York actually. I will definitely be getting down there again soon, and give a thorough review and snap some pics.

Just past the Main Street, I finally found a place to turn around – a little brick plaza-type building with a Starbucks, a clothing boutique, some other things I forget, and a bakery called the Great Lakes Baking Co. So, I had to stop and see what that was all about.

It’s a cute little bakery, with cases of cookies and scones, wire baskets filled with loaves of bread, and pedestals covered with cookies in festive packages. Over to the left sits a a tall display case, which held four shelves of goodies, including the weekly cupcake special – devil’s food chocolate with raspberry filling. I did not choose one of these, though they looked absolutely delicious and they were only $3 each (they were pretty large). Also in the case was an assortment of their brownies – a few varieties, sold in four packs or in a brownie pie (which reminded me of those giant cookies we bought each other for birthdays in college).

After sniffing around a bit, I selected a lemon poppy scone and a six-pack of brown sugar chocolate chip shortbread cookies (for Bob. Sure). The scone was perfect, to me: dry but not crumbly, not too sweet, and topped with a zesty lemon-sugar drizzle. It barely made it out of the parking lot, so I never got a pic. And though I bought the cookies for Bob, I was forced to try one IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE. They were also great – perfect shortbread consistency,  not too sweet, with a caramelized-but-not-burnt sugar taste. I also thought I tasted some cinnamon, but it was not listed on the ingredients tag.

I am impressed with what I read on their website:

All products are baked on the premises from scratch. Depending on the recipe, either whole wheat flours or white enriched flours are typically used – never bleached or bromated flours. In recipes requiring a sweetener, Ohio honey or pure cane sugar are used – never high fructose corn syrup or any artificial sweetener, flavoring or preservative. Fats are added sparingly, if it all. When needed, fresh creamery butter or olive oil is used – never shortening, lard, or hydrogenated fat.

According to the chalkboard outside, they’ve got lunch-y type things, too, like pizzas and sandwiches. I plan to make a return trip to learn more!

Things I plan to do over the next month or so:

• Visit the Countryside Farmers’ Market at Howe Meadow in Peninsula (inside the Cuyahoga Falls National Park)
• Attend a food swap (what up From Scratch Club! I’m keeping the faith!)
• Try a few new restaurants
• Review a few of the local grocery store chains
• Get up to Cleveland and check out the West Side Market and the Great Lakes Brewing Company
• Meet Chef Michael Symon (this is actually more of a long-term goal)