Crumbl Cookies have been all over my Tik Tok FYP the past few weeks, so I decided to put the top 3 Crumbl Cookie copycat recipes to the test. Crumbl Cookies are known for their rotating weekly menu, which ranges from cookies, to brownies, to cakes, and even pies! However, the one item that appears on the menu every week is the Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie, so of course I had to replicate their most popular item.
To start, I searched for the three best-rated Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie copycat recipes, and came up with one from Cookies & Cups by Shelly Jaronsky, one from Cooking With Karli by Karli Bitner, and the last was from Sugar Geek Recipes By Liz Marek. While all three of these recipes contained relatively the same basic ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and, of course, chocolate chips), only the copycat recipe from Cookies & Cups utilized cornstarch, which is meant to retain moisture and help create a chewy texture.
The only other difference between the three recipes, aside from different ratios of flour-to-sugar-to-butter, was that the third recipe from Sugar Geek Recipes recommended using a chopped Hershey bar or Hershey kisses as opposed to the usual chocolate chips, which I was excited to put to the test!
After preparing the three different batters, I noticed that the first two recipes were nearly identical in terms of texture and appearance, aside from the second recipe being slighter lighter in color (which was most likely due to the larger amount of flour in it). Additionally, both recipes from Cookies & Cups and Cooking With Karli suggested rolling a portion of the dough into a ball, tearing it in half, and assembling the rough edges facing up to recreate the classic “craggily” top of the Crumbl Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie.
While the first two recipes initially seemed to be nearly identical, the third recipe from Marek contained nearly double the amount of flour, which greatly contributed to the texture of the dough as it was extremely crumbly, and very difficult to assemble compared to the previous two recipes. As Marek’s cookies were baking, I noticed that all of them soon began to fall apart in the oven, which was mostly likely due to the dryer, more crumbly texture of the dough.
Straight out of the oven, I immediately noticed that the first two recipes had spread out a lot in the oven compared to the third, which had mostly retained its original shape due to the note of using cold eggs instead of room-temperature ones. Further, Marek’s recipe had called for a couple more minutes of baking, resulting in a crispier texture.
The Verdict:
While Jaronsky’s recipe from Cookies & Cups had a delicious soft, goey, and buttery texture, it looked to be the most different to the original Crumbl cookie visually as it was much thinner and of a darker color. Though it is perfect if you’re looking for a more rich, traditional, classic chocolate chip cookie taste, this recipe came in last place in comparison to the signature cakey, sugary taste of the Crumbl cookie.
In second place came Bitner’s copycat Crumbl cookie recipe from Cooking With Karli. Visually, this cookie closely resembled the color of the original Crumbl cookie but it, again, was slightly thinner and had a crispier outside. While this cookie too had a more traditional taste than the Crumbl cookie, it was unlike the Jaronsky’s recipe in terms of the classic Crumbl cookie-dough flavor that Bitner’s recipe had.
Lastly, in first place came Marek’s cookie from Sugar Geek Recipes. The use of Hershey’s milk chocolate in this recipe perfectly replicated the type of chocolate in the Milk Chocolate Chip Crumbl cookie, and combined with its sugary flavor, cakey texture, and crumbly exterior, it was nearly identical to the flavor of the Crumbl cookie, if only it had slightly more salt and a few less minutes in the oven.
Overall, if you’re looking for classic, more traditional chewy chocolate chip cookie, Bitner’s recipe from Cooking With Karli would certainly be the way to go. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper (and less calorie-dense) alternative that perfectly replicates the signature flavor and texture of the Milk Chocolate Chip Crumb cookie, Marek’s recipe is the one for you.
