Restaurant Review: Great North Cookie Co.

GREAT NORTH COOKIE CO.

20 McLeod Avenue, Spruce Grove | greatnorthcookieco.com

Instagram: @greatnorthcookieco

Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew

Picture a warm, soft, gourmet cookie straight out of the oven... And then take yourself straight to Great North Cookie Co. in Spruce Grove. Open since 2023 (and now with a location in West Edmonton Mall) there might not be a better place in the Edmonton area to get your cookie on. Named as a Favourite Bakery on the Edmonton Food Faves We Crave 2024 list, this shop is just getting started with their long list of playful cookie recipes. The shop itself is actually a cafe and not only a cookie outpost. A blush-hued haven, the space offers cozy seating, ethereal flower arrangements, and dusty rose cushions. There's even a small retail shelf and an area for small kids to play. For a cookie shop, it really couldn't be prettier! Their mascot is a beaver (I think his name is Chewy) wearing a chef's hat and you know that that guy means business! I visited on a Sunday morning and the glass case at the front was filled with rows upon rows of cookies, each flavour sounding more delicious than the last. In fact, Great North Cookie boasts a roster of at least 74 different cookie flavours which they rotate throughout the year - that's a lot of potential cookie enjoyment!! Many of the flavours are perfect seasonal matches to the particular time of year and others just sound amazing any time; like the Chewy's Beaver Dam or the Double Chocolate Stuffed Peanut Butter. They've also got their eye on the trends, coming out with a Dubai Pistachio cookie to keep up with the craze. The options are seemingly endless and your best bet is to follow their social media to see which flavours are available each month. Cookies are an obvious must on any visit and I went for the Half Dozen ($24.00), each cookie placed carefully into their signature blush-coloured box.

Here are all of the flavours that I tried and what I thought of them! Cookie Monster ~ A vanilla flavoured blue dough infused with both white chocolate and milk chocolate chips, topped with homemade royal icing googly eyes and half a chocolate chip cookie! This one just feels like a must because it's Cookie Monster after all. Very cute and I love the cookie in his mouth. It tasted like a classic chocolate chip cookie for the most part. I think that this one might be a bit of a signature flavour for Great North because I've seen it on multiple visits. Reese ~ The perfect cookie for a Reese lover! This dough is filled with creamy milk chocolate chips, Reese's Pieces & Reese Peanut Buttercups. Topped with half a Reese buttercup and extra pieces! There's A LOT of Reese in this cookie! It's very peanut buttery and chocolatey and you really do get the entire Reese experience in cookie form! Tiramisu ~ A rich espresso dough with milk chocolate chips. Baked to perfection and topped with a ribbon of marscapone buttercream. This cookie felt a bit more grown up and I really enjoyed the coffee flavour. In fact, this cookie would pair perfectly with a latte. I loved the slight tartness in the marscapone buttercream and felt that they captured this Italian dessert well. Banoffee ~ A soft banana cookie crowned with dulce de leche, whipped banana cream, dark chocolate curls, and a golden banana chip. This one was my favourite by a lot!!! As soon as I bit into this cookie I was saying "wow" because of the perfectly delicious mix of textures and flavours! I loved the combination of banana and dulce de leche! The fluffy whipped banana cream on top took everything to the next level! This is the cookie that I will continue to think about. Must try! Worms in Dirt ~ A rich chocolate dough baked to perfection, topped with a thick chocolate frosting, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm. I barely got to taste this one before my son claimed it, but it was very chocolatey. Milk Chocolate Sea Salt ~ Sweet with a hint of salty. The perfect cookie to dunk in a glass of cold milk! Another flavour that I believe they keep on hand most of the time, this cookie had just come out of the oven and I got to enjoy it in it's full warm and gooey glory. Every cookie should be served this way! Deliciously classic with a hint of salt. This cookie really gives you everything that you need. Each cookie was a nice generous size and quite thick! You certainly get a whole lot of cookie goodness in each bite! A beverage was needed to accompany all of this cookie consumption and I chose a Mocha ($5.75 for regular size). However, you can definitely get a glass of milk for $2 and that would be a good call too.

The Mocha was decently fine but I wouldn't say that it's to the caliber of a dedicated coffee shop. I couldn't spot who's beans they were using. The coffee itself was more of a darker roast than I would like and the chocolate was fine. Not the best mocha but far from the worst. Lastly, my biggest surprise at Great North Cookie Co. was discovering that they also serve Panini sandwiches. I truly had no idea! There are four sandwiches on the menu which really does elevate this shop to cafe status, giving customers a complete meal option. On my visit I was told that only one of the sandwiches was available, the Fall Turkey Panini ($7.95), so I ordered that.

Brie, turkey, spinach, cranberry, stuffing.

Honestly, this sandwich continued to be the unexpected hit of the entire visit! I was amazed at the big, abundant chunks of real turkey, there were huge slabs of melty brie cheese, and the bread was thick and toasty. I was impressed at the quality of the ingredients and how the panini was packed full of ingredients. Very good value!! I don't think that my sandwich contained any spinach at all and I could have used a bit more of the cranberry and stuffing components just to get more of that falltime flavour. But overall, this sandwich delivered way more than I ever would have expected at all. It's a given that Great North Cookie Co. is baking up some really unique and creative cookies - you simply cannot go wrong with them! But what I really enjoyed was the complete cafe experience, full of esthetics and everything else that you would hope to find in a lovely cafe visit. Come for the cookies and stay for the ambiance!