Bo Nuage Pastry Shop

Europe really instilled in me the beauty of meringue as its own stand alone treat.  Airy and brittle, I typically choose denser, richer desserts when I'm craving sweets. But merveilleux are an exception. 

French for "marvelous," whipped cream sandwiched by pieces of meringue are. It. And driving around Melrose one afternoon I saw the words "pastry shop" and hit the brake. (I know it's not right but I was passing an empty parking space AND THESE. THESE--ARE GOLD.)

Bo Nuage Pastry Shop

I just peeked inside and knew I could use one.  I was looking at 45+ minutes in traffic and needed a little spot of joy in my car ride.

Merveilleux in Almond, Coffee, PB, Snickerdoodle, R. Velvet, Choc/Mint, Raspberry & Chocolate

Caramel & Coconut Merveilleux

These are a version of merveilleux, of which there are many.  Chocolate curls substituted for the traditional chocolate shavings.  I thought maybe I'll just get two minis instead of one regular so I could try a few...

Oops.

I got a touch greedy and went for a regular size Snickerdoodle merveilleux and two minis; one vanilla and one coffee.  

Snickerdoodle Merveilleux.  

It had a bonus cookie on top! I couldn't not. You understand.  This would have been my husband's favorite if it had made it home :) ;D

Vanilla Merveilleux Mini

Coffee Merveilleux Mini

You see what I mean?  You know you're doing wrong but it just feels right.  And traffic is bad in LA. You deserve this.

Vanilla Bake Shop

Vanilla Bake Shop

This little counter is in LAX.  I noticed they had a menu featuring different cupcake flavors for different days. I loved that.

I decided against my favorites; the almond croissant and the vanilla cupcake for a giant cookie.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookie

This was a great cookie.  Very large (like the size of a cd). Warm it would have been even better but it is in an airport. It had these huge chunks of toffee in it and I have never experienced huge chunks of toffee in a cookie before. Nickel sized chunks of toffee.  I tried it at home and it didn't work out so well. I ate half of this cookie on a plane to London and the other half once I got to my apartment.  It was like taking a piece of home.