Crumb Elevates The Art of Soft Baking
"I started Crumb because I like to feed people," says cookie maven Ann Marie Milo. "More importantly, I love dessert."
Tamara Palmer Crumb's Peanut Goodness cookie.
Crumb launched in San Francisco back in May, and is carried in the city at Falletti Foods, Bryan's Grocery, and JCC Cafe. Varieties include Lemon Sunshine, Bumpy Road (like rocky road without the nuts), Oatie Oatmeal Raisin, and Chocolate Drops. But we're most partial to Peanut Butter Goodness.
A peanut butter cookie is a delicate proposition, one too often ruined with an excess of density. Crumb's version is surprisingly light and doesn't cause the tongue to curl under the weight of too much peanut butter.
They are baked just long enough to be cooked, but keep the soft allure of a cookie that was yanked out a little early just out of anticipation. A few large flecks of sea salt, which Milo attributes to the suggestion of her friend Melissa, are the key element that pulls the whole thing together. Here's where Milo's training in fine pastry proves especially helpful. She worked at the dearly departed Hawthorne Lane restaurant under Nicole Plue (presently at Cyrus in Healdsburg) and Sara Spearin (now the proprietor of Dynamo Donuts) and for Paula Leduc Catering.
The mingling of salt with a dusting of sugar elevates this cookie from childish indulgence to something adult and sophisticated. It's perfect bait for luring those who profess not to give a hoot about sweets.
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