How to Make the Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

James H. Sterling
James H. Sterling
• • 4 min read

Lyndsey Matthewsthis Is What a Fraction of Roughly 360 Cookies Looks Like. Not Pictured: Me Figuring out How to Get Them All to the Office Without Getting...

How to Make the Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lyndsey Matthews

This is what a fraction of roughly 360 cookies looks like.

Not pictured: Me figuring out how to get them all to the office without getting crushed under the weight of all these cookies. Who knew flour, sugar and butter could weigh so much?

Lyndsey Matthews

Here's a closer look at all of the different recipes I baked. In order to determine the best chocolate chip cookie, I invited about 35 coworkers to do a blind taste test of each type and fill out a survey with their rankings on a scale of 1-5 for categories like texture, taste and appearance.

While not the largest survey group, it was a vocal crowd that was very opinionated about chocolate chip cookies. One even told me, "This is my Olympics." I trust in their cookie-judging abilities 100 percent.

THE WINNER: The Chewy Cookie

Lyndsey Matthews

The Method: Substitute bread flour for all purpose flour for the ultimate chewiness.

The Results: THE WINNER! This cookie took the top spot in every category that people voted on by a large margin. People raved about it and even took a few home with them (even though they just ate nine different types of cookies). Be sure to keep this easy hack in mind to take your cookies to the next level.

Overall Score: 4.18

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2nd Place: The Nestlé Toll House Cookie

Lyndsey Matthews

The Method: Use the recipe straight from the back of the Nestlé Toll House package as the control of this experiment. All of the other cookies on this list were modifications to this basic recipe.

The Results: Turns out the original really is pretty great. You know what they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Overall Score: 3.66

James H. Sterling

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist
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James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.