What do you get when you combine graffiti, street art, hip-hop culture, and fresh, sweet ingredients? Cookie Plug, that’s what! This fresh-baked cookie company recently opened two new locations in Paradise Valley and Tempe.
With one step inside the shop, guests are transported back to the 90s, with colorful designs and street art-themed graffiti on the walls and rap music blasting out of the speakers. Founded by Erik Martinez in 2019 in southern California, the brand skyrocketed out of the gate, opening over 30 locations in five years.
Currently, there are three stores in Arizona (there’s also one in Tucson), plus shops in Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, California, and even Puerto Rico.
Martinez grew up loving 90s hip-hop and street culture. He owned other bakeries before starting Cookie Plug, believing there was an opportunity to make cookie stores a more fun and exciting experience for customers. By combining a passion for baking and all things street culture, Cookie Plug is an experience that is anything but ‘cookie-cutter.’
“I’ve always loved hip-hop and graffiti and was inspired by street art and hip-hop culture,” Martinez said. “I wanted to change the blueprint of how cookies were made by making them thicker and more flavorful.”
What’s unique about the recipe for Cookie Plug’s sweet treats is that they’re a mixture of cake batter, cookie batter and brownie batter, making them extra ooey-gooey and thick.
Flavors include chocolate chip walnut, Fruity Pebbles, triple chocolate, cookies and cream, snickerdoodle (also known as snooperdoodle), red velvet, strawberry cheesecake, and the firecracker s’mores cookie: marshmallows paired with a graham cracker crunch and decadent chocolate chips all packed together in a “warm cookie fat stack.”
One of the most unique is the Purple Haze cookie, which Martinez describes as “a deep purple criminal combo of white chocolate chips smuggled into a top-secret white chocolate chip cookie recipe.”
Twelve flavors are available daily, but Cookie Plug also offers a Secret Stash flavor that changes each month. The shop also has Plug Popper mini cookies, cookie cakes, ice cream cookie sandwiches, keto cookies and Purple Drank – purple lemonade served in a baby bottle or a double cup.
“We aren’t your average cookie-cutter cookie shop. Cookie Plug’s unique concept is inspired by graffiti, street art and hip-hop culture, creating an unmatched vibe,” Martinez said. “The brand serves up delicious, extra-thick cookies, known as ‘phatties,’ baked fresh daily at every location.”
Cookie Plug also offers specials, also known as “Erryday Hook Ups,” that include free drinks, cookies, merch and more with purchases. Next up for the business is a new store, opening in Ahwatukee later this month. For more information, visit cookieplug.com.
