Normandie Bakery, Hazlet/Monmouth Co. Bakeries

Definitely not the first time I have been here, but being in charge of finger foods and desserts for Super Bowl party I made this one of my stops. I
don’t recall ever being disappointed with anything I have purchased here.
If you like those little color cookies, the pink,yellow green ones with apricot or raspberry jam, then this is the place.
The bakery says they are originally from Brooklyn, but so am I and I don’t remember half these places in NJ that say they are from Brooklyn.
If you are in the area, I would stop in as they have a very nice selection and pick up a thing or two I think you would like it.

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That area isn’t exactly in my back yard, however I do go to J&M Bakery a few miles south on 35 from here. Best Italian cookies around!

I am so glad you mentioned that bakery because I had been reading such glowing reviews for such a long time and we always say “next time we pass by…”. Well, several months ago was that time. The store which was much smaller then expected, as was their selection, was manned by 2 gossipy teenagers who eyed me as the new kid in town and whispered amongst themselves which made me feel very uncomfortable in such small surroundings. They really didn’t have what I was hoping they did and those tri-colored cookies that I love, looked unappealing. Regardless, we purchased a cake, and a pie due to their reputation.
The blueberry pie was just ordinary, nothing special at all. The cake was such a disappointment. It was dry and thrown out after a piece or two.
My feeling is that people who rave about this bakery haven’t tried Normandie. Either that or I went there on a really off day.

I’ve had a cpl things from Normandie and nothing was Wow, but as I’ve found with bakeries around here, I may not have gotten something they specialize in. Will have to try again, as I’m a huge fan of tri-colered cookies.
I;'ve had very good experiences at J&M, but I’ve stuck to mostly Italian style stuff, no pies. Have enjoyed their cakes too, but think we mostly special order there for birthdays.

Abbate Bakery in Matawan is excellent, too. Once again however, it seems to come down to personal taste just like anything else. I am starting to think that we were the couple of oddballs that didn’t care for J & M ;).
GO METS ‘18!

Can highly recommend Normandie. Never had a bad item from there. Their cakes are delicious, as are the mini pastries. I love the petit fours coated in marzipan. I just love the aroma when you walk in. They even have pizza dough in their fridge.

They also have an orange card (do not know the name off-hand) that you can swipe for points. Every 20 purchases or so gets you a free cake. Not bad when you consider the purchase can be any amount of money (a cup of coffee counts the same as a $20 cake).