After what feels like we've been sitting in an oven all summer, I've really noticed the nights starting to draw in a little now; autumn is very much on the way, but I love it. Autumn for me is cosy nights in, wholesome food, the fire burning and a cinnamon candle burning away - ah, bliss.
But it's also an exciting time when we experiment with delicious seasonal flavours.
This year, we've been having lots of fun in the bakery, experimenting with some new autumnal flavours, bringing back a few favourites and, most importantly, thinking about where our ingredients come from and how we can make them a part of what we bake.
Because for us, a great cookie isn't just about how delicious it tastes; it's also about what goes into it.
At Choowee, we're really passionate about knowing where our ingredients come from. We try to source as many ingredients as we can locally, supporting British farmers and small businesses wherever possible. And when we can grow something ourselves? Even better!
We're lucky enough to have our own garden at the bakery. Our apples are grown at Choowee HQ and our pumpkins are grown at Nettleton Top too. We don't have everything we need growing outside our back door (we'd love to!), but the ingredients we can grow ourselves are incredibly special to us.
There's something so special about picking an apple from our own garden and thinking, "Right... what cookie flavour can we make with this?"
And that's exactly where some of our autumn experimenting begins...
We love experimenting with flavours, and autumn gives us so much to work with. This year we have two new exciting flavours...
🍁 Maple & Pecan - A delicious combination of sweet maple syrup and nutty pecans, bringing those cosy autumnal flavours together in one cookie.
🔥 Bonfire Toffee - Because is it really autumn without bonfire toffee? Think of that mouth-watering, rich, buttery toffee flavour that takes you straight to Bonfire Night.
And then we've got some autumnal favourites making a much-anticipated comeback...
🍎 Caramel Apple - Made with apples from our very own garden and our handmade caramel, this one really is autumn in a cookie.
👻 Vanilla Ghosts - Our spooky take on a teacake treat, made with handmade marshmallow whip, perfect for Halloween and a firm favourite with little ones.
🕷 Malteser Spiders - Because who doesn't love a Malteser, even when they become a spooky Halloween spider.
🧟 Chocolate Zombies - Another Halloween favourite for anyone who likes their cookies with a little bit of spooky fun.
Our Caramel Apple is the perfect example of what we love about baking. The apples come from our own garden, while the caramel is handmade right here in the bakery. So rather than buying a ready-made apple filling or caramel sauce, we can take ingredients that we know and love and turn them into something completely different. That's what we love about baking!
A few simple ingredients, a little bit of imagination and plenty of experimenting can create something really special.
It's all part of our commitment to sustainability, and of course, having a bit of fun experimenting with the wonderful ingredients autumn has to offer. We think food tastes better when you know its story.
Our autumn flavours will be available at our Pumpkin Event on Sunday 4th October, as well as in our Baked With Love Boxes and at our stockists.
Sian x
