For this Christmas edition of Guide to Greenwich, I visited three bakeries in search of the most festive and flavorful cookies in Greenwich, Connecticut.  I judged the sweet treats based on their taste, price, and proximity to Sacred Heart Greenwich. 

Aux Délices 

Aux Délices, on West Elm Street, right off of Greenwich Avenue, provides customers with an array of food selections.  When I arrived, the store’s distinctive pastel blue doors greeted me alongside the yellow accents of the extensive windows.  Aux Délices’ radiant exterior design lured me inside the store, for I wondered if the interior offered customers the same unique flavor.

The aroma of freshly-baked bread and warm hot chocolate welcomed me inside as I examined the many food choices on the menu.  Aux Délices offers customers fresh and innovative sandwich, wrap, and salad options, as well as a vast selection of desserts and pastries.  Although the store did not have much of a variety of Christmas treats on display, Aux Délices has an online Christmas delivery service that provides customers with ten different festive desserts.

I purchased a bag of eight chocolate chip cookies wrapped in festive packaging.  Although these prepackaged cookies were not warm like the other cookies I tasted later, there is truly not much that can go wrong with a classic chocolate chip cookie.  Overall, the cookie from Aux Délices was delicious but lacked the festivity that I was looking for.

CFCF Coffee

Next, I strolled a few blocks up Greenwich Avenue toward CFCF Coffee, searching for my next cookie to taste.  The gourmet café has been serving customers throughout Greenwich and Stamford, Connecticut, since 2012.  The coffee shop attracts customers due to its gourmet coffee blends, sourced from forests of Asia to the deepest jungles of South America, according to cfcfcoffee.com.  

When I walked into CFCF, the fresh aroma of coffee beans dispersed around me and the café.  As I waited in line, I examined the variety of homemade desserts they had on display beside me.  From fresh croissants to pumpkin cheesecakes, CFCF offers customers an array of treats that would pair nicely with their freshly brewed beverages.

Beside their Christmas decorations were the gingerbread cookies.  As someone who is not the biggest fan of gingerbread, I found CFCF’s warm and rich cookies delicious.  Although the gingerbread treat was quite sweet, my cup of warm coffee balanced out the cookie’s sweetness.  Overall, since gingerbread is a Christmas-time classic, the sweet treat provided me with an early taste of Christmas delight.

Maman

Maman is a relatively new café and bakery along Greenwich Avenue, as it opened in June 2023.  Maman’s desserts and beverages attract customers in more than 20 locations, such as in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Canada, according to mamannyc.com.  By sourcing the highest quality ingredients, Maman invites customers to explore the brand’s family-recipe desserts.

Just one block away from CFCF, Maman resides near the top of Greenwich Avenue.  Upon gazing inside the large windows, I noticed all the greenery inside the shop.  The plants and flowers paired nicely with the rustic decor, providing customers with a warm ambiance to enjoy their food.  In addition to their supply of unique desserts, Maman also offers brunch and lunch options.  These menu options include Belgian waffles, breakfast bowls, and tartines.

Of the many dessert options Maman offers, I experimented with the artisan Oreos that resembled whoopie pies.  Although the dessert was delicious, it was rather expensive for such a small serving size.  While the bakery’s decorations were festive, Maman’s homemade Oreo cookie did not suffice my search for the best Christmas cookie.

Winner

After visiting three different bakeries in Greenwich, I concluded that CFCF Coffee sold me the best Christmas cookie.  The warm gingerbread cookie was truly the perfect treat for a winter evening.  The café’s festive environment, too, added to my consumer experience, as I enjoyed my coffee and sweet treat as I sat below pine wreaths, listening to Christmas music.

Featured Image by Ana Patricio ’24