Crave Cookies review #3 - Pecan Pie

Crave Cookies review #3 - Pecan Pie, visited November 25, 2024 

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging. First because I've been traveling and in the past 11 (now 13) weeks, I've been in 4 countries and 3 states. Fun and a bit tiring. I used to blog about my travels but have decided for my recent trips that I'd rather experience things in real time and be more mindful in the moment, rather than trying to document everything for posterity. So that's what I did.

Second, post US-election, life has seemed rather surreal and not in a good way. But I will reserve commentary on that and, in addition to stress-exercising three times a day (I'm not kidding), I've also been keeping on pace with comfort eating. Not baking much though so I don't have any new recipes to share. But I did make a stop at Crave Cookies last week to get the Pecan Pie cookie. Since it's Thanksgiving week, both Crumbl and Crave have gone with pie and autumn-themed cookies. I meant to post this earlier while the pecan pie cookie was still available at Crave but I missed it by a couple of days.

Last week's four weekly flavors at Crave were:

Better Than Pumpkin Pie: pastry sugar dough meets pumpkin pie spread, ginger snaps, whipped cream, and a sprinkle of candied praline pecans

PB Cup S'more: rich chocolate dough crashes into crushed Reese's PB cups, while gooey marshmallows melt in the middle. All on top of a graham cracker base.

Carrot Cake: tender spiced dough with shredded carrots, hearty oats and crunchy walnuts infused with sweet cinnamon chips. Topped with our signature cream cheese frosting.

Pecan Pie: brown sugar dough meets pecan pie filling, candied praline pecans and a brown sugar glaze.

The monthly flavor is The Brookie - chocolate dough jam packed with milk chocolate chips and semisweet chunks finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Despite my exercise sprees, I decided I only have caloric room and appetite for one cookie and that was the pecan pie cookie. I almost got the carrot cake cookie but I don't like walnuts in my cookies so I passed.

The pecan pie cookie was a great choice. Thick and chewy, it had the perfect pecan pie flavor. Somehow, Crave also managed to get the chewy, nutty texture and flavor of a pecan pie filling in the cookie itself. Like that sweet, chewy, caramel-y texture as part of the cookie texture. I was impressed. The edges were crisp as well and retained that crisp even after I froze pieces of the cookie and ate a piece (thawed) later.

I didn't care for the glaze as much as when at room temperature, it hardened into a penuche-like texture and it was too sweet for me. Thankfully, it was a glaze and not a blanket of frosting so it was easy enough to chip off and eat without it. The cookie itself was amazing.

Crave Cookies review #2 - The Bueno

Crave Cookies review #2 - The Bueno, visited October 17, 2024

Here are this week's cookies and their descriptions from Crave: (the marketing prose is a bit cutesy so I edited to the factual descriptions, lol)

Better Than Cheesecake: A rich, cocoa-laced dough topped with a velvety cheesecake frosting, whipped cheesecake cream and caramel drizzle, finished with a dusting of crushed graham cracker.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip: Soft chewy pumpkin dough cozies up to melty milk chocolate chips

The Bueno: Luscious vanilla dough bursting with Kinder Bueno chunks, stuffed to the brim with more Bueno goodness, and finished with a white hazelnut drizzle.

Peanut Butter Cup: peanut butter dough with crushed Butterfinger and a Reese's peanut butter cup heart 

The Carmelita is on the menu for the month of October and the milk chocolate chip is a staple on the menu so I won't repeat them here.

I passed on the cheesecake and the peanut butter cup (strong Crumbl vibes there and I would've passed on the Crumbl versions as well anyway). I wanted both the pumpkin chocolate chip and the Bueno but decided to adult this week and only chose one cookie. The chosen one was the Bueno. I'm not sure I've ever had a Kinder Bueno but I approve of the Kit Kat-like concept of it so I went with it.

The positives: this cookie was thick. Almost like a cookie mound with only a slight flattening at the edges. And I love that about it. I also loved the texture and milk chocolatey-ness (yes, that’s a word) of it. The flavor was that perfect brown sugar caramelization of a really excellent chocolate chip cookie. 

The not quite as positive: I’m not sure I loved the Kinder Bueno chunks in this. Nothing against the cookie itself but the Kinder Bueno chunks, mostly the wafer-y shell, wasn’t consistently crisp; some were soft, some seemed stale but I know they’re not stale but just softened in the moistness of the cookie dough and during baking. I probably would’ve felt the same if they’d used Kit Kats but at least Kit Kats have more wafer and hold their crispness better. I also wasn’t a big fan of the drizzle but mostly because it made a chubby cookie harder to eat neatly. None of this is a deal breaker and I quite enjoyed the cookie. If they’d make the milk chocolate chip like this, it would beat Crumbl’s. So I’d consider this another winner from Crave Cookies.

 

Crave Cookies Review #1 - The Biscadoodle, The Carmelita and the Milk Chocolate Chip

Crave Cookies Review #1 - visited opening day October 12, 2024

Move over, Crumbl, there's a new cookie shop in town. Actually, there are two new cookie shops as one is an additional Crumbl franchise in South Reno. But the brand new, not-a-Crumbl one is called Crave Cookies. I'd never heard of them before and wouldn't have known about them at all if I hadn't been scrolling Instagram and their ad popped up about their grand opening in midtown (Reno) and that they were giving away free chocolate chip cookies on opening day. Hmm, you don't say?

I would've gone even without the incentive of a free cookie as I like to try new cookie places and bakeries. So this incorporated nicely with my Saturday morning errands.

When I got there, the place was festooned in balloons, there were two guys outside under a balloon arch welcoming customers and the tiny place was bustling and packed inside. Bustling from the workers in the kitchen behind the counters and packed with people lined up to order their cookies. 

The line didn't move very fast but that was okay as it gave me a chance to peruse the menu. Similar to Crumbl, it appears Crave Cookies drops new flavors every week. The milk chocolate chip is a weekly staple but you can get the semisweet version on Thursdays. New flavors drop on Fridays. And the flavors are definitely these-are-not-your-grandmas-Tollhouse-cookies kind of vibe, ya know?

I mean look at them above and below. For posterity, here are the descriptions of this week's cookies from Crave's website:

The Biscadoodle: snickerdoodle dough, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, slathered with Biscoff cookie butter and topped with crushed Biscoff cookies

Pumpkin S'Moreo: a warm, spiced pumpkin dough meets chunky Oreos with a marshmallow toasted just enough to remind you of those perfect s'mores nights - without the whole getting-smoke-in-your-eyes part.

Brookies 'n Cream: our signature brookie dough is packed with Oreo chunks and white chocolate chips. Stuffed with a Hershey's cookies and cream bar, and finished off with a white chocolate drizzle and crushed Oreos

Butterfinger Cheesecake: our signature sugar cookie base sugar cookie topped with our New York cheesecake spread. Covered in a generous amount of crushed Butterfinger, and finished with our signature drizzle of both melted peanut butter and milk chocolate

The Carmelita (October monthly craving): Oatmeal cookie? Good. Caramel? Good.  Together? Amazing. That's our oatmeal dough with semisweet chunks, caramel bits and a Ghirardelli caramel drizzle.

Milk Chocolate Chip (always available): signature dough bursting with Guittard milk chocolate chips. So iconic, other cookies want its autograph (semisweet available every Thursday).

Fortunately I don't like s'mores (marshmallows are no bueno for my taste buds) or cheesecake so it was easy to pass on the Pumpkin S'moreo and the Butterfinger Cheesecake (I don't like Butterfingers either). I did waver on the Brookies & Cream but I already knew I wanted the Biscadoodle and I wouldn't say no to the Carmelita. Plus I was already getting the free milk chocolate chip cookie and I decided 3 cookies was enough for my waistline.

The cookies are $4.49 each so similar to Crumbl's pricing. They're also about the same size and also come in individual boxes if you don't get a multi-pack. In fact, everything feels Crumbl-esque except the flavors seem more creative. I also liked that the cookies I got weren't buried under a mountain of frosting. You know my feelings about frosting.

Milk Chocolate Chip

So let's start with the milk chocolate chip. Again, Crumbl-esque vibes. It's served warm but by the time I got to it, it was room temp. I warmed it up very slightly just to soften up the chips but texture-wise I would've preferred it room temperature. At room temp, it has the kind of texture I love, moist and almost fudgy. When warm, it comes across more as warm cookie dough. Which is not my thing.

It was good, although admittedly, I have a low bar for thick milk chocolate chip cookies. I will admit, in a blind taste test, I'm not sure I could tell it apart from Crumbl's but I like Crumbl's milk chocolate chip cookie so that's not a bad thing. The only suggestion I would make for this to be better is to add more milk chocolate chips. Mine were a bit skimpy and not actually "bursting" with chips as their description says. And that's saying a lot since I don't usually like a ton of chocolate chips in my cookies. But a few more here wouldn't hurt.

The Biscadoodle

Let's talk about the Biscadoodle. To sum up? OMG. OMG. OMG. This cookie is AMAZING. It's essentially a snickerdoodle glazed with melted cookie butter and crisp bits of Biscoff cookies sprinkled on top. OMG. 

This cookie right here was worth the trip to get to midtown, park a couple blocks away (tiny, tiny parking lot where Crave is located) and wait in line. It was also worth the extra workout I had to do to enjoy a quarter of the cookie before I tucked the rest away in my freezer for later. 

The cookie texture was perfection. I ate it at room temperature and it was just right. The melted cookie butter on top complemented the cookie perfectly and the Biscoff cookie bits added a nice crunch. This one's a winner.

The Carmelita

I didn't have room to try the Carmelita on the day I got it but I broke it into pieces and took a couple of the pieces with me the next day when I was volunteering at an event. My volunteer shift and the event ran from 9:30 am - 2 pm so I'm glad I had the cookie to tide me over.

Not to mention, it was also quite good. The oatmeal gives it some heft and the caramel bits weren't hard now that the cookie was no longer warm. They were nicely chewy. The chocolate chips were semisweet, probably to offset the sweetness from the caramel and they worked. Not sure I'd get it again given it seems Crave would have more intriguing flavors every week but I'm glad I tried it and I did enjoy it.

In summary, I think Crave is my new serious competitor to Crumbl. At least for now. It's brand new (to me) and it looks like there'll be an amazing line up of flavors to try. It's open every day so, unlike Crumbl, if I want a cookie on a Sunday, I can go get one. I think it's smart of them to drop new flavors every Friday since it primes people to go on the weekend. That's more convenient for me since their location is farther from me and with parking being at a premium, it's better (again for me, me, me) to get there on a weekend. Plus they're not going head to head with Crumbl on the timing of their new offerings. I'm looking forward to seeing what other new flavors will be available.

Chewy Coconut Cookies from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Chewy Coconut Cookies - made dough August 2, 2024 from That Skinny Chick Can Bake

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups sweetened, flaked coconut

1. In the bowl of a stand fitted fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Add egg and vanilla; beat to combine.
3. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix on low speed until just combined.
4. Portion into golf-ball size dough balls and flatten slightly. Cover and chill or freeze several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space dough balls about 3 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet for several minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. 

I love coconut. So let’s be honest, I had an almost 100% certainty I would like these cookies. Because coconut.

If I had bet myself, I would’ve won. I loved these cookies. They spread a little more than I would’ve liked but not too badly. These had the brown sugar overtones I like in such cookies plus the added sweetness and chewiness from the coconut. What’s not to love?

You’ll notice a couple of cookies are browner than the others. My bad. I wasn’t paying attention to the bake and rescued these from the oven a little too late. They were still good, flavor-wise, but had a slight crispy-chewiness from the bake time. Still good either way.

XL Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Cookies from Crazy for Crust

XL Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Cookies - made dough August 2, 2024, modified slightly from Crazy for Crust 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 1/2 cups (434 grams) all-purpose flour

1 package (about 1 2/3 cups) Reese's peanut butter chips

1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts, optional

Peanut butter cups for "stuffing"

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined and no butter lumps remain, 2-3 minutes. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined.
2. Add eggs, vanilla and milk, mixing until just combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together salt, baking soda and flour. Add to butter mixture in 2-3 additions, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Fold in peanut butter chips and chopped peanuts, mixing until evenly disbursed.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size or larger dough balls and flatten slightly to thick discs. Place a peanut butter cup on top of one disc. cover with a second disc and press the seams closed. Roll into a smooth ball to seal in peanut butter cup. Repeat with remaining discs. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and evenly space 5-6 dough discs. Bake 15-18 minutes or until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

All right, peanut butter lovers, peanut butter cup lovers and lovers of all things peanut butter and chocolate, step on up. I should also add lovers of thick cookies that don't spread flat and lovers of stuffed cookies. This recipe has them all.

Dorothy Kern of Crazy for Crust has reliably solid-good recipes and this one is no exception. I had bought Reese's peanut butter cup (thins) for another recipe but decided to modify this recipe and use them for this one. I had also bought a Costco-sized package of Reese's peanut butter cup "medals", presumably overstock from the Olympics and they worked nicely as well.

The easiest way to "stuff" these cookie is to make 2 equal size balls, flatten slightly, put a peanut butter cup in the middle of one, place another flatten cookie disc on top of it, pinch the edges together and roll to form a smooth ball.

I like to chill the stuffed cookie dough balls first but this dough handled pretty well (wasn't too soft or sticky) so you may be able to skip some of the chilling time. I just prefer it for extra insurance that the cookies won't spread much.

As you can see from the pictures, these stayed nice and thick, somewhat but not quite hiding those lumpy middles that must have something in them, right? If you want more of a chocolate punch, add mini chocolate chips. I preferred to keep this more on the peanut butter side so I stuck with just the peanut butter cups. While I used smooth peanut butter in the dough, I also added chopped peanuts. Yes, I know I could've skipped that step and just used chunky peanut butter but I had both smooth peanut butter and some leftover peanuts from another recipe so I used what I had. It worked out fine.

This is a good peanut butter cookie recipe; the dough handled well and the cookies baked up thick. As always, don't overbake it or you'll easily get more of a crisp texture and dry mouthfeel. It's got good peanut butter flavor. If you don't want the texture of the peanuts, just use creamy peanut butter and omit adding the chopped peanuts. Oddly, while I don't normally like nuts in my cookies, that aversion doesn't apply to peanuts in peanut butter cookies. Likely because they don't steam and soften like other nuts (cashews, pecans and almonds, I'm looking at you; macadamia nuts, you're off the hook).