Prantl's Bakery ★ 4.5
Prantl's Bakery on Walnut Street in Shadyside has baked its Burnt Almond Torte in Pittsburgh since 1970. The cake widely called America's best.
Worth the queue: Burnt Almond Torte
History
The cookie table is a uniquely Pittsburgh wedding custom with Italian and Eastern European roots, in which extended families bake dozens upon dozens of cookies (pizzelle, lady locks, thumbprints, kolache) for a sprawling reception spread that often rivals the cake. The tradition is strongest in the Mon Valley mill towns and is documented as a regional signature; bakeries like Prantl's and Gaby et Jules supply cookies when families want backup.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nuts
Make it at home
Ingredients
- Lady-lock cream-horn metal forms
- 500g flour
- 450g cold butter
- 250ml cold water
- 1 egg yolk
- For the filling: 250g butter, 200g shortening, 300g icing sugar, 1 jar marshmallow creme
Method
- Make a quick laminated dough by cutting cold butter into the flour, adding water and yolk, then folding and chilling several times.
- Roll thin and cut into long strips.
- Wind each strip around a metal lady-lock form, overlapping slightly.
- Bake at 200C (400F) for 12 to 15 minutes until golden, then slide off the forms and cool.
- Beat the butter, shortening, icing sugar and marshmallow creme into a fluffy filling.
- Pipe the filling into each cooled pastry horn and dust with icing sugar.
Tip from the editors. Keep the dough and butter cold throughout; warm dough loses the flaky lamination that makes lady locks.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat the pittsburgh cookie table
The Pittsburgh cookie table in Pittsburgh
Gaby et Jules ★ 4.5
Gaby et Jules on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill bakes French macarons and caneles in Pittsburgh. Chef David Piquard's patisserie, named for his grandfathers.
Worth the queue: Macarons
Enrico Biscotti Company ★ 4.3
Enrico Biscotti hand-shapes Italian biscotti and pastries in the Strip District in Pittsburgh. A bakery, cafe and brick-oven cooking-class spot in one.
Tip: Duck down the alley to the cafe for lunch. The hand-shaped biscotti are the signature.
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