Thursday, April 19, 2012

Q is for Queen City Cookies

Cincinnati has had the nickname "The Queen City" since the early 1800s, and was referred to as "the Queen of the West" in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem "Catawba Wine." Because I think "Q" is one of the hardest letters to come up with a post for, I was really hoping to be able to use this nickname in some way for my "Q" post. I got my wish when I visited Findlay Market for my "F" post, and discovered Queen City Cookies.



This is an absolutely adorable and charming little shop, and their cookies are among the best I've ever tasted. The people behind Queen City Cookies consider their creations "pastry art," and they are not exaggerating with that statement.

I bought a few of the cookies from their "Frieda's Creations" line, which is named for the artist Frida Kahlo. Each cookie is hand made and hand decorated using food coloring ink and edible rice paper. I visited right before Easter, and loved this Easter motif. I couldn't believe the detail that went into the artwork on the cookie.


I wish I'd thought to take the plastic bag off the cookie before taking the picture so that I wouldn't have ended up with this glare, but obviously I wasn't using my head there. In any case, the cookies taste as good as they look, and I actually made myself a little sick because I couldn't stop munching on this Easter cookie.

Anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows I am a huge animal lover, so when I learned about Queen City Cookies' support of a local animal shelter I loved the store even more. They donate 100% of their dog- and cat-shaped cookies to the Animal Adoption Foundation, which is a no-kill shelter in our area. I bought this cat cookie while I was there because I thought it was so cute, and I loved the way the artwork on the cookie looks like cross-stitch.



Queen City Cookies also gives away adorable Cookie Cards with purchases, and the cards are all designed to honor elephants. As they say on the website, "We adore everything pachyderm!" I found this to be very cute, and my favorite card was in honor of the elephant Elodie, who, according to the website, loves to dance and dress with "a dash of flash."


Each card contains a quote or inspirational message on the back, and I loved this quote from Rumi on the back of Elodie's card. It reminded me of how I feel about writing.


As far as I'm concerned, Queen City Cookies is a gem in every sense of the word, and I'm so glad to have discovered it through the A-Z Challenge. If you're ever in our Queen City, I highly recommend trying out some of these fabulous cookies.

26 comments:

  1. Amazing artwork! And that's awesome they donate all proceeds to the Animal Adoption Foundation.

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  2. Oh my gosh Julie, those are so gorgeous! Just beyond words...I'm going to look it up on the internet and see if they ship :)

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  3. My kids would love this place, great cookies and helping animals. How can parents resist? Plus, my oldest loves elephants.

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  4. Wow--one more place to visit for sure if I'm ever in Cincinnati :) Love the concept, and they're immediately on my good book for helping animals. Just one thing: it's Frida Kahlo :) I'm assuming they used her inspiration in terms of the size of the "paintings", because her subject matter is hardly appetizing for cookies :)

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  5. Wow. Those are so exquisite, I'd hate to eat one.

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  6. What a neat place! Those cookies look too pretty to eat...at least for a little while. :)

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  7. Wow, I'll bet you enjoyed the research for this post. Those cookies are so gorgeous, and if they tasted half as good as they look you were in heaven.

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  8. @Alex, I agree!

    @Tracy, I hope they do, I know you will like them.

    @Tim, I can't resist it either. I totally love elephants.

    @Guilie, oh, I thought that was Kahlo's name too but this was how they had it written on their site so I wasn't sure what to think LOL. I thought I should just copy it as they had it, but I was confused. Thanks!

    @Mary, that's how I felt, but then once I started eating the cookie I couldn't stop.

    @Madeline, yeah, I agree LOL.

    @Gwen, I agree!

    @LG, they tasted even better, I loved them. :)

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  9. A superb blog and that wonderful art work is out of this world.

    Yvonne.

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  10. Oh, wow! Queen City Cookies looks amazing! And yummy. :)

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  11. Those cookies look beautiful! I think I'd feel a little guilty eating them. Just a little. : ) I'd eventually give in and eat them, LOL.

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  12. WOW! Those cookies look amazing! Thanks for sharing. If ever I'm in the area, I'll have to stop by for a cat-shaped cookie :)

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  13. @Yvonne, I agree, I totally loved the art work. Thanks!

    @Cherie, they really are, I actually can't wait to go back and get more.

    @Suzanne, yeah, the guilt didn't last long LOL.

    @AM, You're welcome, I hope you like the cookies if you find yourself here. Thanks!

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  14. You had me at cookies! I love cookies and ice cream and all of the fun things you've been writing about! These cookies are individual works of art, and it's so generous that they donate their proceeds to the Animal Adoption Foundation. Julie

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  15. If I'm ever in Cincinnati, I'm going here. And to the beer hall :)

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  16. It sounds awesome. I grew up outside of Cincinnati, but haven't heard of it.

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  17. I am always amazed with artists who produce temporary art, like those cookies. So beautiful!

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  18. That first cookie is too beautiful to eat. I wouldn't be able to do it!

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  19. This may be under the letter Q, but C is for cookie and it's good enough for me!

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  20. MmMmMm yummy looking cookies for sure! Now I have a couple reasons from your blog to visit the Findlay Market. Very, very cool that they donate to the animal shelter, I love companies who give back to good causes. Double bonus if they're local.

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  21. Wow, looks good. There's the cook that has a cat on it, with the 'cross- stitched'look about it. trully gifted and cute. Findlay Market sounds like a place I'd love to explore...:D

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  22. That's awesome about the donations to the Animal Adoption Foundation. Sounds like a wonderful company, and who doesn't love cookies?

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  23. @Julie, LOL, it's hard to go wrong with cookies, no doubt. I'm glad this challenge is only one month or I'd end up gaining 100 lbs.

    @Carol, I hope you do! :)

    @Tonja, I'm not sure how long they've been around, I had no clue about the place either.

    @Janel, I know, I can't imagine how much work it would take just to make one of these.

    @Theresa, I thought that too until I took my first bite LOL.

    @Christine, LOL, me too. :)

    @ejw, I agree completely, it's always great to see companies like that.

    @Cecilia, it is a fun place!

    @Michael, my thoughts exactly. :)

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  24. Hi Julie .. clever marketing - and wonderful they're supporting animals too .. and the cookies look delicious .. cheers Hilary

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  25. @Hilary, I read that the owner originally worked in the corporate world and my guess would be in marketing, I totally agree.

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