Review: McDonald's New Cookie Butter Coffees Reach For Decadence But Fall A Bit Short

It used to be that the holidays were synonymous with a handful of expected flavors and treats, including eggnog, peppermint, gingerbread, and pumpkin. Now it seems like every year there are new flavors nudging into the mix. The fall saw plenty of apple items on fast food menus, but it's time to move into the holidays, and McDonald's has chosen cookie butter for several limited-time holiday McCafé offerings. 

Cookie butter is a sweet, creamy, rich spread, similar in consistency to peanut butter, made primarily from ground speculoos cookies. If you've ever had those crisp, spiced cookies in a red-and-white package on an airplane, you've had speculoos cookies. What makes cookie butter unique is the blend of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, combined with a toasted, caramelized sugar flavor. There are plenty of ways to use cookie butter, including adding it to coffee, like McDonald's is doing this holiday season. 

I always have a jar of cookie butter in my pantry, so I was thrilled to be able to try three new McCafé drinks that feature the flavor of the sweet spread. Would they make me want to throw on my coziest sweater and wish for snow? Here's what I thought of McDonald's new cookie butter drinks. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

I received early access to sample three holiday McCafé drinks at a spacious, bright McDonald's in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan, New York. I was served a hot Cookie Butter Latte, a Cookie Butter Iced Coffee, and a Cookie Butter Frappé.

All three beverages were brought out to me at once, which made it fun and easy to see the similarities and differences between them. After snapping some photos, I decided that the tasting order was up to me. I started with the hot latte, moved on to the iced coffee (before the ice cubes could dilute the drink), and finished up with the frappé, which was still perfectly thick and frosty, even after sitting for a few minutes. 

Since they all contain the cookie butter-flavored syrup, I expected them to be sweet, and kept my evaluation focused on the overall flavor and the balance between the coffee and the cookie butter. The drinks also have the same vanilla whip and caramel cookie crumb topping, so I considered what they added to the drink. After gathering my initial thoughts, I tasted each one again, sipping water in between, both to ensure my tasting notes were consistent and to see if the flavors deepened or bloomed with a few more sips. Buzzing on sugar and caffeine, I was confident in my conclusions. 

Before I even had the first drop of coffee hit my palate, I detected a sweet, vanilla aroma wafting from the off-white whipped topping holding a defined, sturdy swirl over the hot McCafé Cookie Butter Latte. It looked and smelled so inviting, and I was ready for a hit of spiced, toasty cookie butter to follow. I took a small sip, unsure how potent or hot the latte would be, and waited to taste cookie butter. The latte was creamy and smooth, and had a strong coffee backbone that didn't leave you guessing whether there was any coffee in it. 

I was left guessing about the cookie butter, because aside from that toasty vanilla aroma and taste, I wasn't really able to pick out the distinct spicing that gives cookie butter its identity. As the latte cooled, the sweetness stepped forward more, but it didn't bring any additional flavor notes with it. This is a lovely latte, and it reminded me why McDonald's was high on the list on our fast food coffee ranking, but I would just as easily have believed it was a vanilla latte. As a cookie butter lover, I was a little let down.  

I tend to prefer iced espresso to iced coffee, as iced coffee can be weak or watery, but after a few sips of this McCafé Cookie Butter Iced Coffee, I might make an exception for McDonald's iced coffee. I was immediately hit with a bold coffee flavor, which the added milk didn't dampen. The Cookie Butter Iced Coffee is lightly sweet, even after stirring in some of the vanilla whip. I had to pause and remind myself this was supposed to taste of cookie butter and that I had to sip slower, giving the syrup time to show itself. 

Out of the three drinks I sampled, this was the one that had the least cookie butter presence. I didn't even really taste much of the caramel or vanilla notes that came through the other two drinks. It was just a great iced coffee. I suppose I was occasionally reminded of the cookie butter element by the cookie bits, which retain crispness and easily glide through the straw. But it's a small accent in a large drink, so the overall impact is minimal. 

The beauty of a frappé is that it lives in that cross-section of milkshake and blended coffee — have it in the morning if you like a sweet start, or treat it like a dessert. I found this McCafé Cookie Butter Frappé in exactly that spot, as it was thick, rich, and frosty — no watery chunks of ice to be found! While the two other drinks led with coffee, the first thing I tasted in this beverage was the cookie butter syrup, then the coffee. Because the cookie butter taste was so much stronger in this drink, I really took my time to thoroughly dissect the flavor notes. 

It became clear that McDonald's led with the caramelized, brown sugar aspect of cookie butter and stepped back from cinnamon and the other warming spices that are a part of the best cookie butters. I completely understand that too much spicing could have made it taste like gingerbread or a cinnamon roll frappé, but without any, it just became a little too one-note for me, especially because the whip and cookie crumbs doubled down on vanilla and caramel rather than cookie butter. 

I was pleasantly surprised that in all three drinks, you could actually taste the coffee, which was smooth and full-flavored, and not bitter or acidic. The coffee's intensity varied, with the frappé being the mildest and the iced coffee being the strongest. If you are craving something creamy and really want to taste the cookie butter syrup, I recommend the frappé.

My favorite was the McCafé Cookie Butter Latte, as I felt it offered the best balance of ingredients. There was just enough syrup to sweeten it and offer caramel-y notes, but it wasn't sickly sweet. The contrast between hot coffee and cool whipped cream is delightful. It instantly evokes the feeling of sipping a mug of hot cocoa on a cold day and turns a regular coffee into a special treat. That being said, I'm not sure I'll be going back for another. I can't help but wish that the cookie butter syrup had stronger notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, or other warming, earthy spices, as that really would have taken it to the next level and driven home the cookie butter flavor in the drinks. 

McDonald's cookie butter-flavored coffees will be available nationwide at participating locations starting on November 3. They are a limited-time offering, so keep that in mind if you want to try all the varieties. I wasn't able to confirm exactly how long they will be around, but as a holiday offering, you can use the fall and winter holidays as a possible timeframe. In addition to the hot latte and iced coffee that I sampled, you will also be able to order an iced latte and a hot coffee, ensuring plenty of choice for your mood that day. 

There was no specific pricing available at the time of this writing, and it was explained to me that prices vary by location. However, the items are expected to be priced comparably to existing menu items. At my local McDonald's in Jersey City, New Jersey, the current seasonal offering (Caramel Apple Pie) ranges from around $0.60 to $0.80 more than a plain iced coffee or year-round caramel or mocha frappé.