The Philly Cookie Conundrum: Which Cookie Will Steal Your Heart (and Your $6)?

A review of the many cookie joints in Philadelphia’s Center City to help you determine which cookie best satisfies your sweet tooth.

By Reem Telhaoui

Cookies have recently taken the world by storm, gaining exponential internet popularity and becoming a well-selling dessert throughout the country, and even more so in urban environments. However, when you’re craving a cookie (which probably happens more often now than it has ever been before), where should you go? With so many cookie spots throughout Philadelphia, choosing the right place can be overwhelming. However, being a cookie connoisseur myself, I’m prepared to make this tough choice as navigable as possible. I visited four of Philly’s most popular cookie shops– Crumbl, Insomnia, Levain’s, and Blueprint– and tried their original chocolate chip cookie to help you decide which place will give you the most bang for your five-and-a-half bucks. 

CRUMBL   Crumbl Cookie is by far the most famous of the cookie shops on this list, but Spoiler Alert!-- it’s also the lowest ranked. Their semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie– a brown sugar cookie with semi-sweet chocolate chunks and a “sprinkle of sea salt”--  had way more than just a  “sprinkle.” This cookie was oddly salty, and not in a “complimentary, off-set the sweet, perfectly crafted flavor” way, but in an “oops, I thought the recipe said a tablespoon, not a teaspoon” way. As if that wasn’t enough, the cookie’s center was extremely soft– too soft. I know this might sound delectable to many (if not most) of you, but there’s a fine line between a soft and an underbaked cookie, and this cookie crossed it. So, unless you’re craving a savory bite of cookie dough rather than a regular cookie, it might be wise to ditch the pink box for another one of the shops on this list. 

LEVAIN    Opening its doors just a month ago, Levain Bakery is the new kid on the block, and let’s just say it's put its foot in the door. The crowd of people standing inside the bakery, eating their cookies while standing the way you’d eat an ice cream cone, and sharing gasps of pleasantly surprised tastebuds already tells you all you need to know. We tried Levain’s original cookie– their Chocolate Walnut Chip. The shape was the most unique of the ones we tried, making it a scone-turned-cookie in the best way possible. The outside was a perfectly hard shell encasing a soft, but not doughy, cookie inside. The walnuts and dark chocolate balanced out the sweetness of the brown sugar batter, making it so you can scarf down this entire “scone cookie” without sentencing yourself to an upset tummy. 

INSOMNIA   Oh, Insomnia. How does it feel to be the “safe” choice? Philly’s hotspot cookie joint for as long as I can remember, Insomnia Cookies is universally known as a great spot to satisfy your cookie cravings. It has a very sweet cookie base with semi-sweet chocolate, but its relatively small size makes it hard to overdose on the sugar. It masters the chewy and soft but not undercooked texture, but unlike the other cookies on this list, it doesn’t offer anything exceptionally special. It’s your basic but delicious supermarket bakery cookie. It's your safe choice. It’s Insomnia.

BLUEPRINT   Located at 268 S 20th St, Blueprint is the smallest business on this list with only four locations in the United States, three being in Florida and one in Philadelphia. Unrightfully so, it’s also the least popular. We tried their classic Chocolate Chip cooking and although this cookie wasn’t my favorite, it still beats Crumbl by a landslide. Like Crumbl, it was a worryingly sweet cookie, and the chocolate medallion in the very center didn’t do much to help it. It was soft and doughy on the inside but didn’t taste as underbaked as Crumbl’s take on a chocolate chip cookie. Blueprint, like Crumbl, also plays on the thrill of variety and anticipation with a changing menu of specialty cookies each month. So, if you’re feeling a sweet, seasonal, and unique cookie, or just craving a Crumbl cookie, you should consider taking your money and appetite to Blueprint.