Crumbl Cookie Craze
A cookie company that rose to fame through viral views on social media, Crumbl Cookies has swept the nation in a thick, extra-large cookie craze. Crumbl Cookies originated in 2017 and quickly grew in popularity for novelty cookie flavors that are placed on a weekly rotation, keeping their customers engaged, eager, and hungry every week for a new cookie lineup.
Far from its humble bakery beginnings in Utah, Crumbl Cookie has franchised its business model to span over 600 stores in 49 states as of 2022, with a company valuation in the millions. It is fair to say, their cookies are a big deal. They offer delivery, and catering, and have a custom-built app to coordinate fresh cookies at the tap of your fingers. Impressively, the cookies are still made fresh onsite every day in each store, some are decorated to order, and they have a rotating menu of specialty flavors varying by region. It’s no surprise the response I received after posting a poll of which cookie companies my viewer base wanted to see me taste and review would unanimously vote for Crumbl Cookies.
I have followed Crumbl Cookies on Instagram since around 2019 when I was looking for cookie inspiration for my home bakery. Coming from a business background and half of an MBA degree (at some point in my life I should finish it. But first, cookies.) I have been in awe of their marketing, branding, and business strategy. It is impressive to create such a cult following while growing at an exponential rate over the last 6 years. Their use of social media, primarily TikTok, gave the company a boost to connect with the community and in turn spread the word about their cookies like wildfire.
The following is a review of my experience with Crumbl Cookies and my review of the six flavors that were in rotation this week: Nilla Cupcake, Strawberry Crunch, Pink Sugar Cookie, Honey Cornbread, PBJ, Milk Chocolate Chip. I have created a checklist to keep my thoughts, notes, and reviews as objective as possible. All of the comments I have made here are my personal opinions. The Crumbl Cookies store I purchased cookies from is located at Southpark Meadows in Austin, Texas.
Crumbl-America’s Next Top Cookie?
I will be reviewing Crumbl Cookies based on 6 deciding factors: appearance, taste, texture, price/value, service/transport.
Appearance
The small bakery is for counter service only, no chairs or tables inside the bakery to eat cookies on site. I will note the store was very clean and organized-white walls, white tiled floor, and minimalistic style with the pops of their signature pink packaging and industrial bakery equipment behind the plexiglass workstations. The employees were wearing gloves and hats, and as far as I could see following food safety rules. The bakery was small with two ovens, two warmers, two workspaces in the front, and two industrial mixers filled with freshly made cookie dough being scooped for the day onto large baking sheets.
The cookies were on display at the front by the register. They were extra-large cookies about 5 inches in diameter and, satisfyingly, all uniform and identical in size. I love it when cookies are perfectly round in a lineup of differing flavors. The decorations on top of the specialty cookies were neatly placed and aesthetically pleasing.
The cookies packaged for my order were carefully handled with the frosted cookie varieties, the honey cornbread cookie, and the PBJ cookies all decorated to order.
Appearance:5/5
Taste
The flavors offered were fun and exciting, I could see how people get hyped and eager to try the new ‘flavor drop’ Crumbl advertises every Sunday. I was looking forward to trying them all when I arrived home.
After trying all 6 varieties of cookies they are overwhelmingly sweet. There is some nuance of flavor with the featured flavors but the taste at the end of every bite and thereafter is bland, overly sweet, and not memorable.
My least favorite was the Corn Cookie. The frosting lacked honey flavor and sat on top of the honey-drizzled corn cookie as a mass of powdered sugar-tasting butter. Not in a pleasant buttercream way but as a lump of lightly sweetened and unwhipped butter with a greasy flavor. The honey drizzle made the cookie feel soggy and sticky and added extra sweetness to an already sweet cookie base. The flavor had a hint of corn but was overwhelmed with a cloying sugary flavor.
My favorite cookie was the PBJ, a chilled cookie. The peanut butter flavor was present in the cookie and in the peanut butter mousse piped on top. I like the layering of peanut butter present in two different forms in this cookie. While the cookie lacked salt for my taste, it was wonderfully balanced by the tart raspberry jam on top. The raspberry jam was made with real raspberry puree as the dainty seeds were visible. The cookie is meant to be eaten chilled and I recommend enjoying chilled as well. Eating the cookie chilled subdued the overly sweet nature these cookies possess.
The Nilla Cupcake and Pink Frosted were decent-tasting cookies. I appreciated the flecks of vanilla bean in the Nilla Cupcake cookie and it had a nice warm vanilla aftertaste after taking a bite. The Pink Frosted tasted like a sugar cookie with frosting. I didn’t taste any notes of vanilla or almond in the frosting.
The Strawberry Crunch reminded me of a strawberry pop-tart on crack. It had the flavor of artificial strawberry which was very nostalgic for me as a kid growing up in the 90s where pop tarts were part of a balanced healthy breakfast. The white chips however took a sweet cookie and made it sweeter, so I could only eat a small bite at a time before it became overwhelming.
The chocolate chip cookie was made with brown sugar and milk chocolate chips and was a decent cookie. A classic flavor, it had a nice ratio of chocolate chips to dough and the chips used were a standard large milk chocolate chip. This was also a very sweet cookie but that is to be expected with most chocolate chip cookies. I would have loved a sprinkle of salt on top to balance the sugar in the cookie.
Taste: 2/5 (overall for the 6 cookies)
Texture
I am no stranger to enjoying soft-baked doughy cookies. I think there are a lot of people like me who enjoy the variety of textures a cookie can offer in one bite. These cookies unanimously were thick, dough-like, and fudgy in texture.
There was no variance in textures other than the crusting of the frostings on the frosted cookies and the crunch bits on the Strawberry Crunch cookie. Every cookie base had the same thick and doughy texture which became a bit too much like paste when eating. They were hard to get through, after every bite the cookie turned into a thick sticky paste in my mouth.
The texture of the corn cookie was the worst offender as it had a buttery greasy frosting dollop paired with a thick doughy cookie containing bits of hard cornmeal throughout every bite. It reminded me of uncooked cornbread batter as I was eating it and it was not pleasant. The honey drizzle made it soggy and sticky at the same time and the cookie fell apart in several places as I cut it up. I was not a fan of this cookie as you can see for several reasons.
The cold cookies seemed to hold up better and had a better texture with a tiny bit of crunch from the frostings. Although the frostings were fairly soft when eaten together with the cookie also created a very stodgy mouth feel when eating.
None of the cookies had crisp edges and they fell short of any textural variety. They all turned into sticky paste during the tasting and ended up being sadly underwhelming. I could understand someone liking cookies with a soft doughy texture, however, it got boring for me after the third bite. I felt like I was trying to chew through the dough with nothing to spark my mouth in interest or keep my tastebuds engaged.
Texture: 2/5
Price/Value
Crumbl Cookies are extra-large, weighing in at approximately 5 ounces each. The cost for the 6 cookies (this is in my area, price may vary in your area per the Crumbl website www.crumblcookies.com) was $22.70 and for the amount of sweet treats you receive, it’s a good deal. The cookies are made to be shared, they offer cookie cutters that can easily chop a cookie into quarters, making them even more cost-effective if you are serving these to a group. I was only able to eat a few bites of each cookie so if you are interested in purchasing these, start small or buy to share with friends.
When I visited the Crumbl store they were making, scooping, and baking fresh cookies while I was waiting for my order. The specialty cookies were frosted and decorated to order adding good value to the cookie experience. This kind of cookie experience is something you would find from a small bakery or home bakery, attention to detail for every customer’s order gets a high rating from me in this category.
Price/Value: 5/5
Smell
The bakery itself didn’t have that classic bakery smell. You know the smell I am talking about, caramelized sugar, sweet, hot, wafts of vanilla floating through the air. Maybe a slight tickle in your nostrils of toasted butter and flour you can start to taste at the back of your throat. Standing in line you eagerly wait to get your hands on a delicate morsel to quench your tastebuds thirst for sugar. Yeah, I didn’t experience that here.
The bakery smelled of butter and sugar in its raw forms, not a bad thing but this smell did translate to the cookies as well. They smelled like powdered sugar and butter, and a little floury.
Well, what the hell are cookies supposed to smell like? Isn’t that what cookies are made of sugar, butter, flour? In my defense, they smelled good, but I am used to baking several different varieties of cookies and love a toasty caramel color to most of the goods I bake. These were lacking in that home-baked smell I have gotten used to, and admittedly, have been very spoiled to grow accustomed to over the years.
Smell: 4/5
Service/Transport
The staff at Crumbl Cookies were very friendly. I was greeted coming through the door with smiles and very prompt service. The cookies were packaged immaculately, the signature pink box custom-fitted to transport cookies securely. They didn’t slide in the packaging during the 20-minute drive home and only the very tip of the corn cookies frosting slightly transferred to the top of the box.
Service/Transport:5/5
Total: 23/30
Final Thoughts
Although these are very sweet and very doughy cookies, there is a time and place for novelty sweet treats. I think the rotating flavors are fun and would recommend trying them if you are at all curious about what the hype is about. They would be a fun gift for friends or family, or a nice treat to take to work or an event as the cookie shop is open from 8 am-10 pm daily. They are large and sweet enough for sharing with a crowd while also not breaking the bank. If you are not a fan of overly sweet treats or prefer crisp cookies instead of soft-baked, I would pass on these.
Will I be repurchasing these cookies? They are too sweet and lack the depth of flavor and complexity I am looking for in a cookie. I won’t be repurchasing these cookies, but I am glad I was able to try them. I do admire Crumbl Cookies in terms of their business model and increasing cookie awareness worldwide.
For more information about Crumbl Cookies please visit their website at www.crumblcookies.com.
**Did you like this review? Would you like to see more? Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more cookie content and recipes. Cookie Tastings are a new segment of my blog and I look forward to tasting more cookies and sharing with you. Thank You.**
