Butter (Baked Goods/Bakery)

Restaurant: Butter
Cuisine: Bakery/Desserts/Pastries
Last visited: October 6, 2010
Location: Vancouver, BC (Dunbar)
Address: 4321 Dunbar St
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Since September 2007
• Nostalgic home baked goods
• Home made
• Baked daily
• Baked goods/pastries/cookies
• Everything made from scratch
• Family owned and operated
• Familiar to locals
• Sample on Saturday afternoons
• Whole cakes available
• Wholesale available
• Open Tues-Sat. 10:30am-5:30pm
• Eat in/Take-out

**Recommendations: The Chocolate Sandwich Cookie aka the “Oreo”, Peanut Butter Cookie, Butterscotch Blondie, The Dunbar, Passion Fruit Marshmallow

It was my first visit to the actual Butter Baked Goods bakery and retail location and it was a day to remember. The name Butter could not be more perfect and they give justice to the word! I’ve tried a few of their baked goods before, but it was always from one of their wholesalers or given as a gift. I found the stuff at the location actually better since it was guaranteed fresh.

The location is totally understated and I wasn’t expecting it to be so small. There are no seats so it’s really made to-go and the majority of the business is wholesale. I highly recommend coming to the actual location because everything is made fresh and baked daily and it really did taste even better than the times I had it… maybe it was the whole experience though.

The store front is probably smaller than the kitchen in the back. I was equally as impressed with how many people were baking in the back. There were about 6 ladies on staff with most of them were baking. From the front it really looked like grandma’s or mom’s cottage kitchen and it was so cute and comforting. Everything was very home style and I felt like I was at a bake sale. It reminded me of Applewood Country Gifts, Tea Room & Bakery.

They have a small Butter gifts section featuring their cups, baby clothes, spiced nuts and one of their most popular items: The Homemade Marshmallow. You can also find them at Capers and they’re awesome for s’mores, although Butter also makes their own gourmet S’more.

The first time I tried Butter was the first time I sunk my teeth into one of their most popular cookies – the home made GIANT Oreo cookie. I was so impressed with it that I dedicated an entire post to the Oreo cookie alone. I even measured it in size… see the post here.

This time I purchased…

I find them reasonably priced for the labour that goes into each one. I also appreciate the quality, although I wish they would use all natural ingredients for everything and not just for their marshmallows. Creme de la Crumb uses only all natural ingredients for their baked goods and I appreciate that. For traditional, old fashioned, and “bake sale” like baked goods, I’d say Butter is one of the best in Vancouver, BC.

On the table:

**The Chocolate Sandwich Cookie – 5/6 (Excellent)

• The Chocolate Sandwich Cookie (the homemade “you know what”) – yummy vanilla buttercream sandwiches between two large chocolate cookies $2.75
• They can’t call it an “Oreo” for copyright reasons… but I (and everyone else) calls it the giant homemade Oreo cookie.
• It was even better this time I had it and maybe it was because I was on location, so it was the closest I would get to fresh from their oven.
• It wasn’t as sweet as I remembered it too, which is even better. I only wish they used real vanilla beans in the buttercream.

**The Peanut Butter Sandwich – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!) 

• Two big soft peanut butter cookies with a creamy peanut butter filling… for serious peanut butter lovers $2.75
• Even if you don’t like peanut butter that much, you’ll love this cookie.
• It’s better than the chocolate Oreo one to me because it’s not as sweet.
• It is nutty and buttery, but there’s not actual peanut pieces in it.
• The inside is a fluffy peanut butter whipped filling and it’s not an icing so it doesn’t taste overly sweet.
• It’s the perfect ratio of cookie and filling too.
• It’s a super moist, soft and crumbly cookie and it just falls apart like the Oreo one.
• They’re so soft and delicious!
• **Update! If you like this I highly recommend the Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie from Beaucoup Bakery which I liked even more – see here.

**Butterscotch Blondie Bar –6/6 (FMF Must try!)

• $2.75
• I loved this! It was a cross between a brownie and a bar.
• It was soft and chewy and made with coconut, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips and cashews.

Butterscotch Blondie on top and Butterscotch Krispy on the bottom.

• It wasn’t too sweet and it had such a great chewy and crunchy texture.
• It was loaded with cashews, which I thought were peanuts, and tons of chips, but I could have used more coconut.
• It was quite rich and dense and you do feel guilty for eating it… but your at a place called “Butter” so almost everything is a guilty treat.

Butterscotch Crispy Bar – 4/6 (Very good)

• $1.50
• This is a popular East Coast treat and it’s the first time I’ve tried it let alone seen it in Vancouver.
• It tastes like a creamy butterscotch rice crispy square except the butterscotch holds it together rather than marshmallow.
• It was sweeter than the Butterscotch Blondie, but still rather light and not too sweet. However I still wouldn’t want to eat the whole thing in one seating.
• It was crunchy and crispy and almost like a Crunch chocolate bar, but made with butterscotch.
• It’s too hard if you eat it right from their display case which is chilled, but if you let it come to room temperature the rice crispies get soggy and they’re not as good.
• This is for real butterscotch lovers and it’s creamy like caramel yet not sticky or messy to eat.

**Homemade Marshmallows – 4/6

• These home made gourmet marshmallows come in 18 flavours, but they vary day by day.
• I haven’t tried any of their other flavours, but I have high hopes for the toasted coconut.
• They can be found in over 300 gourmet grocery stores in North America.
• The home made marshmallows have become one of their most famous treats, although I’m not as crazy about them as I am for their baked goods.
• The marshmallows are made with all natural ingredients and they’re made from scratch everyday.
• I would recommend ordering the individual ones just because they’re probably fresher than the ones in the bag.

Matcha Tea Marshmallow – 3/6 (Good)

• 10 smaller ones in a bag -$6  One large individual – $1.75
• I’ve only tried 2 of their flavours, so I don’t know the best ones… yet.
• I can’t say I’m a huge marshmallow fan, but these are probably one of the best marshmallows I’ve had… although I haven’t tried many home made ones. Marshmallows just seem like a condiment to desserts for me, but since these are flavoured it changes the game 🙂

• I love Matcha anything, but I wasn’t crazy about these matcha marshmallows. The texture of the marshmallow is awesome, but the flavour was just too mild for me.
• The texture is light and fluffy and they’re totally not that sweet. They’re not sticky, powdery or dry either, but they’re super moist and spongy.

**Passion Fruit Marshmallow – 5/6

• 10 smaller ones in a bag -$6  One large individual – $1.75
• They don’t always have this flavour, but when they have it you better try it. It’s so flavourful and tangy and sweet at the same time. Lots of passion fruit flavour.

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