zooies cookies / san diego, ca

Not too long ago I had heard about this new cookie shop opening up… inside of a gas station! I was invited to the grand opening, but wasn’t able to make it in, but then I was offered a chance to come in and sample the cookies.

As if I could possibly turn down a cookie tasting. COME ON.

Zooies is inside of the APRO 26 (76 gas station) which is apart of the United Oil Co. and is located on Market Street in Central San Diego. This is the “test”store, the first cookie shop to open up inside of one of the 76 gas stations that are owned by a family team.

The cookies are baked fresh daily right on the premises so they don’t travel far to get into the case. 

In addition to cookies, they also have ice cream and above are some of the toppings you can get. You can make ice cream cookie sandwiches or use the cookies as a topping with your ice cream. I didn’t try this option but it sounded like an excellent idea.

This is the display cookie case. When you order a cookie, they actually already have them all wrapped up and they just hand you over your goodies.

[cookie flavors (clockwise from bottom left): espresso chip, chunky, oatmeal raisin, chocolate walnut, chewie, gooey]

The espresso chip was actually one of my favorite flavors. You can smell the espresso right when you take it out of the bag. It was very soft with a crispiness of the edges. The chocolate flavor is very pronounced due to the espresso enhancing the flavor.

The chunky is sort of like a “kitchen sink” kind of cookie since it has oatmeal, coconut, pecans and chocolate all in the mix. I found the coconut to be a little overkill.

I didn’t try the oatmeal raisin since I consider raisins to be the fruits of the devil, but Jake said it was good and I didn’t grill him enough to give you better commentary. Sorry.

The chocolate walnut is a much crunchier cookie than the other versions that have chocolate chips in then.

The chewy is another chocolate chip cookie, made partially with whole wheat. It was quite firm with a crisp edge, though not super crunchy like the chocolate walnut.

The gooey is a chocolate chip cookie made for lovers of soft cookies since it was very delicate with no crunchiness or crispness.

[more cookies (clockwise from top): snickerdoodle, cookies and cream, s’mores and birthday cake]

The snickerdoodle is typical of a snickerdoodle with hints of cinnamon in the mix, but I found it to be too soft and almost tasted undercooked in the center. Good flavor but seemed like it needed a few more minutes of baking time.

The cookies and cream is made with Oreo cookies and white chocolate chips. The Oreo/chocolate flavor doesn’t hit you over the head so it has a good, subtle chocolate flavor from the Oreo mix making this one of my other favorites of the bunch. The white chocolate mixed in gave it another level of flavor that I enjoyed without being “hurting-my-teeth” sweet.

The s’mores cookie is quite dramatic to look at with the marshmallow swirl on top. The marshmallow is gooey  and this one is particularly hard to not get all over yourself, but it actually not too bad. Since the marshmallow was a bit melty, it was acceptable for me to eat (I dislike marshmallow otherwise).

The birthday cookie is a sugar cookie with a bunch of sprinkles in it. Sprinkles don’t really taste like much to me, so this one just tasted like a sugar cookie with crunchy sugar in it. Pretty, but didn’t really do it for me.

The also have buttercotch blondies and chocolate brownies if you’re not in a cookie mood.

I found the blondie to be overwhelmingly sweet beyond my imagination and after two small bites I just couldn’t eat any more of it. Jake’s son, T, seemed to like it though but hey – teenagers can handle the sweets, I guess.

The brownie had a rich, deep chocolate flavor and it was of the fudgy consistency, but with a good outer, crisp crust on the edges.

The pumpkin pie cookie is one that I didn’t get to try that first visit… but Jake and I came back to try it! I got this and another espresso chip. The pumpkin pie cookie was really excellent – I loved that pumpkin pie filling right in the middle with the soft cookie surrounding it. It had all of the hallmarks and spices of pumpkin pie but just surrounded by a soft, slightly crisp cookie. I’d come back again and again for that one, rounding out my top three favorites.

Zooies is located just outside of Downtown San Diego off Market Street. Market Street is like an overpass/bridge street, so it’s a little confusing to get to the first time if you get off the 94 freeway from the closest exit. But, if you have an almost empty gas tank, fill up for 10 gallons or more and you’ll earn yourself a free cookie to sample. This pretty much makes me always want to buy gas here now, just for the delicious free cookies.

Zooies Cookies
3010 Market Street
San Diego, CA 92102
619-696-3956

Disclaimer: I was given complimentary cookies to sample from Zooies Cookies. I was not paid for this review and all opinions expressed here are my own.