With the streets finally safe again, it is time to get cookies back in your life. Today is 4/20. It’s basically a cookie holiday. How are we gonna celebrate? We’ll be open for TWELVE FUCKING HOURS from 3 PM to 3 AM! Not only that, if you spend $10, you get a FREE Sweet Idea GETCOOKI.ES lighter. We’re gonna have a fuck ton of cookies. A fuck ton of lighters. A fuck ton of CoffeeBars. Tons of treats to celebrate the end of this fucking week. Speaking of, thank you to all of the amazing people involved in the response to and resolution of this week’s events. Incredible.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Then take another hit. See you tomorrow.

420 EAT COOKIES EVERY DAY

Sweet Idea is proud of our level of student interaction and engagement. We have participated in over 15 different projects, all featuring and exploring various scopes, and all produced by students from the schools that we service. It is great fun revealing the inner workings of the business to those that are curious, and even better that doing so helps further our customers’ education and understanding of what exactly goes into running a small business.

On Tuesday night, Sweet Idea was able to get even further involved with this community by working with Johnny Fayad and Ali Kothari, entrepreneurs from Northeastern and creators of CoffeeBar. What is a CoffeeBar you ask? It is a delicious, all-natural snack filled with nuts, oats, and, most importantly, each bar is packed with a shot of coffee. The bars get their sweetness from dates and have a great coffee flavor. I met Johnny and Ali at Northeastern Entrepreneurship Club’s Demo Day a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to try a CoffeeBar. They told me that they currently produce their bars in a dorm kitchen, which is an experience I am all too familiar with. The struggles of producing even a mildly large quantity of food in a cramped kitchen with only basic equipment can be a real challenge. I saw an opportunity for Sweet Idea to help. The CoffeeBar team joined me in the kitchen earlier this week to get a taste of what working in a real commercial kitchen is like. It was really enjoyable letting Johnny and Ali run the show, leaving myself to provide an extra set of hands helping with production and teaching them how to use the equipment.

Overall, the expereince was great and I believe the CoffeeBar team was able to learn more about what will be required to push and grow their product further. There were a few hiccups along the way, but that often happens when cooking in a totally new environment. Your rhythm is thrown off, and for them specifically, they were dealing with a whole new class of equipment and wanted to take their time to ensure they got their bars just right. Part of their growth begins right now: this week, we will be selling CoffeeBars off the bikes, 2 for $5. We’ve got two flavors, mocha and caramel macchiato, so grab a CoffeeBar and eat your coffee!

We’ve got some other cool stuff going on this week, as well. Jordan is returning to the lineup tonight and will be helping out his group, BUILD Nicaragua. For each pack of cookies Jordan sells this weekend (Thursday 9PM-2AM, Saturday 7PM-10PM), Sweet Idea will be donating $1 to the fund. If you’ve ever needed a good excuse to buy cookies, this is it!

If you read closely, you noticed that I said Jordan will be working 7-10PM on Saturday. “But John, isn’t Sweet Idea only open at night?” Well, dear reader, yes, normally that is true, however Saturday is no normal day (more like a NORML day, amirite). Saturday is 4/20. You will be hungry and we will be ready. Sweet Idea will be open from 3PM to 3AM on Saturday. That’s 12 hours of cookies. We’re gonna have some special treats (not that kind of special) and deals to celebrate. It’s gonna be great.

Menu
Cookies $5
Chocolate chip (5 cookies)
Snickerdoodle (5 cookies)
Pumpkin (5 cookies)
White chocolate oatmeal (4 cookies)
Tazadoodle (4 cookies)

Cookie sandwiches $5
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache

SPECIAL $5 for 2 bars
CoffeeBar Mocha
CoffeeBar Hazelnut Mocha Latte

Last week we tried to push out a pretty sizable change in the fundamentals of how Sweet Idea works, eschewing the simple “everything is $5″ model and instead offering double-sized cookies for $2 a pop. The logic behind it was to increase the granularity of the Sweet Idea menu, allowing you, dear customer, to have more freedom in exactly what cookies you could get.

While some people were happy about the change, the overall reaction was not in favor of the big cookies. Your concerns about the larger cookies have certainly been heard (sharing is caring, big cookies not quite as soft) and we are ending the big cookie experiment. It sucks that some people were left disappointed, but the Sweet Idea team was able to learn quite a bit from the experience. This really gave us a lot of insight into what actually makes our cookies so desirable and what helps set us apart from the competition.

That being said, there are still some opportunities we see for big cookies in the future. Our cookie sandwiches are quite popular and are going to stick around, in fact we’re launching a new one this week: double chocolate coconut. Davis Square Pizza has also decided to get on the big cookie train and now sells them at their restaurant on Highland Avenue. So for the first time ever, you can get Sweet Idea cookies not during delivery hours!

Going to have some more news rolling out tomorrow, as well. We’ll be rolling out mail order and a way to schedule cookie deliveries off hours!

MENU
Cookies
Chocolate chip ($5 for 5)
Snickerdoodle ($5 for 5)
Tazadoodle ($5 for 4)
Double chocolate (vegan) ($5 for 4)

Cookie sandwiches ($5 ea)
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache
Double chocolate coconut (vegan)

New vs. old sizes

One of the cool things about being a small business is that you can implement changes wholesale across the entire company. That’s not always a recipe for success, but I’m just saying it’s possible. I’m also saying that’s exactly what we’re doing. We are going to try something a little different this week: we’re doubling the size of our cookies and making them $2 each. You’re getting the same amount of dough for the same amount of dough, basically. Furthermore, the cookies will be individually wrapped. Those of you who want to be able to do customize your orders? Your prayers have been answered. We will still have a $5 minimum for delivery, but we are going to be introducing more $5 items (including a new cookie sandwich next week) so you’ll always be able to get something for just $5.

BIGGER COOKIES. MORE CHOICE. SWEET IDEA!

Not only is variety a problem, but the inability to buy just one cookie has always been a frustration for pretty much everyone involved. Five dollars can be a lot to spend on cookies, especially if you’re not looking to eat that many. Now if you encounter a cookie runner on the street, you have a bevy of cookie options at just $2 a pop.

There’s one other cool benefit, too. This change enables us to make some flavors that were more difficult for us to carry before. For example, we received a bunch of sad looks when customers saw the size of our double chocolate cookies, that’s why they haven’t been on the menu in a while. You were all dissapointed with the size of the cookies and it really made them unpopular, despite the fact that they taste fantastic (and are vegan, too)!

There’s also a brand new deal! You can get a dozen cookies for just $20. Buy 10 cookies and get 2 free!

We want your input on the change. Obviously, you can vote with your dollars, but we will also be conducting a poll on Facebook at the end of the week about the new format. You can also hit us up with your thoughts on Twitter. I am honestly really excited to see how this goes and look forward to hearing from all of you!

TL;DR: Cookies are now double-sized and $2 each. Individually wrapped. Order exactly what you want. $5 minimum for delivery.

MENU
Cookies ($2 each)
Chocolate chip
Snickerdoodle
Tazadoodle
Double chocolate (vegan)

Cookie sandwiches ($5 each)
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache

Puff pastry was the newest Late Night Kitchen production. I have always wanted to make puff pastry because it is delicious (anything that is equal parts butter and flour is bound to be tasty) and versatile (you can make so many things…ALL THE THINGS). I have wanted to make it ever since I saw the Julia Child episode on puff pastry with Michel Richard. Watching Michel work is just plain fun. The video definitely supplies some good instruction. Gino, Paul, and I were able to come up with pretty decent puff pastry for a first try.

Puff pastry is a laminated dough. Butter is rolled into thin layers between similarly thin layers of dough, stacked on top of each other over and over again. The idea is to have distinct layers of butter between the layers of dough, without having the butter melt into the dough. If achieved properly, your dough will puff up when baked, despite not containing any leavening ingredients (puff pastry is just water, flour and butter). Steam is what causes this reaction. The butter is encased between layers of dough, which trap steam that is generated by the evaporation of water in the butter. Also, as the fat melts, it is absorbed into the surrounding dough. This results in the many flaky, buttery layers that are characteristic of puff pastry.

BEFORE

AFTER

Puff pastry really does have many different uses, but one application where it does not seem to work well is with croissants. The intention of this installment of Late Night Kitchen was to make some croissants with puff pastry. For some reason, I had got it in my head that you could make a croissant with a puff pastry dough. That isn’t really the case. Gino tried to warn me, but I JUST WOULDN’T LISTEN. The “croissants” that we did make didn’t taste bad, thanks to our good friend butter, but they weren’t really croissants, either.

There was one great success, which was getting to enjoy a delicious seasoning Gino brought along, za’atar. Mixed up with some olive oil, it makes a delicious spread to put on just about anything. The plan was to make za’atar croissants. Obviously, that didn’t quite work out. Croissants didn’t truly happen this week, but we’ll be trying again next week. I’ll make sure we use the right dough.

MENU
Cookies
Chocolate chip
Snickerdoodle
White chocolate oatmeal
Tazadoodle

Cookie Sandwiches
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache
Boondock Saint – Two giant white chocolate oatmeal cookies filled with an Irish cream frosting.

Brownies
Peanut butter chocolate (vegan, gluten-free)

Trying to eat gluten-free? Sad that you could never have a Sweet Idea treat because of our reliance on wheat flour? Then now is the time to rejoice, because tonight we are offering our first gluten-free item. Not only is it gluten-free, it’s vegan, and awesome. Introducing Sweet Idea peanut butter chocolate brownies!

I forgot to take a pic of the finished brownies, so here’s the batter.

You are probably asking yourself, “what do they use instead of flour in the batter?” The answer is actually pretty cool. Beans. Black beans. So, technically, these are peanut butter chocolate black bean brownies! Using beans in sweet desserts is surprisingly not uncommon, although the usual application is in Eastern cuisines and employs azuki beans. Given the success of the black bean brownies (I suppose I can’t call them a success yet, but they are pretty damn good), I am really looking forward to using beans as a base for more gluten-free items.

Gino, cookie delivery extraordinaire

This Tuesday marked our first installment of Late Night Kitchen – a casual get together in the kitchen where we make (and eat, of course) NEW stuff. The new part is really important. Cookies are great, but there is so much more beyond cookies that Sweet Idea can offer. We want to start putting out some totally new products on the bikes. Late Night Kitchen isn’t just about making and sharing great food, but it also provides a wonderful learning opportunity for all involved. All of my experience with baking has come from reading articles and recipes online and then testing them out in the kitchen. This has worked incredibly well for me so far, and it is great to have some time dedicated to experimentation. It’s even more fun to share all that knowledge. We’ll be providing a recap post each week about Late Night Kitchen and what we create.

The brownies will be on the bikes starting TONIGHT. Just like everything else on the menu, it’s $5 for a pack of them.

MENU
Cookies
Chocolate chip
Snickerdoodle
White chocolate oatmeal
Tazadoodle

Cookie Sandwiches
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache
Boondock Saint – Two giant white chocolate oatmeal cookies filled with an Irish cream frosting.

Brownies
Peanut butter chocolate (vegan, gluten-free)

GLUTEN-FREE DISCLAIMER
I realize there are some people with severe gluten allergies and for this reason I want to disclose a little bit about the kitchen we work out of. Since it is a shared kitchen, I unfortunately cannot guarantee that it is a 100% gluten-free facility. Also, some of the equipment we use is also used to produce products that do contain gluten. I try to avoid cross-contamination wherever possible, but unfortunately not every variable is within my control. Here is an ingredient list of everything in the brownies so that you may make an informed decision: black beans, sugar, peanut butter, canola oil, oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt. If you have any questions, please e-mail me or shoot us a text.

Paul showing off our new cookie sando.

One thing that has been bothering me lately is that we don’t have any good names for the cookie sandwiches. I feel like they deserve them. The labels for the white chocolate oatmeal sando say Irish Cookiebomb, but I don’t love the name. CAN YOU COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER? If you can, tweet it @haveasweetidea with the hashtag #getcookies.

LIKE DIS: @haveasweetidea irish cookiebomb #getcookies

I’ll pick the one I like most at 11:59 PM on Friday. To thank you for saving Sweet Idea from my lack of creativity, you’ll get a free cookie sandwich. GET TO IT.

We open at 9PM tonight!

MENU
Cookies
Chocolate chip ($5 for 5 cookies)
Snickerdoodle ($5 for 5 cookies)
Tazadoodle ($5 for 4 cookies)
White chocolate oatmeal ($5 for 4 cookies)

Cookie Sandwiches
White chocolate oatmeal w/ Irish cream frosting ($5)
Snickerdoodle w/ chocolate ganache ($5)

New England has notoriously shitty weather and people often ask me, “why would you start a bicyle-based business in a climate like this, are you crazy?” Yes, I’m definitely crazy… CRAZY PREPARED. How prepared? TAKE A LOOK.

Before

After

Balaclava – That’s the mask thing I got going on. It is probably the most crucial piece of gear. The most important thing it protects is your ears, but the full face mask is awesome for really cold nights.
Goggles – Our Chief Tasting Officer, Kate, gave me some of her old snowboarding goggles and they are great to have when there’s hail or wet snow. Without them, it feels like my eyeballs are rocketing through a cloud of pebbles. I made the mistake of not wearing them last night and it sucked.
Chest (base layer) – Underarmor Base 2.0. Great piece of gear, love it.
Chest (top layer) – Pearl iZUMi Thermal Barrier jacket. Super warm.
Legs (base layer) – Compression shorts
Legs (top layer) – Thermal tights
Feet (base layer) – Pearl iZUMi Attack socks. Life changing. These are not very warm, but they are insanely comfortable and great for any athletic activity.
Feet (top layer) – Smartwool socks. Not so life changing. While they are pretty warm, their durability is questionable.
Hands (light/base layer) – Head SensaTEC. Great that they let you can use a touchscreen with them on, but pretty annoying that my pair has ripped seams within 2 months of use. Surprisingly warm, if they just improved the strength of the stitching, they would be way better.
Hands (heavy/upper layer) – Not sure of the brand, but they are only ok. Extremely warm, but not all that durable. They will have to be retired after this winter.
Boots – LL Bean Waterproof Hiker Hunter. THESE BOOTS KICK ASS. Warm. Durable. Waterproof.

I have used this setup in 0 degree weather with no problems. I am certain it could handle colder temperatures. Remember, it’s not just having to handle it for a short jaunt, either. We spend up to 7 hours a night out on our bikes in this weather and often don’t have the option to go inside to warm up.

All of our runners have their own setups. Julia, for instance, wears an oversized jumpsuit so she can wear a jacket underneath. DJ hates the cold so he’s often wearing at least three layers. Paul doesn’t use a clava, but he does do this…

How do we handle the snow? It’s mostly preparation, with a bit of badassery mixed in.

The cookie sandwich makes a comeback this week: pumpkin cookies with chocolate ganache. Now, this isn’t any normal cookie sandwich. These things are huge. It’s basically the same size as an entire pack of cookies if you smashed ‘em all together and then stuck a mound of chocolate in the middle. Yeah, pretty daunting. They’ll be $5 each.

So, you see that giant fucking cookie sandwich? I bet you can’t eat that yourself. You’ll probably need to share. If that’s your thing, HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU. For only $2 more, you can grab a cookie sandwich and 2 8oz milks for only $7!

“Wait, milk???” you ask, mouth agape. YES, MILK. This week, we’re going to be carrying milk (8oz cartons from Organic Valley) on the bikes for $1.25 each! We will have very limited supplies of milk in each delivery zone, so if you want to grab it, order early! I have got to stress that we are only testing out milk this week and there is a lot that may change! If you order some and want to give feedback, please e-mail me.

Dear MIT students,

I keep hearing stories from our Cookie Runners about how some of you have been pissed that Sweet Idea does not deliver to your wonderful campus. I’d like you to know that injustice ends tonight. No longer will you have to suffer through life not knowing the deliciousness of a Sweet Idea cookie. Starting at 9 PM tonight, we’ll officially be bringing you into the fold.

TIME TO GET YA COOKS
Sincerely,
John

TONIGHT’S MENU:

• Chocolate chip
• Snickerdoodle
• Tazadoodle
• Pumpkin