San Mateo’s Bonjour Bakehouse continues its festive selection of cookies

For Bernaudin, the artistry is nearly as important as the quality of flavor. The double chocolate cookies with red and green pearls, for instance, were specifically crafted to have a vibrant aesthetic. 

“It’s dark chocolate, so the cookie is super dark, and then there is a beautiful contrast of red and green,” he said. “It looks really nice.”

While the bakery is known for its delicious scones, the focus on holiday-flavored cookies allows them to sell and ship gift baskets throughout the country. In fact, that’s how the business first started before expanding into the current cafe and bakery. 

“Cookies are easier to ship, and they stay really fresh for five, six days,” he said. 

Customers can choose gift boxes that include cookies, tea, coffee or cocoa — and perhaps mostly famously, dulce.

“It has the texture of nutella, but instead it’s made with fruit,  and it is extremely tasty,” Bernaudin said. “It’s just fruit, butter, cream and sugar, so there’s no artificial stuff or oil or anything like that.”

Dulce is available at Bakehouse year-round — pairing nicely with the scones — and it makes the ideal addition to a holiday gift box, given its popularity. Flavors include pear, strawberry, pumpkin and raspberry. 

The bakery gears up to ship lots of gift boxes this time of year, but it is also looking forward to welcoming more customers in person. Just recently, it began offering both indoor and outdoor seating, expanding from their previous order-at-the-window setup. The update was a long time coming, given the bakery relies on word of mouth and community focus, he said.

“My girls bring their friends and come help out. One year, we had six or seven kids helping out, bagging cookies and packing and boxing,” he said. “It’s all very family oriented.”