Hello from my home bakery kitchen.

My daughter & I were about to drive back home to NYC after celebrating Thanksgiving with my son & grandson in Catskill Village but I wanted to stop and look at an apartment that was for rent.  I loved the apartment, signed the lease and moved in three weeks later. It seemed like an impulsive move, but it really wasn't.

Twenty five years earlier my husband & I set out from NY on an adventure that brought us to eastern North Carolina, and then the west coast of Florida. In 2003, after becoming a widow, I needed to make all decisions on my own. I continued to run the boutique bakery/cafe BONNI BAKES I had created in 1999 and went on to design & build a house in 2007. I decided to move back to Brooklyn in 2015 to be closer to my kids, and became a first time Grandmother there. Things started to change after Covid and for quite a while I had been thinking it was time to move out of Brooklyn. Then I did.

I love to bake but particularly enjoy re-creating the wonderful things we used to buy at the local Jewish bakeries when I was a kid. The melt-in-your-mouth rugelach, onion rolls, bialys, hamantaschen, challah, pletzl, cheese danish, apple cake, babka, Ratner's onion pockets and my Grandmother's strudel cookies. All things I've baked during my 16 years at BONNI BAKES and I still make them today.

Each Monday I'll post a blog on bonnibakes.com describing what I'm baking this week. It's all handmade to order in small batches. I use fresh ingredients, local when possible, with no preservatives or anything artificial. If you'd like to order something, email bonnibakescatskill@gmail.com by Wednesday at 5pm, limited quantities so first come first served. Pick-up is Friday in Catskill Village. Cash or Venmo. I'll also be at the Catskill Farmers Market Sunday July 14 from 10-2.

 HERE'S WHAT I'M BAKING THIS WEEK

RUGELACH   $5/pkg 4 oz

The classic real deal, individually handmade with cream cheese dough that bakes into a super flaky pastry. Filled with golden raisins, toasted walnuts, Saigon cinnamon and apricot jam that melts in your mouth. Because they're baked fresh, you can freeze them too.

BIG COOKIES   $3 each or 4/$10

CHOCOLATE ORGASMS 

My signature cookie that I've been making since 1999. They're a chocoholic's fantasy come true...melted Belgium bittersweet chocolate surrounding chunks of more chocolate, toasted almonds and just enough flour to hold them together. Too satisfying to share...maybe.

OATMEAL RAISIN WALNUT

This was my husband's favorite cookie...the toasty warmth of hearty oatmeal embellished with juicy raisins and crunchy toasted walnuts.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CHUNK

America's favorite cookie, palm sized & filled with large chunks of dark chocolate with a sprinkle of Maldon salt to top it off. Perfect!

CATSKILL CATS

These whimsical multi-colored felines are sugar cookies who love to honor their home town of Catskill in a delicious way. 

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

 Texas size $3 each  or  4/pkg mini muffins $5

A totally filling muffin, handmade with fresh oranges and chock full of plump cranberries. Available in two sizes.

CHOCOLATE PARADISO BISCOTTI  $3 each or 4/$10

Large dark chocolate chunks & toasty almonds join this orange scented biscotti. Crunchy, but not too hard to bite, just delicious!

If you'd like to join my mailing list and receive my blog each week, send your email address to me at bonnibakescatskill@gmail.com 

I will never share your personal information. If you have a request or question, drop me a note. I do special orders too.

Have a wonderful week and bon appetit!   Bonni