Short n Sweet - new bakery in Hilo

Maria Short and her husband Dien opened their Short n Sweet bakery in Hawi in 2006, but they've recently moved to the old O'Keefe & Son's Bakery on 374 Kinoole Street in Hilo. Maria, the baker, was a full time pastry chef at Kukio Resort and Beach Club, and before that she was a pastry instructor for the merchant marines.

The bakery is open 7 days a week: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Saturday, Sunday 8 - 3. We went for a short holoholo downtown and decided to stop by in the late afternoon for a snack.
The shop itself is quaint. Nothing fussy. Just a few tables to sit at, the day's local paper on a table, and a few pieces of everything. I liked the way the coconut and banana bread was just on their own wooden cutting board. It just showed that if you order it, she'll cut it. It had that made from scratch feel because there wasn't a huge amount of items.

Diner 3 chose the lilikoi bar ($2.95)

 The lilikoi bar was tart and fresh without being over sugared. The shortbread bottom was light and buttery, not too crumbly and not too soft. Yummy. Diner 3 ended up eating most of it, but a little was enough for me.

Diner 2 chose the German chocolate bar ($2.35)

There's something seriously yummy about this. I think it's the quality of the chocolate. It had a pure, natural taste to it - again, not too sweet, but just right. The bar had a little bit of chewiness to it and I felt like there were surprises hidden in the bar. The coconut topping tasted fresh, not packaged. This was my personal favorite. On their website, they say that everything is made fresh daily and they use imported Swiss or Belgian chocolate and cocoa powder, real vanilla, fresh butter, pure evaporated cane juice and fresh fruits. That seems to have made a difference.

Diner 2 also chose the lemon cloud, a baked lemon meringue ($1.25)

I personally don't go for anything that looks like a marshmallow, but this was really good. It's firm and a little crumbly, but when I put it in my mouth, it's like flavored air, with just a subtle hint of lemon, too subtle to remember, which means you have to take another bite, then another.

On the day we went, they also had chocolate chip cookies, flourless chocolate cake, key lime pie, roasted pineapple bread pudding and raspberry rugelach. If you want to eat more hearty fare, they serve panini sandwiches with homemade focaccia bread and salads.

If you're planning to go to Short n Sweet, it's a cash only establishment, although they do have an ATM in the store.