This was another in my long list of foods from my alternate Shop-Rite grocery, located a few towns over. Specifically, something called cake bites, which are kind of a hybrid between cakes and cookies, brought to us by the fine folks at Cookies United, in Islip, Long Island, NY. I tried two versions--their frosted coffee cake kind, and the iced blueberry cobbler one.
The company that made these products is kind of in between, age-wise. It's far from ancient, but neither are they a very recent enterprise. In 1994 Louis Avignone and Wally "Famous" Amos founded the company, later known as United Baking. Later, this was divided into two entities--the sales and marketing part called Uncle Wally's (presumably run by Wally Amos), and the manufacturing arm and parent company, called United Baking. Cookies United is in turn a subsidiary of these companies. And then there are four main brands--Cake Bites (which are the products I'll discuss in detail), Bake Shop Bites (which makes a few specialized cookies like macaroons and brownies), Cookie Jar (which sells kits for making cookie houses) and Baker's Baker (which handles gourmet cookies sales in bulk). Aside from the two I tried, alternate flavors of Cake Bites include vanilla iced, sweet lemon layers, the chocolate tuxedo, strawberry shortcake, filled Cake Bites, M & M minis, crumbles, and Cake Bites associated with famous movies and characters, such as Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, and the upcoming Trolls line. If you're so inclined, the official company website also sells a decent amount of merchandise, such as t-shirts, hoodies, grocery bags, key chains, coffee mugs, and pillows. They also encourage consumers to suggest their own flavor ideas. Although I don't know what happens if they like your idea--do you get credit in the flavor name? A cut of the sales? Or just the satisfaction of knowing your flavor was considered good, and the experience of eating a (hopefully) tasty treat?
Cake Bites, iced blueberry cobbler: These were little cubes, about 1 inch (about 2.5 cm.) square. The cake part was in three layers--two yellowish-white layers with a blue interior layer. And then a white frosting covering the layers, with blue and purple sprinkles on it. The texture was slightly crunchy on the outside, with a soft cake-y inside. And it tasted....like cake. I like cake in general, and this was a good example of one, with nice blueberry and vanilla flavors. And despite being boxed and bagged up (i.e., it wasn't fresh), the cake itself was still soft and tasty, not stale or anything. I really enjoyed this--it was like getting little bite-sized pieces of cake, as a quasi cookie.
Cake Bites, frosted coffee cake: Same size and shape as the previous. Only this time the two yellowish-white layers enclosed a dark brown layer. And the icing was white, but with light brown streaks. Same texture as the previous. These were quite delicious. I'm a sucker for cinnamon, and this had a bold cinnamon taste to it. Really sweet, and the coffee cake layers were good as well. I probably like this kind a bit better than the previous, but that one was really good, so this isn't a major criticism at all.
So overall this was an extremely pleasant surprise, and rates my strongest recommend. A really excellent and new kind of dessert. I will definitely buy these again, and will eagerly try the other Cake Bite kinds that I can. My local Shop-Rite just started stocking at least one of these Cake Bites, so I might not even have to drive as far to satisfy my sweet craving. And if I see the other three United Baking/Cookies United brands I won't hesitate to try them, too.
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