The crookie, a combination of croissants with cookie dough, has gained popularity in Paris and beyond thanks to TikTok. Stéphane Louvard created the crookie almost a year and a half ago when he mixed cookie dough into croissants. Demand for his pastries exploded after videos went viral, with Mr. Louvard selling 2,300 crookies in one day in February. The croissant, a favorite in Paris since the 18th century, has seen an increase in fusion baking trends like the cronut and the cruffin. The crookie has spread to bakeries worldwide.
Mr. Louvard was inspired to create the crookie one morning when preparing croissants and saw his team making cookies. He started selling crookies for fun, but demand increased dramatically this year after TikTok videos showcased his creations. Maison Louvard saw new customers flocking to try the crookies, with sales reaching 1,000 a day during the peak of the frenzy. Despite some detractors saying the pastries are too oily or heavy, customers are still lining up to try the crookies.
Creating the perfect croissants for crookies is a meticulous process that takes 36 hours, requiring the dough to rest and be folded numerous times. Many French bakers opt to buy frozen croissants rather than make them from scratch due to the effort involved. However, some hope that social media trends like the crookie will inspire more people to bake pastries themselves. The crookie has inspired other bakers to create their own variations and has even been rebranded by a large industrial bakery chain as the “crookiz.”
The crookie has become a global phenomenon, with bakeries in cities like Sydney, Dubai, Singapore, and New York offering their own versions of the pastry. The popularity of the crookie has even spread to cooking schools, where fusion baking is encouraged to help students find their own unique styles. While the crookie may be entertaining, the ultimate question for pastry lovers remains where to find the best croissant in Paris. Despite some criticisms about the price and taste of the crookie, the demand for this innovative pastry continues to grow, driven by social media and a renewed interest in baking pastries.
