We’re back on the Crumbl grind! If you haven’t been following, we’ve been obsessively tasting and ranking Crumbl Cookie’s weekly drops for about a month now, and it’s been some of the most fun we’ve had since we went out and ranked every fast food hamburger patty (yes, we mean JUST the patties). This week Crumbl is forcing us out of summer and into fall with a lineup of treats that exude chill autumnal vibes. So expect maple, cinnamon, pumpkin, and even fried ice cream. Nothing says summer is over like the need to fry ice cream.
So far, this has been the toughest week for me to rank as most of the cookies dropping are delicious enough to be someone’s favorite. This week brings the debut of the Maple Cinnamon Square and the return of the fan-favorite Caramel Pumpkin Cake, so if you’re ready for summer to end already, you’re going to find a lot to love at Crumbl.
Here are the best Crumbl Cookies for the week of September 16-21, ranked from least to most essential. Let’s dive in.
6. Raspberry Cheesecake ft. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Raspberry Cheesecake is the only cookie this week that I think is a straight-up skip. There is nothing special about this cookie; it’s quite simply a slice of cheesecake shaped like a cookie.
Over a thick graham cracker crust, the cheesecake base of this cookie is vanilla topped with raspberry spread and some whipped cream. It tastes like your run-of-the-mill cheesecake.
It checks all the boxes of what you’d expect out of cheesecake: tangy, rich, and the best part of it is the graham cracker crust. At nearly $5 per cookie, you could just hit up your market and pick up a cheesecake from the frozen aisle and get the same experience, but way more cheesecake.
The Bottom Line:
Not special enough to really wow us. If you love PHILADELPHIA cream cheese, go for it, you’ll like this. But if you’ve had cheesecake before, this isn’t offering you anything new or interesting.
5. Caramel Pumpkin Cake
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Don’t let the look of this dessert fool you; this isn’t a cookie, it’s a cake (as the name would suggest). It’s soft, fluffy, and best enjoyed with a fork. I really like the flavor here, it’s a mix of rich spices and pumpkin balanced by a cream cheese frosting peppered with pumpkin cookie crumbs to add some texture and tame the tang of the cream cheese.
The texture however leaves a lot to be desired. This cake is most enjoyable in the center, where it’s soft. The exterior is a bit too dry, and that drier consistency doesn’t have as much flavor as the more moist areas of the cake. That kind of leaves the rim of the cake a throwaway, and because of that as much as I like this flavor, I can’t rank it any higher.
The Bottom Line:
The center of the cookie is amazing, but the outer edge is throwaway.
4. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Because Crumbl alternates between Milk Chocolate and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip cookies every week, I’m considering dropping this cookie entirely from the ranking, especially because it often lands around the middle of our rankings every week.
There isn’t much to say here, this is a very good chocolate chip cookie generously adorned with chunky semi-sweet chocolate ships and just a pinch of salt. If that sounds delicious to you, this cookie is going to deliver, but it’s almost always available so there is no need to buy this cookie unless its your favorite.
The Bottom Line:
Always a great, albeit boring, choice.
3. Brownie Batter
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Crumbl says this is a chocolate cookie topped with brownie batter, but I don’t know, it kind of just tastes exactly like a fudge brownie in the shape of a cookie. If you love brownies — and we do — that makes this a great option. It’s moist, decadent, and very rich, with a gooey fudge center and some semi-sweet chocolate bitterness on the backend.
Be warned, this is the type of cookie that’s so rich you’re going to need some sort of milk or at the very least a big swig of water once you hit the halfway point. It has a tendency to flood your tastebuds with chocolatey flavor.
The Bottom Line:
Wonderfully rich and decadent. If you love fresh brownies, you’ll love this.
2. Fried Ice Cream
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I had a lot of high hopes for this cookie because I love deep-fried ice cream. While it doesn’t quite deliver an experience like tempura ice cream, it’s still very delicious. Over a cinnamon cookie base sits a smear of butter cream topped with cinnamon-seasoned bits of streusel.
The cookie is buttery, cinnamon-rich, and incredibly sweet, with an addictive crunchy texture.
The Bottom Line:
Imagine an elevated sugar cookie with a crispy cinnamon-infused streusel topping and rich buttercream.
1. Maple Cinnamon Square
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
This marks the fourth week in a row where the top spot on our Crumbl ranking has gone not to a cookie but to a cake. At this point, it almost feels like a cliche for me to award a cake the top spot and I desperately wanted this week to be different, but I have to keep it real. This is the best release at Crumbl this week. Hands down!
The Maple Cinnamon Square is moist and decadent and composed of a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter marbled together and topped with maple cream cheese frosting.
The cake has a flavor similar to a freshly baked cinnamon roll, without the chewy texture. The maple brings some nice caramel and vanilla flavors to the equation, which lightens the spicy cinnamon vibe of the bread.
The Bottom Line:
A perfect balance of maple and cinnamon flavor. The newest dessert from Crumbl is an absolute essential. Pick it up while you can.
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