Got milk?
If you've got the milk, then the Black Forest Pastry Shop has the cookies.
Whether you have a sweet tooth for a delectable butter cookie or a penchant for politics, the downtown Greenwich bakery is conducting its second presidential poll via the butter cookies.
As part of a Retail Baker's Association effort, Black Forest is selling the butter cookies—frosted with the either visage of Republican Mitt Romney or incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama—and tallying customers' preferences. And, unlike Election Day, 'voters' can cast their ballots more than once with multiple purchases of the $3.50 cookie.
Last Friday, the tally showed that Greenwich was decidely 'red' when it came to their cookies. Romney cookies were outselling Obama 54 to 39 by late afternoon. According to Black Forest owner and head baker Dan Puffer, the daily tallies are forwarded to the bakers association as part of a light-hearted national effort to gauge politics. The association conducted a similar cookie preference poll in 2008, with cookies sales presciently indicating Obama the winner.
According to Puffer, Black Forest will continue to tally up the cookie votes through Election Day—Nov. 6.
Puffer said the election cookies are a pleasant segue between baking holidays. "It's a lull between holidays. We have people coming in for Halloween candy and cookies for the kids. And this is something for the adults. But we're finding that even high school students are enjoying it...it's a way to get them involved and to learn a little more about government," Puffer said.
Annie Belanger, a Greenwich High School student who works in the shop, said, "it's really cool to do something about the election."
Puffer said that the cookies have been popular with folks hosting debate-watching parties.
Beyond the national draw, Puffer said, "Hopefully, this will trickle down to the local elections, but I don't know if (Greenwich First Selectman) Mr. (Peter) Tesei would like his face on a cookie."
The Black Forest Pastry Shop is at 52 Lewis St. and is open 7 days a week; Monday-Saturday from 7:30 am-6 pm; Sundays from 8 am-1 pm. www.blackforestpastryshop.com
Editor's note: story has been updated to correct the political color cookie preference to red in Greenwich.
