There’s nothing more classic than a chocolate chip cookie. The ultimate comfort food, they are soft, chewy, melt in your mouth, and bring back memories of childhood. They are also wildly popular. A simple Google search yields thousands of different recipes, each claiming to produce the “best” chocolate chip cookies. Of course, they can’t all be the best. Somebody is lying, so I set out to review the top three “best” recipes. 

     Of course, there’s really no such thing as the best chocolate chip cookie because everybody likes their cookies a bit different. Soft or crisp, large or small, flat or puffy, there are dozens of small variations that make a world of difference in a cookie. So instead of ranking them, I only offer my thoughts and some words of advice if you ever decide to try these recipes. 

     The first recipe I tried was from the website JoyFoodSunshine, which came up first on Google. The website is confidently labeled “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever”. These cookies are simple and easy to make. They don’t require any odd ingredients or baking methods and the dough doesn’t need to chill, so they are quick and easy to whip up if you’re in need of immediate comfort. The dough gets very thick and sticky which makes it hard to mix, but aside from that this recipe is incredibly easy. 

    The cookies look doughy when you pull them out of the oven but are fully cooked inside. Although they’re very fluffy, they’re not very rich or flavorful. They are very sweet and buttery, almost too much so because those flavors overwhelm everything else. They tasted good, especially right out of the oven, but I didn’t really crave another one. This might be a good thing for my health, but it’s not really what I look for in a cookie. 

     Although I was a bit disappointed with these cookies at first, my opinion of them improved over the following days. I actually liked them more when they were cold. They became thicker, chewier, and the flavors seemed more defined. They also became more addictive. I found myself longing to eat more than one, a significant improvement from the first day.

     I’d recommend adding more chocolate chips to the batter than you think are necessary. That might have been where I went wrong with these. The recipe said to use lots of chocolate chips and I was a little too conservative. Extra chocolate would likely make up for the somewhat bland flavor of these cookies. 

     The next recipe I tried was from allrecipes.com. This recipe was also very easy to make. Flour isn’t added to the batter until the very end, which makes it smooth and easy to mix. The only odd thing about the recipe is the baking soda is dissolved in hot water, which I’ve never seen before. I looked this up online and read that it helps incorporate the baking soda into the dough more evenly. It also prevents the cookies from spreading too much. I made the cookies a bit too big and expected them to combine in the oven, but they stayed pretty compact.

     A review on the website advised barely browning the cookies, saying they get “hard as a rock” if you cook them any longer. This made me a bit concerned so I took the first batch of cookies out earlier than I might have otherwise. Similar to the first recipe, they looked a little doughy when I pulled them out, but they were actually cooked and shouldn’t have been in there any longer. 

     The edges of the cookie get very crisp. The flavor is decent but nothing spectacular. The cookie is richer than the first recipe I tried and less sweet. If you’re looking for a crisp cookie, this is the one for you. If not, I wouldn’t recommend this recipe. 

     I completely forgot about the second batch being in the oven and when I took them out they were much browner, which made me fearful. They didn’t turn rock hard, but they were definitely too crisp for my liking. If you like a gooey cookie be sure to take them out sooner or use a different recipe. 

Finally, I tried a recipe from Tasty titled “The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”. This recipe requires the dough to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, which is a bit of a pain because you have to plan ahead more. The recipe also recommends using chunks from a semi-sweet chocolate bar instead of the classic chocolate chips. 

     For me, these cookies were the best so far. Chilling the dough turned out to be well worth it. There is a noticeable difference in flavor – the cookies are richer and more toffee-like. I kept half of the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and left the other half in overnight. The recipe claimed that the longer the dough is chilled, the more complex the flavor becomes. I didn’t taste any noticeable difference, though.   

     The cookies are crisp on the edges but still very chewy and soft in the middle. The chocolate I used was a bit too bitter but the chunks made the cookies look professional. Also, the chocolate isn’t needed as much as in the other recipes because the cookie dough itself has more flavor.  

     At this point, my fridge was filling up with cookies so I felt I had to stop the continuous reviewing of recipes. I wouldn’t say any of these recipes yielded the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever eaten. They each had their differences and their flaws. However, each managed to create the pure, simple joy that only a chocolate chip cookie can bring.