7 Issues With Crumbl Cookies We Just Can’t Ignore

With the signature pink boxes, overly decorated cookies, massive portion sizes, and viral social media presence, Crumbl Cookies has built a quick-service cookie empire that has people lining up around the block. Instead of the classic chocolate chip, Crumbl Cookies pipes its treats with unique designs and limited-time flavors. The rotating menu creates chatter, the aesthetic and design of the cookies are perfect for anyone’s social media page, and the subsequent hype is undeniable. Everyone in the past year has probably seen at least one or two influencers trying the viral cookies on their social media page.

However, with every empire, everything isn’t always as it seems. From a sky-high calorie count and overpriced menu options to violations of labor laws, let’s dig into the problems everyone’s thinking about but not talking about. Here are the some issues with Crumbl Cookies we just can’t ignore, and that you should consider the next time you have a sweet tooth.

Everybody loves a sweet treat. Whether you prefer a simple bite of a high-quality dark chocolate or a slice of banana cream pie, it’s quite hard to turn one away when you’re hit with a sweet tooth. However, most people can agree that the last thing anyone wants is a dessert that’s a complete sugar overload — and that’s exactly what you’re getting from Crumbl Cookies.

Many Crumbl Cookies customers have reported that the cookies and baked goods are just too sweet to finish, with excessive frosting and toppings that overpower any actual flavor of the cookie. The last thing anyone wants their dessert to taste like is pure granulated sugar with no depth or complexity. The frosting is often piled on so thick that you’re barely even tasting the actual cookie.

A good quality cookie should have an interplay of flavors. Nothing is better than when you can taste everything, from the richness of the butter, the saltiness of the coarse sea salt, to the earthiness of the flour, rather than a one-note sugar bomb. Furthermore, you should also have a balance of textures, from crispy and crunchy to soft. A cookie shouldn’t just be a one-dimensional chew.

If there’s one thing you’ll learn being a professional pastry chef, it’s that pastry is precision. Each measurement from grams to ounces matters and can deeply affect your final product if you’re not following the recipe with a sharp eye. When it comes to Crumbl Cookies’ baking standard, it’s clear that precision isn’t its priority.

In recent months, many customers have expressed that the cookies have been inconsistently frosted or, even worse, undercooked in the middle. Some customers have even said that the cookies seem to be getting smaller, suggesting the company might be cutting down the portion while maintaining the same prices (potentially shrinkflation). This is a typical pattern of the franchise model in the bakery and restaurant industry alike. With over 1,000 locations across the United States, it’s granted that the quality control will vary significantly between locations — inevitably leading to unpredictable experiences and inconsistent baking standards.

Here’s a fun fact you probably didn’t know: Each Crumbl cookie is supposed to serve four people. With each serving ranging from 180 to over 220 calories, a whole cookie can be up to 720 calories — that’s often more than half the daily recommended intake in a single dessert. With massive portion sizes, it makes it nearly impossible to enjoy just a bite of the cookie.

Crumbl’s baked goods are so high in calories for several reasons. For starters, a single item from Crumbl can contain anywhere from 12 to 100 grams of sugar. If you’re eating an entire baked good, that could be more than double the limit recommended by the American Heart Association for most adults (36 grams). To be clear, just because Crumbl Cookies aren’t the best for you doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy them. You should enjoy them on special occasions like birthdays and holidays, or the next time you want to treat yourself. It’s just wild that it’s not commonly known that the actual serving size is about ¼ a regular-sized cookie.

Remember when you were a kid and ate almost your entire Halloween candy stash in one go? Well, a single Crumbl cookie is enough to trigger that nausea-inducing feeling. Your first bite is euphoric, the second one is tolerable, and by the third bite, you’re wishing you had your dentist on speed dial.

Beyond calories, the sugar content in Crumbl Cookies is extremely high, with some having over 75 grams of sugar in one cookie. With that amount of sugar in one cookie, it’s quite hard not to have a complete sugar overload. Oh, and not to mention the cookie is also filled with copious amounts of saturated fats and sodium — some cookies can contain nearly half of the recommended daily saturated fat intake. Furthermore, the cookies are also packed with frostings, sprinkles, candy pieces, and chocolate sauces, adding on loads of extra calories. Just like many desserts, there’s virtually no nutritional value in Crumbl’s cookies. They are great for an occasional indulgence at best, and that’s pretty much it.

Another issue with Crumbl Cookies that’s hard to ignore is that the menu isn’t quite accommodating to customers with dietary restrictions. Despite having a weekly rotating menu, there isn’t a permanent gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan option. Understandably, it’s hard to keep a professional kitchen safe from all allergens, especially if you’re working from a small kitchen where cross-contamination is common. However, it’s worth noting that other major dessert chains have at least made an effort by including one or two menu item alternatives for dietary-restricted customers.

Crumbl Cookies has to face the music, especially since these dietary needs aren’t niche anymore; they’re increasingly more common in every community. Occasionally, a gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan option may pop up every now and then, but for now, those with dietary restrictions are forced to play the waiting game. So if you have allergies or dietary needs, you might want to get your sweet treats elsewhere, since Crumble Cookies doesn’t prioritize inclusivity.

At $5.29 for a single cookie, $19.49 for a four-pack, $25.99 for a six-pack, and a whopping $49.99 for a dozen, you’re paying premium prices for what’s essentially a trendy bomb of sugar. You can easily make a dozen cookies at home that would cost you a third of what Crumbl charges — not to mention they’ll probably taste better, too. Try making these chewy coconut chocolate chip cookies or test this recipe for peanut butter cookies.

Alongside baking at home, many pastry chefs and confectionery connoisseurs can agree that local bakeries offer better quality goods at lower prices. You want to know the best part about shopping locally instead of buying from a big chain like Crumbl? You’re supporting your community and small business owners. So ditch Crumbl’s expensive sweet treats for better quality baked goods made by people who take pride in their craft and support local.

Another issue we just can’t turn a blind eye to is that Crumbl Cookies violated labor laws recently. Forget the overpriced menu items, the sugar overload, the cookies being too sweet to finish, or the lines being too long, since the U.S. Department of Labor found that 11 Crumbl Cookies’ franchises violated child labor laws in six states.

The investigation explains that these specific franchises allowed 14 and 15-year-olds to work more hours than the law permits. Furthermore, some of these franchises also assigned minors to work with potentially dangerous ovens and machinery — a clear violation of federal safety standards for young workers. For those of you who don’t know, this style of kitchen equipment explicitly prohibits people under the age of 16 from operating it. All of these issues resulted in citations and significant fines from the Department of Labor.