How the cookie crumbl es Dessert spot offers 6 new treats per week

By K. MAUSER The Breeze

This summer, the doors of Harrisonburg’s newest dessert spot opened to the public, engulfing each of its customers in its delicious aroma of warm cookies.

Crumbl Cookies, located in between the Walmart and Home Depot on Burgess Road, brought to the Friendly City by three brothers: Paul, Preston and Larry Howell. Both Preston and Paul own the store while Larry manages.

This business is the latest addition to Harrisonburg’s cookie scene, adding to latenight hotspots such as Insomnia Cookies and Campus Cookies. These stores not only provide after-class employment for college students but also longer store hours for customers who savor a 9:30 p.m. treat.

“What we bring, besides employment and delicious cookies, is just a fun vibe,” Preston said, adding that the community would benefit from the long hours the store is open: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.-midnight. on Fridays and Saturdays. The store’s closed on Sundays.

Store manager Madison Earnst said every Monday the store has six new cookies on its menu, so the selection is different each week. She said each week they typically have a milk chocolate chip or semi-sweet chocolate chunk cookie.

Earnst also said if customers happen to come in on a Monday, the store has some of last week’s cookies along with that week’s cookies, so their menu variety is a little more robust on Mondays.

“It’s a corporate franchise, so every Crumbl has the same cookies in every store each week, with one exception,” Preston said. “Once a month, we have a mystery cookie, and we get to decide what cookie that is.”

This week’s mystery cookie is a Classic Peanut Butter cookie, which the company’s YouTube video about the cookie describes as “bursting with peanut butter flavor and decorated with a vintage cross-hatch pattern.”

K’s Corner

After trying four of Crumbl Cookies’ different flavors over the course of two weeks, I can honestly say I was taken aback by the richness of the flavors and soft consistency of the cookie. I was especially amazed by the Strawberry Ice Cream Bar cookie, which Crumbl’s YouTube video on the cookie describes as a “strawberry-and-vanilla cookie layered with whipped vanilla buttercream and a sweet sprinkle of vanilla strawberry streusel.” I was surprised by how much this cookie actually reminded me of a strawberry ice cream bar.

I was also impressed by the Sugar Shark cookie because of its timely allusion to Shark Week. The cookie itself was extremely tasty for just being a sugar cookie, and the gummy shark on the top was a nice addition.

Crumbl Cookies’ long hours, as well as the deliciousness of the cookies, could make this store Harrisonburg’s next dessert craze — due in part to the fact that each cookie is made from scratch.

Larry said he often takes into account customer requests when deciding the flavor of Harrisonburg’s mystery cookie, and Preston said he’d love to see community members coming in and giving them suggestions for this cookie.

“Everything here is homemade,” Earnst said. “We have something that we call a dough team, which consists of about eight different people, and they come in every morning and make all of our cookie dough, all of our frostings, everything, from scratch.”

Preston said a typical batch of warm cookies takes a little over an hour to make from start to finish, but their weekly chilled cookies can take up to four hours to make due to the extra time it takes to both bake and chill the cookies.

Earnst said many of the cookies not sold by the end of the day at Harrisonburg’s location are donated to various local organizations such as homeless shelters. Larry said Harrisonburg’s Crumbl Cookies has also donated to other nonprofits in the past, such as organizations raising money for people with Down syndrome or leukemia.

Earnst said another thing Crumbl Cookies will bring to the Harrisonburg community is new employment opportunities.

“We [always have] jobs, especially for the younger people,” Earnst said. “We are open till late, and we also open so early.”

Larry said he’s looking forward to JMU students returning to town and engaging with them.

“We’re a little anxious and excited,” Preston said. “It’s time to see what the student reaction is to Crumbl.”

CONTACT K. Mauser at mauserkk@dukes.jmu.edu. For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

Kaiden Bridges & Jackson Hephner EMAIL breezesports@gmail.com