I recently set out to solve one of the biggest mysteries facing young people in San Jose: What are the best cookies in the area? After taste-testing a chocolate chip cookie from all the locations, as well as their most popular cookie, I came to these results.
- Nox Cookie Bar.
Coming in at number one is Nox Cookie Bar. Not only are they close to campus, with a six-minute drive or a fifteen-minute walk, but they are also pretty affordable. Each cookie is around a dollar and eighty-five cents, and the size is also good! My personal favorite was the chocolate chip ‘n chunk. It was chewy, chocolaty, and marked all the boxes of a fantastic cookie. When I asked for their most popular cookie, I was given a Snickerdoodle, and I can totally see why. This cookie had a great amount of cinnamon sugar on it, and the cookie was chewy, with a little crunch around the outside.
- Choc Cookies
These cookies at Choc Cookies were by far my favorite out of all the cookies I tried, but I put them in second for a few different reasons. The menu was pretty limited, so I got the only two cookies they offered. The chocolate chip cookie was life-changing. The cookies sold here are about double the size of the ones anywhere else I went, but there is also a downside to that. You can’t buy just a single cookie, they come in packs of four, either with two of each flavor, or four of the same flavor. The other cookie offered was a pumpkin spice cookie, which was also very good, and made you feel even more in the fall spirit. These cookies had the perfect combination of chewy and crunchy, where the outside was crunchy, and then the middle was a large mound that almost felt like cookie dough. This cookie shop was about a seventeen-minute drive from campus, so if you want to drive, this place is well worth it.
- Insomnia Cookies
Insomnia Cookies were great! I tried the chocolate chip cookie, and the most popular flavor salted caramel. The chocolate chip was good but compared to the cookies at Nox and Choc, it wasn’t the best cookie option. It had a very good flavor, but overall the chocolate chip cookie was a little small, and more expensive than Nox. The salted caramel cookie was amazing! I personally am a big fan of salted caramel, and this cookie did not disappoint. It was more on the crunchy side, but the caramel added some gooey goodness. This cookie spot is also very close to campus, coming in at only a six-minute drive or an eighteen-minute walk through downtown.
- 7-Eleven
As a college student, I totally understand wanting to get a cookie for cheap. When I walked to the 7-Eleven by campus, they only had the chocolate chip cookie, but it was really good. It was chewy, there were a lot of chocolate chunks in it, and it was a quick and easy purchase. Surprisingly, the cookie from 7-Eleven was around the same price as Nox or Cream. It’s only about a four-minute walk from campus, so if any of the other cookie places are closed, or if you just want a fast cookie, this is the perfect option.
- Cream
Cream cookies are very good, but overall you can tell they are made specifically for ice cream sandwiches. I love the ice cream sandwiches from Cream, but for the sake of this, I only focused on the cookie. I really enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie, it had a good amount of crunch and chocolate chips in it. The other flavor I was given to try was the snickerdoodle. This cookie was also very good, and while I enjoyed the flavor and crunch of the cookie, it was a little small. The cookies themselves were around the same price as Nox, so if you want an ice cream sandwich, go-to cream, but if not, I truly think Nox is the better option. Cream is also super close to campus, and it is right across the street from Insomnia Cookies!
Keep in mind that all the opinions within this article are my own and that every cookie place mentioned above is an amazing choice for cookies. I would highly recommend going and doing a taste test of your own to decide which cookie spot is best for you!
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