The nostalgic aroma of confectionery sugar wafts to every square inch of the bakery, fluorescent blooming flowers create a vibrant ambiance, and sugar-high kids run to the glass displays filled with delicately decorated desserts.
Haley Cakes and Cookies is a local bakery that makes a wide range of sweets. From cookies to cupcakes, and even custom designs to your liking, they have it all.
Established in 2013 by Haley Evans, Haley Cakes and Cookies has made its mark in the Central Texas area with its delicious, yet beautiful desserts. The bakery has three locations: 1700 South Lamar Boulevard, 9001 Brodie Lane, and 10601 Ranch Road.
This bakery is a perfect place for Bowie students to go, whether that be after school or during the weekend. Not only is the Brodie location close in proximity to students that live in Shady Hollow and Circle C, but the bakery has also accumulated a four out of five-star rating according to Google Reviews and Yelp.
If you choose to go in-person, be prepared for limited seating, as this bakery is not properly equipped for crowds of people. However, you can order online from their website at haleycakesandcookies.com.
As soon as I entered the bakery on a Saturday afternoon, I was shocked by the interior of the bakery. Inside, there is a pink grand piano, bright flowers hanging from the wall, and detailed glass light fixtures hung throughout the restaurant.
And to my surprise, there was minimal guest occupancy in the building, with only a couple of customers seated at the front of the store. Despite the tight spaces, the staff was extremely kind and helpful, as they recommended some of their popular and well-loved desserts.
The bakery offers gluten-free variations of sweets, breakfast items, an extensive coffee menu, and of course, mouthwatering desserts.
According to some Google Reviews, there is a comparison between Haley Cakes and Cookies and Crumbl Cookies, a chain restaurant that specializes in gourmet cookies.
In my opinion, Haley Cakes and Cookies is nowhere near the same as Crumbl Cookie. Haley Cakes and Cookies focuses less on their cookies, and more on their sheet cake-style treats. However, Crumbl Cookie’s cookies are notably better than Haley Cakes and Cookies, because that is what they specialize in.
The only types of cookies that Haley Cakes and Cookies had to offer when I went were sugar cookies decorated in frosting. I bought one of their sugar cookies to try it out, and it was nothing special, it was more parallel to a sugar cookie you can buy at a local grocery store such as Target or Walmart.
It was so hard to choose what treats I wanted to review, but I had to settle on the Carmelita, the Brookie, the Razzle Dazzle Cupcake, and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake.
Many desserts you get from chain grocery stores often taste bland, or similar to one another. Not only that, but the treats are also mass-produced and don’t get a lot of attention to detail when they’re being made. I never really realized this until I took the trip to Haley Cakes and Cookies and saw the quality of their desserts.
Haley Cakes and Cookies is definitely a place I would recommend to go when you’re craving something for your sweet tooth.
The menu is diverse, the desserts are very flavorful, and the inside of the bakery is a perfect photo booth spot for social media.
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Carmelita ($5.15)Out of all the desserts I tried, the Carmelita was by far my favorite.
This is a sheet cake-style dessert, with a heavy caramel flavor profile. The treat is drizzled in caramel and topped with a spoonful of white icing. I loved how the sweet icing balanced out the salty aspect of the caramel, which overall emphasized the taste of the Carmelita. Not only that, but the texture was extremely satisfying, the crunch of the crispy top mixed with the softness of the sheet cake was just about flawless.
This treat is so sweet that it could actually be mistaken as a caramel candy. Anyone with a major sweet tooth and a love for caramel will definitely become fond of this popular menu item.
However, if you’re not someone who wants a sugar overload on their taste buds, you may want to steer clear of the Carmelita.
I would rate this sugary dessert a five out of five stars because it perfectly encapsulates the heartwarming caramel flavor and has one of the best textures I have ever experienced in a sweet treat.
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Brookie ($5.15)Although I’m not the biggest fan of Oreos, I was able to appreciate the Brookie.
This is also a sheet cake style dessert, with chocolate chip cookies on the bottom, crushed Oreos in the middle, and brownies on the top.
The incomparable taste of this dessert is other-worldly, as it has so many different flavors in one bite. The crunch from the Oreo crumbles in the middle mixed with the softness of the cookie and brownie was perfect, and it is definitely something I recommend trying if you love unique desserts.
I absolutely recommend this sweet for anyone who loves Oreos, because the taste of Oreos completely dominates this treat’s flavor profile. And not only that but the dessert is topped with sweet icing and a mini Oreo.
However, this treat is quite dry, and you don’t get a lot of moisture in between the layers. This could be because the dessert is jam-packed with three different types of bread.
I would rate this sweet treat a four out of five stars because although it has such a wide variety of delicious flavors, the Brookie is still dry in every bite.
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake ($5.15)My favorite cupcake of the two that I tried was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake.
This sweet treat had a sweet bread with mini chocolate chips baked into it, and topped with raw cookie dough icing and a triangle of a chocolate chip cookie. I loved this cupcake so much, and it was definitely one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. The texture of the chocolate chips in both the bread and the icing had my mouth watering.
The one flaw to note about this dessert is that it’s pretty drying at the first bite. Although it has raw cookie dough icing on the top, the bread didn’t have a lot of moisture. And the dry cookie on top didn’t help its case either. This issue could be easily fixed on the bakery’s part if they incorporated less flour into the cupcake.
I would rate this cupcake a four out of five stars, because the chocolate chip cookie dough flavor was spot on to actual raw cookie dough, and the design of the cupcake was pleasing to the eye. However, I just couldn’t get past the dryness of the cupcake’s bread.
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Razzle Dazzle Cupcake ($5.15)The most distinctive sweet on the menu that I tried was by far the Razzle Dazzle Cupcake.
This cupcake has a rich raspberry flavor profile, topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. I am a big fan of cream cheese frosting, but the sprinkles on top added so much more than I expected. The sprinkles added a crunchy texture to contrast the softness of the frosting, and the sprinkles’ sugary coat complimented the fruitiness of the raspberry taste.
The one setback from the dessert is the size of the cupcake. The actual bread of the cupcake is relatively small, and it doesn’t make sense that you get over a tablespoon of frosting for something so tiny. My first initial bite of this cupcake was a mouthful of frosting, and although I liked the frosting, I wish there was more cupcake bread to balance out the cupcake.
I would rate this cupcake a four out of five stars, because although the cupcake icing was creamy and delicious, the raspberry flavor was fruity, and the sprinkles added the perfect taste and texture, the ratio of bread to icing threw me off.
