It’s April and we always go Boston inspired as the city begins to wake up and spring starts springing and we open our doors to the world on the third Monday in April for the Boston Marathon. This cookie is DELICIOUS. Our lemon base is infused with coriander and a little bit of my second favorite Sam Adams beer (did you see we did a little brewing with our friends at Sam Adams last month): 26.2 Brew. 26.2 Brew is a limited brew that we only get for a short time around marathon weekend. I love it and quite frankly, I can never get enough of it. For those of you not from Boston, the Boston Marathon is held on Patriot’s Day. Once I was old enough to start running around the city with my friends, one of the first traditions I fell hard for was Patriot’s Day. I loved meeting my friends at 8AM at the bar to pregame for the Red Sox. Coming out of the bar to head towards Fenway while people lined the streets for the marathon. It’s this whole vibe. The excitement of so many people in the city, enjoying waking up from winter, welcoming people from all over and just enjoying the city. Sometimes, you can start your day at a bar pregaming in Kenmore Square and end your day post gaming at a bar at North Station, celebrating a Bruins or Celtics playoff win. In between, you can catch the Sox play in the only morning game in baseball, take in a marathon, drink a Sam Adams 26.2, take in a playoff game at the Garden. What a day. I feel lucky that I’ve taken in my fair share of these days and they are always awesome. In terms of how I came to this cookie. I was a pain in the ass. For a couple weeks, one of my Fours regular friends (who worked for Sam Adams) would be at the Fours and I would tell her I wanted to make a cookie with 26.2. It was SO limited and that’s what she told me. I kept asking. My brain knew I was being OBNOXIOUS and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I wouldn’t leave this alone. Finally she made a call, her contact said he didn’t ask me for a marathon based cookie because the traffic at the brewery was so high, so he wasn’t sure I could handle it. She told me they would need 1000 cookies and she would get me the beer. At the time, I hadn’t made or packaged that many cookies - I was six months into my business. I looked at her with confidence and said “I can do it” Then, we designed labels and made 1000 cookies and packaged them. It took a long time, I think about it a lot when we do jobs like this pretty frequently now and I have to laugh at how inefficient we were. What made me the happiest was that the cookie came out great. I loved it so much, but so did a lot of people. So, we only make this for about 4 weeks a year, but it holds a special place in my heart. I hope you will enjoy eating it as much as I enjoy making this cookie year after year. Don’t Crumble & Love Boston Heather

Hey Cookie Friends! As we bid farewell to the winter chill and eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring, there's no better way to usher in the season of renewal than with a delightful flavor that captures the essence of springtime indulgence. Drumroll, please... Allow us to present our Cookie of the Month for March: What's Up Doc? Before we had our storefront, I thought it would be fun to have a test bake day. Every Thursday (except during the Christmas rush) we make a flavor that we've never made before. There are two categories 1. Test Bakes we REALLY planned out 2. Test Bakes that we just kind of found a couple things on our shelf and put together The ones we really plan out are super fun and this one came from the fact that it was National Carrot Cake Day on a Thursday. We had been using this dark brown sugar dough and we just shredded some carrots, put in your run of the mill spices that make carrot cake awesome and some white chocolate chips to mimic the cream cheese frosting. People went ABSOLUTELY nuts for it! I immediately got the labels printed so we could offer it to our customers outside the bakery. When we make this, I always think of how much Test Bake Thursday reminds me why I wanted to have a cookie bakery in the first place. COTM subscribers - don't forget to check your postcard in your box for special COTM offers! If What's Up Doc? isn't your cup of tea, you can skip it in the customer portal - if you need it right away, you can update your ship date in the customer portal as well! Wishing everyone a happy spring! Don't Crumble, Heather Top Shelf Cookies

We started making this cookie last year and while we liked it, we wanted to work on the structure of it. When something is chosen for Cookie of the Month, it's got to be consistent because we sent hundreds of boxes a month. If you were to ask me what I love about our shop the most, its the fact that I bake nearly daily now, but I'm not the only one who bakes. Our Senior Baker, Marla and I truly enjoy coming up with new flavors and new ways to do it. I always tell people, you'd be surprised how little cookie baking there is in running a cookie business. Anyway, when I go in and bake with Marla, I'm doing what I wanted to do when I started Top Shelf Cookies. I'm creating cookies. The concept and the test bakes are easy, we take a swipe at it and most of the time we are pretty successful. I like when there are problems to solve, don't get me wrong - I don't sit around and wish from problems, but I DO like editing cookies with Marla. If there's not enough of the flavor we were going for or we don't like the structure. I used to troubleshoot on my own, but now I have someone (a VERY talented baker & pastry chef) to talk through how we can make it better. So, we knew if we wanted to get this to have more of a strawberry punch and a little more structure, we'd need to cook down the strawberries to get a better strawberry flavor and that would improve the structure. We did a test batch with our improvements in March and Marla and I actually act whole cookies. I know that sounds like a given, but you gotta remember - we can't smell cookies anymore and we are surrounded by them, so it's rare when we take more of a quality control bite of cookies. So, we gobbled it up and we were pleased enough to put this in our COTM boxes this month. Our Chocolate Covered Strawberry cookie start with a base of high-quality dark cocoa blend, providing a deep and indulgent chocolate flavor. To balance the richness, we infuse the dough with real strawberry puree, adding a burst of fruity sweetness in every bite. But the magic doesn't stop there – we fold in generous amounts of freeze-dried strawberries, ensuring a delightful texture that complements the softness of the cookie. If you don't subscribe to COTM (what are you waiting for?) you can get this cookie all month online for shipping, at our bakery in Dorchester and in the Snackin' Sampler Club box for February. This flavor won't be around for long, so catch it while you can! COTM Subscribers - while I hear that most of you skip on the postcard in the box, please don't there's special discounts in there JUST for you. Also don't forget if this flavor sounds amazing, go to your portal hit "order now" if you can't wait and that will change your date. If you would rather pass on Chocolate Covered Strawberry, you can skip the month in your portal! Till next month Cookie Friends! Don't Crumble, Heather & The Cookie Crew

Before I owned a cookie company, I was known for holiday cookie treats for friends and family. I really loved making this one. I didn’t like eggnog growing up, but thanks to Uncle Joe…that changed. I used to take the train from Boston to Lowell for Thanksgiving and my Uncle Joe would pick me up for a couple days at his house for Thanksgiving. As soon as I got set up in the spare room, I’d make it to the kitchen and Joe had eggnog for me. Then, I would stay up late and talk to him and my Aunt Mel. So, it’s a fond memory. When I first started Top Shelf Cookies I actually called this cookie “Uncle Joe’s Eggnog” but eventually changed the name to Noggin’ All The Way. I can’t not have eggnog without thinking of sitting with Joe and Mel. I’m very lucky to come from a large family and Joe and Mel are two of my most favorite people ever. Enough about me, onto the cookie. It’s a sugar cookie made with eggnog and we use the good stuff from Milton’s Thatcher Dairy just a few miles from our retail shop in Dorchester. Cinnamon and nutmeg are blended into the cookie and to be a little extra we sprinkle with nutmeg before baking and I love making this cookie and I hope you will enjoy eating it as this month’s cookie of the month! We typically get a lot of new subscribers to Cookie of the Month in December due to the holidays! So, if you are new or you were gifted COTM and have questions, reach out we’re here to help! Wishing you all a very happy holiday season! Don’t Crumble, Heather from Top Shelf Cookies

Sorry, we've been absent in our blog the last couple of months. It's been an interesting summer! Between the oppressive heat and rain every weekend, market season was ROUGH and we have been short staffed, so as I find myself sitting at my computer with no events on the horizon this weekend I am grateful we've turn the page to Fall. Fall in New England is the best and I love all our fall flavors. We decided to do The Flood for November because it's one of our core flavors and it's one of those so simple but good flavors that we don't talk enough about. This month, we're excited to introduce you to a cookie that's sure to make your taste buds dance with delight: The Flood! These Molasses Ginger Cookies are a delightful blend of rich, spicy, and sweet flavors that will transport your senses to a cozy, wintery wonderland. Don't miss out on the chance to savor our Cookie of the Month, The Flood. Visit our bakery this month to experience the magic of this delectable treat. Until next time, happy cookie tasting!

Greetings, cookie lovers! August is here, and it's time to indulge in a sweet treat that perfectly captures the essence of summer camping and bonfires. Say hello to our delightful and mouthwatering "S'mores “– the perfect fusion of classic campfire flavors and the comfort of a cookie Its unique blend of nostalgic flavors and its ability to transport you to a cozy campfire setting in a single bite make it an unrivaled treat for the summer season. We did debut this last summer and we’ve made some slight adjustments to it and we’re really happy with it and we hope you will be too. I get limited time off and it’s hard for me to go far away, I had a couple of midweek opportunities to get away this summer and both were rented cottages in New Hampshire and Maine, my only requirement was a firepit, so I could make S’mores. Gosh they are good, they are also messy, so while the cookie doesn’t replicate exactly the fun feeling making S’mores does - the cookie is less messy and we hope that you will enjoy. Don't miss out on this delicious opportunity to experience the joy of a campfire S'mores in cookie form! Share the delight with family and friends, and let the flavors of August take you on a delicious adventure. Reminder to Cookie of the Month subscribers - use your portal to update your ship date (you want it right away? Can do! This flavor isn’t for you - skip it!) Happy cookie munching, and until next time, happy camping! Thanks as always, Heather & the rest of the Cookie Crew!

When we first got our shop open, one of the things we got asked for a LOT was M&M cookies. I’m not gonna lie, this didn’t excite me. But, the neighborhood has a lot of young families and kids that I wanted to make happy. So, I compromised and made a sprinkle cookie. We started with HBD2U!! It’s our default sprinkle cookie, so I used the sprinkle for themes (and custom orders) so for all the holidays we have a different one and special events we also do them. Changing up the colors makes it a little more fun for us. July and August can be very challenging for shipping cookies, so we try to pick a sturdy cookie that will hold up to the heat. We landed on HBD2USA for July because it’s America’s birthday and we thought that would be fun. If you had told me when I started Top Shelf Cookies that I would be housing sprinkles of every color in the shop….I wouldn’t have believed you. We have an outstanding sugar cookie base that makes this more of a Top Shelf Cookie, I need a little chew to it. So, we have a little bit of brown sugar in our sugar cookie base to help with that! I hope you all are having an AWESOME summer, filled with some travel and friends and family. Reminder: You can use your customer portal to update addresses, change your shipping date or even skip this month if HBD2USA doesn’t do it for you! If you need help, reach out - we got you covered! Happy Summer Cookie Friends! Heather

I went to Girl Scout camp for free because of Girl Scout cookies. My mom didn't put up the order form at work either, back in my day I lived in a large apartment complex and I went door to door selling Girl Scout cookies. Thin Mints were my favorite. I always try to buy some from any Girl Scouts in my life. I learned some valuable lessons from going door to door when it was still safe to do so! When I happened upon these vibrant green mint chips, I knew I had to make a grown-up version of my childhood favorite. I wanted to make a chewy dark cookie (fun fact, we use a little bit of black cocoa to give it that dark look - like an Oreo) so these mint chips would pop. Over the years the chips aren't coming out as vibrant green as they used to, but I think the flavor is still vibrant and delicious. At that point, we had our signature Bruins inspired cookie, so I figure it would be a good time to have a Red Sox one. We used to only offer this during baseball season, but there were strong opinions that it should never leave the lineup. We made it a year-round flavor. We hope our subscribers will enjoy this cookie as much as we enjoy making it. Interested in joining or gifting the Cookie of the Month, check out our subscription options As always we thank you for your support of our little cookie company! Don't Crumble, Heather

We started to make this cookie soon after we opened the shop, but I'm always looking for a fun name, so we pulled out the recipe when we needed to put something in the case and then we'd try to come up with a Boston Inspired name or really any clever name. Marla finally put up her hands at me and said "It just wants to be called Salted Caramel, let it be what it wants to be!!" and so I ordered the labels and made it available on the website. We chose if for March because most of our March/St Patrick's Day cookies are chocolate based and we just sent you guys Cocoverdose (hope you liked it) we do try to keep in mind what we are sending from month to month to give you some good selections. Salted Caramel is one of my new favorites that we make. I'm slightly obsessed with the dark brown sugar brown butter dough. The base dough is just so full of flavor with the brown butter and the dark brown sugar...we love putting stuff in it. So, caramel bits and topped with salt. This cookie is a crowd pleaser for sure, we typically sell it out when we bring it somewhere with us or when we have it in the shop. Reminder: check your box for a special discount code if you enjoy this cookie so you can get more for yourself or gift them. Also: if this cookie doesn't seem like your style, you can totally skip it in your customer portal. Also, if you can't wait for it to arrive at your usual ship date - you can pull the date in through your customer portal as well! Anyway, it doesn't have a fun name but it IS delicious and we love it and we hope you will too. Happy March! Don't Crumble Heather