Bakery owner Stéphane Louvard told the Daily Telegraph UK it was “insane” to see how popular the concoction has become, revealing he first created them to simply “have some fun”.
Now, tourists are following their noses all the way to Paris to try the viral “crookies”, and bakeries all over the world are coming up with their own take on the classic pastry.
Are Parisians themselves aghast at the idea? Louvard dismissed the idea that he’d messed with a classic, but stressed that the key to his crookies lies in the quality of the pastry. After the croissant has cooled, it is sliced open and filled with cookie dough, topped with more, and is then rebaked until the dough on the inside has melted, and the outside is crisp.
But for us here in New Zealand, it’s not exactly feasible to plan a trip to Paris just for a pastry. So, can we find crookies anywhere in Aotearoa?
Turns out there’s a few bakeries in New Zealand that have adopted the treat.
Jess Owen of Just Jess Boujee Bakery, based in Huapai west of Auckland, was one of the first to jump on the trend when they first started blowing up on TikTok.
“I’ve been working on trying to nail a croissant for so long, and it just so happened that I finally did, where I was happy with the dough. And then that was going on, so I was like, well, better jump on the trend,” she tells the NZ Herald.
“Every day, they’re usually sold out about half an hour after we open. When we first posted about them, that next day, they all went in the first 10 minutes.”
She says people have been lining up outside the doors to get a taste - and it proves Kiwis with a sweet tooth are welcoming the idea.
Meanwhile, over in Grey Lynn, traditional French bakery Copain has launched its own version of the crookie, as well as a Nutella-filled twist. Operations manager David Chapon says one of his bakers introduced him to the trend, but will croissant purists say “sacré bleu” to the new take on a classic?
“I don’t mind about this take on what old-fashioned French people would qualify as junk food,” Chapon tells the NZ Herald.
“For some, it’s really a bad thing to change the nature of the croissant ... but there’s this whole new generation which is open to everything and anything. I don’t see why people would not like it.”
The chocolate chip cookie-dough filled croissant 'crookie' at Copain in Grey Lynn. Photo / NZ Herald
So far, the demand has been “insane”, Chapon says, adding that the Nutella-filled version has undoubtedly been the most popular so far.
If you’re not in Auckland, you can also find crookies at award-winning Clareville Bakery in the Wairarapa, where staff say they’ve been “a huge hit”.
Charlotte Kloeg, who works in the bakery alongside owners Mike and Rose Kloeg, tells the NZ Herald, “We started making them a couple of weeks ago and they have been flying out the door.
“To start off with, they were selling out within the first two hours of being open so we have adjusted our numbers so as not to disappoint. Even after adjusting our numbers we are still selling out by 11 or 12.”
She says the team knew they had to start making crookies when they started trending on social media.
“We are glad we did because they really are worth the hype. They are perfectly crisp on the outside due to being a twice-baked croissant, and with the inside being filled with cookie dough as well, it leaves a nice gooey cookie dough centre.”
Clareville Bakery in the Wairarapa made their own crookies after seeing them trending online. Photo / CK. Visuals
Why are ‘crookies’ so popular?
It’s no surprise that chocolate and pastry are a winning combination - but what is it about crookies that’s made them go viral?
You might remember when cronuts - a combination of a croissant and a doughnut with all types of fillings - first came onto the pastry scene in 2013, thanks to French pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Now they’re a staple at bakeries all over the world, so will the crookie follow suit?
NZ Herald senior writer Kim Knight, who has previously reviewed restaurants for Canvas magazine and has a master’s degree in gastronomy, says she’s “all for the evolution of foods” like the crookie.
“You can rarely beat the original but there are many, many happy food hybrids out there,” Knight says.
“Humans are omnivores. We’re curious about food and constantly searching for the new and novel. I don’t know why croissants seem so particularly susceptible to reinvention - cronuts, cruffins, croffles? Perhaps it’s because they’re just so delicious to start with - what could possibly go wrong?”
Knight thinks we could even see some savoury twists on the ever-popular croissant in the future.
“Crushi? Crizza? Mince and Cheese Cries? I predict it’s just a matter of time.”
