Costco's Latest Food Court Addition Is Giving People Tummy Troubles

There's trouble in paradise (the Costco food court).

The reputation of Costco's food court precedes itself. From its shockingly low prices and great values to its cult following and the incomparable lore that goes along with some of its items (we're looking at you, hot dog), the food court at Costco is our favorite place to devour piping hot pizza—and even hotter drama.

The latest scandal to hit the food court arrived last month, when it leaked that Costco was discontinuing its beloved churros. The plot thickened when it was revealed that said churros would be replaced by none other than a Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie. While many felt it was a bit of a "womp womp" considering Costco carries chocolate chip cookies in many other forms—including in its bakery and ready-to-bake dough in the freezer—so what was going to set these food court cookies apart? Besides a $2.50 price tag, that is. Well now we know, and we kind of wish we didn't.

Fans Call Costco's New Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies 'Tummy Achy Juice'

In a Reddit post to the /Costco forum, one user posted their review of the latest food court addition, calling it "10/10 taste, 1/10 tummy achy juice." The responses rolled in, both comiserating—"My wife felt the same way last night after inhaling 3/4 of it in the car"— and speculating why it might cause stomach problems for some.

And, unlike when the Costco rotisserie chickens were making some customers sick (myself included) over the summer, this one doesn't come down to chemicals or additives. The top comment pretty much sums it up:

"That’s usually what happens when you consume 750 calories of fat and sugar in 5 minutes."

That's right. Each cookie is estimated at about 750-800 calories, compared to the Costco bakery cookies which are estimated at 210 calories each.

This led some commenters to speculate that there's almost an entire stick of butter in each cookie (there are 810 calories in 8 tablespoons of butter). And while I prefer butter to oil in my cookies—the Costco bakery chocolate chunk cookies contain a mix of butter and oil—that amount of either would be enough to give me a stomachache.

That gut bomb of a statistic might not be the only reason the cookies aren't agreeing with everyone. Another commenter who claims to be a Costco employee wrote, "Tried one after my morning shift. I’m a 12 year veteran employee and a cookie addict. It’s 30 minutes baked in the bakery then kept up front under the warmer by the chicken bakes. Crispy edges. Soft and hot inners. I’m in for it."

While that person is ultimately a fan of the cookies, sorry, but am I the only one who doesn't want a cookie that's been sitting under a heat lamp next to the Chicken Bakes?! Also, how could it possibly be baked for 30 minutes? An average cookie bakes for 10 to 12 minutes, maybe closer to 15 to 18 if they're really big.

A 30 minute cook time leads me to believe they're baking them at a super low temperature, which could cause the cookies to sit in the "danger zone." But that's just my speculation.

But not everyone is deterred by these facts and forewarnings. One commenter joked, "Is this beast everywhere now? Or only in certain regions? I too would like to be injured by this cookie."

If you're used to the hot dogs, pizza slices, chicken bakes, and all the dizzying culinary combinations therein, you probably have an iron stomach and can handle this cookie. For the rest of us, we may want to find a friend to share our cookie with.

Read the original article on All Recipes.