SEATTLE — The universal appeal of a cookie cannot be denied. It’s written on Tomas Perez’s T-shirt.
"My shirt says ‘Never too old for milk and cookies’, which is very true, we believe that,” said Perez, who with his wife Brooke and daughter Isabella, owns Bell’s Cookie Co. which was recently anointed by Yelp as the place that makes the ‘best cookies in Washington state'.
"It is named after our daughter, Isabella. She's two-and-a-half years old,” Brooke explained .
“She's our main recipe tester," Tomas added. "We come up with a new seasonal kind, first ones to try it are us, then Isabella, and if she gives it a thumbs up, it's a go!"
This family business began in the early days of the pandemic. When the couple had to pause their Seattle catering business, they turned to cookie creation.
Turns out, cookies were essential.
“It was pretty moving to us seeing the orders coming in,” Tomas said.
Soon their cookies were shipping nationwide. For connection — and sometimes, condolence.
"It was kinda like, wow, this is real. We really hoped this could be a positive impact."
Their cookie business grew into a bright bakery in Seattle’s Greenlake neighborhood with a glass-walled kitchen to watch the cookie creation. Bell’s Cookie Co. sells cookies one at a time, with soft-serve ice cream for a cookie sandwich, and by the box.
Score a dozen and they'll ring the bell for you.
The twelve flavors all offer nostalgia — with a twist. The S'more cookie comes complete with a graham cracker base. The Bell — named after Isabella — has potato chips, dark chocolate toffee, and pecans mixed into the dough. There’s a red velvet, a gluten-free chocolate cookie, and a simple golden cookie that is one of their bestsellers. Tomas wanted to incorporate his Columbian roots into a cookie, so Brooke developed the Columbian corn cookie, which has three different kinds of corn flour in it and is singularly delicious.
Also — you might get served one of Bell’s chocolate chunk/sea salt cookies the next time you take to the skies. They recently scored a contract with Delta and are served on every flight out of Seattle. In first-class.
But don’t fret if you don’t want to spend first-class money on a first-class cookie. Because only in Seattle, on the ground at Greenlake, can you score a Bell's Cookie Co. cookie hot out of the oven any time of day.
“So that's one of the things that when we started this is that we always want to make sure cookies are warm, and they're always warm,” Tomas said.
Cookies are comfort — no matter what your age.
And the only thing better than eating a warm cookie from this family bakery — is sharing one.
"Part of our core value is to share, spread love and spread happiness through cookies,” Tomas said.
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