When I was a little girl my grandparents would often drive down from Wilkes-Barre to visit me, bringing with them afternoons of fun, food, and dinner at 5:00. And although I did enjoy spending my afternoon showing off how far I’d been able to get in Super Mario with my new Game Genie, and pretending to understand what my grandfather was yelling about politics, my favorite part of their visit came in a small red-and-white striped wax paper bag.

Old River Road Bakery iced cookies. They were amazing. My mom and I would savor the dozen for a week, and they just got better with time. Though I enjoy baking immensely I admit I lack the terminology to intelligently explain what type of cookie they were. I’m guessing a sort of shortbread/sugar combination with that frosting that get shiny when it hardens ( I always forget the name). Suffice it to say they were heaven in cookie form. My favorite part of Old River Road cookies was that they came in holiday specific shapes and colors. Valentines day meant pink heart shaped cookies, easter brought pastel egg shapes, and my favorite holiday (St. Patrick’s Day) was completed by O.R.R.’s green shamrock cookies.

My elementary school days were highlighted by Old River Road cookie days, and they stand out in my mind as sharply as buying my saddle shoes, dressing up as Claudia Kishi, and wearing highheeled sneakers (those shoes deserve their own post, which I’ll tackle in the near future). They were a constant in my life, a sort of tradition, a part of my childhood.

Then one day my grandmother, O.R.R. bag in hand informed us that this batch was the last batch. The bakery was closing. No. More. Cookies. See that space? That was my 9 year old self experiencing the shock of grief. It took a while, but I got over it. Of course I mourned when the last cookie in the bag was gone, and emblazoned the image of the bag in my mind and the sweetness of the taste in my memory, but then I moved on.

I discovered cheesecake and sorbet and life got easier. Occasionally, I’d try a similar cookie from other bakeries, but I could never find one that even came close. One day, while reflecting on things I missed from childhood, I wrote about Old River Road cookies in my lifejournal. My Wilkes-Barre friends commented back with news that rivaled the second coming: Old River Road cookies could still be found! The bakery did not shut down, they just moved. The cookies I’d been longing for for over a decade were no more than 1/4 mile from my house.

Immediately I traveled there, to Boulevard Bakery, and to my utmost joy I saw, behind a thin sheet of glass the cookies of my dreams. I ordered a dozen. I sat in my car and upon the first sniff of the bag, I cried. Yes, I cried over a cookie. Tears of happiness over baked goods. That brings the count of happy tears up up to two instances, the other occurring when my best friend had her baby. This was a BIG deal.

From that day on the occasional stop at Boulevard Bakery is not uncommon for me. (Ok, it was a weekly occurrence there for a while, but come on! I had to make up for years of cookie-less-ness, and I’ve got it down to a seasonal thing now). Currently I’m finishing up the last few bites of one and the elation is grand. The bakery is found on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard and is open everyday but Monday. Check it out!

In other news: I’m starting a new, more personal journal here. I’ll still be using Jill for my more NEPA related posts, but I think the ads are kinda annoying for daily readers. So, bloggy friends, go add me there! I’ll work on updating my blog roll too!