Just Desserts: Big Bear Cookies

If you’ve never had the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a chewy, chocolatey, heavenly chunk of cookie in Beijing, then clearly you’ve never torn open a hand-stamped, slightly greasy brown paper pouch of Big Bear Cookies. I have, and now I’m here to send a message: To all the Oreos I bought in 7-Eleven on bad days or boozy nights, I was wrong. 

The man behind the madness is Jon Ellis, who, dare we say, has his hands in many a cookie jar in Beijing. He plays in a band, has whipped up cocktails at 4corners and now has a full-on baking operation taking place in his fair-sized kitchen (for this city’s standards). He has managed to snag a whole pantry for himself (he keeps his roommates quiet by stuffing cookies in their mouths), two electric ovens, and a set of high-quality kitchen implements that we found safety-conscious Ellis using upon our arrival. In fact, every part of his operation is meticulous, from how many times he stirs the batter to allow for ideal bonding of ingredients, right down to the chocolate chips, which he likes to make by hand. But don’t be fooled into thinking he majored in chemistry – it was anthropology that captured his attention in college, leading to his fascination with how cultural intersection affects food trends and innovation. His idol is Chef Dominique Ansel, the inventor of the Cronut. Will we see a successful Chinese twist on the chocolate chip cookie in Ellis’s kitchen? 

For now, Ellis has three main types of soft cookies for sale, with two Christmas cookies in the works: a classic sugar cookie with a twist and a candy cane chocolate chip. Ellis is working on getting his website up and running, but in the meantime, email him your order or hunt them down yourself at The Corner Melt. 

Delivery only, bigbearbakedgoods@gmail.com (186 0114 4427). Also available at The Corner Melt.
 

Photos: Sui