Perfectly Practical #222 - Collin Street Bakery

How the cheesecake was delivered

I received a wonderful Collin Street Bakery pecan praline cheesecake in exchange for my review.  All opinions and love of Collin Street Bakery are my own.

I feel like most Texans are familiar with Collin Street Bakery.

We have all seen the advertisements for the bakery in the Sunday coupon inserts or the billboards when you get close to one of their stores.
Some of us were even lucky enough to have grown up getting free cherry ice box cookies when we'd visit the store.

When a Collin Street Bakery opened in Lindale, TX, I had friends who drove the hour long drive from Marshall just to get some of their chicken salad, specialty breads, and of course, cookies.
Their products really are that good.

But it's their fruit cakes for which they are most famous.

When Marc Murphy of Food Network fame declared that Collin Street Bakery's fruit cake was "The best thing I ever ate" on the show of the same name, the whole country became aware of this family run fruit cake emporium.

I didn't realize that they even made cheesecakes until I was asked to review one.
Thank you Collin Street for asking me for a review!

The cheesecake arrived shrink-wrapped and packed inside a styrofoam container (pictured at top.)  Along with the cheesecake was a hand written thank you note from the company's Vice President Will McNutt (y'all know I love me some thank you notes) and a little booklet, "Guide to Collin Street Bakery Products." I thought both were wonderful touches.  The booklet laid out per type of dessert, slicing instructions, storage instructions, and serving recommendations.

I followed the instructions and put the cheesecake straight into the freezer upon receipt.

We were going to have dinner with our friends John & Holly the night it arrived, so I let them know that I was terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but I would be bringing dessert.  Not just any dessert, but a Collin Street Bakery pecan praline cheesecake that we had to eat so that I could get a good cross-section of opinions for a written review.

They took the news well.
We took our reviewing very seriously.

We discussed their previous experiences with the bakery.  Apparently, one of their uncles was smitten with the Collin Street's pecan pies and sent them out every year for Christmas gifts to the family.  I'm sure that gesture ensured his spot as everyone's favorite uncle.

And how did the cheesecake taste?  DELICIOUS!

As we savored each decadent bite we made some observances:

• Packaging was great
• Pecans were throughout the cheesecake, not just a topping
• Crust was not too thick and very tasty
• Density was just right
• Cheesecake was not cloyingly sweet
• Crumbly texture not found in most store bought cheesecakes
• Reasonably priced
• {The bakery's} Well-earned reputation preceded them
• Flavors were subtle
• Nothing about it tasted artificial
• Four thumbs up

Engineer said that he gave the cheesecake the highest compliment it could receive, that it rivaled one of my homemade cheesecakes.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the cheesecake.

If you want to order this or any other of the Collin Street Bakery's delicacies, please visit them at www.collinstreet.com