Berkeley and Emeryville have seen an explosion of fancy cookie joints recently and we break it down for you. Do you want to push your stroller to a cookie spot for an afternoon treat or order a dozen or two for a party dessert? We got you with price breakdowns and neighborhood tips for each.
Whether it takes you one day or a month of Sundays to finish this cookie trail, we think there are some really fun flavors to explore. If you’re a real cookie aficionado, you could bike from northeast to southwest on a {510} cookie trail, but that would only be for the sweetest of sweet tooths!
For this round-up, sometimes, we walked in the bakery door with a clear mission like “I want four cookies” and we missed the obvious promotion (“20 cookies for $20”), and other times we were swayed by a good deal that left us with armfuls of dough products we hadn’t intended to buy. Basically, we tried hundreds of dollars of cookies so you don’t have to.
Butter Pecan, Emeryville
Small East Bay franchise with tasty cookies with fresh, warm cookies and an assortment of standard and some seasonal flavors. My favorite was the dark chocolate and sea salt.
Parking: Street parking only
Price for a dozen: $32
Location: 6472 Hollis St., Ste. 109, Emeryville about a third mile from Doyle-Hollis Park or a half mile from Cookie Plug.
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Cookie Plug, Emeryville
The hip-hop vibes of the decor of this massive chain extend to the cookie names with lots of drug-related puns. The ‘phatties’ are wonderful, giant, thick cookies that you’ll want to cut into fourths to share with your people. Flavors are very good and range from the basic (OG chocolate chip) to the creative (purple haze). They also sell toddler-friendly minis in a mixed flavor multi-pack, keto cookies, and frozen dough.
Parking: Street parking only
Price for one: $5
Price for a dozen: $40
How to get a deal: Download the app or pay attention to the daily specials.
Location: 6399 Christie Avenue, Suite C, Emeryville, about a block from the Public Market and the whale playground there.
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Lots more things to do in Emeryville with kids >>
Anthony’s Cookies, Berkeley
With locations in Berkeley and San Francisco, Anthony’s Cookies specializes in medium-small, delicious cookies. Flavors change regularly based on available ingredients. The most popular flavors are chocolate chip, cookies + cream, and toffee chip. This sweet shop sells Strauss ice cream, too, so you can get a high-end ice cream sandwich.
Parking: Street parking on San Pablo is tricky. You will have better luck with Parker or Blake.
Price for one: $2.50 to $6
How to get a deal: Companies can buy cookie subscriptions with a monthly allotment of 100+ cookies.
Location: 2575 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley (between Parker & Blake Streets), only .4 miles from San Pablo Park, sports fields, and playground or Nuttin’ Butter Cookies.
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Nuttin’ Butter Cookies, Berkeley
This Black-Woman-owned pop-up and catering bakery specializes in gourmet nut-based cookies with an array of 14 nuts in regular recipe rotation. Local delivery is available. Cookies are wrapped individually for freshness.
Parking: Street parking is available on Dwight Way or Valley Street but curbside pickup is an option, too.
Price for one: $3
Price for two dozen: $72 for 24 cookies on a small tray
Location: 1371 Dwight Way, Berkeley only .4 miles from San Pablo Park, sports fields, and playground.
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Lots of fun things to do with kids in Berkeley >
Insomnia Cookies, Berkeley near Cal Campus
Insomnia is part of a massive chain of hot-cookie purveyors that recently opened right near UC Berkeley. Cookies are regular-large size cookies, warm, and tasty. Ice cream is optional. They will also deliver to your home really late and ship nationally.
Parking: Street parking is really difficult here. Can you bike or walk in?
Price for one: $3 for classic, $5 for deluxe
Price for a dozen: $30 (but you can also get 20 for $20)
How to get a deal: Download the app and look for regular specials on the website.
Location: 1767 Dwight Ave, Berkeley two blocks east of Crumbl
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Crumbl, Berkeley near Cal Campus
Crumbl is part of a massive national chain of fancifully decorated giant cookies with the sweetness and toppings of a cupcake. They recently opened right near UC Berkeley. Individual cookies are 4.5″ in diameter and small cookies are only available with larger catering orders. The menu changes weekly.
Parking:Â Street parking is really difficult here. Can you bike or walk in?
Price for one: $4.88
Price for a dozen: $41.63
How to get a deal: Download the app
Location: 1767 Dwight Ave, Berkeley two blocks west of Insomnia.
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