Abbey's Bake House - Muskoka

One look at the chocolate chip brownie cookie and you'll wonder if you're in heaven.  This cross-confection combo (which we're coining 'the brookie') is like exactly what it sounds - a brownie baked into the centre of a chocolate chip cookie (also amusingly making the cookie appear like it's with child).

But at Abbey's it's not just the pastries you'll fall in love with.  The Bake House is set up inside a 19th century church on the shores of Lake Rosseau.  The building itself was uprooted from Digby, Nova Scotia to the tiny town of Minett, Ontario where it was then rebuilt.  And it couldn't have found a more picturesque place to settle.  Locals and visitors alike enjoy their treats while sitting outside in one of the bakery's white Muskoka chairs overlooking the lake.

Inside, sunlight streams through the church's stained-glass windows lighting up Abbey's baked goods, which range from the traditional (apple crumble pie, gluten free peanut butter cookies, cranberry scones, intensely gooey pecan cinnamon buns), to the more inventive (focaccia with strips of bacon on top, maple bacon butter tarts, lemon tart pie, blueberry citrus glaze muffins, trail mix muffins with carrot, coconut, apple, zucchini, walnuts and berries).
Along the back wall under the chalkboard menu are gorgeous loaves of sour dough and multigrain, and other focaccia like sea salt and olive oil, and parmesan.
Sandwiches include ham and swiss, turkey and provolone, egg salad, and tuna salad.  Quiches - ham and swiss, bacon and asparagus, and broccoli, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato.

If you need an ice cream fix, they scoop Kawartha Dairy.  If you need BBQ supplies like hamburger and hotdog buns, they've got them. And if the city slicker in you needs a Starbucks, well you're in luck because that's what they brew.

Abbey's Bake House in Minett is open 7 days a week (8am-5pm) from the May 2-4 long weekend up until Labour Day.  After that they're open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until Thanksgiving. Same goes for their Port Carling location.  In Toronto the owners of Abbey's have Petit Four Bakery in South Commerce Court at Bay and Wellington.  They offer some of the same baked goods but have more sandwich and lunch options.