The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Delivery-only food services in Cairo are a thriving business niche, with the capital continuing to see more and more kitchens marketing their products online.

Jou’s Cookie Jar is one of the most professionally branded eateries in Cairo. Their website is full of scrumptious photographs and uses wonderful web design – two critical factors that are highly overlooked in independent business marketing in Egypt.

Jou’s Cookie Jar offer a mouthwatering assortment of cookies in two sizes in packs of fifteen, including peanut butter chocolate chip (minis: 35LE, regular: 28LE), ginger (minis: 28LE, regular: 20LE), cinnamon (minis: 28, regular: 20), Snickers chocolate chip (minis: 45LE, regular: 35LE), marshmallow chocolate chip (minis: 45LE, regular: 35LE) and classic chocolate chip (minis: 35LE, regular: 28LE) amongst countless others. Healthier options – made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey – are also available. 

We ordered a variety of cookies; ginger, peanut butter chocolate chip, Snickers chocolate chip, cinnamon and chocolate chip. In a compromise that worked in the favour of both parties, they were made available for pick up from Mehawig in Zamalek – where they are also sold. The cookies were promptly delivered and we received a phone call from Jou’s Cookie Jar staff confirming their arrival. They looked appetising, but while sharing them out in the Cairo360 headquarters, we came to find some of these cookies great, while the rest were average at best.

The most immediate issue was that the cookies were slightly hard; perhaps a switch to softened butter would have made them softer. While the Snickers cookies had the softest texture thanks to the abundance of sweet chocolate, the ginger was lacking in flavour and was bland to the bite. In contrast, the cinnamon cookies had the spice’s strong depth and were delightfully crunchy. The chocolate chip cookies were a little stiff, but we were impressed to find an added pinch of salt to compliment its sweetness. The best cookie we came to enjoy was the peanut butter; soft and thick in texture, with plenty of peanut butter flavour.

Maybe the cookies would have been better straight out of the oven, but despite the downfalls, the Jou’s Cookie Jar experience was enjoyable; both for the cookies themselves and the interaction with the friendly staff.