Have you noticed an increasing number of cookie counters sprinkling our area? Offering everything from classic chocolate chip to gourmet concoctions—plus milk for dunking and ice cream for sandwiching—these sweet little shops aim to please, and we can’t say we’re mad about the new emphasis on an old favorite. Here are a handful of places to satisfy those cookie cravings.
Captain Cookie & the Milkman
Owner Kirk Francis made his first cookie when he was 4 and has been tweaking his recipes ever since. What started with a single food truck in 2012 is now a business with three trucks and five stores, one of them right here in Arlington. Stop in to nibble on—OK, bite into—the chocolate chip cookie that started it all, or try the double chocolate, confetti, ginger molasses or peanut butter. The shop also sells edible cookie dough, cookie cakes and ice cream products. // 2200 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington (Courthouse)
Moltn Cookies
Operating out of a ghost kitchen inside AllSpice Catering, this cookie company aims to satisfy those late-night moments when you need a sugar fix. Open from 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday (it’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays), Moltn serves up 2 oz. classics such as chocolate chip, M&M, sugar and oatmeal-raisin. Premium options are twice the size and come in flavors like red velvet, s’mores and Reese’s Peanut Butter. And did we mention they deliver? //6017 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Crumbl Cookies
With nine locations in Northern Virginia and another one soon to open in Arlington’s Lee Harrison Shopping Center, this cookie chain is anything but half-baked. The Falls Church location opened in summer 2022, serving six flavors that rotate each week. They include semi-sweet chocolate chunk, caramel pumpkin cake (a pumpkin cookie topped with caramel cream cheese frosting), key lime pie (buttered graham crust with lime filling, whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs and a lime wedge) and chocolate toffee cake (a chocolate cookie topped with whipped cream, caramel glaze and toffee bits). // 1106-A W. Broad St., Falls Church
Franki’s
Chef Chris Morgan recently unveiled this cookie shop as part of The Kitchen Collective, a carryout concept that opened last month in Tysons. Named after his 2-year-old daughter who loves sweet treats, Franki’s turns out flavors like Cookie Monster (brown butter chocolate chip, marshmallow and Heath Bar crunch), snickerdoodle and classic chocolate chip, plus brownies (double fudge and white chocolate blondie). Note that this is a take-out- and delivery-only operation. // 8045 Leesburg Pike, Suite L160, Tysons
MidnighTreats
Baking up plant-based cookies for a cause, MidnighTreats donates a portion of sales to animal sanctuaries and local schools and shelters—and for every box of cookies sold, it plants one tree in partnership with California-based Eden Reforestation. Each vegan-friendly cookie weighs about a third of a pound, in flavors that include the Birthday Bash (Funfetti rainbow sprinkle) and Brownie Cookie (double chocolate). Check the website for the latest specials. Right now, those include raspberry white chip and cookies-and-cream with Oreo bits. // 167 Glyndon St. SE, Vienna
Insomnia Cookies
Founded 20 years ago in a dorm room at the University of Pennsylvania, Insomnia Cookies now has 100 locations, including the one that opened in July 2022 across from George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. Open until 1 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, and until 3 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, it serves and delivers cookies, ice cream, milk and more. Current temptations include French toast cookies, vegan cold-brew latte cookies, and a football-shaped cookie cake for NFL Sundays. Cookies come in two options—classic and deluxe—and are served warm. // 10669 Braddock Road, Space D-7, Fairfax
Chip City
This one isn’t open quite yet, but watch for it at The Crossing Clarendon next month (followed by another location in the Village at Shirlington in winter 2024). The New York-based shop that started in 2017 has a rotating menu that changes each week, plus some always-available flavors. The offerings include playful creations like Teddi-Fetti—a graham cracker cookie topped with vanilla sprinkle frosting and two Teddy Graham cookies. That’s right: cookies on a cookie. // 2800 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington