The formula is familiar: Thin layers of jam lay between three spongey, cakey layers. The whole thing is enrobed in a quick pour of chocolate. Zola Bakes’ cookies are about an inch long, chicly ombré in color, and feature a zing of raspberry or apricot jam. Just one more, I told myself again and again as I sneaked another from the container. They’re light, just sweet enough, and a complete joy to eat. A box of 20 small-ish cookies will set you back $49 for standard flavors, and $54 and $56 for specials—not a bad price per cookie.
Aria and Maya Christian’s cookies aren’t cheap—the cheapest half dozen will run you $20 plus shipping—but whereas so many delivery cookies are monstrous behemoths that are straight up unpleasant to finish in one sitting, Twins That Cook are more manageable. These cookies spread a bit more in the baking process which means they’re bendy, pleasantly squishy in the center, and have that perfect crackle along the edges.
These cookies get top marks for that undulating texture, and each cookie has a unique, complex, and at times subtle flavor to explore. Peanuts n’ Crackerjacks isn’t the sugar bomb you’d expect. Instead, there’s the rich, warm flavor of real brown butter and caramel, complemented by salty peanut butter. Champagne Poppy, by contrast, is a lighter poppy seed cookie that features sly citrus notes. But the all-time star is The O.G. cookie: a classic chocolate chip. Listen, I know everyone declares that they add flaky salt to the top of their chocolate chip cookie, but it’s rare that bakers are bold enough to add enough salt to actually count. Not so on the TTC O.G., which features enough jagged flakes on top of a pool of milk chocolate that makes the whole cookie sing.
As a longtime New York City favorite, Levain has cracked the code to making near perfect cookies. It was one of the first to create a truly massive cookie that doesn’t dry out and that has a deep well of flavors that build upon each other. Now, as Levain enters the delivery cookie market, they’ve managed to keep that magic.
Here again, traditional ingredients without much filler seems like it’s the key to success. The ingredient list of Levain’s Two Chip Chocolate Chip cookie is a whopping eight ingredients long, and notably, led by butter. These cookies are dense, to be sure, but upon heating them up in the oven I discovered that their centers become perfectly melty. The stellar chocolate chip cookie has what almost tastes like a tang that makes each bite more delicious. Each of the other available flavors was equally complex and delightful—Chocolate Chip Walnut and Dark Chocolate Chip were the favorites here—and I’m happy to report that Levain’s small blue box kept the cookies safe, sound, and unbroken on their journey to my home.
As a bit of a contrarian, I like to think I don’t generally buy into the hype. So when I read that Last Crumb called its product “an invitation into a world of luxury,” I quietly rolled my eyes. When the enormous black box landed, I felt like these cookies might be a bit much. When I saw that the chocolate chip cookie was called Better Than S*x, I let out an audible harumph. Do these cookies, branded within an inch of their life, think they’re better than me? Do I think they’re better than me?
As you can imagine, though I tried my best to be impartial in my tasting, the packaging, the whole vibe put me off a bit. That’s why I found it all the more impressive when I took my first bite of The Madonna, a peanut butter cookie, and found myself completely bowled over. This cookie was soft, nutty, salty, sweet—bite after bite it’s utter deliciousness washed over me. I literally didn’t think I could not finish it. Thinking it might be a fluke, I tried the Donkey Kong, a banana cream pie cookie with marshmallow, real bananas, and vanilla wafers. Far from the saccharine sugar bomb I expected, this cookie too was balanced, sweet without feeling overwhelming, meltingly tender, and just mind-blowingly good.
I was totally sold on Last Crumb, despite my initial hesitations. Yes, the $140 price tag is steep, but if you for some reason have a deep-seated need for a dozen next-to-perfect cookies delivered straight to your door, Last Crumb is as good as you can get, and certainly one of the best cookie delivery options.
