[Review] Maya's vegan cookies - The Motherload + The Obama

• Shop name: Maya's Cookies
• Location: San Diego, California, USA
• Known for: Black-owned, gourmet vegan cookies in a variety of unique flavors; some wheat-free options
  

I bought two packs of cookies from Maya's Cookies in 2020 after seeing a VegNews article about black-owned businesses. While neither is currently available on the site, I remember that The Motherload was a set of mini cookies in every flavor at the time, while The Obama was a special-edition flavor (semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mint chip and walnuts) inspired by a recipe Michelle Obama used to win a cookie bake-off. The Classic Collection seems very similar to the variety pack I bought, but all of the cookies are the regular (3 oz) size. I liked all of them but definitely feel that certain cookies were better than others! I would buy from Maya's again but would likely try something new or stick to my favorite flavors from this set.

TL;DR: I like Maya's variety of flavors, and the caramel, butterscotch, and white chocolate bits were all standouts for me! Be sure to follow the directions upon opening, because texture will noticeably change as the cookies dry out. I'd buy from the shop again but would stick to her salty/sweet combos.

Flavors

🖤Classic Chocolate Chip

(Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, delicious all around.)

This is good! It's a chocolate chip cookie. It tasted as I wanted but didn't have anything special.

🖤Snickerdoodle

(Maya set out to make a cinnamon roll inspired cookie and instead, found the perfect Snickerdoodle recipe. Slightly under baked to really give in to that buttery indulgence.)

This was tasty but didn't taste perfectly balanced somehow. It felt like a sugar cookie with lots of cinnamon, though the cinnamon didn't really disperse throughout.

🖤Chocolate Chip S'mores

(Maya felt nostalgic about time spent with her boys in the backyard making those s’mores and wanted to capture that in a luscious cookie. Crispy on the outside but ooey gooey in the middle.)

This reminded me of the chocolate chip but with a big, chewy marshmallow, which, to its credit, did not taste vegan at all. The texture was great. Not a groundbreaking idea but good nonetheless.

🖤Birthday Cake

(Go ahead, treat yourself to a delicious soft-baked sugar cookie with colorful sprinkles.)

This and the funfetti cookie tasted incredibly similar (which is to say that it is a smidge lackluster), though this one is better because it has a bit of whatever makes a 'birthday cake' flavor.

 

🖤Marble Fudge

(Remember the good ol’ marble fudge bundt cake? Well, that’s the inspiration for Maya’s Marble Fudge Cookie. Straight from the pages of nostalgia for Maya, she crafted a luscious, fudgy cookie that takes her back to a time of simple summers and family cookouts.)

This was tasty but did not feel particularly special. It tastes like the chocolate chip cookie with brownie bits.

🖤Funfetti

(Cannot find a description; this is no longer available on their site.)

I enjoyed this but didn't feel it was any different than a crunchy sugar cookie. The colors were fun but did not add anything to the taste.

🖤Famous "Everything"

(The ultimate indulgence, she calls this her B-L-D cookie. The breakfast – lunch – dinner cookie. With chocolate chips, pretzels, oatmeal, pecans, butterscotch chips, and marshmallows, when you want it all, this is the cookie for you!)

I liked this but expected it to be a little more special. It was hard to focus on each part because they all compete with one another - I mostly got the chewy marshmallow, salty nuts, and oats over everything else.

🖤Caramel Pecan

(When they returned home [from a trip to New Orleans], they realized the one treat they wished they could’ve indulged in were those famous pralines. Maya was determined to veganize that treat into a delicious cookie! This cookie was Maya’s way to capture that moment in time and that special memory.)

So good! The creamy caramel chips and salty crunch of the pecan made a fantastic combo. Yum. A favorite.

🖤White Chocolate Macadamia

(This yummy treat was inspired by Maya’s family vacations to Maui... It inspired Maya to spend time developing a cookie flavor that captured the essence of those special times, the creamy white chocolate and the buttery crisp of the macadamia nut.)

I loved this one, too. The taste was slightly nutty and had a nice crunch, plus the same lovely white chocolate chips were used. They are creamy, sweet, and perfect. A favorite.

🖤Brown Sugar Butterscotch

(Let that Brown Sugar Butterscotch melt in your mouth while you dream of another southern summer night.)

Really good! The brown sugar made the base cookie a little sweeter and more buttery, and the butterscotch chips were creamy and very accurate. Butterscotch is underrepresented, in my opinion, especially in vegan sweets, so this was exciting! A favorite.

🖤White Chocolate Espresso

(Her White Chocolate Espresso cookie uses local Turkish espresso and couples it with just a touch of sweetness with creamy, white chocolate.)

As one of the only cookies with a chocolate base, this flavor felt unique to Maya's lineup. The white chocolate chips were the same lovely ones as the other cookies used, and the cookie itself had a hybrid texture that seemed to be a mix between brownie and cookie.

🖤Chocolate Funfetti

(Cannot find a description; this is no longer available on their site.)

Just like the other funfetti cookie, it doesn't have much flavor beyond the sweetness of a normal cookie, though this does have the base that tasted like that same cookie/brownie mix.

 

 

🖤The Obama

(Semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, mint chip and walnuts)

This was quite good - a chunky, nice chocolate chip cookie with salty crunch from the nuts, plus the mint pieces give a cool hit every so often. The white chocolate chips are creamy perfection. It's a unique flavor combination but worked well for me. Definitely good enough to have a six-pack of these alone.

 

Thoughts

I love the idea of a variety pack for brands that ship food, and both of these packs felt like a pretty good value. While I didn't love every single cookie, the execution of each idea was done well, and the website lists more detail for inspiration behind each. It's very cute. My only real gripe is that the base cookies taste really similar for most of these, so it's hard for me to justify buying multiple flavors when there are only small nuances. That said, when am I going to buy a huge variety pack again, anyway? It's not likely.

The customer experience was nice - my cookies shipped in three days and included a handwritten thank-you note as well as very cute packaging. It was sturdy but also giftable as-is, and I am still using the boxes now! They were perfect to repurpose. I love that the shop has wheat-free offerings as well as a subscription service, and I hope to see them expand both.

I'm sure I'll get the craving for butterscotch again, and I'd happily buy another pack of Maya's Cookies.