Bakery Bites

My House steps in to partly fill Noreen’s void.

The retirement of baking maven Noreen Attman last month has left some gaps on the sweets shelves, to be sure (see story, p.1). But now Co-op cookie connoisseurs can rest easy: Swarthmore’s My House Cookies has jumped into the batch — er, breach.

In addition to the five varieties of three-packs that My House sells in Chestnut Hill, and the bulk cookies available in Mt. Airy and Ambler, they now make smaller versions that are bagged and sold in both Northwest Philly stores for $10.99 a pound. Carpenter Lane has bags of chocolate chip and Blackout cookies (chocolate with chocolate chips); the Hill carries those varieties along with oatmeal cherry, orange coconut, Purely Peanut Butter and Russian tea. Ambler’s selection is limited to bulk chocolate chip cookies.

The Daily Deli

Sweet and luxurious spreads from Texas and Brooklyn.

For an alternative to the usual jam options, head to Chestnut Hill to try out the guava and hibiscus marmalades from Casa Market of San Antonio, TX. The fruits of both are grown and processed in Calvillo, Mexico, along with their guava paste ($9.99). A 10-ounce jar of guava marmalade is $9.99; the same size container of hibiscus marmalade is $6.99.

Hankering for savory? Dip into a compound butter from the Brooklyn Buttery, also in the Hill. Their lemon, sriracha, and sea salt-infused butters ($5.99/ea.) will add zip to veggies, bread, or anything else.

Going On in Grocery

Vegan scrapple returns to the Hill. And Brittany Natural adds to the grab ‘n’ go in Ambler.

After a few years off the shelves, vegan scrapple has gotten a new lease on life from a new vendor — Sweet Lana’s of West Chester. This version uses Shiitake mushrooms, white polenta, whole-grain buckwheat flour and the same combination of herbs and spices employed in scrapple recipes since time immemorial. I’ve tried both incarnations, and this one is hands down better; a one-pound package is $7.85. The Hill also carries their shelf-stable pepper pastes, ideal for spreading or marinating, for $8.49 each.

In Ambler, the number of take-away lunch and dessert options has increased thanks to Brittany Natural of Allentown. Their five wraps, including one vegetarian and one vegan option, are available in the refrigerated case near the registers, along with their chicken salad, macaroni and cheese and feta spinach orzo. For dessert, dig a spoon into their chocolate mousse, tiramisu or one of their puddings. They use Bell & Evans chicken, cage-free eggs, and organic ingredients where possible. Prices range from $2.99 to $4.99.

All Wellness and Good

A new probiotics provider in Mt. Airy.

Across the Way has made room in its fridge for Vital Planet probiotics, a Palm Harbor, FL-based line that has some of the highest strain diversity counts (around 60) in the industry. Three formulas — Women’s Daily, Ultra Daily, and Adult 55+ Daily — are currently available in 30-capsule packages for $42.99 each.