Howick and Pakuranga Times - 15th June 2006:
Click here to see the article on the Times website.

Keen on Cookies
Thursday, 15 June 2006

Out & About with Helen Perry

COOKIE Bear may have drummed up a lot of business for Griffins but for locals seeking a really great ‘bicky’ the place to visit is Kea Cookies on the corner of Elliot and Wellington Streets in Howick.

Racing past recently, I did an about turn and dashed in to stock up on some dunkers (you know hard biscuits that soak up the liquid when dunked in tea or coffee).

As usual, founder and owner of the past 19 years Noel Schelling was behind the counter and helped me load up with almond bickies, real butter shortbread (just heavenly) and family favourite, Anzac biscuits.

The great thing about the homestyle Kea Cookie range is that almost everything is gluten-free or dairy-free or both.

Noel says he bakes some 10 different dairy and egg-free biscuits and eight varieties of gluten, wheat, dairy and egg-free cookies – ideal for people with allergies or suffering from coeliac’s disease.

Of course, Kea Cookies does supply to health shops and supermarkets but the Wellington St shop is ideally situated for locals and is open Monday to Friday 7am-1pm.

And there is a heap of flavours to choose from such as chocolate chip, gingernut, hokey pokey, peanut brownie, fruit and spice, coconut, cinnamon-treacle, Macadamian nut, oatbran and more.

I took my cookies home intending to leave behind a full cookie jar when we departed on holiday but between three of us, the butter shortbread disappeared in a night (very, very yummy) and the almond cookies didn’t stand a show of lasting more than a couple of days.

That left the Anzacs. I put a padlock on the jar and it was, “woe betide anyone who touches the Anzacs before we go.”

However, I’ve been warned, “you won’t be half way down the drive, mum, and guess what I’ll be having?” I don’t have to guess, I know, the Anzacs won’t have a chance to see the light of day. 


Paul Holmes Breakfast Show on Newstalk ZB - 2005:

Click here to listen to what happened when we sent some biscuits to Paul Holmes at his breakfast show on Newstalk ZB.