Costco's Worst Holiday Cookies Are A Mixed Bag

The winter holidays are a festive time for food, whether you're trying TikTok's rosemary Christmas tree cocktail hack, or making mint truffles, Gordon Ramsay-style. And who could forget the holiday cookies? This year, if you'd rather outsource your baking, Costco offers a plethora of options, including these six sets that Food Republic tried and ranked. And if you're wondering which ones you might want to avoid, it's the Kirkland Signature European Cookies with Belgian Chocolate, which contain about three pounds of cookies for $19.99.

If you're surprised that this set of cookies came in dead last — particularly since they have been a favorite for years with Costco customers — perhaps it's a matter of timing. On the cookies' product page on Costco's website, several reviewers have remarked that this year's batch of Belgian chocolate cookies are nowhere near as good as previous year's, including as recently as last year.

According to Food Republic, though, they weren't all bad; our reviewer felt some were, in fact, quite delicious. For example, the Chocolate Bliss, a shortbread cookie with a coating of semisweet chocolate, has been well received over the years. And while all the cookies might not taste good, they're all at least quite pretty, and would look beautiful added to any holiday spread.

Because we gave the Kirkland Signature European Cookies set a mixed review, we don't blame you for still wanting to try these fetching baked goods anyway. And there is a way you could buy the entire tin and not waste your money, even if you end up not loving certain cookies: Use them up like you would stale cookies (of course, if the flavor of certain cookies just isn't to your liking, then by all means, toss them). One way to do that is to turn them into the crust for a pie. Both the wafer-type and shortbread-base cookies are ideal for this; all you have to do is pulse them up in a food processor and add in some melted butter.

Another neat idea to use up Costco cookies you didn't love is to make cake pops with them. What doesn't taste better mixed with frosting and dipped in melted chocolate? You can also smash them up into smallish pieces and use them as a topping for ice cream. Belgian chocolate cookies crumbled over Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream? Sounds like the perfect post-feast dessert.