No. 44: Sandwich Cookies from Sweet Constructions

John Birdsall

Sweet Constructions' sandwich cookies, right, with chocolate crackles and a brownie.

​SFoodie's countdown of our 92 favorite things to eat and drink in San Francisco, 2011 edition.

​On the street, Mindi Canner and Kate Kuckro look like they should be cinched up in crossing-guard vests, over-handing the steering wheel on a school bus, or delivering mail. In fact, they're talented pastry chefs ― never mind that they're self-taught ― who turn out cupcakes, bars, and above all cookies with a kind of shimmering delicacy.

A couple of times a week, Canner and Kuckro hit the streets with their modest-looking cart as Sweet Constructions. The two met when they lived in the same Mission duplex. In 2001, Canner was working at a law firm, and to make a little extra money for the holidays she and Kuckro decided to collaborate on cookie boxes hawked to friends and co-workers. About a year and a half ago ― amid the frenzy of the Mission's food-cart scene ― they launched Sweet Constructions, wheeling their baked goods from Sunday Streets to fabric8's Street Food Fridays.

It's hard to choose a favorite from Canner and Kuckro's repertoire. Their chocolate crackle cookies ($1) are the tenderest we've had, and Sweet Constructions' shiny cube of a chocolate brownie ($1) is moist as pavé under its stratum of ganache, cut so precisely it looks like a geologic cross-section. But we have to give the edge to the sandwich cookie ($1.50), bracketed with plush coconut wafers. They're pale as good butter, with a luxe surface like a waffle-weave hotel bathrobe and a nicely friable texture. Inside there's raspberry jam, kept in place with a piped-in ring of vanilla buttercream ― jam Canner and Kuckro put up themselves, in season, from fruit sourced at farmers' markets. And that waffle texture? Canner says they get it via the textured end of a meat tenderizer, dipped in sugar.

Sweet Constructions: Cookies are available online and from the Sweet Constructions cart; follow its movements on Twitter at @sfcookies.

Dishes in our series so far:
92: Goat tacos from El Norteño
91: Faux shark's fin soup at Benu
90: Esperpento's alcachofas a la plancha
89: Poco Dolce's olive oil chocolate bar
88: Decantr's chicken-liver mousseline
87: Outerlands' levain bread
86: Fraîche's frozen yogurt
85: Gyro King's spinach pie
84: Tandoori fish from Lahore Karahi
83: Braised oxtail and daikon from Namu
82: Golden Gate Bakery's custard tarts
81: Commonwealth's cured foie gras with umeboshi purée
80: Star Stream's Liège-style waffle
79: Mexican hot chocolate from La Oaxaqueña
78: Meatball sandwich from Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe
77: Cheesecake from Zanze's
76: Chicken pepian at San Miguel
75: Macau iced coffee at Vega/Special Xtra
74: Comstock Saloon's Pisco Punch
73: Hai Ky Mi Gia's duck leg noodle soup
72: Sauerbraten at Walzwerk
71: Boudin noir at Cafe Bastille
70: Blackstrap molasses gingerbread at Lotta's Bakery
69: Plow's crispy potatoes
68: Prospect's Catcher in the Rye
67: Pork banh mi from Little Vietnam Cafe
66: Nakaochi at Ippuku
65: Sidekick's chocolate spritzer
64: Farmhouse Culture's horseradish-leek sauerkraut
63: Destination Baking Co.'s challah
62: Cotogna's roasted carrots
61: Hard Knox Cafe's chicken and waffles
60: The Rebel Within from Tell Tale Preserve Co.
59: The Slanted Door's Whiskey Cocktail
58: Carnitas burrito from Taqueria San Francisco
57: Sakura mochi from Benkyodo
56: Birria at Gallardos
55: BBQ pork skewers at Fil-Am Cuisine
54: JapaCurry's katsu curry
53: Vegan flan at Gracias Madre
52: Cinderella Bakery's pelmeni
51: Locavore's maple andouille sausage
50: Lumpia from Hapa SF
49: Moonlight Brewing's Reality Czeck
48: Filetti pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana
47: Pupusas revueltas at La Santaneca
46: Khoresht ghaymeh at Maykadeh
45: Los Muertos at Gitane