Starbucks Cookie Straws, reviewed

Along with some new Frappuccinos, one of the latest items to show up at Starbucks is a Cookie Straw. The cookie straw is a very long, thin rolled cookie that features a crisp pastry tube that is lined with dark chocolate. It looks very much like a Pirouline cookie, if you are familiar with their wafer cookies, though it is quite a bit larger. The edible straws are being marketed as an add-on for Starbucks Frappuccinos, a way to add both flavor and fun to your blended coffee drink. They are sold for $.95 each, which seems like quite a bit for a straw, but quite reasonable for a big chocolate cookie.

You’re probably wondering how these straws actually hold up to use in a drink – especially if you enjoy sipping your frappuccino slowly. The answer is that they hold up to the frozen drinks astonishingly well. The cookies are quite thick and are completely lined with chocolate. The chocolate coating is generous and stays nice and hard as it sits in the cold drinks, supporting the outer cookie layer. I was able to (slowly) drink an entire Frappuccino without the straw sogging-out on me. They don’t hold up well to hot drinks for obvious reasons, but they can be dipped with good results.

The real difficulty with these straws is not whether they can hold up to a drink, but whether you can resist the temptation to munch them when you take a sip. I had to constantly remind myself not to eat the cookie until I was done. And it was delicious when I finally took that bite. I recommend picking up a traditional straw, just in case you give in to temptation and allow your straw to become your snack.