Just before leaving Buenos Aires, I rushed to Louis XV, a pastry shop near my hotel, to buy cookies--not for me, but for my cat. Miss Lily adores palmeritas, the flaky twists that are known as palmiers in European bakeries and orejas in Mexican panaderias.
The night I brought her home, she snatched a Mexican sugar cookie from my hand. I knew then that I had to keep her, because she appreciated good food as much as I do. 
Miss Lily had been dumped in downtown Los Angeles. Sensing that we had something in common, she had shrieked at me from the plants where she was hiding.
Her tastes are eclectic—broccoli, asparagus tips, fresh corn kernels and other things yet to be revealed. But her passion is cookies. Crisp cookies. Nothing soft or cake-like.
Argentine palmeritas are her favorites, because they’re so small. Those at Louis XV are barely an inch across—just her size.
Palmeras are larger, suitable for humans. Especially the chocolate-dipped palmeras at Del Pilar, across the street from Louis XV, where I often eat breakfast. But I couldn’t take those home. There was space for only one small box in my carry-on, and I couldn’t disappoint Miss Lily. She is nice enough to share, though. I get one bite before she grabs the rest, dashing away with her prize while I clean up the crumbs.
Palmeritas are 4 pesos for 100 grams ($1.30 for about ¼ pound) at Louis XV Bomboneria and Pasteleria, Avenida Las Heras 2068, Recoleta, Buenos Aires. Tel: 4809-0011.
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