This photo serves no other purpose than to have something pretty at the top of the page and to show you these awesome looking brownies by Capital City Bakery.
Did you know there’s another vegan bakery in the Austin area you probably haven’t even heard of? Ridiculous, no?
Celeste’s Best satisfies our pb cup and cookie dough needs. Red Rabbit is filling us up with doughnutty goodness. Sugar Tooth is about to unleash tasty desserts on downtown Austin. The Happy Vegan Bakery makes some wonderful gluten-free (and nongluten-free) goods. And Capital City Bakery has been blowing us away with pies and brownies.
But have you heard of Tough Cookie Bakery? Probably not.
Tough Cookie Pepperoni Pretzel Bites. I tried to find a photo of their bread or a pretzel dog. Instead I found this incredibly awesome vegan pepperoni pretzel bite. Photo by Dallas Vegan.
They bake out of Bastrop, Texas, and sell their goods at the Bastrop Farmers’ Market as well as some farmers’ markets in DFW. (Yes, DFW.) Despite the name, what they are famous for is their pretzel bread. They also do pretzel dogs with Tofurky sausages as the innards. But unless you drive out to (or live in) Bastrop or DFW, or you caught them at Texas VegFest, you’ve probably never tried their bread. And that is sad.
It’s delicious. A friend (hi there!) bought some for me because she thought it tasted like what challah sounds like. (She’s never had challah, and I’m on a lifetime quest to find a perfect vegan challah). And while it’s not quite challah, it’s the closest thing to rich eggy challah that I’ve had in a long time. It makes delicious sandwhiches and French toast. And inspired by the challah comparison, we ate some of the bread dipped in agave nectar.
Alas, I haven’t had it since. I’m too lazy to drive out to Bastrop very often just for a loaf of bread. Even really great bread. I’m guessing you are, too. Which is why I was very excited to see this cryptic message on Tough Cookie’s Facebook page today:
Howdy Friends! We are now stocking out pretzel bread, pretzels, brats, and other vegan goodies at Producers Market in Cedar Creek. We also have some exciting news about Austin Faves picking up our goodies as well, we will keep you posted! source
“Austin Faves” could mean lots of things. My mind is racing with the possibilities. Wheastville Coop and Whole Foods are both high on the list, since they tend to work with small local businesses. But it could be coffee houses, restaurants, food carts, Rabbit Food Grocery, Greenling, that guy who brings food to my house for no apparent reason (note, that guy might be fictional, but wouldn’t that be awesome?).
So now you know what you’ve been missing, Austinites. And you can wait anxiously with me to see where you’ll be buying your next pretzel dog.
