Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Taste Tested (2024)

If there is one classic comfort food in this world, it’s got to be homemade chocolate chip cookies. I mean, whose mouth doesn’t start to water at the thought of warm cookies fresh out of the oven? Or who doesn’t love to walk into a home that smells like fresh baked cookies?

But everyone’s got a different recipe and every baker claims that theirs is the best! So which one really is? I put this to the test. 10 cookie recipes, 40 taste testers, which one really is the best?

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

The Experiment:

Here’s how it went-For several months I have been watching Pinterest for chocolate chip cookies recipes that claim to be the best and I have been secretly pinning them to prepare for this test.

This week I baked 10 recipes that each claimed that they are the best or “the perfect” cookie.

For the experiment I printed out each recipe and followed it as closely as possible. I baked them all in one day so that none would have an advantage of freshness and I served them all at room temperature so that they were on equal footing.

Then I had about 40 friends over to taste each one. Each friend ranked the cookies-telling me their top 3 favorites and why they liked them.

Then I tallied the results and today I will tell you which cookie won Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever.

Meet the Contestants:

These are the cookies that were tasted. They are listed in the order that they were labeled at the event, but the order was random.

Cookie A: Life Made Simple Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Cookie B: No. 2 Pencil Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:

The NY Times Best Cookie Recipe!

Recipe Here

Apparently The NY Times knows what they are talking about, because this cookie was the clear winner!

My taste testers loved the taste of this cookie the best. It is crispier than the others and many taste testers said they felt like it was a good dunking cookie. It also has a light, buttery flavor.

Two notes: This recipe calls for two types of flour. I didn’t follow that-I just used my regular all purpose flour and it still won the taste test. Also, it was supposed to be refrigerated overnight and I didn’t have time to do that, so it was chilled for a few hours instead.

Oh, and one more thing. This is not a pretty cookie. It was definitely the ugliest cookie I tried. Apparently looks don’t matter.

Runners Up:

Want to know the second place cookie? This was my personal favorite.

Love From the Oven’s Brown Butter Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Again, this cookie was supposed to be chilled and I didn’t have the time to let it chill as long as it should, but it was still great! This one has brown butter in it and I sprinkled it with Kosher salt before baking (optional in the recipe). Some tasters didn’t like the saltiness-leave that off if you don’t prefer it like that.

This was a very nice looking cookie.

Third Place:

We had a two way tie for 3rd place:

No. 2 Pencil Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:

I Heart Naptime Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies:

My taste testers loved the soft, chewiness of these cookies AND, the No. 2 Pencil Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies have a mixture of milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate and the I Heart Naptime Double Chocolate Pudding Cookies have a mixture of semi sweet and white chocolate chips. My taste testers liked the mixture of chocolate here.

So-there are your winners! I really want to make it clear though that every single one of these cookies really was fantastic. Make any of them and you will impress your friends!

Happy Baking!!

Want another amazing cookie recipe? This is my personal best: Double Chocolate Mint Cookies! Try these-I promise you will love them:

How about a cute apron to wear while you make them?

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Taste Tested (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a good cookie? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.

Always use butter.
Choose the right sugar.
Choose the right flour.
Check your flour is in date.
Choose the right kind of chocolate.
Cream the butter and sugar.
Beat in the eggs.
Fold in the flour.

More items...

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What makes chocolate chip cookies taste so good? ›

In the center, it's softer. The chocolate gives us a melty, dense mouthfeel. The caramelized butter, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, and subtle notes of salt offer a balanced flavor profile. The saltiness highlights and enhances the preexisting flavors.

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What is the secret to making cookies soft and chewy? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

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Should you flatten cookie dough before baking? ›

Flattening the cookie dough provides more surface area that comes into contact with the ice bath, shortening the time it takes to chill. Then submerge the dough in the ice water and let it chill. After 20 minutes the dough will be completely chilled and ready for baking.

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What makes a high quality cookie? ›

The Quality Ingredients

Ingredients like butter, eggs and sugar can either make sweet cookie perfection or something you wouldn't want to share with your friends and family. Always look for a cookie that's made with premium ingredients. If the cookie contains some organic ingredients even better.

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What gives cookies more flavor? ›

Add more complex proteins, like malted milk powder and brown butter. Caramelizing the sugar beforehand brings bright notes to your cookies, but you can further expand your dessert's flavor profile by playing with proteins.

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Why add milk to chocolate chip cookies? ›

Chocolate and milk both contain emulsifiers that let ingredients that usually wouldn't combine well, like cocoa butter and cocoa powder, mix together. The chemical reaction between the chocolate and the milk actually enhances both flavors. The milk also mellows out the cookie's sweetness.

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Can you over mix chocolate chip cookie dough? ›

Don't Overmix the Dough

If you've done any baking whatsoever (not being dramatic ????), then you've seen this word in a cookie recipe or two. Overmixing is literally just the process of mixing something too much, which usually creates texture issues from too much gluten development and leads to tough cookies.

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What is the best flour for chewy cookies? ›

You don't absolutely HAVE to use bread flour, but it adds a ton of chewy texture to these cookies that's worth the extra trip to the store. If you can't get bread flour, then use all AP flour in its place.

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Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

What is the best flour for cookies? ›

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

All-purpose flour is the most commonly used flour in cookie recipes due to its moderate protein content (usually around 10-12%).

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What makes a cookie the best? ›

The best cookies have layers of texture. A slightly crisp outer shell that holds up to some heat with an inner core that's soft and chewy. Premium cookies taste great at room temperature, straight out of the fridge or slightly heated. Creating cookies in small batches is key.

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What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

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Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Taste Tested (2024)