If you haven’t experienced the gooey goodness of the oversized choc-chip cookies from Bennett St Dairy and its sibling cafe Blair St Dairy, now is the time. In fact, you could say now is the best time, because you can eat them just seconds out of the oven, at their melt-y prime.

That’s because the Bondi cafes are now delivering 500-gram packs of choc-chip cookie dough across Sydney (for a flat $9 fee, or free if you spend more than $45), which will make six to eight cookies (or one really big cookie), depending on how big you like them. And as of May 4, 2020 there’s a new flavour, too: white chocolate and macadamia.

In an effort to offload excess stock due to coronavirus, co-owner James Meek and his business partner Cliff Baskin put a post on Instagram saying they had a bunch of cookie dough for sale. One hundred kilos of dough sold in two hours, and thus their business model was transformed. (We don’t say that lightly – they now sell a tonne of the stuff each week.)

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The dough packs cost $12 and will last about two weeks in the fridge, or up to three months in the freezer. They come with easy-to-follow instructions and take only 10 to 15 minutes to bake, depending on how big you scoop them. (That’s the other beautiful thing about baking the cookies yourself – you can make regular-sized bickies or one big-mumma version.)

“It’s the cookie version of a Mary’s burger [which is regarded as one of Sydney’s best, and most indulgent],” Meek told Broadsheet in May 2020. “If you’re going to have one, you want to do it properly. It’s like the anti-Bondi product – we don’t cut any corners on the amount of choc we put in them, there’s no kale in the ingredients.”

The success of the new venture enabled Meek and Baskin to retain 70 per cent of their staff, who they put to work as drivers; making and wrapping batches of cookie dough in the kitchen; or selling takeaway goods and dough at the two cafes.

“Worst case, it gets us through,” says Meek. “Best case, we have a nice little business at the end of this. It’s a good-news story in a shitty situation. The response has been great.”

Place your order online here. You can also pick up at Blair Street Dairy and Bennett St Dairy, as well as a number of stockists.

This article was first published on May 5, 2020. Some details may have changed since publication.