Toronto bakeries are rushing to jump on the cookie croissant hybrid trend
Cookie-croissants, croissant-cookies, cookie dough croissants, crookies — call them whatever you want — there's no denying that they're the latest and greatest food trend taking Toronto by storm, and plenty of bakeries in the city are hopping on the bandwagon.
I, myself, was first made aware of the buttery, flaky, doughy miracle that is the cookie-croissant at Gouter, when they recently added these blissful freaks of nature to their menu, but, Gouter founders Bianca and Rodney are quick to point out they didn't invent the idea.
"One of our staff members showed us the crookie on Instagram back at the very beginning of February on a post by [Boulangerie Louvard in Paris,]" they tell blogTO, so they decided to take a crack at making them themselves.
"After testing it and tasting it for ourselves we thought it was a pretty nice combo and that it's something everyone should be able to experience at least once. "
Sahil Garge, of Little Pebbles, who recently opened a second location in Little Italy, echoes a similar story.
"We actually saw a video by a chef that was [...] posted in France," he tells blogTO, and decided to take the idea and perfect it, working out ways to ensure the cookie- and croissant-doughs both cooked evenly.
While Bianca and Rodney argue that neither they, nor any bakery in the city can take credit for originating the idea, Chef Virgyl Fernandes of Geste Croissanterie on Queen West, has a different idea.
"We came up with the cookie croissant in 2021," the Chef, who was classically trained in France, tells blogTO. "We had it on for a few weekends as a special. I'm not aware of anyone else doing it at the time."
Upon learning that cookie-croissants were "a thing" in recent months, Virgyl says, they decided to reintroduce them to their menu full time.
"We decided to offer it because I like to be creative, I like a challenge and I like to offer new products to our customers," baker Ed from Etobicoke's SanRemo Bakery — yet another spot to add the treats to their menu — tells blogTO.
Ed also adds that, despite the simplicity of the concept; croissants plus cookies, it's actually a tricky technique to perfect, having taken him about two weeks of trial and error before coming to a final product he was satisfied with.
The difficulty comes from the challenge of finding a way to ensure the cookie, sometimes encased within the croissant and sometimes draped on top, cooks fully without over- or under-cooking the delicate croissant.
What, exactly, is it about the crookie that has Toronto in a chokehold right now? The bakers have a variety of ideas about that.
Sahil says that he thinks it's the out-of-the-box factor of the unexpected combination that piques curiosity and makes people want to try, while Ed simply attributes the popularity to the product being "delightful."
"Who doesn't love cookies and croissants and who doesn't love it together?" Ed adds.
Virgyl attributes the craze to Toronto's fixation with hopping on trends (see: Espresso Martinis), while Bianca and Rodney say that the popularity of the crookie could trace back to Toronto's reputation for open-mindedness when it comes to foods.
"Toronto is and most likely always will be a very vibrant city that embraces novelty in all of its forms, food included. Cookies are an all-time favourite comfort food and so are croissants so no better combination to speak to everyone's heart (and tummies)" they say.
While the mystery of where, exactly, the cookie-croissant originated remains looming, there's no arguing the impact it's had on the city in just a few short months — and with more and more of the city's best bakeries jumping on the trend, they might just be here to stay.
Fareen Karim at Gouter
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