Rookie’s Cookies & Cakes

A walking trip downtown New Albany is a treat. Rookie’s Cookies (if you catch them open) is one of the reasons you’ll want to saunter off the main drag and go in for some smells and tastes.
My first time in, a couple of days ago, I bought the peanut butter patties (omg) and the Mexican wedding cookies (not so much). I’ve had better wedding cookies and it made me wonder what caused them to be less than deadly flavorful. Was it the ingredients or the time on the shelf?
They don’t list ingredients so you can’t tell if they’re using the real awesome butter and real sugar (those things matter when there’s not much more in the cookie.)
So, yes — go get ‘em. Oh, I asked about freezing (because it’s just me and hubby) and they didn’t recommend it. Wrong. The PB patties are just the greatest in the freezer. What a breakfast snack!

You would, no doubt, be shocked to find that I am subject to some of the same flaws and faults as mere mortals. I’m particularly vulnerable to the «I’m-famished-and-my-blood-sugar-is-dropping-so-I’m-just-going-to-bitch-and-complain-until-you stop-doing-what-you’re-doing-and-make-me-pancakes» phenomena. If I don’t get what I want when I want it, I’m an angry god. (The great tornado of 1974? My mom burnt my grilled cheese sandwich and I had to wait while she slapped together another.) Sexy Beast is a formidable adversary who refuses to bend to the will of a lesser deity, so I often find myself on a scavenger hunt for a carbohydrate sacrifice while he peruses a humidor or flaps his yap at somebody about his latest commandment or something.
That’s how I ended up with a box of the most delightful, lovely little lemon cookies ever baked, anywhere. Ever. I wandered into this brightly colored storefront while Sexy Beast was a few doors down (at Kaiser’s) and was offered up a brilliant smile and a chipper greeting. The case was filled with sugary manna but my eye was drawn to the ribbon bedecked colorful confections. They were almost too pretty to eat. Almost. The cookies were delicate and light and perfectly sweet with just enough lemon flavor to identify but not so much that it overwhelmed the very obviously real butter and love that went into them.
The natives of New Albany were spared the tumult of a hurricane or an erupting volcano thanks to Rookie’s Cookies. Y’all might want to thank someone with a goat or a bottle of champagne or something.

Rookies Cookies is a gem that is tucked away in downtown New Albany. If not for Unilocal I might have completely missed out of this amazing find.
As the name implies, Rookies Cookies, specializes in cookies. Their top seller is a butter spritz cookie that absolutely melts in the mouth. My own mother makes spritz cookies from scratch at Christmas time and these are the first that I have found that rival hers. They also sell other cookies, pastries, and breads. When I was in over the weekend I noticed that they also had quite a few boxes of Valentine’s Day cookies.
Like most traditional bakeries, Rookies Cookies is only open in the mornings and if you wait too long in the day the choices become limited. However, this bakery is absolutely worth getting out of bed for.

Childhood bakery. Used to get their cookies at Christmas every year. Love their long johns and coffee kuchen. Their hours are slim but when you get some you’ll be hooked and need more.

Rookies Cookies is located on Pearl st. in downtown New Albany right where Federal Hill used to be. Easy enough to find but you’ll be lucky if you can catch them open. I’ve gone to their store twice and the only reason I caught them the second time was because it was Harvest Homecoming. Follow the link for their posted hours.
So, little known fact, I am easily bribed with cookies. I will eat any unattended cookies. I love cookies almost as much as I love beer. Cupcakes can kiss my ass. Cookies are where it’s at.
Rookies Cookies is indeed worthy of seeking out. Seeing my chance to finally purchase the sugary objects of my desire, I grabbed a box of butter cookies with one hand and a box of peanut butter patties with the other. The peanut butter patties are great. They remind me of the Girl Scout peanut butter cookies… but homemade. They simply taste better and I bet if you looked at the ingredient list it might be four items long. No preservatives. No flavor enhancing. Just peanut butter, chocolate, cookie — done.
The butter cookies were also stellar. They were light and fell apart in my mouth. The only thing I was missing was a mug of coffee. Or a pint of stout beer.
Rookies Cookies, I like you. I really, really, like you. I want you to have operating hours that are actually useful. I’d also like to see what other varieties you offer… because your booth at a small town festival isn’t cutting it for me. I’ve sampled your goods and I’m guessing I’ve only hit the surface.