The start of 2024 didn't just mark the beginning of a new year—it also signaled a momentous change at the Costco food court.
In late December, the warehouse club discontinued its food court churro in a decision that was equally praised and criticized by Costco customers. And in the churro's place, Costco debuted a brand-new dessert item: the Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie.
The new all-butter cookie is served warm, contains 750 calories, and features both bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate. It immediately began attracting buzz online after it debuted, but the customer reactions have been largely divided. Some have lavished the treat with praise, describing it as "delicious" and "insanely huge." Others say it's a sorry replacement for the discontinued churro, and many have questioned the cookie's value at $2.49.
As a huge fan of both the Costco food court and chocolate chip cookies in general, all of the debate around the new Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie immediately piqued my interest. So during a recent trip to my local Costco in Edison, N.J., I grabbed one to sample and judge it myself for the first time.
The look: Let's get this straight right off the bat—this cookie is absolutely massive. It measured about five inches in diameter and was about one inch thick. It also weighed in at 165 grams on my at-home scale. For context, that's even heavier than a whole Filet-O-Fish sandwich (139 grams) from McDonald's, which I coincidentally recently weighed as well for a separate fish sandwich taste test.
Size aside, the cookie itself was delightfully golden brown and super soft in the middle. Costco, apparently, does not skimp at all when it comes the chocolate in a chocolate chip cookie. As you can see from the photo below, the interior is packed with so much of the melty confection that you'd be hard-pressed to get a bite without any chocolate.
The taste: There should be a picture of Costco's Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie right next to the definition for "decadent" in dictionaries. All of that melty, not-too-sweet chocolate was enveloped in a sweet buttery dough with hints of vanilla. The whole thing is very, very rich and makes for quite the formidable dessert. I would have liked a little less chocolate and a slightly saltier dough to balance all of those heavy flavors, but the taste overall was super nostalgic and close to perfect.
The combination of textures in this monster of a cookie was also pretty spectacular. The golden brown edges were crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. Meanwhile, the center of the cookie was gooey and slightly doughy, similar to what you'd find in a cookie skillet from a chain restaurant. I really appreciated Costco's decision to serve the cookies warm since it makes them taste like they're fresh from the oven even when they're technically not.
As for the Costco shoppers who've criticized the $2.49 price tag on the cookie, I understand why that may seem unusually expensive in comparison to other food court options like the $1.50 hot dog combo and $1.99 pizza slices. However, Costco's prices for this classic treat are actually much more competitive than what you'll find at other chains. Panera Bread's signature Chocolate Chipper Cookie, for example, is selling for $2.99 near me in central New Jersey right now. A Crumbl Cookies shop in my area is charging $4.80 for just one Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk cookie, which is almost two times more expensive than Costco's version.
So, the food court's new Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie is not only a gooey, chocolaty delight, but it's also a steal in terms of price. I'm already planning to start a new tradition of grabbing a cookie as my post-shopping reward after every future Costco run. It's that good.