Cookies and Scream in Camden, London is the ultimate bakery & cookie bar. It is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan & DELICIOUS! Whether you fancy a shake, a brownie, a cookie or a donut, they have something that will suit everyone. It really is the best place for food in London whether you have food intolerances or not. You won’t find anything better, trust me!
I love this place so much that I have done an updated post on Cookies and Scream, you can get to that by clicking here 🙂
Gluten Free, Vegan (Dairy Free) Donut anyone?
Now I haven’t been down to Camden in many years; I used to go there occasionally when I was at school with my friends, but not since. So when a friend messaged me the other day suggesting we meet up in Camden, I jumped at the chance!
Last time I went to Camden I was able to eat pretty much everything. Back then, instead of being overwhelmed by the delicious food stalls I remember just dropping into KFC and getting a bucket of fried chicken! How times have changed!
On Saturday my friend and I (we both cannot eat gluten, she can’t eat dairy too) wandered around the food stalls, drooling continuously at all the wonders of the market. There was a huge amount of variety in terms of global cuisines from freshly made sushi and huge paellas to Peruvian and Ethiopian delights. Of course there is going to be a reasonable percentage of food that us gluten intolerants should steer clear of, but many of the stalls were run by extremely friendly, helpful people and I would always suggest asking whether there is gluten in some of the food. Much of the food was being made in an incredibly authentic way and so if the ingredients are as authentic then you might just be in luck! It definitely doesn’t hurt to ask!
For us however, we had already had an amazing lunch and dessert in inSpiral Lounge and so weren’t looking for more savoury food. We weren’t even debating or searching aimlessly, we knew exactly where we were going…. COOKIES AND SCREAM!
In recent weeks I have become really obsessed with Cookies and Scream, yet I have never been or eaten anything from there; I haven’t even spoken to anyone who has been there. But their Instagram and all other forms of social media have been enough to engulf my ghrelin into a trance of excitement. We arrived at Cookies and Scream (based within the Dingwalls gallery area of the market) and I didn’t know what to expect in terms of looks. Basically it is a bakery bar with four high stools at the bar where you can sit and enjoy your treats, or if not you can take most of them away with you.
Epic gluten free donuts from Cookies and Scream!
I’ve just realised for all of you who have no idea what Cookies and Scream is, it is a gluten free and vegan bakery! Every product is dairy, egg, wheat and gluten free and all bakes are low fat, low cholesterol and made with unrefined sugars. Simply, it is foodie heaven for vegans, for intolerants and for literally everyone is the whole world. What I experienced at Cookies and Scream the other day I never ever experienced when I could eat gluten; the bakes are beyond divine. Seriously I mean it.
Cookies and Scream do a wide range of different bakes, cakes & shakes. The variety is so vast and ever changing that whilst we sat there, different tasty treats were being made; when I sneaked back later on, completely different delights were at the bar. This might be something to do with the fact that they constantly have to bake new treats, as they are constantly selling out!
The girls working behind the bar on the day we visited were incredibly friendly as well, they described Cookies and Scream as an almost punk bakery and I definitely get that vibe even in the tiny space it takes up. We spoke for ages, which meant that I just had to keep buying and tasting! Sadly the girls were a little camera shy otherwise their faces would be plastered all over this blog post. I guess giving you a few photos of the tasty treats they baked will have to do!!
Cookie time!
Firstly, I started off by ordering one of the largest cookies I’ve had in a long time, I went for the choc chip cookie. It was amazing, super super soft, as if it had just come out of the oven. It was exactly how I always try and make gluten free cookies but sadly they never come out like this. Cookies and Scream cookies are filled with fruit purees and flaxseed that means that they are not only incredibly moist and fresh in taste, but they are somewhat nutritious as well. How can the best cookie I have ever tasted not be the worst cookie for me?! I actually ended up sneaking back later on and purchasing another cookies for the train journey home. It was a delicious, with an almost jammy centre to it. Sadly I forgot to take a picture as I was wolfing it down on the underground! I am unsure whether this was the greatest cookie ever or the chocolate chip one. Both were insane.
Whilst I ordered the cookie my friend ordered… a donut! Yes that’s right Cookies and Scream do fresh delicious gluten and dairy free donuts! On this occasion she opted for the completely chocolate dipped one. It was amazing, so soft and just basically… tasted like a donut! I couldn’t stop trying it! They also do a range of other donuts too, cinnamon sugar, jam, hazelnut… you name it they do it. So if like me as a gluten intolerant you have missed having donuts, this is so far my absolute favourite place to get one.
The perfect gluten free & vegan Banoffee Pie!
I couldn’t resist a chocolate brownie for my dinner back home whilst I was there also, so I got one to takeaway. The ‘Gosh! Brownies’ that Cookies and Scream create have actually won the ‘great taste GOLD’ award so I knew I was in for more of a treat than many other gluten free brownies I have previously tried. I was definitely not disappointed; again, this was the best chocolate brownie I had ever eaten. It was moist and rich, I ate half cold, and then went mental and had the other half warm with some soy ice cream. It is crazy that all the delights of Cookies and Scream are vegan and thus contain no dairy or eggs… how do they do this?! Well, we won’t be able to find out from them… there is a sign on the bar saying they won’t give away any of their recipes! Big shame, I can’t get to Camden every day sadly, next time I do though I can’t wait to have another brownie or blondie… they do so many flavours!
Whilst we were munching down our donuts and cookies the girls behind the bar started assembling a perfect masterpiece for the eyes in the form of a banoffee pie. Being one of my favourite desserts in the world I felt a little faint at the sight of such a beauty – mine doesn’t ever look that good! If I hadn’t got myself already so so full I would have definitely managed a full slice… or the whole pie come to think of it. It quickly sold out as later when I went back it was completely gone and an entire second cake was just having it’s final slice sold!
One final purchase for me from Cookies and Scream on Saturday I think was called the ‘Chewy Wookee’. It is a chocolate feast: a cookie bar with hazelnuts, raisins and topped with double chocolate. I bought one because I found out that they have a ‘Chewy Wookee Challenge’! You have to see how quickly you can eat the Chewy Wookee. Whilst I was there, a girl decided to take up this challenge and had to eat the entire thing in 2 minutes. Unfortunately she was unable to get on the leaderboard; I wasn’t even going to try, instead I spent my Sunday enjoying this tasty delight. I am not the worlds biggest double chocolate fan but this was immense. Again, I ask you… how is this vegan?!
Whose up for the Chewy Wookee challenge?!
Not only is their range of cakes, cookies, pies, brownies etc never-ending (I haven’t even mentioned 5% of the potential treats you might come across at Cookies and Scream on any random day), but they also do a huge range of milkshakes! These milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard & damn right they’re… low fat & sweetened with agave (according to Cookies & Scream, and whose to argue with these genius’). Now I had already had a banana milkshake/smoothie in inSpiral Lounge earlier so I felt I couldn’t have another, but I watched so many people having them made and they looked amazing. I can guarantee from just looking at the shakes and reading the menu that these shakes would be better than any dairy or gluten filled one. Anyone up for a Cookie Dough Ball Shake? Salted Caramel Shake? Brownie Shake? Toffee or Peanut Butter Shake?! ME to all of these & probably ‘me me me’ to many of you too! Well get down to Cookies and Scream pronto and you can have one!
Fancy a shake thats dairy & gluten free, here you go!
As you might be able to already tell I am highly suggesting you head to Cookies and Scream if you are venturing down to Camden on a sunny London day out. Of course I highly recommend the whole of Camden market for a great foodie experience, but if you don’t go to Cookies and Scream I warn you now, you have made a huge mistake.
I recommend it to those who can’t eat gluten, to those who can’t eat dairy, to all the vegans out there, and I highly recommend it to every other individual on this planet, because you certainly won’t taste anything better with a load of gluten, eggs or cows milk included in your baked goods and shakes! This place is simply amazing.
It is open 7 days a week from 10am till 6pm and they are always replenishing their delicious bakes throughout the day. If you are in a rush happily grab a dozen cookies and brownies for the road, if not take a seat at the bar and have a chat over a shake and a slice of pie, it’s a great place to hang out.
If all this is completely beyond you still, then until you can make the trip to Cookies and Scream I urge you to follow ‘CookiesandScreamBakery’ on Instagram and ‘cookiesscream’ on Twitter. Don’t blame me if this makes you get on a train, plane or automobile very quickly and end up at Cookies and Scream before you’ve even got yourself dressed in the morning.
Well that’s all from me for today, basically I love Cookies and Scream & I hope that at least one of you might decide to go now, it is so so worth it.
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
