Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off

When I first came to the U.S and took a bite of the chocolate chip cookie provided at my college’s orientation, I had serious doubts. They were dry, greasy, and wayyyyyy too sweet. I was so confused over the years that everyone except me seems to love chocolate chip cookies. It turned out, just like what converts me from a pie-hater to a pie lover, I just never had a good one.

Because of my horrible first impression of CCC, I rarely eat them nor bake them until this year I had a good CCC from Metropolitan Market here in Seattle. That magical moment I finally understand why CCC is the quintessential American cookie. I need a “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Normally I will just take the fruit of Erika’s hard labor. She is the creator behind the internet-famous Bake Offs. Her posts are truly informative and helped me find many “go-to” recipes without baking a storm myself. I found she has a Classic CCC Bake Off, a Vegan CCC Bake Off, and a Levain style CCC Bake Off on her site. The problem is – I have no idea what kind of CCC I will like. As a former CCC hater, I have a blank canvas for CCC. Do I like chewy or crispy? Nuts or no nuts? Thin or thick? Chocolate chip or chocolate chunk?

To find answers, I decided to do my own Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off. You’ll see in a minute the six recipes I choose are quite different. I want to try different styles of CCCs to know what my preference is. This post is by no means close to Erica’s Bake Offs. I tried to be as scientific and fair (ie: follow the recipes to the t, use the same ingredients and bake them all on the same day) but as I have an overly energetic toddler at home, I can only bake 6 recipes and have a total of 17 tasters.

Recipes

BA’s Best
DoubleTree
Flour Bakery
Jacques Torres
Stella Park’s Levain style
Sarah Kieffer’s Pan-Banging

Ingredients breakdown

Results

I did ask people to rate the CCCs from 1-10 but found the numbers are all too similar to rank. So I combined the average scores and the results from the two questions below to create a ranking.

The overall result is very similar to my personal ranking except I like Flour Bakery’s CCC over both DoubleTree’s and Stella Park’s Levain style CCC. As I was tasting all the CCCs, I quickly realized I am not a fan of nuts in my CCC.

Please take the result with a grain of salt! This Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off is for me to figure out what type of CCC I like. I’m fully aware comparing a Levain style CCC to a classic CCC is like comparing apples and oranges. Stella Park’s CCC recipe is great in its category of CCC even it’s ranked bottom in this bake off!

BA’s Best

a classic CCC with nice texture and subtle brown butter flavor

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. one of the first results if you Googled “best chocolate chip cookies”
2. uses brown butter and 2 extra egg yolks
3. doesn’t require resting or chilling
4. no need to cream butter/egg => no need for a mixer
My thoughts
It’s one of the thicker CCCs and is the only one that’s baked at 375, which makes it chewy & soft in the middle and a little crispy on the outside. I like the brown butter flavor but wish it to be a little saltier to balance out the sweetness. Overall, a very solid CCC, and I’ll make it again (with a touch more salt!).
What tasters say:
Quite a few tasters think it’s a “Classic!”. Many compliments on the texture & flavor too “very chocolatey and nice firm crust and chew”. A taster goes as far as “This is what I imagine the perfect classic CCC to taste like!” while a few think it’s “too sweet”.

DoubleTree

a uniquely flavored CCC loaded with walnuts, chocolate chips and rolled oats

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. probably one of the only few positive memories I have for CCC
2. more than 30 million DoubleTree CCCs are consumed every year Hilton released the official recipe early in the pandemic for the first time ever
3. contains walnuts and unusual ingredients like lemon juice and cinnamon
My thoughts
DoubleTree’s CCC definitely tastes much better when served warm. And that might be why it tastes different from what I remembered. I’m not impressed with the texture nor flavor. I think there are too many walnuts and not enough “cookie”. I’ll eat one when offered at DoubleTree but will not make it again.
What tasters say:
Tasters have mixed reviews. Some “don’t like the texture” while some like the flavor and cinnamon. Most agree it’s “enjoyable” but less “memorable” and “prefer a more traditional CCC”. I like how one taster said “have to be in the mood for the extra ingredients”.

Flour Bakery

a bakery style (duh) CCC that’s based on nostalgic Toll House recipe

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. it’s based on the ultimate classic Toll House CCC recipe
2. i am a food blog has a series of CCC reviews and the Flour Bakery one gets high praise from Steph
3. I love Joanne Chang and all her recipes (and she said she thinks Flour’s CCC is the best)
My thoughts
Appearance-wise, it very much looks like a bakery cookie to me! It’s on the thin side, so you get more crisp than chew. Nothing unique about its flavor. It’s one of those cookies that you finish it because you don’t hate it but you’ll not reach for a second.
What tasters say:
Most tasters think it’s “too flat/thin” and “miss the chewiness”. While some “like how crispy this one was”, most tasters agree “flavor wasn’t a standout”. Some tasters even think it’s “too greasy” or “too buttery”. It does have the highest butter ratio.

Jacques Torres

a fancy CCC with layers of chocolate disc, balanced flavor and textbook texture

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. specifically asks for unique ingredients (cake flour, bread flour, and chocolate disc/feve)
2. 24-72 hours of chilling time
3. sprinkle flaky salt on top is not an optional step
My thoughts:
I love this CCC! Love the crunchy salt on top which balances the sweet chocolate and cookie so perfectly. I also love its texture. Just the right amount of crispiness around the edge and chewiness throughout. Because chocolate disks melt much better than chocolate chips, the middle of the cookie is still kind of soft even after it’s cooled. Also, you don’t just get chocolate here and there. You get LAYERS of chocolate between cookie dough. And you can taste the quality of the chocolate. Very much like a CCC from a 5-star hotel or a fancy restaurant.
What tasters say:
75% of the tasters “love the salt” while the other 25% “don’t like the salt on top”. Many compliment it being a “beautiful cookie” and enjoy the “quality dark chocolate”. Some think it has “the perfect texture” and “best flavor” with “two layers of chocolate”. Apart from the tasters who think it’s “too salty”, it’s one of the CCCs that receives the most compliments.

Stella Park’s Levain style

a thick CCC that has an underbaked center and filled with nuts & chocolate

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. I want to include one Levain style CCC and Stella Park’s recipe is the winner of Erika’s Levain style CCC bake off
2. Levain style = a super thick and huge CCC that’s filled with nuts and chocolate with an underbaked center
3. high percentage of add-ins (walnuts and a variety of chocolate chips), at least 12 hours of chilling
My thoughts
I’m not impressed by this Levain style cookie. Now I wish I had a real one during my visits in NYC to compare. To be fair, I now realized I do not like nuts in my CCC so it’s not this recipe’s fault. I also think there is way too much chocolate. I feel like I’m almost eating chocolate with cookie crumbles not the other way around.
What tasters say:
One taster says it’s “like a deep dish pizza for cookies” (I love my tasters) and most think there’s “too much going on”. Some are “wowed by the size”. A taster says “this would be fun to make occasionally for a change, but not as a regular CCC recipe” and I totally agree with him/her/them.

Sarah Kieffer’s Pan-Banging

a giant flat buttery CCC with rippled edges and unique texture

Why did I choose this recipe?
1. internet famous (made its way to NYT!)
2. unique pan-banging technique (banging the pan a few times during baking, causing the cookies to “fall” and produces rippled edges)
3. supposed to produce a big and thin CCC, with crispy edges and soft middle, which is different from all the other contestants
My thoughts:
I think the flavor is a tad too greasy for me (it has the highest butter ratio), but the texture is so interesting! It gets a super crispy edge and chewy texture. Towards the center, it becomes soft and almost like cookie dough. There are many ripples thanks to the pan-banging technique. I wish it’s saltier to balance out the sweetness. I think it’s an interesting recipe to try but I probably will not make it in the future (pan-banging is loud and wakes up little croissant from napping ).
What tasters say:
Many tasters are “impressed by the look” and many like the “buttery flavor”. Some are “surprised about the soft texture for a thin cookie”. There are a couple of tasters who think there is “not enough cookie” and feels like “was eating a chocolate bar, not a cookie”, which I don’t disagree with.

Takeaway

1. My biggest takeaway is whatever CCC recipe you use, REST your cookie dough!!
I know it’s annoying but it really makes a huge difference. Just trust me. It does. Chill your CCC dough at least overnight.
2. Chocolate disc > chocolate chuck > chocolate chip, unless you prefer chocolate being its own existence inside the cookie and not the beautiful melting puddles and pockets in your cookie.
3. Know your personal CCC preference to better pick a recipe that works for you.
As I said in the beginning, this chocolate chip cookie bake-off is primarily for me to discover my personal CCC preference. Now I know I do not want any nuts in my CCC. I like flaky salt on top of CCC to balance out the sweetness. My ideal cookie to chocolate ratio is 3:2. I care less about the crispy edge but more about the soft center. Chewiness is a must. And that’s why Jacques Torres’ CCC ends up being my favorite.
However, everyone’s CCC memory and preference are so different! Some of my tasters swear by the DoubleTree CCC. Some prefer a more cakey cookie while some likes chewy all the way. Some prefer more chocolate than cookie. Some prefer cookie and chocolate blended together and some want to taste them separately. Some like distinct chocolate chucks and some like them melted. Some wish every CCC’s size is like Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging one while some like smaller cookies.
I think you get it. All 6 CCC recipes are great recipes. You just need to figure out what YOU actually want for your ideal chocolate chip cookie.

What if you don’t know?

Pick several chocolate chip cookie recipes that interest you and do your own Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off! My tasters may not agree on what their ideal chocolate chip cookie is, but one thing they all agree is this is SO MUCH FUN. I had so much fun making, baking, and chatting with my tasters about nothing but chocolate chip cookies for a weekend. They had fun tasting 6 different CCCs and made it a family activity to rate and pick their favorites.