Flour power.

At the end of a meeting marathon/spreadsheet extravaganza at work -- maybe on a long, rainy commute home -- do you ever daydream about quitting it all for the job of your dreams?

That's what Joanne Chang did.

The owner of Flour Bakery quit her job as a consultant to start a career in food and ultimately open the pastry shop she always wanted. Thank goodness she did, because now we can all enjoy the delicious eats and treats at Flour Bakery.

By this point, you already know about my love for sweets (need I hyperlink more words?), but Flour has everything from breakfast to dessert: fresh salads, seasonal soups, flaky-crust quiches, decadent granola bars, crusty bread, buttery croissants, mouth-watering tarts, light-as-air meringues, rich layer cakes...it's all baked in-house and absolutely delicious. They even have nightly "take-out" (if it makes it out of the shop) dinner specials which I have yet to sample but look spectacular. (I took a hasty photo in line while waiting to pay.)

I've been there a few times for breakfast, lunch, or a snack (or perhaps a snack food for breakfast...), but this time I focused on cookies. I picked out four to share:

(Pictured from back to front)

• Ginger molasses: feeding my recent ginger addiction, I knew the sweet spiciness would hit the spot, and that the crunch from the big sugar crystals would be a perfect complement to the chewiness of the molasses cookie (I was right on both counts)
• Cornmeal lime: chewy yet slightly crumbly, these soft golden clouds had a lovely acidic bite from the lime glaze (the only other cookies I've had with cornmeal are a favorite Italian recipe my mom makes, also paired with citrus...stay tuned for the recipe)
• "Oreo": I had to resist the urge to twist the oversized cookies apart and lick out the cream filling -- buttercream deliciousness sandwiched between two slightly soft, slightly crumbly chocolate wafers (even though I didn't twist on anything, I totally got my wish)
• Milk chocolate hazelnut: fans of Ritter chocolate and Ferrero Rocher, this one's for you: toasty, buttery hazelnuts and just the right amount of salt perfectly balanced against the creamy milk chocolate (better than any fancy chocolate I've had)

We should work hard to keep in business the company that drove this woman to follow her dreams.

Find Flour Bakery in one of three locations in the Greater Boston Area:

• Fort Point Channel 12 Farnsworth St., Boston MA 02210
• South End 1595 Washington St., Boston MA 02118
• Central Square 190 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139