CRUMBL
151 Burgess Road
Hannah’s Backstory:
When a Crumbl location opened in Harrisonburg over the summer, I vowed to sample the famous cookies. Founded in Utah in 2017, the chain has grown to 850 stores across the US (and, apparently, a card game) and has maintained popularity in social media via photogenic packaging and thoughtfully decorated cookies.
Crumbl makes getting your sugar fix a whole-package experience. The just-out-of-the-oven scents wafting from the… well, oven, and the bright, spacious, and rosy-accented interior called to mind the witch’s house from “Hansel and Gretel,” only the employee who met us was 100% more friendly and 100% less cannibalistic.
We picked out four cookies that we bought in the “4-Pack Specialty” package for a total of $15.58 (not including tip.) This puts each cookie at about $3.90.
PUMPKIN BROWNIE COOKIE
H: Since I’m not partial to chocolate (no, nothing’s wrong with me) I only sampled the tasty pumpkin icing. Creamy with a lighter density, the icing didn’t feel too heavy or rich, though we noticed that only the second flavor note really carried the pumpkin flavor—the first was pretty purely sugar.
Z: The icing on this cookie was creamy and smooth. I like how the brownie tasted with the pumpkin. The brownie flavor was stronger at first, however the pumpkin taste stayed with me longer. The cookie was heavy as I held it, but wasn’t weighty in my stomach. This cookie tasted like Halloween as a child: lots of chocolate.
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
H: Next, I sampled Strawberry Cheesecake. The “icing” was more of a strawberry compote or jam, with bits of the fruit. Beneath it, I was delighted to find that the sweet cheesecake icing definitely did taste like cheesecake and not like cream cheese as I’d feared (I love cheesecake and cream cheese, just not false advertising) and that the traditional graham cracker crust made a tasty appearance in base.
Z: The cookie base felt denser and chewier than many of the others, ringing home the flavor of buttery graham crackers. By itself, the flavor of the base was less intense, but when paired with the cheesecake and potent strawberry icings, evened out to a (as promised) strawberry cheesecake.
CARROT CAKE
H: This cookie was definitely my favorite; the base was flakier and just about melted in my mouth, while the cream cheese icing was just tart enough to compliment the sweetness. The pecans sprinkled on top lended a satisfying crunch that was almost cinnamon-esque, adding another dimension to the flavor. Though Zack and I agreed that we would have liked even more of the carrot taste, this was a cookie I’d gladly eat again.
Z: This cookie was very good! The cookie itself was not too sugary, and the flavor of the icing balanced it well. The pecans on top were a nice touch. This cookie reminded me of a carrot cake I would get on Wednesday nights at church. Definitely my favorite.
PANCAKE
H:The pancake cookie was true to its name and also incredibly sweet, though most of that flavor came from the buttery-whipped icing sitting on top of the soft maple glaze. The crumbly cookie base tasted like a pancake, with even stronger aftertastes, and smelled, yes, like a pancake. While I’m normally a pancake person (pancakes > waffles, always) the pancake cookie wasn’t my favorite—just a little too sweet and one-dimensional.
Z: The icing was a tad too sugary, and a bit thick—I expected it to have a similar feel to the icing on the carrot cake. The cookie base was decent, however. I think this was the sweetest cookie out of the four we reviewed. It tasted like a pancake that my dad would make on a Saturday morning, which is a nice feeling, though it was slightly heavy in taste.
INSOMNIA COOKIES
563 University Boulevard
After our success with Crumbl, we were inspired to review Insomnia Cookies, another chain of ready-made-cookie bakeries with a location in town. Though the Crumbl franchise hours do close late in the evening (ranging from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.), Insomnia Cookies is true to its name, staying open until 1 a.m. or even 3 a.m. for anyone needing a midnight snack. Insomnia Cookies also boasts a greater variety of desserts, offering over 20 kinds of cookies (compared to Crumbl’s six), specialty desserts like “chocolate chunk minis” or “dippers,” cookie cakes, eight flavors of ice cream (and six toppings), and ice cream cookie sandwiches. Again, we picked out four cookies:
CARROT CAKE – Limited Edition ($3.10)
H: This cookie was denser, thinner, and crispier than I expected—a little disappointing, since I prefer a softer, chewier cookie. The carrot flavor was delightfully strong, and visible carrot shreds were mixed into the dough, along with white chocolate chunks. Interestingly, I noted this cookie to have the deepest flavor profile, and the most contrast between the base and the ‘special flavors’ (carrot and white chocolate), resulting in a savory-sweet blend that balanced the taste palette.
Z: This cookie had a much denser, much more intense carrot flavor which I liked. The carrot shreds and white chocolate blended together nicely. The flavor of the white chocolate hit me at first, but as the taste faded away, I tasted more of the carrot flavor. I believe that this sensation is what made this my favorite cookie. It felt very balanced, not one flavor felt too strong at any point.
VEGAN BIRTHDAY CAKE– Classic ($2.85)
H: If the previous cookie balanced the taste palette, this cookie drowned it. The overwhelming flavor was “sugar,” although neither Zack or I (or my roommate, called in to referee) could decide on a more nuanced description, until I finally settled for a slight almond note. The base and gummy sprinkles mostly blended together, and we noted that this cookie was definitely the crunchiest/hardest—failing the ‘fork tests,’ this cookie didn’t crumble upon impact with a fork (like a chewier cookie would have) and, when I brushed the tines along the bottom of the cookie, made a scraping sound that would have been a sign of success, if only we were reviewing for ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response).
Z: Yet another dense cookie; I cannot say this tastes like a cake though. It doesn’t taste like birthday either, but who can say what a birthday tastes like? This cookie just tastes like sugar, which prevents me from noticing the sprinkles on top. I do like that they offer a vegan option though (shoutout to inclusivity.) This cookie tastes like a 13th birthday party: awkward, uncomfortable, and the cake isn’t what you want because you’re an indecisive 13 year old, who is quietly seething as the entire group of people sings happy birthday to you.
PEANUT BUTTER CHIP – Classic ($2.85)
H: This cookie passed the fork test, crumbling against contact, and melted in my mouth—but the peanut butter chips tasted so aggressively strong, they almost seemed burnt, which I eventually decided was akin to an intense Nutter Butter flavor. I preferred the taste of the cookie base alone, which was similar to the chips but muted.
Z: This tasted like when I make a peanut butter banana smoothie: I have a spoonful of peanut butter and it would be incredibly wasteful if I didn’t lick the remaining peanut butter off of the spoon. I then realize that I don’t have any water, and the peanut butter slowly and painfully makes its way down my throat. The cookie itself doesn’t taste like that exactly—I ate these with water, if you’re concerned—that’s just what the flavor reminds me of. The cookie was also very soft: if I held it with one hand, the other side fell off.
SALTED CARAMEL – Deluxe ($4.65)
H: This cookie was the largest, advertised as one of the “extra big cookies, with extra good stuff.” The dough base was reminiscent of butterscotch, although that could have been because of the soft caramel chunks scattered throughout (which, yay, didn’t stick in my teeth!) that glued the cookie together. I noted that it was “softer, not as crumbly” and that “it doesn’t taste very salty, only slightly less sweet.” This delivered what I expected.
Z: This cookie tasted like the candy I would eat at someone’s grandparents’ house. It had an interesting aftertaste that I was unsure if I enjoyed. As I ate this cookie, it melted in my mouth. The inside was very soft, baked all the way through; it was like the cookies my mother makes: soft, and dense.
Final Thoughts
Hannah preferred the Crumbl cookies: the flavors felt more unique (despite there being fewer) and the large, soft cookies are perfect to share (benefiting both your wallet and glucose levels.)
Zack preferred the Crumbl cookies: the presentation of the cookies was superb, the fact that they looked like what they’re supposed to taste like is an interesting twist, and their size gives you a good bang for your buck.
