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The place is an icon! From cake pop, brownies, wedding cake, fun cake, salads & soup! They do it all. I was surprised to see them open in Saturday. They are usually delivering wedding cakes but on this day there were open. Which was nice. I got a Macaroon a picture with Gogru.
I stopped in for a treat. It was over 4 years since my last review. Sign on the wall said they were celebrating 25 years. I'm thinking they changed hands in that time but unsure. I enjoyed my choices but found them overly sweet. Think they could cut back on the sugar and be just as delicious. Prices have gone up in 4 years, quite a bit. The cheesecake bar was flavorful with pineapple and coconut. They're open 7 to 5 weekdays and 8 to 2 on Saturdays, closed Sundays. Their sandwiches are now $13 and $14, a little steep when I'm looking for lunch. Breakfast quiche is do-able at $6. The front door entry is really congested (exterior) making it a "crowded" unappealing entry. The store is also crowded with the long cold cases. I'd only consider grab & go. Thinking it needs a "refresh" with focus on illusion of more space and maybe some new recipes. They have lots of bar cookies, cookies, cake pops in the case. Some things (like cheesecake) look old. Macarons look much smaller with much less filling. If in the area I'll stop in but it's not one I go out of my way to visit, due to sweetness, cost, and lack of space.
I discovered the Cookie Jar Bakeshop during the recent Bartow Bloomin' Arts festival. It is on Main street near the historic courthouse. Having missed breakfast I was in the mood for some sweet treats. The Cookie Jar has a breakfast menu that includes bagels, croissants, and quiche, soups and salads, sandwiches, and all kinds of coffee drinks and tea. They also sell some gift items like lotions and dip mixes. candles, and soap. On Wednesday's you can purchase a fully cooked dinner. Check their website for details. They also manage an event space called The Nest. The main reason I came in was for the baked goods and they looked tempting. They had some delicious looking cake pops but I ended up selecting a chocolate covered strawberry, a German chocolate bar, a gooey bar, and a red velvet cookie. All of that was a $17 including a Snapple. Seemed a little high but everything was good. I ended up picking at the box throughout the day. Consider coming here if you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth or get a light lunch.
The Cookie Jar is THE small town, friendly dessert shop where the owner Shana, is friends with everyone, even if it's your first visit. Just like you see in a Hallmark movie. The food is delicious and the desserts & coffee blast your dopamine to the highest levels! You leave so much happier than when you first come in. This is the Cafe that Bartow residents have been coming to for decades! You have to try it too!
So I waited a bit before reviewing this bakery. I needed 2 8" cake, one raspberry mousse and one chocolate fudge. I called some of the bakeries I had used in the past and they only used raspberry jam filling. I knew of 3 other bakeries that definitely made raspberry mousse but they were out of the way. I wanted a specific chocolate cake (exactly like Carlos Cake Boss) and even sent photo. I decided to try Cookie Jar since they were close to my house. I ordered the cakes a few days before the party. We communicated through text and everything seemed ok. The day before, I asked when to pick up and was told it would by 12 noon. I then asked how much it would be...no response. The following day for some reason I thought they closed at 4 and planned on heading there at 3 but at 2pm I got a call from Shanna (?) asking where I was and informed they closed for the day!! Crap, I had no clue...my bad! She did tell she thought I was picking it up at noon. I told her no she told me it would be ready after noon but nonetheless I apologized and she agreed to meet with me at 5:30 but would have to pay now. I agreed. She went on to tell me that the raspberry cake would be $125 since I was busy it didn't immediately register that that was not the total for both cakes. She then informed me the chocolate cake would be $155 because it was homemade fudge. WTF!!! I explained to her I order gourmet cakes all the time I even order off Goldbelly! She then replied well then this should be nothing for you because goldbelly cakes are so expensive! What?? I have never spent even $100 on a cake from there! We went back-and-forth and I told her I asked the cost of the cakes and she never replied back to me and her response was "oh I thought you had already ordered from us before" She then told me she charges six dollars per serving. There is no way in hell you can get 20 servings out of this 8 inch cake. Yes, I paid...I needed the cakes!!! Were the cakes good? Meh, not $100+++ worth. There was absolutely nothing special about them. In fact, the piping on the raspberry cake was so sloppy. I have had cakes from all over the world, NYC, Paris, London, Switzerland, San Francisco. I was married to a baker for 14 years. I know cakes! I am including a photo of the cake I wanted to order online. It was a 10 inch for $64!!! I learned my lesson to verify the price but never would I thought it be almost $300 for 2 8-inch cakes.
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The bottom line....YES YES YES. Use the Cookie Jar and enjoy. I wanted something special for my daughter's college graduation with a teacher theme. The grocery store cakes are just OK so I thought I would try a bakery. I found the Cookie Jar online and am very happy I did. We live out of town but were going to celebrate in a Bartow restaurant because it was a central location for family. I called Maura and she asked if I had seen something I liked and suggested I email the link of the image. I sent 2 and she called me about an hour later with quotes. We picked one and could not have been happier. The cake was almost the star of the show. There were a lot of pictures taken with my daughter next to the cake. My daughter told me later that our cake and little party made her feel very special. That's what it is all about right? The cost is a little more but for a special occasion it is absolutely worth it. Check out the picture I posted in the gallery to the right. One more thing. I won't use her name but my son thought Maura's assistant was very cute. She is cute and has a very sweet personality too. read more
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