Ah, lastly a chance to offer the Large Pink Cookie her flowers. The palm-sized pink frosting-covered deal with is a Northwest delicacy that has sat in native grocery shops and on espresso cart counters for so long as I can bear in mind. It’s a kind of snacks that’s so ubiquitous in Seattle that I believe the general public has stopped noticing. When Stranger Managing Editor Megan Seling requested about BPC’s at her native Thriftway, the worker stated one thing like, “I don’t know once they get restocked, we all the time simply… have them.”
My reminiscence of the Large Pink Cookie consists of a giant crumbly Danish shortbread slathered in pale pink cream cheese frosting that’s perfumed with almond extract and the tiniest little bit of cardamom. Uncle Seth’s Cookies claims to be the founding father of the cookie, which has an origin story that’s simply as bizarre as I anticipated. PNW wholesaler Marsee Baking, who has carried on the Uncle Seth model since 2012, writes:
It started excessive within the mountains of Bali…..There it was that Danny Brown, Cookie Wizard Extraordinaire encountered a kindred spirit on his travels. The person’s title was Seth, and he had left his life within the Rat Race behind him to stay out his imaginative and prescient of Peace & Concord far-off from the crazed city panorama he had recognized.
Regardless of fashionable misconceptions, Wizards (or at the very least Cookie Wizards!) are fairly the amiable type, and the 2 turned quick associates. Impressed by Seth’s ardour for enjoyable and his dedication to simplicity and happiness, Danny crafted a brand new cookie and hand-baked that outlook into each batch of his conventional Danish shortbread and fabulous cream cheese frosting. When he had completed, he named his new creation after his pal, and thus Uncle Seth’s Cookie was born!
It is a cookie that claims, “Eat me as a result of you possibly can!” This cookie is the style of pleasure, pure and easy. Usually imitated however by no means improved upon, Uncle Seth’s Cookie is the Authentic Pink Cookie. Don’t accept imposters. In spite of everything, there aren’t any shortcuts to happiness!
Whereas the legend of Uncle Seth is extensively accepted as the reality, I’ve additionally discovered proof of the BPC as close to as Spokane and so far as Utah (please don’t yell at me if you’re from these locations).
To me, the BPC represents outdated Seattle. When colourful cookies and lollipops surrounded the espresso cart money registers as an alternative of protein bars. Earlier than the eyesore that’s the Nice Wheel was added to our skyline, and the Area Needle was sufficient. When the Kingdome stood sturdy, and the MoPop was nonetheless known as the EMP. I used to get my BPC on the now-closed West Seattle Diva Espresso, the place the cookies sat in slightly basket subsequent to a Magic 8 Ball and a row of rubber geese, all lit by vintage chandeliers. The BPC is the Curlz font in cookie type. It’s a wall of Groovy Ladies at Curious Kidstuff. It’s daydreaming about proudly owning a kind of chairs formed like a excessive heel. Are you with me?
You’ll be able to nonetheless discover Uncle Seth’s Large Pink Cookies at any native grocery retailer or espresso store that feels caught in 1999 (Thriftways appear to maintain them effectively stocked). There are additionally some nice copycat recipes on-line—my private favourite is from Baking the Items, that are completely tinted pink with floor freeze-dried strawberries. Spokane’s Rocket Bakery additionally seems to have a beloved model that I’m itching to attempt.
Are the plastic-wrapped sweets probably the most scrumptious cookie on the town? No. They’re dry, overly sugary, and style slightly bit like meals coloring—however I wouldn’t need it every other means! That is my plea to you, Seattle, to maintain Uncle Seth’s in enterprise and honor our regional deal with.
We’re counting right down to 2025 by sharing a few of our favourite cookies on Slog day by day in December! As a result of life is difficult, and sugar helps. Will issues get bizarre? Perhaps! There might have been a small fireplace in the course of the first picture shoot! However hopefully, you will additionally uncover some new favourite treats to get pleasure from this season. Monitor our each day suggestions right here! 🍪
