Ben’s Cookies: Baking With Chunks, Not Chips, Since 1983

You won’t believe but I actually have a cookie buddy whom I share my cookie experiences with. We first discovered that we have same preferences on cookies and eventually explored more cookie brands together. The first brand that we tried as buddies is Ben’s Cookies. Hence, the red adorable mini store below the stairs in MOA Main Mall has a special place in my heart.

All the way from England, Ben’s Cookies is now serving freshly-baked soft cookies in Manila. After making cookies at home, Helge Rubinstein opened a stall to sell them in Oxford’s Covered Market in 1984. The cookie shop was named after her so , Ben. The cookies can usually be purchased warm as they are baked on-site in the shops.

Ben’s Cookies is known on ditching the usual chocolate chip cookies. Instead of using chocolate chips on their cookies, they’re using chocolate chunks, making their cookies heavenly. Check these cookies I’ve tried and see what I’m talking about.

White Chocolate Chunk & Macadamia

White Chocolate and Macadamia is the most recommended cookie flavor in Ben’s Cookies’ Zomato page so it was the first cookie I tried here. I’m not a fan of white chocolate, to be honest, because the absence of cocoa makes the chocolate sweet for my palate but I never felt the exaggerated sweetness in this cookie. Both the chocolate and the cookie itself has creamy taste yet the flavor is well-balanced as a whole. I also love the macadamia nuts. It’s amount was ample.

Milk Chocolate Chunk

I wasn’t really stunned with the texture of the cookies. If only there aren’t chocolate chunks in the middle, it would be dry. This was the time when I had this Milk and Chocolate Chunk and Bake Scout’s Belgian Chocolate Chip Cookies so I was able to compare. Sadly, this became dull. They are also crumbly that they easily break. But it was obvious that they used high quality ingredients for this. The chocolate seems to be Valrhona, a brand of luxury chocolate.

Double Chocolate & Nut

The cookies is not too moist yet not too dry. It is soft in the middle and has a crunchy exterior. It doesn’t easily break unlike the white ones. In every bite, I am surprised with melted chocolate bits inside. I’m amazed that they were still melted even the cookies were placed in an air-conditioned room overnight. The bakers was able to execute the combination of two chocolate kinds properly without making it taste excessive. The walnuts are good addition as they break the sweetness of the chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Chunk

The previous cookies are fragile so I expect the same in their Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookie. After all, the components were just the same except for the switch of the chocolate from milk to dark. However, the change gave a great impact to the flavor of cookies as it made the cookies bitter and sour at the same time. Sweetness also came after a few bites because the amount of chocolate is no joke. I also felt no crispiness. 

Orange & Milk Chocolate

If you’ll look at it, it seems that it is just their Milk Chocolate Chunk with orange bits on top. But surprisingly, it isn’t just that. The two cookie flavors are different in so many ways. You can taste the tanginess of the orange even in the dough. It’s a fruity cookie to be exact but still doesn’t overpower the milk chocolate. It’s also amazing that the orange bits feel like nuts in the mouth. The texture of the cookies is consistent but consistently dry for my liking.

Oatmeal & Raisin

Oatmeal cookies are my least favorite cookies and I hate raisins but I tried Ben’s anyway for this review. It’s not as bad as I think. They may be the smallest cookies but these small rounds are filled with different flavors. The spices are easily noticeable. They’re so aromatic. I like that the oatmeal doesn’t cover the whole thing and the cookie part is still abundant. Oatmeal cookies shouldn’t be sweet, right? I don’t know but these are as sugary as their chocolate cookies.

Matcha & White Chocolate

The cookies are rich and earthy! But as a matcha lover, I wish they added more matcha intensity into it! The flavor of matcha was kinda covered by the other components of the cookies. I didn’t know that white chocolate fits well with matcha until now. The bitter matcha and the sweet white chocolate are just so compatible. It’s like a holy matrimony when have them both in one bite. The chocolate is obviously a premium one so I it was hard to hate it.

Speculoos Crunch Cookie Monster

What’s more fun than dunking your cookies in milk? Dunking cookies in ice cream! Omg! This cookie taste exactly like Speculoos Cookie Butter! Although it doesn’t have bits in it to improve the flavor, the pastry itself hit the spot. The dark chocolate gelato ice cream’s smoothness and goodness made me happy like a kid. I chose this certain flavor since it has chocolate bits. It’s already dark but I suggest to make it darker since it is accompanied by a sweet cookie.