In the 1970's through the early 1990's, there used to be a bakery in
Indianapolis called Rosalyn Bakery. Perhaps it existed earlier than
this. The bakery closed out in the mid 1990's and was never seen from
again. All the recipes were probably buried with the owner -- who
knows? Rosalyn Bakery had created a chocalate chip cookie of the like
that I have never tasted before. I have not found any bakery or
company that can equal this achievement. The best way to describe it,
unfortunately, is that this cookie was to me, and to many other people
in Indianapolis, perhaps as much as what crack cocaine must have been
to an addict. Isn't that a terrible thing to say?

The cookie was not the usual size or thickness. They were large, flat
cookies, about 5 inches wide and perhaps as thin as 5/16ths of an
inch. They were really an achievement in technology too because of
this. I mean, if you take your own oven, few can achieve this. Try to
consider a chocalate chip cookie that is of this same dimension, but
if you hold the side of it pinched between two fingers and hold it
out, it doesn't bend or break apart for several minutes under the
warmth of your fingers, yet isn't too hard to bite into. One of the
secrets appeared to me to be that the outside of the cookie was
sufficiently cooked harder than the inside, permitting the cookie to
be of this dimension and provide this kind of durability and yet have
the soft chewable texture inside.

The taste seemed to hold some secrets as well. I could taste a faint
touch of walnut inside, but never could see a shaving, as if walnut
were ground into a fine powder and mixed in with the flour. The flour
looked to be sifted to an extreme, not like the course stuff you buy
at the grocery store. By the chewable texture of the cookie, I
suspected a mix of mollases was used, but mollases usually has a
bitter aftertaste and this cookie had no bitterness afterwards. The
taste you could sense was immediately sugary, but not too sugary, and
when swallowed, leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes you crave several
crates of these cookies.

Sometimes you taste, feel, or see grease on the bottom of cookies from
other bakeries or companies, but the bottom of these cookies were
almost like their tops. Small traces of finely sifted flour would come
off on your hands occasionally, but not in clumps.

The chocalate chips were actually the minor part of the cookie! Can
you believe it? They were the ordinary bittersweet store variety,
obviously Tollhouse variety. They were the ordinary size of that brand
of chips. You'd see a chip about every quarter to half inch inside the
cookie.

Therefore, I challenge you excellent chefs to clone the Rosalyn Bakery
Chocalate Chip cookie. You'll probably require a special oven to make
them, and it's not your average recipe.

If anyone remembers this in Indianapolis and has more clues on the
recipe, please do share.

As far as I know, there are no more Rosalyn Bakeries in the midwestern
United States. I have no idea whether it was an Indianapolis-only
company, or whether there were other stores in the midwest. I have no
idea about the history of the company, who founded it, when they
founded it, or any trivia about the owner or why it closed. I would be
interested in these facts.

Mike

Google Mike wrote:
> In the 1970's through the early 1990's, there used to be a bakery in
> Indianapolis called Rosalyn Bakery. Perhaps it existed earlier than
> this. The bakery closed out in the mid 1990's and was never seen from
> again. All the recipes were probably buried with the owner -- who
> knows? Rosalyn Bakery had created a chocalate chip cookie of the like
> that I have never tasted before. I have not found any bakery or
> company that can equal this achievement. The best way to describe it,
> unfortunately, is that this cookie was to me, and to many other people
> in Indianapolis, perhaps as much as what crack cocaine must have been
> to an addict. Isn't that a terrible thing to say?
>
> The cookie was not the usual size or thickness. They were large, flat
> cookies, about 5 inches wide and perhaps as thin as 5/16ths of an
> inch. They were really an achievement in technology too because of
> this. I mean, if you take your own oven, few can achieve this. Try to
> consider a chocalate chip cookie that is of this same dimension, but
> if you hold the side of it pinched between two fingers and hold it
> out, it doesn't bend or break apart for several minutes under the
> warmth of your fingers, yet isn't too hard to bite into. One of the
> secrets appeared to me to be that the outside of the cookie was
> sufficiently cooked harder than the inside, permitting the cookie to
> be of this dimension and provide this kind of durability and yet have
> the soft chewable texture inside.
>
[snip]

The molasses taste is from brown sugar. Make a normal chocolate chip
cookie recipe, using dark brown sugar. Then bake at too high a
temperature, and the cookies will melt and spread like that.

Another thing you can try: I've seen oatmeal cookie recipes that are
designed to spread out and fry when you bake them. If you can find one of
those, grind the oats into flour, leave out the cinnamon, and add chocochips.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob > wrote in
:

[snip]

> [snip]
>
> The molasses taste is from brown sugar. Make a normal chocolate chip
> cookie recipe, using dark brown sugar. Then bake at too high a
> temperature, and the cookies will melt and spread like that.
>
> Another thing you can try: I've seen oatmeal cookie recipes that are
> designed to spread out and fry when you bake them. If you can find
> one of those, grind the oats into flour, leave out the cinnamon, and
> add chocochips.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob
>

I have made the type of oatmeal cookies you describe, but I think
grinding the rolled oats into flour will defeat the reason why the
cookies spread. The oatmeal "flour" will bind the butter and sugar and
will likely prevent as much spreading. Most of those type of oatmeal
cookie recipes have little or no flour at all.

Wayne

You brought back great memories. I lived a few blocks from a Rosalyn
bakery when growing up. We
used to take a walk to get some goodies. My fave was their Spice Bars.
If anyone remembers them
and can refer a recipe, I would be grateful. They were a spice bar w/
some fruit and nuts. I have tried countless
recipes over the years and nothing has come close. :-(
Amey


Google Mike wrote:

>In the 1970's through the early 1990's, there used to be a bakery in
>Indianapolis called Rosalyn Bakery.
>
>

"Amey" > wrote in message
...
> You brought back great memories. I lived a few blocks from a
Rosalyn
> bakery when growing up. We
> used to take a walk to get some goodies. My fave was their
Spice Bars.
> If anyone remembers them
> and can refer a recipe, I would be grateful. They were a spice
bar w/
> some fruit and nuts. I have tried countless
> recipes over the years and nothing has come close. :-(
>

Although the individual stores closed, Rosalyn products (notably
Zebra Squares) are still available in some supermarkets in
Indianapolis. I cannot tell you who makes them, but I'll check
next time I'm at the market.

--
barry in indy

In article >,
(Google Mike) wrote:

> In the 1970's through the early 1990's, there used to be a bakery in
> Indianapolis called Rosalyn Bakery.

They closed because the health department cited their 30th plant with
numerous health violations like roaches, rat feces and overall
filthiness. The last I remember from Roslyn bakery is eating a Cinnabun
and getting very very ill. I have seen their tea cookies, sweetheart
coffeecake and alligator coffee cakes in Marsh grocery, but they look
like plaques of pure sugar and the memory of me hurling from both ends
after eating one of their products turns me off completely to buying
anything from them. In the sign at the store, they emphasize the
"hygenic" conditions of their new Chicago plant.

RC

> In article >,
> (Google Mike) wrote:
>
>
>>In the 1970's through the early 1990's, there used to be a bakery in
>>Indianapolis called Rosalyn Bakery.
>
I saw the kind of cookies you described in a bakery in my
neighborhood. They are thin discs of dough, with chocolate chips
throughout. They are about four or five inches in diameter. They are
most likely made right in the store and are not Rosalyn ones. I did
not stop to ask

I do not know how they taste, but if you want me to, I could ask
whether the shop ships their cookies.

MS