MotionSweets made a splash a few years ago when they opened their macaron-centered bakery in Five Points. Adrian and Megan had been baking and selling their macarons at markets in Jax for awhile at that point, but signing a lease to open a store is a big leap. We’re so glad they took it. MotionSweets has some of the most heralded macarons in Jax. If you’ve been to MotionSweets you get it. They are always fresh, there are always imaginative flavors on rotation, and they are just so darn pretty! Adrian told us they started with about 10 flavors and have over 100 flavors they have developed over the years.
The newest development for MotionSweets is MotionSweetsAM, a breakfast line of freshly baked gourmet pastries. After over six months of development, Adrian asked us to come try what they had come up with ahead of the launch. We sampled a Black Forest Ham, Gouda, and Spinach Egg Souffle, Biscoff Cookie Butter Muffin, Coffee Cake, Blueberry Danish, Cinnamon Roll, Strawberry Poptart, Vanilla Bean Biscotti, Lemon Lavender Scone, Chicken and Waffle Macaron, Croissant, and a personalized Sugar Cookie. The thing to know is We.Loved.Everything. Truly. The flavors ran the gamut and were executed at the highest level.
MotionSweetsAM sticks close to the grab-and-go style MotionSweets already operates on. A variety of breakfast pastries will be available (flavors changing day to day), including some savory options with the souffle and croissant. As always, any item can be warmed, just ask.
MotionSweetsAM Pastry Board
Here is a more detailed rundown of each pastry:
Biscoff Cookie Butter Muffin: I expected this to taste like a sugar bomb (hello, cookie butter!), but it was very well balanced. It had all the flavor of cookie butter without the sickeningly sweet kick I was expecting. I could eat an entire muffin for breakfast and not feel sugared out. The muffin was moist and the crumbly top added texture.
Coffeecake: This is not your grocery store coffeecake. The bottom cake layer simply melted in my mouth. Just like the Biscoff Cookie Butter Muffin it was sweet but not sickeningly sweet. This was the best coffeecake I have ever eaten.
Blueberry Danish: The blueberry filling was made of (get this) blueberries, right there in the kitchen. It was superb. Having eaten this danish will make it easier to pass up every other subpar danish in breakrooms across America. When you’ve had the best there is no need for imposters any longers.
Cinnamon Roll: The cinnamon roll will be familiar to MotionSweets fans. Offered for breakfast, with copious cinnamon sugar throughout and icing that tastes like grandma’s, these fluffy clouds of goodness put the mall variety to shame.
Strawberry Poptart: The fresh from scratch poptart has been popping up in bakeries across America and now it’s time for Jax to shine. MotionSweets is the third breakfast spot in town to start offering from scratch poptarts, but the demand is enormous. These are definitely one of the sweetest pastries at MotionSweetsAM, so if you have a sweet tooth (or if you’re feeling nostalgic) it’s definitely for you. Like the danish, the filling of the poptart was made from actual fruit. The visual of these handmade beauties is just so darn adorable you might not be able to turn it down.
Vanilla Bean Biscotti: Handmade biscotti is delightfully different from its packaged counterpart. This biscotti is sliced thin and has a fantastic snap to it, but unlike the packaged variety it has tons of flavor and it won’t break your teeth. MotionSweets serves excellent local coffee, so if you’re in the mood for a cup make sure to get some biscotti along with it.
Lemon Lavender Scone: This scone is a perfect size and the two dueling flavors complement each other perfectly. Each flavor is apparent in your first bite, but neither overpowers the other. This is a great item to try warmed up.
Chicken and Waffle Macaron: MotionSweets has always offered unique flavors that actually taste the food they are supposed to. From fruit loops to blueberry cheesecake to german chocolate, MotionSweets consistently nails the execution. The Chicken and Waffle macaron is no different. It was a little crazy to eat because you got the maple syrup flavor and then the salty fried chicken right after it, but it was legit. If you are ever at MotionSweets and debating about which macaron flavors to get, go with the most unexpected one. It will knock your socks off.
Croissant: Croissants are pretty straightforward, because who has never had a croissant before? Except this is not your average croissant. It’s moist and buttery and melts in your mouth because it was actually made right there in the kitchen that day. You’ll think twice about that case of croissants at Costco after you eat a MotionsSweets croissant.
Iced Sugar Cookie: This is a thin sugar cookie decorated with royal icing, so it’s pretty sweet. Unlike a lot of decorated sugar cookies, it’s not a thick monstrosity that crumbles the moment you bite into it. The unbitten part holds its shape, plus it has a buttery flavor from the cookie playing with the sweetness of the icing. MotionSweets does personalized cookies, so call them the next time you need some cookies decorated around a theme.
Black Forest Ham, Gouda, and Spinach Egg Souffle: I saved this for last for a reason. It was the piece de resistance. Which is saying something since everything else was so delicious. But this souffle blew us away. I’m not so much a ham person, so I probably would have skipped it had I just been looking around in the store. Do not skip the souffle, it doesn’t matter what the flavor is. We had it warm and I suspect that is the best way to eat it. This souffle was greater than the sum of its parts. It was melty and moist and savory, and I felt French just eating it. The closest thing I have ever had to this is the egg souffles at Panera, but those don’t hold a candle to MotionSweets souffles. This is perfection baked in a dish.
Black Forest Ham, Gouda, and Egg Souffle
MotionSweets has a new pastry chef, Ruth Elozory, a recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. It’s been a team effort between Adrian, Megan, and Ruth, but clearly they share a vision and integrity for their new endeavor, MotionSweetsAM. We’re excited for MotionSweets to elevate the pastry game in Jax, and we’re rooting for their success.
MotionSweetsAM launches on Tuesday, June 27, but if you want to taste everything ahead of the launch, join us for our MotionSweetsAM Brunch this Sunday, June 25. We have an 11:30am seating and a 1:30pm seating and tickets have been flying. We hope to see you there, but more than anything we hope you stop in for a morning pick-me-up with MotionSweetsAM.