My Latest Haul? Cookies Galore…and “Liposuction in a Jar.”

The folks at the Luxury Spot have been super-nice to me in terms of hookups for stuff to write about. Pole-dancing lessons! Snack foods! Shampoo! But…never was this truer than with my latest haul.

I got an email from Ashley – “Do you want to review some cookies?” – but when I arrived to pick them up, she had (almost literally) MORE COOKIES THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. I like to bake. I’ve seen my fair share of cookies. And I can safely say that Ashley had a LOT of cookies.

There were so many, in fact, that I had to give some away so I wouldn’t have to grease the doorway to get in and out of my apartment. (I have a really tiny door…but, still.) It made for some nice impromptu gifts for anyone who stopped by to visit me in the past week or so.

A rundown, by company, follows.

Cookies by Shar

I gotta say the sugar cookies from Cookies by Shar are BEAUTIFUL. Really pretty. They were maybe a *little* on the stale side…or perhaps another way of saying it is that you could tell they weren’t something you baked at home. They were definitely good for purchased cookies…and certainly prettier than anything I could come up with in my own kitchen.

They seem like they’d be really good for parties, goodie bags and the like…and Shar apparently has at least 150 designs to choose from. I got a cupcake, snowflake, butterfly and hearts…Prices range from $3 to $8 for standard designs. They also come in food-grade cellophane bags which founder Shar Melwani says preserves freshness for up to three weeks.

The sugar cookies are all personally decorated by Shar with a combination of confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup, fondant and royal icing. And they are the same cookies that were in gift baskets to Food Network stars and VIPs at the 2008 and 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Shar has also made custom-made cookies for companies like Ferragamo, BMW and Neiman Marcus.

But it isn’t just about handsome sugar cookies. Cookies by Shar also offers varieties like chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, key lime, macadamia nut and coconut macaroon. (I had a lot of chocolate chip cookies in my bag from the Luxury Spot and I’m fairly certain the chocolate chip I tried were from Shar as the bag had the same pink ribbon with brown polka dots that decorated the big pink box with all the sugar cookies. The cookies were still soft, which was nice. But…they sort of reminded me of the chocolate chip cookies at the coal oven pizza place around the corner from my apartment. I had heard rave reviews about those cookies and I suppose my expectations were pretty high. [And the coal oven pizza place has the extra advantage of serving its cookies warm.] I should hasten to add that I really don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad chocolate chip cookie – but I guess they just weren’t as good as I had hoped. Which is not to say I didn’t like them or they weren’t good – I just still think you could tell they were made to be sold and don’t quite match what you can make at home.)

But if you don’t have the time and/or desire to bake or you want some really beautiful sugar cookies, Cookies by Shar is a great option. Plus, you can help Shar do good: 5% of proceeds go to Share Our Strength, a non-profit that seeks to end childhood hunger.

Shar’s cookies are available at certain Whole Foods locations as well as at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and online at cookiesbyshar.com.

Charleston Cookie Company

The whoopie pies from Charleston Cookie Company are AMAZING. There. I said it. SO good. They are gigantic, so you’re hard-pressed to eat them in one sitting. (Or even two.) The chocolate-on-chocolate was definitely my favorite…but the chocolate chip with vanilla was also a winner. I highly recommend them. Soft. And dare I say you might not be able to tell that they weren’t made lovingly in your own kitchen?

The brownies were also really, really good. Very rich. I think you’d have a hard time eating a whole brownie in one fell swoop – I just sampled a little corner of one and it pretty much knocked me out. Plus, I’m pretty sure there was a hint of coffee or espresso or something that was a very nice complement.

Charleston Cookie Company’s signature cookie is Pecan Chocolate Chip, but I must have given it away in my mad dash not to become obese as a result of all the desserts bestowed upon me. So…I can’t provide any input about these particular cookies, but I can say they are apparently made with a secret ingredient known only to founder Judith Moore and her staff.

Charleston Cookie Company was founded in 2003 by lifetime “hobby baker” Moore as the result of a quest to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Today, the company itself says it provides “gourmet cookies with a Southern accent.”

Moore’s cookies and brownies have no preservatives or artificial ingredients and she even uses eggs from local farms. They are made in small batches to preserve a homemade quality. (I think they do a pretty darn good job of that.) Her customers include Dean & Deluca, but the cookies and brownies can also be purchased online at charlestoncookie.com.

Requiem Cellulite Treatment

Even after giving all those cookies away, I was still kind of amused/relieved that I was also given two jars of Requiem Cellulite Treatment with my cookie haul. The cream almost seems edible – the first few ingredients are water, egg, and almond and grapefruit oil – and time will tell if it does me any good. (I guess I have nothing to lose…)

It kind of smells like Noxema…and seems a little tingly, but that could very well be psychosomatic. But…when I was reading the material they sent over with the cream, I noticed it says to use the product for three weeks and then to stop for the week that coincides with your period. I’m not sure what that’s about? Sounds a little worrisome…but, then again, I am prone to worry.

(I didn’t see an official Web site for the cream, but was kind of amused by this page…which calls it “liposuction in a jar.”)