The Worst Costco Cookie We've Tried

It's well-known that Costco has a bakery section full of deals and delicious finds. Large packs of cookies, croissants, and muffins come in handy at the workplace or for a party, but unfortunately, not all the treats are hits. When going for quantity, there's no need to sacrifice quality, a truth we learned when we ranked Costco's bakery cookies from worst to best so you don't have to try each one for yourself. One of our key takeaways was that Costco's white chocolate cranberry cookie was the worst treat of the bunch.

Mashed tried the four cookies available in the store at the time of ranking: chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate macadamia nut, and white chocolate cranberry. In order to decide our ranking, we taste-tested and examined each cookie for flavor, freshness, mix-in ratio, and quality consistency. Consistency was the main issue with the white chocolate cranberry cookie, which features a sugar cookie-like dough with white chocolate chunks and dried cranberry mix-ins. It sounds tasty, but not every cookie in Costco's 24-pack was a hit, resulting in their last-place ranking.

You open a box of white chocolate cookies and are met with the delicious scent of vanilla mixed with a hint of fruit. The texture is soft, plush, and very fresh — off to a good start. But what do you do when the quality of each cookie is completely different? Our main issue was the lack of consistency with the cookies' mix-ins. Some were full of tangy cranberry but lacked support from the smooth white chocolate. Others were overpowered by white chocolate chunks and their intense sweetness. This inadequate balance made the cookies hit-or-miss, and it's ultimately the reason they ranked last.

Interestingly, this addition to Costco's bakery already has a fan base. The white chocolate cranberry cookies were released at some point in early 2024 and became a new favorite bakery item among Costco fans. One Reddit thread had Costco shoppers calling the cookies "amazing" and "My new favorite Costco bakery cookie." Fans like the pairing of tart, fruity cranberry with sweet, creamy white chocolate — we just wish Costco could get the ratio of this combination correct. If you're curious, the best Costco bakery cookie in our ranking, chocolate chunk, comes as no surprise. This is a classic cookie flavor with a chewy center and plenty of chocolate.