I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (2024)

Table of Contents
Hello, world! I'm Jesse, and I love to bake — especially chocolate chip cookies. They're simple and delicious, and their flavor takes me right back to my childhood. Still, I know that pretty much everyone has a recipe they swear by. So I decided to test five of the most popular. A ~chocolate chip cookie showdown~, if you will: I tasted everything and also asked about a dozen of my coworkers to try, for maximum cookie feedback. Here are the methods and how they stacked up: Alton Brown was up first. He swaps all-purpose flour for bread flour, which he says give the cookies "extra chewiness." Combine the melted butter and two types of sugar in a mixer and add the wet ingredients followed by the dry. So, is bread flour the secret ingredient for perfect cookies? Next up: Thomas Keller. He adds in two different types of chocolate — 55% and 72% — to really up the chocolate flavor. Beat butter and sugar in a mixer and add your wet and dry ingredients, and stir in the ~dustless~ chopped chocolate. So were they worth the trouble of chopping two types of chocolate? Then came Bobby Flay's recipe. His secret cookie ingredient is muscovado sugar — an unrefined sugar with a strong molasses flavor. He starts by whisking his dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and dry ingredients in two batches. So should you be running to the store to stock up on muscovado sugar? Up next: ~Wild card~ Kourtney Kardashian, whose dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies called for organic cane sugar, vegetable shortening, and lots of coconut oil. In a separate bowl, mix coconut flour, rice flour, salt, and baking soda and add it to the sugar mixture. So was it worth the $50 I spent on all those fancy ingredients? And last but not least: Toll House — the ultimate childhood classic. Start by combining your dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs, flour mixture, and stir in chocolate chips and nuts. (Yep, the original recipe has nuts in it.) So were they as good as my childhood memories made them out to be? SO WHO WON? TL;DR: If you want a seriously decadent cookie that's PACKED with chocolate, go with Thomas Keller's recipe (which was honestly the most indulgent chocolate chip cookie I have ever had). If you want a classic, chewy chocolate chip cookie (that isn't as hard to make), try Alton Brown's recipe. Interested in even more culinary battles? Check out our ultimate scrambled egg showdown here.

    138 cookies and 10 pounds of chocolate later, I found the recipe you should be using.

    by Jesse SzewczykBuzzFeed Staff
    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (2)

    Alice Yoo/BuzzFeed

    Hello, world! I'm Jesse, and I love to bake — especially chocolate chip cookies. They're simple and delicious, and their flavor takes me right back to my childhood.

    instagram.com

    Chocolate chip cookies were also one of the first things my mother taught me to bake before going to culinary school, and to this day, I still use her recipe.

    Still, I know that pretty much everyone has a recipe they swear by.

    NBC

    So I decided to test five of the most popular. A ~chocolate chip cookie showdown~, if you will:

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (4)

    Alice Yoo/BuzzFeed

    This was my lineup:

    1. Alton Brown: Because he's all about technique — and a good chocolate chip cookie comes down to one thing: proper technique.

    2. Thomas Keller: Because he's arguably the most acclaimed chef in America. If HE can't make a perfect chocolate chip cookie, who can?

    3. Bobby Flay: Because he seems to be good at beating other people's recipes, so I figured his recipe should be unbeatable. (Right?)

    4. Kourtney Kardashian: Because I wanted to include someone who wasn't a professional chef to spice things up (a wild card!). She even has her own food blog where she shares her ~kreations~.

    5. Toll House: Because I wanted to set a "control" cookie. Toll House is the OG chocolate chip cookie — and the standard to which I would judge the others.

    I tasted everything and also asked about a dozen of my coworkers to try, for maximum cookie feedback. Here are the methods and how they stacked up:

    Alton Brown was up first. He swaps all-purpose flour for bread flour, which he says give the cookies "extra chewiness."

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (5)

    Getty Images

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (6)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Sift it onto a paper plate and melt a ton of butter in a small pot.

    Combine the melted butter and two types of sugar in a mixer and add the wet ingredients followed by the dry.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (7)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (8)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Stir in the chocolate chips and chill the dough for one hour. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350°F oven and immediately transfer onto a cooling rack.

    See Also
    Eggnog Recipe - How to Make Homemade EggnogBo Kho | Instant Pot Bo Kho RecipeBest Chocolate Brownie Recipe (in 4 simple steps) - Pinch of NomEASY 2023 New Year's Eve Recipes | Julie Blanner

    So, is bread flour the secret ingredient for perfect cookies?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (9)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (10)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    The bread flour definitely made them chewier ― like the soft-baked kind you get in a grocery store. The cookies also looked great ―perfectly round and cartoon-like with a crinkly top. They tasted exactly how a chocolate chip cookie should taste ― soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, with the perfect amount of chocolate to balance the sweetness.

    Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

    A note from the tasting panel: “This is such a classic chocolate chip cookie. It’s soft, the right amount of sweet, and perfectly gooey.”

    Get Alton Brown's recipe here.

    Next up: Thomas Keller. He adds in two different types of chocolate — 55% and 72% — to really up the chocolate flavor.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (11)

    Getty Images

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (12)

    Chop a bar of both and place it in a fine-mesh strainer to remove any "chocolate dust."

    Beat butter and sugar in a mixer and add your wet and dry ingredients, and stir in the ~dustless~ chopped chocolate.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (13)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (14)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Bake everything as usual and let cookies cool on the sheet tray.

    So were they worth the trouble of chopping two types of chocolate?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (15)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (16)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Definitely! These cookies were damn good! The two types of chocolate balanced each other out and made these cookies ridiculously indulgent. The texture was fudgy and soft — as if a sugar cookie and a brownie had a baby. The dough spread quite a bit (and it looked more like a sugar cookie than a classic chocolate chip cookie), but the flavor was out of this world.

    Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

    A note from the tasting panel: "It may look a little different than a normal chocolate chip cookie, but definitely don’t judge this cookie by its cover. I could eat a dozen of these!”

    Get Thomas Keller's recipe here.

    Then came Bobby Flay's recipe. His secret cookie ingredient is muscovado sugar — an unrefined sugar with a strong molasses flavor. He starts by whisking his dry ingredients in a bowl.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (17)

    Getty Images

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (18)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Beat butter and sugar in a mixer until fluffy.

    Add eggs, vanilla extract, and dry ingredients in two batches.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (19)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (20)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Finish with chunks of semisweet chocolate, bake 'em, and let them rest on the hot cookie sheet for two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

    See Also
    30+ Delicious Fall Recipes to Make After Apple Picking

    So should you be running to the store to stock up on muscovado sugar?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (21)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (22)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Eh, don't rush. The cookies looked similar to Thomas Keller's, but they didn't have nearly as much flavor. They were super buttery, soft, and perfectly chewy, but they lacked flavor and needed more salt. The only thing I could taste was butter (which is never a bad thing), but I wanted them to have a stronger chocolate note. Looks like Bobby might have finally been beat...

    Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

    A note from the tasting panel: “The butter is definitely noticeable (and I love me some damn butter). It’s not too chewy, and they have the perfect bite. I loved how subtle the chocolate is — not overwhelming at all.”

    Get Bobby Flay's recipe here.

    Up next: ~Wild card~ Kourtney Kardashian, whose dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies called for organic cane sugar, vegetable shortening, and lots of coconut oil.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (23)

    Getty Images

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (24)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Mix shortening, coconut oil, and sugar in a bowl.

    In a separate bowl, mix coconut flour, rice flour, salt, and baking soda and add it to the sugar mixture.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (25)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (26)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Add dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips, chill the dough, then roll them into balls and bake 'em.

    So was it worth the $50 I spent on all those fancy ingredients?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (27)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (28)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    LOL NOPE — and from now on, let's not call these cookies (because they're not worthy of that sacred title). They were dry, sandy, and all I could taste was coconut oil. I understand that she wanted to make a ~healthier~ version of the classic (and that she isn't a trained chef), but that doesn't mean they should be SO dry that they literally exfoliate my mouth as I chew. When using coconut flour, you have to use A LOT of eggs to counteract how dry it can make things, and it seems that Kourtney may have missed that memo. But hey, she is pretty busy these days. *sips my Fit Tea*

    Rating: Zero.

    A note from the tasting panel: "This is not a chocolate chip cookie."

    Get Kourtney Kardashian's recipe here.

    And last but not least: Toll House — the ultimate childhood classic. Start by combining your dry ingredients in a bowl.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (29)

    Getty Images

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (30)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Then beat butter, sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixer until creamy.

    Add eggs, flour mixture, and stir in chocolate chips and nuts. (Yep, the original recipe has nuts in it.)

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (31)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (32)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    Bake 'em and let them rest on the hot cookie sheet for two minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

    So were they as good as my childhood memories made them out to be?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (33)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (34)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    I hate to ruin your childhood, but no ― these cookies were nothing special (the white bread of cookies, if you will). The batter didn't spread out and they ended up looking lumpy and sad. The flavor was mild and the chocolate and nuts didn't shine through. I would never turn down a Toll House cookie ― but I wouldn't recommend using the recipe either. Compared with the others, this cookie just didn't do it for me.

    Rating: 🍪🍪

    A note from the tasting panel: "These look like something my mother would make."

    Get the classic Toll House recipe here.

    SO WHO WON?

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (35)

    Taylor Miller/BuzzFeed

    After careful consideration, a blind taste test, and a little over 10 pounds of chocolate, we came to a conclusion...

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (36)

    Alice Yoo/BuzzFeed

    THE WINNER: Thomas Keller

    These cookies were fudgy, packed with chocolate, and seriously good ― it's no surprise that the recipe was written by one of the best chefs in America. Get the recipe here.

    SECOND PLACE: Alton Brown

    If you're looking for a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, go with this method ― they're flavorful and soft, and the bread flour makes them delightfully chewy. Get the recipe here.

    THIRD PLACE: Bobby Flay

    These cookies were good, but they're not mind-blowing. The texture was similar to Thomas Keller's, but the chocolate flavor got lost and it needed more salt to really round it out. Get the recipe here.

    FOURTH PLACE: Toll House

    These cookies were nothing special —safe, pale, and rather underwhelming. The dough didn't spread out while baking, and they ended up looking like irregular blobs. Get the recipe here.

    LAST PLACE: Kourtney Kardashian

    THESE. COOKIES. WERE. TRASH. They were dry, gritty, and overwhelmingly coconutty. Get the recipe here.

    TL;DR: If you want a seriously decadent cookie that's PACKED with chocolate, go with Thomas Keller's recipe (which was honestly the most indulgent chocolate chip cookie I have ever had). If you want a classic, chewy chocolate chip cookie (that isn't as hard to make), try Alton Brown's recipe.

    Interested in even more culinary battles? Check out our ultimate scrambled egg showdown here.

    I Tested A Ton Of Cookie Recipes To Find The Absolute Best (2024)
    Top Articles
    Exploring the Power of GSA Search Engine Ranker Data Packs
    5 Best SolarMovie Alternatives in 2024: 100% Free & Legal
    The 20 Best SolarMovie Alternatives in 2024
    Latest Posts
    All Obituaries | Gaines Funeral Home | Maple Heights OH funeral home and cremation Cleveland OH funeral home and cremation
    GSA Search Engine Ranker - Automatic Backlink SEO Software
    Recommended Articles
    Article information

    Author: Annamae Dooley

    Last Updated:

    Views: 6008

    Rating: 4.4 / 5 (65 voted)

    Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Annamae Dooley

    Birthday: 2001-07-26

    Address: 9687 Tambra Meadow, Bradleyhaven, TN 53219

    Phone: +9316045904039

    Job: Future Coordinator

    Hobby: Archery, Couponing, Poi, Kite flying, Knitting, Rappelling, Baseball

    Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.