New York Bakery Gets New Pope Cookies Out, Pronto

Everyone has been making a fuss today about Artuso Pastry Shop in the Bronx in New York, as the bakery known for their Pope Benedict cookies (cookies with Pope Benedict XVI's face on them, obviously) somehow churned out Pope Francis cookies by Thursday morning.

The New York Times reports that Artuso's owners had been waiting for the new pope announcement when Pope Benedict XVI retired, as Natalie Corridori, manager, kept getting calls from customers. "So many people were calling for pope cookies and we didn't know who the new pope would be," Corridori told The New York Times. Demand was so high that they eventually caved and created cookies with question marks for a face. Of course, as life tends to work out, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was then announced as the new pope, right before they started printing their new cookies.

"When it was announced, I called my parents, and they sounded like we just won the World Cup," Corridori said.

The cookies are made from a bakery black and white cookie, then topped with a layer of icing printed with the pope's photo. And while the cookies are fairly popular (Artuso sold nearly 100 Pope Francis cookies by midday), Corridori still baked up a final tray of Pope Benedict XVI cookies, just for collectors. Now debate the religious implications of eating these cookies amongst yourselves.