Quest for the Best: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Do you guys want to know a secret? I've been working on this post for two years. TWO YEARS. (Actually, a little more than two years.) I'm not joking. This post is near and dear to my heart. I've always loved chocolate chip cookies (who doesn't?) - As a kid I made them often with my mom (especially for Christmas), I started making them myself or with friends in middle school, and then in high school I even gave a "how-to speech" about making chocolate chip cookies for my English class. Over the years I've tried a handful of recipes (although mostly Toll House; let's be real) - some really wonderful, some totally mediocre - and it made me wonder: What is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe?
So once I knew I would be starting this blog, I decided I wanted to do a scientific exploration of chocolate chip cookies and document it on here. I went about choosing 9 recipes that either just looked really good to me or claimed they were the best. Well of course over the two years of recipe testing, new ones popped up and I couldn't help but add them to the testing lineup.
For the sake of this blog I chose only recipes available on the internet because I wanted to be able to link to all of them in this post, therefore making all of them accessible to my readers. (I bet there are some FANTASTIC chocolate chip recipes in cookbooks out there - If you have a favorite, please let me know. Lord knows I'll test it out because I can't stop making chocolate chip cookies.) Some of the ones I tried did end up being totally mediocre, so to keep this (somewhat) concise and for illustration purposes, what I have for you today is the top 9 of what I tested.
In the process of doing this, I learned a lot about cookies and about myself: What I like in a chocolate chip cookie, the power of flaky salt, what kind of texture I prefer, and how truly picky I can be, etc. All of this is evident in my results.
I will begin by giving you details about each of the 9 recipes - about substitutions I may have been forced to make, what kind of chocolate I used, whether or not the recipe worked well for me, thoughts on texture and taste, etc. Most of the time I would take these cookies into work, and I incidentally turned myself and all of my coworkers into very astute chocolate chip cookie taste-testers. I would grill them on what they thought of the flavor, whether or not they were too salty or not salty enough, and about the texture - was it too crispy? Too dense? You get the picture. We're experts now.
From there I will give you my official opinions. DISCLAIMER: My perfect cookie may not be your perfect cookie. We definitely had some disagreements around the office about which cookie was better. That is to say, all of these recipes yield delicious cookies, and I hope that my notes will be comprehensive enough to steer you in the direction of your perfect chocolate chip cookie. And honestly, a "bad" chocolate chip cookie is still a chocolate chip cookie - And is there anything better than a chocolate chip cookie? Probably not. Except TWO (or five) chocolate chip cookies.
Before we begin, I want to mention flaky vanilla salt. It has become a staple in my kitchen, specifically for sprinkling on top of chocolate chip cookies (although it's also wonderful on toast with almond butter and honey, etc.). You can buy some online, but it's super easy to make at home. I always have flaky sea salt (like Maldon or Jacobsen) and whole vanilla beans on hand in my pantry, so this is a cinch. All you have to do is put some flaky salt in a small bowl along with the "caviar" scraped from some whole vanilla beans. Mix it around vigorously with a fork until the vanilla beans coat the salt, and add more vanilla bean if it doesn't seem like an adequate amount for your salt. Store it in an airtight glass container with a wide mouth so you can easily pinch some out of it with your fingers. You can even store some of the leftover vanilla bean pods in there too. So easy!
Another note I want to mention before we start is about the chocolate I used. Some of these recipes called for specific kinds of chocolate, like "the best bar of dark chocolate you can find, hand chopped," etc. I chose to ignore those specifications for the most part. My reasoning for that is this: It's not a secret that a chocolate chip cookie will be better if you use high-quality chocolate. However, I wanted to test these recipes with what people normally use to make chocolate chip cookies, and that's chocolate chips (or whatever random chocolate might be in your pantry). So yes, I cheated in that department, but I had my reasons. High quality chocolate will certainly make a difference in your outcome, but don't expect any judgement from me if you're using Nestle Toll House chocolate chips.
Onto the cookies:
Yield: 38 small cookies, made with heaping teaspoons of dough
Baking time: 6 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
Special ingredient notes: Megan doesn't specify, but I used unsalted butter, and I used sea salt in the dough. (I don't think I had kosher salt in my pantry at that time.)
Taste: These had a nice, deep, toasted nutty flavor from the brown butter. That balanced out the chocolate chips and then the salt on top brought it all together. Someone at work said "tastes like Christmas," and I could only describe the flavor of these as "haunting."
Texture: These were like chocolate chips enveloped in a vanilla bean brown butter shortbread. (Megan has you infuse the butter with vanilla bean as you're browning it. GENIUS.) Someone said they were "as moist as a cookie can be while still being crumbly."
General thoughts: The dough was indeed very crumbly. She has you form balls of dough and chill them, but I just chilled my bowl of dough because I didn't have room in my fridge for a platter of dough balls. It was quite difficult to form the balls after chilling, but it got a little easier as the dough warmed up (so I should have just followed her directions and made the balls first). These aren't exactly your typical chocolate chip cookies, but they were wonderful.
Yield: 36 3-3.5-inch cookies, scooped with a 1/4 cup measuring cup
Baking time: 17-20 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
Special ingredient notes: I used coarse kosher salt in the dough.
Taste: It's like a perfected Toll House cookie. You can taste the caramel-y notes of the brown sugar, and they seemed just salty enough.
Texture: Crunchy edges with gooey insides. I think it was Robert who said, "The crunch to goo factor is so good." They stayed nicely fresh and chewy even after 2 days.
General thoughts: This recipes makes a very flour-y, heavy dough. My mixer was really struggling at the end, so I finished mixing with a wooden spoon. I chilled mine for almost exactly 72 hours. The pros of doing a recipe like this is that it breaks up the baking time into two chunks, so you only have to devote two shorter chunks of time to making them, as opposed to one large chunk of time. The con side of that is you have to plan 3 days ahead for these cookies. The dough was very solid when first taking it out of the fridge, so I just had to carve away at it with my 1/4 cup scoop. The taste and texture of the dough reminded me of those Toll House pre-portioned cookie dough chunks that you break apart and bake. They were a good size and shape, too. This is a really great, classic cookie. I of course had to bake a single cookie before chilling the dough to see what it would be like. Well, I can tell you from experience that you should definitely follow the directions and chill the dough for a few days. Baking right away yielded a cookie with not as much flavor, and with a weird, crackly, sugary texture on top. My theory is that the cake flour or bread flour really needs that extra time to absorb moisture from the rest of the dough, and without that step things get weird.
Yield: 30 3.5-inch cookies, scooped with my large cookie scoop (a heaping 3 tbsp)
Baking time: 12 minutes
Chocolate used: Godiva dark chocolate chips, random milk chocolate chips and chopped Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate (I ran out of dark chocolate chips so I used extra milk chocolate ones to make up the difference)
Special ingredient notes: I used a combo of dark and light brown sugars since he didn't specify, and I used my vanilla flaky salt on top.
Taste: Great, but I think I wanted them a little saltier? I've discovered through this experiment that I like a really salty chocolate chip cookie. They lacked some of the toffee and caramel notes I got with other recipes, but you could probably achieve that if you "aged" the dough in the fridge for a day or two. I felt like I could taste the shortening used in this recipe and I'm not sure how I felt about that.
Texture: Fantastic. Crispy edges, chewy in the center, and they stayed that way for a good 2-3 days until they disappeared.
General thoughts: These ones have pecans in them - I don't normally go for nuts in my chocolate chip cookies, but if they have to be there I'd prefer to use pecans, so that's good. They weren't overpowering at all and I actually felt like they added to this cookie. These are a little high maintenance with the 3 kinds of chocolate and the chopping involved during prep, but I also like to have that variety in my cookie, so I shouldn't really complain. I had to do the last bit of mixing by hand because it was a little too full for my mixer and it was struggling. Brandon recommends you do 6 per cookie sheet (which I think is a good move), but that also means it takes longer to get through all of your dough. I loved the size of these - hefty but not too large.
Yield: 34 cookies, scooped with my medium cookie scooper (about 1.5 tbsp)
Baking time: 12-15 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chips
Special ingredient notes: I had to use one stick of salted butter (instead of unsalted), and I left out the pecans. I used coarse kosher salt in the dough. I screwed this up a bit because I accidentally put in 1/3 cup extra light brown sugar, so to compensate I did 1/4 cup of granulated sugar instead of 1/2 cup.
Taste: My notes say that I gave these an 8 out of 10 for flavor. There were definitely good, but not totally knock-your-socks-off amazing.
Texture: I only gave these a 5 or 6 out of 10 for texture. The next day they had gone from chewy to crispy, which is not what I'm looking for. Perhaps my sugar substitution had something to do with it, and maybe I could have baked them for a minute less with better results.
General thoughts: As noted above, I screwed up a bit with the sugars, so that can absolutely affect the outcome with a cookie like this. I chilled the dough for the minimum of 30 minutes. The first batch came out a bit flat, but the later batches were less flat - maybe because I chilled the dough in between batches and therefore the dough was colder for the later ones. I felt like these could use more chocolate, and there's a slight chance I might have over-baked them. (I probably should have redone this recipe, huh?)
Yield: 26 cookies, made with 3 tbsp scoops of dough
Baking time: 13-16 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
Special ingredient notes: n/a
Taste: The taste was wonderful, with a nice strong buttery, toffee flavor. I chilled the dough for 3 days, which, as we now know, always makes a good cookie even better. However, I found these to be too salty. And I like a salty chocolate chip cookie, so some people would maybe find the amount of salt in these cookies to be truly offensive. I love putting the flaky salt on top, but for these it seemed to take it over the edge.
Texture: Fantastic: crispy, crunchy edges with a soft and gooey center. The texture was still perfect the next day.
General thoughts: He says to cool the browned butter for about 20 minutes in the fridge, but for me it took 20 minutes in there and then another 20 in the freezer to reach the consistency he was asking for. It also took about 10 minutes for my vanilla/egg/sugar mixture to become "pale and ribbon-like," as opposed to his 5 minutes. My other issue with this recipe is that putting the flaky salt on after they bake meant the salt didn't stay on the cookies very well. I prefer to add my flaky salt before baking. So aside from a few instructions that went differently for me and the general fussiness of this recipe, these cookies would be perfect if they weren't quite so salty.
Yield: 24 cookies, scooped with my medium cookie scooper (1.5 tbsp)
Baking time: 11 minutes
Chocolate used: Callebaut 60.3% chocolate baking chips, which I had leftover from my wedding cake recipe
Special ingredient notes: This recipe uses malted milk powder, which is highly unusual. Apparently it helps a bit with flavor and texture. I wasn't disappointed!
Taste: These ones certainly had better flavor than other recipes that bake up this quickly, but they weren't as complex as ones that require a staycation in the fridge. It lacks the caramel notes of those aged doughs. These might not have needed the flaky salt on top (I think it took it slightly over the edge), and in my personal opinion there was almost too much chocolate. (I really like to taste the cookie itself.) This was one of my mom's favorites that I made, but she kept coming back to her memory of the chocolate that I used in these, which was very high quality. Good ingredients certainly make a difference.
Texture: They had nice crispy edges and were chewy in the center. But if I'm being really picky, it's possible they were too thin for my tastes.
General thoughts: I found it much easier to use a whisk when combining the sugars and melted butter, as opposed to a wooden spoon. Heidi didn't mention in her post when to add the flaky salt, so I added it to each ball of dough right before baking. I love that it's a "one bowl" recipe. For a chocolate chip cookie recipe that's super quick and easy to throw together, these were fantastic. If you're in need of chocolate chip cookies as fast as possible, this one's your winner.
Yield: 24 cookies, scooped with my medium cookie scooper (1.5 tbsp)
Baking time: 13 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
Special ingredient notes: I couldn't get my hands on golden syrup, so I found a substitute online: two parts light corn syrup to one part molasses. I also didn't have vanilla bean paste, so I used the scrapings of one whole vanilla bean instead. She didn't mention which kind of salt to use in the dough, so I went with fine sea salt. However, fine sea salt is much stronger than kosher salt, so I went a little light on it (just in case): 3/4 tsp instead of a full tsp. I also left out the nuts, because I felt like keeping this one a pure chocolate chip cookie. The dough was refrigerated for 18 hours, and I used my homemade vanilla flaky salt on top.
Taste: EXCELLENT. The next day the cookies tasted a bit like raw cookie dough to me, which is just perfect.
Texture: I found the texture of these to be a little too uniform. They didn't have the crispy edge AND the chewy center that I wanted, and they were a bit dense. Robert thought these were more "cakey," with a consistent softness to them. Still wonderful, just not what I'm looking for.
General thoughts: One of my favorite things I took away from Alana's recipe was how she scooped and shaped the dough balls before chilling. Rather than having to chip away at hardened dough when you're ready to bake, you just plop each individual pre-refrigerated ball on your baking sheet. It makes the whole process so much easier. Overall this recipe was a bit fussy for me with the golden syrup and vanilla paste, two ingredients I don't normally have on hand, and the need for an extra egg yolk. However, these were absolutely wonderful, and would have been almost perfect for me if the texture had been a little different.
Yield: 45 cookies, scooped with my medium cookie scooper (1.5 tbsp)
Baking time: 11 minutes
Chocolate used: chunks of Hershey's dark chocolate squares, Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli bittersweet baking chips, and some random milk chocolate chips (this was a pantry cleanout)
Special ingredient notes: I had to use a tiny bit of dark brown sugar because I ran out of light brown sugar. She doesn't specify her salt in the batter, so I used fine sea salt. I used my homemade flaky vanilla salt on top.
Taste: Wonderful - these are very chocolate-forward and the salt on top is a perfect touch. The flavor of these could be improved by browning the butter and/or chilling the dough, but for an immediate cookie, this flavor is top-notch.
Texture: A crunchy crust with a nice gooey middle.
General thoughts: This is for sure one of my favorite recipes. It's not fussy and it yields a wonderful cookie right out of the mixer. My main complaint for this one is that there's too much chocolate for my taste. If you are a lover of dark chocolate and salty things, this is your go-to. (Oh, and if you want these to be even easier to make, Ashley makes baking kits for this recipe.)
Yield: 19 cookies, made of 3.5-ounce scoops of dough
Baking time: 16-17 minutes
Chocolate used: Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
Special ingredient notes: I used my homemade flaky vanilla salt on top.
Taste: Great, but it didn't receive quite the rave reviews of other ones in the flavor department. Still wonderful, though, and a classic cookie flavor.
Texture: Soft and chewy with a gooey center, but perhaps a little too dense
General thoughts: This is kind of an annoying recipe, for many reasons. I had to sift the dry ingredients, which has got to be one of my least favorite baking tasks. Measuring out each 3.5-ounce mound of dough before baking was also a real time-suck, and I had to let the dough warm up and soften a bit (after refrigerating for 3 days) in order to make it easier to work with. Also, and I might be alone on this - these are WAY. TOO. BIG. Each time I ate one of these I ended up with a massive sugar rush for the next 5 hours. I love a hefty cookie, but eating one of these is a commitment. Someone at work described them as "not wimpy." They also had too much chocolate for my tastes, and were missing some caramel notes that other recipes had. Am I being picky? Absolutely. (I told you I was.) Despite my complaints, this was a fantastic cookie. It reminded me of the Starbucks chocolate chip cookie (which I actually love), but better. Like the 72 hour cookie (above), I tried baking one of the cookies right away, without the 3-day rest in the fridge. Once again, it ended up with a slightly weird texture and a less impressive flavor. Definitely give this dough a rest if you can, at least overnight.
THE VERDICT:
It's essentially impossible for me to pick only one of these recipes, and I want to state again that ALL OF THESE RECIPES MAKE AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. But here are my thoughts:
FOR WHEN YOU NEED THE FASTEST COOKIES EVER:
Go with the Milk Bar salted chocolate chip cookie. It's a super fast, one-bowl recipe, and you end up with a great cookie. Just make sure you have the secret ingredient, nonfat milk powder, on hand. If you have a little bit more time to spare, make The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie from Not Without Salt. This one has the normal steps of making a cookie dough, but gives you some of the best flavor for a cookie straight out of the mixer.
IF YOU LIKE NUTS IN YOUR COOKIE:
The Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies from Kitchen Konfidence, which have pecans in them, really blew me away. I felt like the nuts truly added to the overall cookie, which is not something I would normally say about a chocolate chip cookie.
IF YOU LOVE SALTY DARK CHOCOLATE:
Make The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie if you like them on the denser side, and the Milk Bar cookie if you like them a little more flat and chewy.
IF YOU HAVE A COUPLE DAYS TO PLAN AHEAD:
The 72 Hour Cookie from Gaby is one of my favorites. It's like a classic Toll House on steroids and I love it. You need that 3-day rest, though - I was testing the raw dough in the fridge each day, and there was a marked difference in flavor after day two. It's a real thing!
MY OVERALL FAVORITE:
When it came down to it, I just couldn't decide. The two that rose to the top for me were The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie from Not Without Salt, and The 72 Hour Cookie from What's Gaby Cooking. The problem is that they're quite different, both in texture and flavor. So how do I choose? Robert and I decided that I needed to make both and taste them side by side.
So that's what I did. I timed it for right before Christmas, and then I took them to Ohio with me so I could use Robert's family as my test group. My kitchen felt like a true chocolate chip cookie factory the night before we left. An overwhelming majority of those who tasted them opted for The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's hard to resist that dense cookie packed with dark chocolate and studded with sea salt. Most of these people had never eaten a salted chocolate chip cookie before, so I think it kind of blew their minds.
I, on the other hand, was leaning towards the minority. While I love them both dearly and find them equally addictive, I had to give a nod to The 72 Hour Cookie for being such a classic chocolate chip cookie. For your salty dark chocolate-loving friends, go with The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie. For those friends with more of a sweet tooth, go with the 72 hour one, which boasts more of a brown sugar and toffee flavor.
So the real truth of the matter is that neither of these fantastic recipes could get a perfect score from me. (I've become such a snob, haven't I?) My PERFECT chocolate chip cookie would be more of a hybrid of the two: Closer to the texture of the 72 hour one, but enhanced by brown butter and flaky salt; the perfect amount of chocolate; a brown sugar cookie base that could stand all on its own for that random cookie at the end of the batch with only one or two spare chocolate chips in it, and a quality so important to me: A cookie that could be baked immediately and yield a cookie that knocks your socks off, while obviously getting even better if you have the time to chill the dough.
Is this possible? You betcha. After lots of testing and hard work I made it happen, and it's coming at you soon. I didn't do all of this research for nothing. I AM SO EXCITED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU. Stay tuned!****UPDATE: Here's my ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE!!!!!!
Next up in my "Quest for the Best" series is brownies, my other true love. If you have a favorite, please let me know so I can try it out. Check back in two years for that post. (JK - I'm hoping to get that one out much sooner. At least brownies are a very quick and easy thing to make.)
PS - You can find all of these recipes on my "Quest for the Best: Chocolate Chip Cookies" Pinterest Board.
Illustrations at top created with pencil and Photoshop.
Prints of my illustrations (and other products with my work on them) are available in my Society6 shop.
