Up until a few days ago I was, to plainly put it, a Crumbl virgin. If you’re new to TikTok or Food Tok, Crumbl is a chain restaurant known for their gourmet weekly rotating cookie menu. What began in 2017 with a college student and his cousin trying to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie, quickly grew into a franchise that attracted hungry dessert lovers to their 215 locations.
After seeing mouth watering Crumbl review TikToks of soft pillowy shortbread or molten brownie sundae cookies, I had to try for myself. A one hour drive and six cookies later, here’s a definitive ranking of this week’s cookies, worst to best from a former Crumbl virgin.
6. Sea Salt Toffee
When I first opened the notorious pink Crumbl box, this is definitely not the cookie I anticipated to live at the bottom of this list. As my family and I taste tested the cookies, when we came across the toffee one they said, “Wait I thought this was the chocolate chip.” A rotating weekly selection of cookies promises six unique flavor profiles, and unfortunately the nutty, caramel crunch, just fell short. Significantly less adorned with candies than the chocolate chip, the toffee cookie lacks personality.
5. Chocolate Cake
If you were debating pouring yourself a glass of milk, you’ll definitely need it at this point. Featuring a rich cocoa-y cookie, with a soft center similar to a brownie, the Chocolate Cake Cookie is definitely made for chocolate lovers. The fudge topped frosting is similar to the beloved and nostalgic canned frosting lining the grocery store aisles, cloyingly sweet, but somehow in the best way possible.
4. Peach Cobbler
In terms of qualifications as a cookie, this one is slightly more controversial. Served in an aluminum mini pie tin, the peach Crumbl cookie has the appearance of a mini pie. Its inability to hold its own shape, due to serving it hot, makes its cookie status contestable. After all, cookies are notoriously a finger food…so shouldn’t they be served naked, and not boxed in an aluminum armor? Regardless of my skepticism, the cinnamon flavor of the cookie crust was similar to that of a snickerdoodle, while the peaches inside were golden and syrupy. My two complaints are that this cookie (if we can call it that) is noticeably smaller than the other five, and the glaze advertised on the Crumbl TikTok tends to melt when served warm.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie
The cookie that started it all. When Crumbl began as a small shop in Logan, Utah, they only sold this insanely large chocolate chip cookie with molten milk chocolate chips embedded throughout. With a glass of milk, you can never go wrong with a classic, and Crumbl’s chocolate chip cookie hits all the buttery and chocolatey notes of nostalgia.
2. Cake Batter
If you’ve ever tried Christina Tosi’s famous Milk Bar birthday cake and confetti cookie, this cookie rolls both textures into one. With a warm, soft center, this cookie base’s notes of vanilla are reminiscent of biting into a warm chunk of cake just from the oven, except with a little more denseness. The cream cheese frosting is studded with mini confetti cake batter balls for a finish that melts in your mouth with a little tang. I’d eat this cookie just as quickly as I’d lick a spoon of cake batter.
1. Strawberries N’ Cream
Served chilled, this cookie is reminiscent of a strawberry shortcake, but a bit lighter. Instead of a clunky biscuit and somewhat deflated whip cream, the Strawberries N’ Cream cookie features a soft vanilla cake cookie, that crumbles like a shortbread but is moist like a cake pop, and a ring of lightly sweetened whipped cream filled with juicy red strawberries. This cookie’s top marks derived from its summery vibe; personally, I’ve never had a cookie served chilled, however the fruit topping and cool whip cream only makes me think…why hasn’t anyone thought of this sooner?
Overall, as a TikTok sensation, Crumbl cookies are definitely worth a try. Their weekly rotating selection of cookies offers enough novelty for customers to continually return, while their staple chocolate chip cookie offers some sense of comfort and stability to the menu. With a baby pink box and cookies that are decorated like cupcakes, with frostings, toppings, drizzles, and even cake crumbles, it’s easy to see why this business was made for social media. It’s perfectly Instagrammable or TikTok trendy. The only thing to be careful of is the ever present growing ring of butter soaked cardboard around each cookie. They’re almost too decadent for a second bite.