Taryn Varricchio: No
dessert is more classic
than a deliciously gooey
chocolate chip cookie.
And that's why people love
Bang Cookies in New Jersey.
Customer: The best way
to describe it is, like,
those cookies that you used
to have in the cafeteria
that are really ooey and gooey,
but, like, it's cooked more.
They're better than those.
Taryn: Three years ago,
Bang Cookies was selling
a few hundred cookies a
day at farmers markets.
George Kuan: We sold
out in the first hour,
and we didn't expect that.
Ever since then, we've sold out first day,
and then we kept on selling out
every single day at the farmers market.
Taryn: Now, George's team bakes more than
20,000 cookies a month
with a recipe he spent
15 years fine-tuning.
George and his team source ingredients
from all over the world.
Whether it's grass-fed
butter from New Zealand,
chocolate chunks from Europe,
or macadamia nuts from Hawaii,
each one affects the way
these cookies bake and taste.
The shop's best seller is
its most classic rendition:
the sea salt chocolate chunk cookie.
This recipe uses a mix
of white and brown sugar,
locally milled organic flour,
grass-fed butter,
and both milk and
semisweet dark chocolate.
George: Different chocolates
gives it different
nuance of flavors.
So it gives it more complexity.
So, it kind of counterbalances
the difference between
the sweetness of the actual milk chocolate
versus the semi-bitterness
of semisweet chocolate chunk.
Taryn: Each cookie is
topped with a sprinkle
of sea salt, because...
George: When it hits your
mouth, it hits it in a way
that you're biting into the cookie,
and then you're tasting the sweetness
and the saltiness in combination.
Taryn: Another popular
pick off the menu...
Customer: We love the s'mores.
Customer: The s'mores,
I really love that one.
Customer: I know they do a
s'mores cookie really well.
It's, like, nice and gooey
but with a crunchy outside.
Taryn: This one's notably
more time consuming
to make than the rest.
George: Every single
s'mores cookie that we do
has to be pieced together
with broken graham crackers
that we break by hand and
then manually put it in.
Taryn: Finally, each
cookie is individually
packaged in plastic so customers can see
exactly what's put on the inside.
It also keeps them fresh and soft.
Customer: I feel like
it's gooey, it's big.
I can taste that it's organic.
It's, like, good ingredients.
Taryn: Bang Cookies didn't
initially attract customers
for cookies, but rather the
name of the shop itself.
George: We wanted a
name that would be able
to draw attention because we didn't have,
like, the marketing funds at all.
And we wanted something that's outlandish,
'cause we're the new players
in the farmers market.
So we started to call
ourselves Bang Me Bakery
in the very beginning.
A lot of customers would look over like,
is that a real name?
Like, yeah, it is. Just
try the cookies now.
And they did.
Taryn: The name changed to
be a bit more kid-friendly,
but the customers kept coming.
Customer: 4:10! [laughs]
'Cause Jessica at the pizza shop
said we have to try them,
that they are so awesome.
And plus to please get her a T-shirt.
Taryn: And with so much demand,
Bang Cookies has already opened
two locations in Jersey City.
And they've got plans for more to come.
That means more cookies for
customers across the country,
who've already had them shipped to states
like California, Alaska, and Hawaii.
That is heavenly.
That chocolate is so melty.
It's so deliciously melted.
You're not getting hit over
the head with sweetness,
because you kind of have
those two chocolates
that balance each other out.
And then you have the
savory-sweet component
in every bite, which is great.
That's why I think the
sea salt chocolate chunk
is probably one of their
best-selling cookies.
It has great texture.
Like, the outer edges are just
so lightly nicely crisped.
And that, like, chewy, gooey inside,
that still holds up.
Like, it's not falling apart in my hand.
Sometimes you get these
giant, massive cookies
and they could have that,
like, dip in the middle
where you know it's been undercooked,
but this is not like that.
Customer: I have a cheat day once a week,
and every Tuesday I have
to have Bang Cookies.
We always have it in the
freezer. They're amazing.
They're so good. They're
one of my favorites.
Customer: I would say at
least, like, once every month
we make it a thing to, like,
we definitely need to get it.
Taryn: That was such a good cookie.
Dude.
