KOOKABURRA COOKIES
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★★
District: Home baker
Enormous, creative cookies
Perfect For: Baked Goods
Standout Dishes: Peanut Butter Brownie Cookie; Double Chocolate Chip Cookie; S’mores Cookie; Peppermint Bark Cookie
At what point does a cookie cease to be a cookie?
It’s not a question that one is often asked to wrestle with, but eating a confection from Kookaburra Cookies forces one to confront this conundrum. They’re shaped like and most closely resemble cookies, but as you chew through them, you’ll catch notes of a brownie, muffin, and bar, too.
Ultimately, you won’t care what they’re called. You’ll just want more and more of them.
Two things set Kookaburra Cookies apart from any other cookie you’ll find in Omaha:
- The Size: Each cookie weighs about half a pound, and while most large cookies have wide circumferences, Kookaburra’s cookies are tall, more like a brownie. This allows the middle to remain moist and gooey while maintaining a crisp exterior that gives a peasant crack when you bite.
- The “Strumble”: This crispy, sugary topper combines the texture and sweetness of streusel and the wonderful crumble atop a muffin.
It’s the strumble that caused owner Eli Vedral to start his business. He’d baked nearly his entire life, and during a study abroad program in college traveled to Australia. He was wowed by some of the fusion dishes down under, tasting items like a sushi cheeseburger and banana-chili gelato. Inspired, he wondered how he could bring that fusion into his baking.
His answer: combine the best parts of a muffin with his favorite dessert: the cookie. Turns out the rest of Omaha agreed that this was a good idea.
Eli started baking out of his home and selling at any market he could get into. Word quickly got out about these monstrous, whimsical cookies. By the time he graduated from college, Kookaburra Cookies was successful enough to become Eli’s full-time job. He since moved into a shared commercial kitchen and began offering cookie sales online, as well as selling at the Haymarket (Saturday) and Aksarben (Sunday) farmers markets in Lincoln and Omaha, respectfully. Each cookie is in the customer’s hands within 24 hours of exiting the oven.
Each cookie has a soft, chewy (but not underbaked center) with a crispy outer shell, and they’re well-filled with whatever ingredients are placed inside. For best results, pop them in the microwave or air fryer to get that “out of the oven” warmth and melted chocolate.
Kookaburra offers six standard flavors along with a few seasonal options:
- Double Chocolate Chip: This is exactly like what you remember as a kid, but roughly 17 times better. The brown sugar strumble on top adds another layer of nutty sweetness.
- Peanut Butter Brownie: Imagine a gooey brownie got crossed with the outside of a cookie and a Reese’s peanut butter cup? The nutty sweetness of peanut butter works wonders with the rich, decadent chocolatey center, and peanut butter chips, roasted peanuts, and Reese’s pieces add more texture and flavor.
- S’mores: Sink your teeth into this graham cracker cookie, flowing with chocolate and gooey marshmallow, and you’re at a campfire.
- Cookies & Cream: You’ll never look at Oreos the same way after experiencing this rich cookie, crafted with extra dark cocoa powder, and its abundance of creamy, sweet white chocolate chips.
- Coffee Cake: Somehow both reminiscent of a snickerdoodle cookie and apple pie, this offering uses cinnamon and warm spices to become something that could be enjoyed for dessert or breakfast.
- Birthday Cake: The buttery richness really bursts forth in this sugar cookie, which is liberally studded with rainbow sprinkles for texture and a festive feeling.
- Lemon Shortbread: There’s a faint tart acidity, but the sugar and buttery nature are the star in this crumbly delight.
Kookaburra doesn’t currently have a storefront, though Eli hopes that’s in the works in the near future. Until then, whether you need to order cookies or get to the farmers market, make that happen. While you might not initially know exactly what to call these delights, I have a new idea: Cookie+.