But when she arrived at 68 E. First St., a few hours before their 6 p.m. closing, there was a disheartening sign on the door saying they were sold out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a group of young people who walked up behind me and were audibly disappointed,\u201d she recalled to The Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter seeing Red Gate was closed, I ended up walking over to Supermoon Bakehouse and tried their chocolate chip and Maldon sea salt cookie,\u201d White shared. \u201cIt was good, but I probably wouldn\u2019t rate it among the highest on my list just based on personal preference.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old knows a thing or two about cookies. She\u2019s traveled to NYC several times before to try baked treats that she\u2019s heard a ton about online \u2014 and she even keeps a ranking list on her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve tried Levain, Culture Espresso, Seven Grams, Schmackary\u2019s, Funny Face, Chip City and Breads Bakery.\u201d Her favorite? Seven Grams because of their cookies\u2019 \u201ccrispy edges with a soft center and good ratio of dough-to-chips.\u201d<\/p>\n
These days, people are going to extreme lengths to indulge in a delicious cookie. Tamara Beckwith\/N.Y.Post; Food Stylist: Rachel Shupe<\/p>\n
Although other dessert hysterias have come and gone, the good old-fashioned cookie has clearly taken over as the ultimate sweet treat of America.<\/p>\n
White isn\u2019t alone. These days, people like her and her husband are willing to travel from all over to say they\u2019ve tried the latest talked-about cookie, while others are happy to drop $140 on a dozen luxury cookies from online cookie shops like Last Crumb<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world is tough right now. There\u2019s something about a cookie that is very comforting,\u201d food blogger Mia Wiston, 33, known on Instagram as @dishingdaily<\/a>, admitted to The Post. \u201cI think there\u2019s something to be said for these simple pleasures that just brighten up somebody\u2019s day.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, NYC\u2019s cookie bakeries<\/a> have quickly become the cupcake shops of the 2020s.<\/p>\n Cookies seem to be back and better than ever. Tamara Beckwith\/N.Y.Post; Food Stylist: Rachel Shupe<\/p>\n After that famous \u201cSex and the City\u201d episode of Carrie Bradshaw eating a vanilla cupcake with pink frosting\u00a0from Magnolia Bakery aired in the early aughts, tourists hogged the Bleecker Street sidewalk, begging their way into the beloved West Village bakery.<\/p>\n From there, popular spots like Crumbs, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Georgetown Cupcake and Baked by Melissa started popping up all over the country. <\/p>\n There was even a cupcake-baking competition show on the Food Network, called \u201cCupcake Wars,\u201d in 2010.<\/p>\n Fads of funky desserts tried to replace the cupcake, but nothing ever truly stuck \u2014 until now. Crumbs, above, closed up its shops nearly a decade ago. Getty Images<\/p>\n These once megapopular cupcake shops are still operating, but at a smaller scale for some. Crumbs permanently closed all of its retail stores in 2016<\/a>, now only offering an online ordering option. Georgetown Cupcake only has two stores, but Sprinkles Cupcakes and Baked by Melissa seem to be hanging in there, with various shops still operating around the country<\/p>\n Now, it seems that prime real estate around NYC is being snapped up by cookie bakeries like Levain Bakery, Milk Bar, Red Gate, Chip City, which has a whopping 18 locations in the city, and Crumbl with five local storefronts, causing people like White to line up around the block for them, urged on by influencers who make cookie review videos on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think some of these lines have gotten out of hand,\u201d Wiston said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if something\u2019s good and you want to wait on line on the weekend and maybe talk to the people in front of you or behind you, why not? It\u2019s kind of this communal city experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Foodie TikTokker Sarah Jean (@sarahjeaneats<\/a>) echoed this sentiment, telling The Post: \u201cI just think it\u2019s something that we can all connect to and relate to each other on.\u201d<\/p>\n The cookie phenomenon has expanded even beyond long lines of hungry customers, too.<\/p>\n Milk Bar has been an NYC staple that\u2019s now being forced to keep up with cookie-loving customers. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n Cookies seem to be the ultimate sweet treat that America can\u2019t get enough of. Tamara Beckwith\/N.Y.Post; Food Stylist: Rachel Shupe<\/p>\n Chip City has partnered with JetBlue, enabling cookie lovers to earn extra rewards points while flying. The cookie chain also created a cookie inspired by a Bloom Nutrition energy drink. <\/p>\n Crumbl has collaborated with A-list celebrities like the Kardashians and the Jonas Brothers. Milk Bar has teamed up with Bath & Body Works to create an entire line<\/a> of cookie-scented candles, body care and hand soaps.<\/p>\n Even the beloved Levain Bakery<\/a>, which opened its Upper West Side doors 30 years ago and found great success with its massively thick cookies with a gooey center and a crisp exterior, has joined forces with candle company Snif to release a $46 limited-edition candle<\/a> to celebrate its milestone anniversary.<\/p>\n The first viral cookie \u2014 before \u201cviral\u201d was even in our lexicon \u2014 came from Levain Bakery, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Mark Weinberg<\/p>\n Some skeptics might wonder if this cookie craze will eventually fade like its cupcake counterpart, but in this technology-obsessed digital age, social media might be the cookie\u2019s saving grace.<\/p>\n One company in particular that skyrocketed to fame with the help of the internet is Crumbl, which was founded in Logan, Utah, in 2017, and now has over 1,100 stores throughout the country, with at least one in every state.<\/p>\n Crumbl has incorporated social media \u201cas part of their DNA from day one.\u201d UCG\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIt actually came organically at first,\u201d Crumbl CEO and co-founder Jason McGowan told The Post. \u201cA lot of the interactions and people being excited about our brand \u2014 it\u2019s all from our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n McGowan was aware of the buzz Crumbl was creating online<\/a>, so his team cleverly thought of the idea to feature those same social media videos on large TVs in their stores.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kind of took that huge success and really highlighted that all throughout our system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To differentiate itself from other cookie shop competitors, Crumbl offers different cookies weekly, featuring wild flavors like Dubai chocolate cheesecake and caramel apple cookies, \u201cwhich creates this kind of experience across the world, where someone in Canada could be trying the same flavor as someone in New York,\u201d McGowan added.<\/p>\n Chip City<\/a> also opened in 2017 in Astoria, Queens, and now has 52 locations across nine states. Similar to Crumbl, the cookie hotspot has built quite a fanbase online with its wacky, stop-you-in-your-tracks flavors like Pop-Tarts, Cap\u2019n Crunch, Teddy Grahams, Pringles and more.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a mountain of work because it\u2019s not just the creative process of making a cookie, it goes into the marketing side of things \u2026 and finding something everybody\u2019s happy with,\u201d Chip City CEO and co-founder Peter Phillips told The Post. <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/11-17-25-cookie-trend-115662606.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cThere are all kinds of fun things that we\u2019ve done that really hit on those nostalgic moments for people,\u201d Chip City\u2019s Peter Phillips told The Post. Tamara Beckwith\/N.Y.Post; Food Stylist: Rachel Shupe<\/p>\n![\"Assorted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/features-special-section-weddings-bridal-14720797.jpg\")
<\/a>Since opening in 2008, Milk Bar has released several other cookie flavors. Handout<\/p>\n