Cookie 2008

Outstanding Cookie 2008: Minnie Beasley’s® Cookie Company Almond Lace Gourmet Cookies

It was just four years ago that Harmon Canon, owner of Denver-based Minnie Beasley’s Cookie Company, decided to shift from making his mother’s Almond Lace Gourmet Cookies once a year as a holiday gift, to selling them at retail. “They’re just too good not to share with the rest of the world,” says Canon. “We call them delicate wonders, because they are.”

These decadent almond toffee cookies are made completely by hand in a labor-intensive process. The dough comes out of the oven flat and paper-thin, and before it cools, each cookie is hand rolled. Some assume from their appearance that they’ll taste like sugar cookies, but the flavor is almond and toffee. “They are a unique experience that’s hard to describe. They don’t stick to your teeth, like you might think toffee would. Instead they melt in your mouth. They’re very light,” notes Canon.

Canon’s mother inherited the recipe from his great aunt, Minnie Beasley, who lived with his family while he was growing up in Memphis, Tenn., and would make these cookies every year at Christmas. “She would have to hide them around the house or we would fight over them,” he remembers. The Almond Lace Cookies are also available covered in dark chocolate, and both varieties are sold in either 6-ounce gift bags or larger gift tins. “If I sold a bag to everyone who told me they were good, I could retire,” quips Canon. “They’re like potato chips. You just can’t eat one.” Suggested retail: $8.95/6-ounce gift bag; $21.95/16-ounce gift tin; minniebeasleys.com.—Denise Shoukas