A few weeks ago, I attended a conference downtown and had a delicious chocolate chip cookie from a local bakery. My friend Vy is also a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur, works downtown, and believes it is the BEST chocolate chip cookie in Charleston. In the name of science, I wanted to put our theory to the test and try ALL the chocolate chip cookies in Charleston- a Cookie Crawl.
However, Charleston is BIG- especially if you include bakeries in our surrounding areas. If you live in Charleston, you probably don’t live on the peninsula- you live in the suburbs and frequent a local bakery close to your home.
With the help of a Yelp search and recommendations from friends, I made a list of chocolate chip cookies to try in several parts of town. Since I was in Mt. Pleasant for a doctor’s appointment recently, I hit all four bakeries on my Mt. Pleasant list- Bakie’s, Kudzu, Saveurs Du Monde, and Sena Cafe.
I brought the cookies home for a taste test. This way, I could try bites of each cookie and take notes, rather than eating two whole cookies and being too stuffed to try others.
Location: 426 W Coleman Blvd, Ste C, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Price: $1.67
Thoughts: I’ve lived here for six years but never heard of Bakie’s until I searched for chocolate chip cookies on Yelp. Bakie’s has a storefront with a few cookies and items for sale, but the majority of their business consists of custom-ordered cakes and cookies. Their website claimed to have signature chocolate chip cookies, which piqued my curiosity.
Bakies was the first cookie I bought and, when I got out of my car to get the other cookies at each shop, I smelled the Bakies cookie. If Yankee Candle ever produced a chocolate chip cookie candle, it would smell exactly like this cookie.
The cookie was soft in the middle, with crispier edges and both chunks and chips of chocolate buried inside. It’s not the most visually appealing but the chocolate is underneath that exterior. The flavor was overwhelmingly chocolate, and the cookie was very clean. It didn’t melt or crumble.
Location: 794 Coleman Blvd, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Price: $.53 or $9.50/lb
Thoughts: Unlike Bakie’s, I knew about Kudzu because they have a location in Georgetown, SC, close to where I grew up. Plus, Kudzu’s baked goods are a staple in the breakroom at Clay’s job. Unlike other bakeries, Kudzu’s pricing model is by the pound- this is important. The products are designed to be bought by the pound and taken home, not as a dessert that you eat onsite. This is important.
If you’re on a budget, Kudzu’s chocolate chip cookie is for you. At 53 cent, it’s cheaper than the vending machine and you can find the change in your car’s console. The cookie was the smallest of all four, but also considerably cheaper, and if you have a major sweet tooth, just buy multiple cookies.
Kudzu’s cookie was a bit crunchier. The chocolate was all chips- no chunks, and the sweetness came from the buttery flavor. The chocolate chip to cookie ratio yielded a balanced flavor with chips in every bite.
Location: 1960 Long Grove Dr, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Price: $3.27
Thoughts: Saveurs Du Monde is a French bakery with two Mt. Pleasant locations, and they sell a variety of pastries and desserts as well as food items. I sat down for awhile inside the bakery and saw some delicious food coming out of the back, so I’ll definitely be coming back here for lunch one day. This was the fanciest bakery as well as the most expensive and biggest cookie. After Kudzu’s 53 cent cookie, it was time I paid the 29464 tax anyway.
Now’s the time to reiterate that I did not eat ANY of these cookies at the bakeries- I brought them all home. When I arrived at my home, the cookie’s brown paper bag was very greasy, with crumbs inside and some melted chocolate, despite being in an air conditioned car. If you have a small child to clean up after, you may want to consider eating this cookie at the bakery, or at least grab some napkins.
Despite the crumbling, Saveurs Du Monde’s cookie was the most visually appealing. The cookie was very chocolately and the chocolate was all chips (no chunks). The cookie was soft all around- both on the middle and in the edges, with chocolate chips in every bite. I pinched off a very small portion of “just cookie” which had a distinct vanilla taste.
Location: 2170 Snyder Cir, Mount Pleasant, SC 29466
Price: $1.39
Thoughts: After only a few weeks in business, Sena Cafe has already gathered a following on Instagram and Yelp, so I was excited to try it. A book signing was taking place, so before I purchased my cookie, I tried a sample of a chocolate cake that was to die for. It was hard to “just” buy a cookie after that sample of cake, but I will be back to Sena for that cake (by the time you read this, I’ve probably already been back).
Sena was the final bakery I visited in Mt. Pleasant. The counter worker asked if I wanted the cookie heated up, which I declined since I was taking it home, but if I return, I’d take her up on that offer and eat it warm.
Like Saveurs Du Monde’s cookie, the bag was a bit greasy when I got the cookie home, but there were no crumbs and no melting. Sena’s chocolate chip cookie is crunchier all around and not as sweet as the other bakeries. This cookie was more cookie/less chips, and the buttery flavor of the cookie came through.
Final Thoughts: Chocolate chip cookies are subjective, so I won’t name a “best”. Some prefer chunks vs. chips, or soft vs. crunchy, and my favorite cookie may not be your favorite cookie. I’ll let you decide based on your own tastes, but if you’re in Mt. Pleasant, I’d encourage you to try one of these Mt. Pleasant bakeries and give me your thoughts.
Bakie’s, Kudzu, Sena Cafe, and Saveurs Du Monde are all local businesses, and the customer experience at each was great. I plan to recommend and return to ALL of them and try other menu items- and possibly more cookies, if I’m in the mood.
I have at least two more cookie crawls planned to try bakeries in Downtown Charleston as well as West Ashley. I want to try cookies on the islands as well as in the north area (North Charleston/Summerville/Ladson/Goose Creek) if I can find bakeries. Send me your suggestions!
To comply with FCC regulations, I purchased all chocolate chip cookies for this post. None of these businesses compensated me monetarily or provided free product in exchange for this post. If you’d like to pay me to eat cookies, this is basically my dream job and I will not turn you down.
