Honolulu Cookie Company: Classic Shortbread with a Pineapple Twist
Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
I first noticed the Honolulu Cookie Company’s iconic pineapple shaped gourmet shortbreads on Momofuku Milk Bar’s instagram page. Honolulu Cookie Company uses local Hawaiian ingredients in their pastries. I love shortbread and I love macadamia nuts so I was determined to try some of these cookies.
While we were shopping in Ala Moana mall, everywhere we turned we saw Japanese tourists carrying bags and bags stuffed full of Honolulu Cookie Company gift boxes, one lady was carrying so many bags of the cookies that she could barely make it up the escalator. We had to see what the hype was all about so we made our way to the mall’s Honolulu Cookie Company shop.
As soon as we walked in, we were hit in the face with the buttery aroma of baking shortbread cookies. Later, we found out this was because a little toaster oven on the top shelf at the back of the shop was baking up cookie dough just to lure customers into the shop. Honolulu Cookie Company’s shortbread cookies are baked and packaged offsite at a factory and delivered to each store.
Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
Another thing that caught our attention was the bell they rang at the till every time someone received a free gift after their purchase. If you purchase over $50 worth of cookies, you get a free little bag of cookies, if you buy over $100, you get a free box of cookies. We tried super hard to add up our purchases to $50 but couldn’t justify buying a giant cookie jar of cookies just for a free little bag of cookies. We were able to pick up a few boxes of cookies for friends and family and some for ourselves.
Free samples, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
The great thing about Honolulu Cookie Company is the free samples. They have little bins all over the store filled with all the various flavours of cookies they sell. We became particularly addicted to the mini chocolate chip cookies. They were bite-size and utterly melt-in-your-mouth, it truly was impossible to eat just one. We found ourselves wandering into Honolulu Cookie Company stores all over the island just to sneak some free samples.
Milk chocolate coconut dipped shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
It’s appealing that these cookies are both buttery and rich but also somewhat delicately light, even the chocolate dipped ones. We loved the white chocolate dipped coconut cookies and ended up buying a box of them to snack on. We were partial to the cookies featuring Hawaiian ingredients like coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts and the Kona coffee bean.
White chocolate coconut dipped shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
My mom loves coffee so we bought her a box of Kona coffee shortbread. The cookies had the same sweet flavour as coffee ice cream, some of them were chocolate dipped and others sported a whole Kona coffee bean in the middle.
Kona coffee shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
Mango shortbread, Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
The tropical fruit cookies were delicious, I loved the little cube of dried fruit that was pressed into the middle of the buttery cookie.
Honolulu Cookie Company, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, HI
The plain shortbread cookies are also scrumptious as well and equally addictive.
My boyfriend kept wondering why each cookie was individually wrapped, he claimed it only slowed him down as he devoured a whole box. The individual wrapping definitely kept the cookies fresh though, each one as crisp and rich as the day we bought them.
I still crave these cookies and I’ve eaten a million of them. They make the perfect Christmas gift too! If you’re not in Hawaii, Honolulu Cookie Company products can be purchased at select Tommy Bahama stores in the United States. Check the Honolulu Cookie Company website for details.