Crumbl Cookies - Torrance

We've been getting a lot of these at the office, and we love them. So many creative flavors, and we find new ones every time. 

My photography skills are subpar, but you can see how much attention each cookie gets. Chocolate is always amazing, and the peanut butter topped with Butterfinger crumble is a standout. Sea salt chocolate chip is a classic, but other boxes get super creative. There's a banana pudding cookie with a barely-sweet custard and Nilla wafers on top, and another had dulce de leche instead of chocolate chips. 

Each cookie is so soft throughout. They're meticulously made and all are memorable. Get a few at time and get them to share. A single cookie is enough for a meal so it's best to try all the flavors with a friend. 

NYC Day 7 - Levain Bakery NOHO - New York, NY

When a friend told me these cookies were heavy, I had no idea. 

Two of each flavor made for the perfect souvenir, meant to be shared between family, friends, and colleagues. 

Wow, what a weight. In the words of my dear friend Jeff, “Are these cookies or are they muffins?” 

The box weighs the same as my entire carry-on, no joke, but those chocolate chip walnut cookies were well worth hauling across the country. The walnuts are super light and the dough is just sweet enough to satisfy. Every cookie is incredibly dense but also light enough that you can still eat one in its entirety…as a meal. Kudos for the peanut butter chips as well, best with a chocolate cookie base. There’s also one with toasted coconut and little bits of caramel which is probably my favorite, and even the oatmeal raisin isn’t a throwaway. 

Like it or love it, Levain once created a whole new level of cookie. Now they’re everywhere, even in LA, but it was a pleasure getting them where they were born. 

The Cookie Plug - Cathedral City, CA

Cookies the size of mini-cakes, every flavor, every color. Don't get the dozen unless you're a party of six or more because even one of these dense delights can overwhelm a solo eater. For the full experience, I recommend you grab a knife and try them all.

Every flavor, L to R:

Chocolate Chip is chocolate chip. The chips are a rich and substantial chocolate so the cookie doesn't taste cheap. 

Triple Chocolate: What can I say? Decadent but actually not too heavy to thoroughly enjoy. 

Strawberry Cheesecake: You do taste a bit of the cheese and a hint of that artificial strawberry flavor. Delicious dessert overall, a cookie with a hint of creamy cheese.

M&M Mix: Chocolate chip with a crunchy shell. The texture makes a difference. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter: Chocolate with a significant scoop of goop. Good stuff.

Snickerdoodle: Cinnamon-sugar dough, a coated classic. 

Cookies and Cream: Yum-yum, though the "cream" is just white chocolate. 

White Chip Macadamia Nut: White chocolate with the mac nuts. 

S'mores: My fave - I'll melt for a marshmallow. 

Purple Velvet: A radioactive level of fun but otherwise just a cookie with white chips. 

I ordered Fruity Pebbles, but I think I got Fun 'Fetti. Sugar cookie crusted with sprinkles. Not a thrill but the cookie is pretty and the texture is fun. 

Monthly Flavor: White Chip Macadamia Nut dyed blue? Sure, why nut?

Desert cookies in the dessert, what's not to like? A dozen may be a bit much, but make a splurge when decadence is in demand!

Diddy Riese Cookies - LA

Diddy Riese is as cute as it sounds. Almost as cute its clientele of sweet little SoCal girls who have never heard the words “bomb diggity” and give you weird looks when you bust out your best Macarena at weddings.

The good news is, ice cream and cookies are a combination that transcends age and time, a classic combination of words and deeds that everyone can relate to. Serving as a slumber party staple, birthday party snack, and getting over a breakup bender, cookies and ice cream are whatever you want them to be, whenever and wherever you want them.

I will never not want strawberry cheesecake ice cream sandwiched between a candy chocolate chip cookie and a chewy chocolate white chip. The ice cream is generically good, and the cookies are no better or worse than anything in my oven, but together this combo becomes the"bomb diddity" for customers of any age, and it helps that the price is right. One little dollar buys you three cookies, and that meal-in-a-cup Ice Cream Sandwich only cost a whopping $1.75. And who can turn down cookies ‘n’ cream when it’s cheaper than a load of laundry?