Cheryl’s Mystery Cookie Is Strangely Familiar…

Cheryl’s Cookies have been part of my life as long as I can remember. This small chain of bakeries started out as a single independent bakery in Columbus, Ohio, over forty years ago before becoming a subsidiary of 1-800-Flowers. I remember bringing my elementary school report cards into the Town & Country location to trade A’s for cookies–a fact that brought the Cheryl’s team all kinds of warm fuzzies when I told them back at the National Restaurant Association Expo earlier this year. (Alongside their own stores and online sales, Cheryl’s also produces desserts for restaurant chains like Donato’s and Chicken Salad Chick, warranting their appearance at a restaurant-focused show.)

Videos by Sporked

During that same chat, I got a sneak peek of some upcoming flavors from the nostalgic cookie brand. No spoilers, but there’s a “swicy” cookie coming up that sounds much more palatable than their Frank’s RedHot collaboration.

I also got to tell the team that their recent Banana Pudding Cookie is the best cookie they’ve ever made. As Sporked’s established banana pudding fanatic, I made sure they knew how much I appreciated the dedication to detail in topping the banana-flavored buttercream on each cookie with a miniature vanilla wafer-sized/-flavored cookie. An actual vanilla wafer would add some hefty crunch to a classically soft cookie; mimicking the wafer with a miniature cookie is a legitimately genius maneuver.

A more recent Cheryl’s tradition I’ve taken up is sneaking their cookies into movie theaters–don’t judge. I stopped into one of their bakeries a few days ago, hoping to snag one of those all-timer Banana Pudding cookies for my second viewing of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In what feels like my own Parker luck, it looks like that particular flavor has been wiped from Cheryl’s shelves with a memory spell; luckily, I found something very interesting in its place. Cheryl’s has produced their first mystery cookie–right up my alley as a mystery-flavor investigator. I snagged one for a post-movie review; let’s find out what Cheryl’s cooked up in secret.

Cheryl’s Mystery Cookie Review

New Cheryl’s Cookie?

Pros: I absolutely love this cookie. Like every Cheryl’s cookie, it’s perfectly soft, moist without being wet, and just on this side of tooth-meltingly sweet. (Splitting a Cheryl’s cookie with a +1 is the only proven method to avoid a sugar rush.)

As for the mystery flavor? It’s complicated.

Cons: Y’all, this tastes very similar to the Banana Pudding Cookie I was talking about! There’s a chance this is a variant on that modern classic–maybe a Banana Cream Pie or a Banana Milkshake? Basically, there’s no doubt in my mind this has a banana base. That said, I’m really wondering what the thought process is behind producing a mystery flavor that was on shelves just a few months ago. Lucky for us, there’s a line hidden in the webstore’s product listing that might shed some light on this mystery.

Credit: Griffin Parker / Cheryl’s Cookies

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

What information is hidden on Cheryl’s website about this flavor?

The listing doesn’t specify too much about what’s packed into these buttercream beauties; the one line that feels relevant to us is: “Flavors will vary by box.”

Does this mean the “Mystery Flavor” will change over time, dependent on what batch you get? If so, I have a pretty strong theory about why this flavor tastes so much like my beloved Banana Pudding cookie… it is the Banana Pudding cookie.

This Mystery Cookie offering could be Cheryl’s new method of using up leftover flavoring mixes after their established limited-time period is over. The brand already states that their randomized Value Variety Box may include cookies from previous seasonal drops. Considering the Banana Pudding cookies take more effort than a standard cookie (a second, smaller cookie as a garnish surely complicates the process), it would make total sense to reuse the flavoring in this mystery format rather than letting it go to waste. That said, I do have an alternate idea for Cheryl’s that feels perfect for state fair season–how about a Chocolate Covered Banana cookie featuring this icing on the existing chocolate cookie? Let’s talk.