Anisha Holla
Audio By Carbonatix
England’s best cookies are now available in the U.S., and you can indulge right here in Dallas.
Ben’s Cookies – contrary to the name – aren’t actually Ben’s. Rather, the European cookie shop is the brainchild of Helge Rubenstein, who started baking cookies in her home kitchen in Oxford in 1983. Today, the Ben’s Cookies logo is universally worshiped, with locations around the U.K., Asia and the Middle East. Dallas’ Snider Plaza location marks the cookie chain’s second outlet in the U.S. But based on our initial taste test, we anticipate there’ll be lots more.
Ben’s Cookies was established in Oxford, England, in 1983, and now it’s here in Dallas.
Anisha Holla
Ben’s cookies are still made with the time-tested 1983 recipe. The store’s motto, “chunks not chips,” is a nod to Rubenstein’s original chocolate-chip-cookie formula, which uses large chunks of chocolate instead of typical chocolate chips. To this day, Ben’s Cookies’ dough is still mixed in the Oxford kitchen. Cane sugar, wheat flour and Belgian-sourced chocolate chunks are folded together and then shipped out to 60-plus locations across the globe, where they’re baked fresh for customers. The chocolate-loaded goodness that results is no joke.
You’ll see the oven in the back of the Snider Plaza location spitting out cookies as soon as you walk in. Hopefully, you hit the jackpot and a fresh batch is being baked when you visit: the aromas of melted chocolate, butter and fresh cookie dough will melt you. What comes out of the oven makes your standard grocery-store cookie pale in comparison.
The cookies aren’t cheap. A seven-pack sells for $18, and a 15-pack will set you back $35. But our verdict is that the texture makes these cookies worth the price. A crispy golden exterior caves into a warm, gooey center.
The cookie selection here is huge. Go early before the cookies are all gone.
Anisha Holla
The standard Milk Chocolate Chunk with a large square of chocolate in the middle is a customer favorite and a must-try. Its praline counterpart, with toasted pralines baked in, is arguably even tastier. The subtle juxtaposition between crispy, doughy and gooey might have you reaching for a couple more than you first anticipated.
Other flavors are just as tempting. Try the Orange and Milk Chocolate, a candied orange cookie that’s studded with milk chocolate chunks. The Caramelized Crunch cookie has crunchy caramel bits packed inside. Variations like the Cranberry White Chocolate and Snickerdoodle add both extra color and allure to the stocked bakery shelves.
The popular White Chocolate Chunk cookie comes with a block of white chocolate baked into the center.
Anisha Holla
If you’re a soggy cookie type of person, Ben’s packaged milk offers the perfect target for in-store cookie dunking. For an even colder treat, order your cookies topped with a scoop of ice cream.
Enjoy your treats at the barstool seating that’s tucked away at the side of the store. The shop is open into the evening hours, but we suggest arriving early. Cookies tend to run out early in the day. And now we know why.
Ben’s Cookies 3406 Rosedale Ave., Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. — 8 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
