Eating Edmonton: Crumbl Cookies

I’d like to make it clear that I am not a huge fan of cookies. When it comes to baked goods, I enjoy things like macarons and mini cupcakes.

However, I have a small refined list of cookies that I absolutely adore, and enjoy each time. Although the cookies looked scrumptious online, Crumbl Cookies did not make that list.

I’ve always wanted to try Crumbl, so you best believe that I — along with many Edmontonians — was excited when the first ever Canadian location opened in Edmonton. Crumbl held its grand opening at 5041 Mullen Road on March 31, and was met with a very long line of people.

I ventured to Crumbl on April 6 in the afternoon. To my dismay, I was met with a long line, in which I stood for one hour and twenty-five minutes. A worker came out at one point to apologize for the wait, and they said that customers get cookies straight from the oven, which is why it takes so long.

I didn’t really care about the long line, as the time went by fast. But my thought process was that, if so many people are willing to wait in line for this long, the cookies must be heavenly, superb, and any other synonym for ‘perfectly delicious.’ That did not end up being true.

My first bone to pick with Crumbl is the pricing. For $5.49 you can buy a single cookie, for $18.99 you can buy four cookies, for $26.99 you can buy six cookies, and for a whopping $49.99 you can buy 12 cookies. For that kind of price, you would expect delicious, satisfying cookies — qualities that were not found in the very sweet and at times underbaked Crumbl cookies that I bought.

What makes Crumbl special is their weekly rotating menu, which is chosen from 200 plus flavours that Crumbl has created. The six cookie flavours for that week were milk chocolate chip, lemon glaze, maple cinnamon roll, chocolate mallow cupcake, carrot cake, and sugar with candy eggs on top.

I was most excited to try lemon glaze, but so was everyone else — by the time I got to the front of the line, lemon glaze was sold out. Because milk chocolate chip is a basic cookie, I chose to buy a six pack with the remaining four flavours.

The worst cookie from the bunch was the maple cinnamon roll, which did not look appetizing to begin with. The first bite was too sweet and overpowering, and I wasn’t getting a maple or cinnamon flavour. Once the actual flavour kicked in, the cinnamon roll filling and the maple frosting did not pair well together.

I had high expectations for the chocolate mallow cupcake cookie because presentation-wise, it looked the tastiest. Unfortunately, the chocolate dough and the artificial-tasting chocolate frosting left a weird aftertaste behind. Even though it was overwhelming, the one thing I appreciated about this cookie was that the whipped cream balanced out the sweetness of the cookie.

The second best cookie out of the four was the sugar cookie. However, the frosting was too sweet for my liking, the cookie itself was a bit too doughy, and overall it was nothing special. To me, a pack of Lofthouse iced sugar cookies is tastier, and cheaper.

The final and best cookie out of the four was the carrot cake cookie. It was not insanely sweet; the cream cheese frosting was nice, and the overall flavour was that of a carrot cake. Was it good? Yes. Would I buy it again? No. The cookie was only good in comparison to the other three, and in my opinion the taste does not justify the price.

Overall, the cookies were way too sweet to be enjoyable, and I was not able to finish an entire cookie, let alone half of one. Although creative, the paired flavours don’t work great together, and the end result is really sweet and really gross.

Unlike Crumbl, local businesses in Edmonton sell delicious baked goods that are actually worth the price. Whether it’s from a local bakery, or a stand at the farmer’s market — you’re bound to find better quality and better tasting cookies and baked goods from local vendors. Some of my favourites include Duchess Bake Shop, Bakenary Pastries, Milk & Honey, Caught In The Cookie Jar, and Bread + Butter.