Starting next month, you can expect a refreshed dessert if traveling in domestic first class on United Airlines from Christie’s Cookie.
Christie’s Cookie Return To United Airlines First Class
Since United brought back meal service in the pandemic era on June 15, 2021, a hot “pie in the sky” cookie pie has been offered from Eli’s Cheesecake Company of Chicago as the dessert on most domestic flights. For over a year it was a chocolate chip flavored pie, though lately it has been been butter cookie flavored.
Personally, I love this dessert, especially when served piping hot, and continue to find it a suitable replacement for the cookies or cheesecake that were served pre-pandemic.
Starting next month, United will rotate out these “pie in the sky” cookies and bring back chocolate chunk cookies from Christie’s Cookie, a cookie we have seen sporadically in the past, particularly onboard longhaul flight accompanying the pre-arrival meal.
A memo to flight attendants reviewed by Live and Let’s Fly explains:
United First tray set-ups will now be catered with a pre-placed Christie’s Cookie (chocolate chunk flavor) on a small plate with a lid.
I cannot quite picture what the plate with a lid will look like but this should simplify the service, giving flight attendants one less thing to do. Currently, the pie in the sky cookies are loaded in a large container to be heated and it has been very hit-or-miss whether they are served. In one recent case, I had to remind a flight attendant they were there…she looked around, found them, heated them, and then served them toward the end of the flight rather than with the meal.
It appears the cookies will not be served hot, which is a missed opportunity. For years, United served delicious hot cookies in its forward cabin (and scones in the morning). I’d love to see those return.
CONCLUSION
Next month, domestic first class passengers (plus those traveling to Central America, Canada, and the Caribbean) can expect a chocolate chunk Christie’s Cookie as dessert, repacking the pie in the sky. For those who still want the pie in the sky, they are available for purchase directly from Eli’s.
I don’t think I ever finished one of the COVID cakes… too rich and dry for my taste. This seems like a cut to me, though, since they won’t be heated. United continues to tinker with its F product in a zero-sum way: improvements here (entrees), cuts there (desserts).
americans have no taste or class. You could serve them a piece of cardboard and as long as it has melted cheese, excess amounts of hot sauce or high fructose corn syrup those proles would eat it up.
You’re so predictable. In this case, the cookies are fairly natural:
https://www.christiecookies.com/nutritional-information/chocolate-chip-nutritional-information
I still think it’s a fair point though- it’s supposed to be a premium offering, not a school dinner. How about serving some [small but half-decent] cheese plate instead, or even some seasonal fresh fruit?
It’s still to sweet and horrible tasting.
Americans in all facets of their lives are infantile and immature that goes for the food they eat as well. It’s the same culinary tastes as 7 year olds have. Funny most dress the same way as well.
How often do you visit the USA?
It’s funny… as an American with European grandparents (who spends less than half of each year in the US), I totally agree with this Chad guy about American food tastes, it’s pretty sad. Europeans definitely have better culinary palates. But, the clothing thing is hilarious, because I will choose comfort over impressing the Chads of the world any day of the week. Walking around looking like a department store mannequin is truly ridiculous. So, Americans can learn from Europeans on food and Europeans can learn how to dress more casually and comfortably from Americans.
It still have 15g of sugar. Try Sweet Lauren’s, only 6g.
Let me guess you’re Russian?
Is it so hard to board cookies that get heated in the oven and offered on a plate after the meal. And put the step in the FA’s manual.
The pie in the sky was nice when FAs remembered to heat them and served them after the meal rather than plopped on the tray all at once
FAs are there primarily for my safety and I feel safest with an oven-hot cookie and cold milk. Therefore, the FAs should be quite supportive.
Glad these are getting changed out, getting sick of them, especially the butter ones. The chocolate were much better.
What type of cookies were served pre-pandemic?
Hello Matthew, just a heads up that the text of this post and several others recently are covered completely by a black box. The only thing visible are the ads, pictures and a portion of the comments.
Thanks. We are working on it (but unable to reproduce it). Keep sending data points – screenshots would be greatly appreciated.
I cannot reveal more than this, but I have conducted the independent annual food safety audit for Eli’s for four of the last five years. I am very disappointed in UA for dropping them as a supplier, because their food safety and quality ate top-notch. Eli’s is also a Chicago legend and has been for decades. UA can take their cookies and shove them where the sun don’t shine.
@Matthew, I vacillate between feeling that you are a shill for UA to feeling that you call it like it is with regards to UA.
This is a downgrade, serving a prebaked, pre-wrapped cookies vs. the Pies in the Sky which was pre-baked were re-heated onboard.
I am sure that is far cheaper to pre-place a cookie on each tray than loading the Pies in the Sky into a tin foil container, loading said container into the Atlas oven tray.
UA rarely makes changes which are an increase in quality, it is just not the ContiUnihound way
*which was pre-baked, but were reheated onboard.
Added the reply to my own comment with the correction because there is no way to edit comments once posted.
I’m not a shill. Truly. You remember this:
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-2023-mileageplus-devaluation/
You probably can’t or will not answer this, but as you have a way to directly reach UA, do you say that you disagree with say the increase in redemptions, especially without any notice?
I get it, you are an aviation journalist (you say blog, I honestly don’t know what is the difference) and there are probably professional boundaries, but if any Tom, Dick or Harry said something, UA would not hear nor care, but you have a direct line to UA and you have the power of the pen/keyboard.
I know if I were you, I would have written a far harsher article about the mileage devaluation and sent a copy to your contacts at UA. Making it clear that you don’t agree with it personally and you don’t agree with it as a aviation expert.
Regardless, I do enjoy what you have to write here and I respect you way more than I do many others, here is looking at you Lucky9876coins (aka Ben).
Who cares? Their food sucks no matter what stupid cookie is served.
It’s actually quite edible.
Gross. I am so over the Pie in the Sky (3 years of the same thing with an occasional sub of the biscoff variety). Now, throw a vending machine style cookie at me, I’ll continue to rate that low on the surveys as well. Can we please get real desserts back Ms. Jojo/Mr. Nocella? AA & DL have no problem providing opera cake, raspberry mousse cake and a host of other acceptable first-class desserts. This is just United being cheap and unable to control its catering vendors, so they play it safe with shelf-stable junk.
Vending machine cookies? Really?
More processed food (if you can call it that) with unknown ingredients…but you are “a foodie” so we understand.
I guess this makes the ‘elementary school cafeteria’ catering approach more realistic. Serving only a cookie for dessert is disappointing.
I wish United would just skip the sugary crap and just serve a bowl of fruit.
Definitely another unfortunate cut – I personally can’t stand these Christie’s Cookies and I hoped that we were rid of them after the deep frozen supplies were depleted … but I guess not. At least when their cookies are served at a Doubletree they are warm.
I am always struck by the lack of imagination / effort / variety United makes with the dessert offerings in both domestic F and Polaris. Two year’s worth of Egg Custard Tarts are surely in deep stasis somewhere in the United system, to be served every month in Polaris if you don’t want the sundae departing the US …