Ben’s Cookies

Grapevine Mills: it’s a mecca for family fun. Between the aquarium, Legoland, Peppa Pig’s World of Play and BuildA-Bear, it’s enough to keep a kid entertained for an entire day. However, the second mom wants to step inside a grown-up store or grab a cup of coffee, the wheels immediately fall off and your 4-year-old is ready to go home— or is that just me?

I recently football carried my child out of ‘Let’s Pretend Tea Parties’ towards the nearest mall exit, I noticed a new Louboutin red glossy storefront. The sign read Ben’s Cookies. “Oh, sweet potato (the term of endearment for child in football carry), how about we grab a cookie for the car ride?” Sweet potato screamed emphatically, “I don’t want a cookie. I want to go home.” And that’s the way the cookie crumbled!

A few weeks later, my dear photographer friend and fellow Society Life contributor Lorraine called me with palpable excitement from her first word. “Have you tried Ben’s Cookies yet?” I told her regretfully, no, but it was on my foodie bucket list. Lorraine went on to explain to me that Ben’s Cookies, first established in Oxford, were very near to her heart as there was a location in her hometown of Bath, England.

The very next time I saw Lorraine, she gifted me a box of a variety of Ben’s Cookies. Just from the smell permeating the box, I knew they were going to be something special to me, too.

Ben’s Cookies was founded in 1983 in the home of the chocolate-loving food writer Helge Rubinstein. Helge baked incredibly decadent cookies that were too good not to share. Her first shop opened in 1984 in Oxford’s Covered Market, and their brand name was inspired by Helge’s son, Ben (that’s him in the logo, illustrated by renowned artist Sir Quentin Blake). Although they’re selling far more cookies than when they were in the market, their approach stays the same—freshly baked with chocolate chunks… not chips.

Ben’s Cookies follow beloved classic chocolate chip recipes, but instead of the small chocolate morsels we have become accustom to, they use big hunks of chocolate. Ben’s flavors include milk chocolate chunk, dark chocolate chunk, white chocolate chunk and double chocolate chunk with chocolate chunks in a chocolate cookie base (a cookiebrownie hybrid and my not-to-be-missed item for chocolate fans). They also offer nonchocolate cookies, including oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, lemon, coconut and the cinnamon-y fan favorite: snickerdoodle (my recommendation for non-chocolate lovers – if there is such a thing).

So how did Ben’s make it stateside?

Owner Truett Horne discovered them while studying abroad in college at Oxford. “When I first tasted Ben’s almost two decades ago, I immediately fell in love. It was (and still is) the best cookie-dessert-treat I’ve ever enjoyed.” He brought the concept from England to the U.S. in the Spring of 2022 when he opened the first U.S. outpost at Grapevine Mills Mall. The hunky cookies were so well-received Horne opened a second location the following Spring in Dallas’ Snider Plaza.

So what sets Ben’s Cookies apart from their great American counterparts?

Horne says it’s simply the taste. “Most of the cookie brands today are focused on novelty, colors and variety, but not on flavor. We obsess over ingredients, like Belgian chocolate, and how we bake to make sure our cookies come out perfect every single time—slightly crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside. And chocolatey throughout.”

If you’re looking for something to beat the heat this summer, Ben’s also offers frozen treats, such as shakes and ice cream, including, of course, a “cookie monster” flavor—an indulgent mashup of Ben’s cookies and ice cream. They also ship cookies both locally and nationally to Ben’s fans across the U.S. With only two U.S. locations, both being in Texas, it’s the perfect unique gift to send to out-of-state family!