- 1 day ago
'The Great American Baking Show's' Prue Leith and Food & Wine editor Andee Gosnell put packaged chocolate chip cookies to the ultimate test. The two taste and rank the most popular grocery store options to find out which ones are actually worth it. From classics like Chips Ahoy! and Pepperidge Farm to fan favorites like Tate’s and Trader Joe’s, they break down each cookie in detail—analyzing chocolate distribution, texture, structure, and sweetness while sharing what makes a truly great chocolate chip cookie. With expert insights, strong opinions, and plenty of fun, they reveal their top picks across categories like most traditional and best value—before agreeing on the ultimate #1 chocolate chip cookie. Watch 'The Great American Baking Show' now on Roku.
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00:00I've never bought a cookie in a box in my life.
00:04Luckily we have a million to taste.
00:07Today, we're blind tasting
00:08packaged chocolate chip cookies.
00:11For our ultimate winner, at the end of the day,
00:13we're looking for what kind of value that we're getting,
00:15how many cookies per package, and just like,
00:17do we like them?
00:18We're looking at chocolate generosity,
00:19how much chips or chunks are in the actual dough,
00:23the vanilla and sweetness level,
00:24how much is that helping the chocolate?
00:26And finally, we're looking at the structure.
00:28So, if we're looking at a crisp cookie
00:29or something that's a little bit more chewy.
00:34First cookie.
00:35Let's dive in.
00:36It feels very sandy to me.
00:38I like that.
00:39I like the little butteriness.
00:41And the butter's gone slightly caramelized,
00:43so it's a bit toffee-ish.
00:44I'm looking for like that chocolate generosity.
00:47They're not the meltiest pools in the world,
00:49but you do get a significant amount of chocolate chip.
00:52It's crisp.
00:53It's very flavorful.
00:54It's not too sweet.
00:56The only thing I think it lacks is much chewiness.
00:59I would say that is a 7 out of 10.
01:01I was going to say like 6.8.
01:036.7.
01:046 to 7.
01:046.7.
01:08On to cookie number two.
01:10I'm already so disappointed with the amount of chocolate.
01:13Not exactly what I was going to say.
01:15Where's the chocolate?
01:16They're so brown.
01:17I don't know why I'm not getting a piece with chocolate.
01:19Oh, it's because there isn't a piece with chocolate.
01:22It's very dry.
01:23It's lovely and crisp as a result.
01:25Mm-hmm.
01:26No chewiness.
01:27I actually feel like it's not very sweet.
01:30Like there's a nuttiness in there, which I particularly enjoy.
01:33But I'm not.
01:33I think that's because it's a little over baked.
01:35Mm.
01:36And so the butter has gone nutty.
01:38Right.
01:39You know, I wouldn't turn it down if somebody offered me one.
01:41I know, it's a chocolate chip cookie.
01:43And should we give it a four and a half?
01:44God, oh, you're nice.
01:45I was going to, yeah, I'll give it a four and a half with you.
01:48You're going to give it a three, were you?
01:49You're a very mean woman, Andy.
01:53Here we have baby chocolate.
01:54Baby chocolate chip cookies.
01:56This is cereal.
01:57These are not cookies.
01:59The color is incredibly light, which makes me think there's almost little to no brown sugar.
02:03It's probably all a granulated sugar, which is great for sweetness, but not necessarily
02:07great for that texture or complexity in the sweetness.
02:10And also, I don't understand where you would serve a biscuit like that or a cookie like that.
02:16If I imagine, like, dunking this into, like, milk, I would be like, now, a couple of these
02:21on a spoonful and a bowl full of milk.
02:23Breakfast of champions.
02:24A two?
02:25Yeah, a two.
02:26I just don't think the flavor is that great either.
02:28Size, flavor, and texture.
02:37Well, you know, these look almost handmade.
02:40They're slightly uneven and a little bit sugary on the top.
02:43I think they look quite attractive.
02:45They are making these, right?
02:46They're pushing them out through dyes, like how they do, like, a dried pasta.
02:49And so the dye is meant to have these, like, perfectly cylindrical things.
02:53But I agree with you, like, the sign of a handmade anything is slight imperfections.
02:58I don't mind that, actually.
03:00The one disappointing thing about all of them is there's no chewiness.
03:03Yeah.
03:04If you are a crisp cookie fan, I don't mind this.
03:07When I think of an American chocolate chip cookie, which I do adore, I think of a great big one
03:12like that.
03:13I qualify those as more like that grocery, like, bakery style.
03:17These I think of in the best possible way.
03:19These remind me of, like, my childhood when, like, we would go to soccer practice and our team was terrible.
03:24But this was our reward for mediocrity.
03:27And it's, like, not a bad reward.
03:28I think this is good on flavor.
03:30Mm-hmm.
03:31But I think I should adjust my expectations because I have a feeling that these cookies are meant for children.
03:39And they're thinking of the mom not wanting to dole out too much.
03:42Right.
03:43So they could give them a little treat.
03:45Mm-hmm.
03:45They might have to end up giving them five little treats, but they're going to intend to give them one
03:49little one.
03:50Maybe a six.
03:51A solid six.
03:52A six.
03:52Solid six.
03:56Oh, Prue.
03:57You got what you wish for.
03:58We're finally at.
03:59That's what I wanted.
04:00A decent-sized chocolate chip cookie.
04:02I like the unevenness of the chocolate chunks.
04:04In my own recipe, I do chopped chocolate bar.
04:08When you have chocolate chips in often these, like, store-bought cookies, they have what's called soy lectin in it,
04:13which basically preserves that chip shape.
04:15When you have a chunk or, like, a baking fev fresh out of the oven,
04:19they have a little bit more of that spread and a little bit more of that melt, which I really
04:22like.
04:22These are going to be a bit chewy, which I will love.
04:25I like the crisp edge.
04:28I like this one.
04:30Me too.
04:30I love this one.
04:31The chocolate is really nice.
04:34Good chocolate.
04:35Lots of it.
04:35Mm-hmm.
04:36And there's a bit of salt in the dough, which is good.
04:39It's not too sweet.
04:41It's chewy in the middle.
04:42Could be a bit crisper on the outside.
04:44Mm-hmm.
04:44Overall, this is a really attractive cookie.
04:46I'm going to stop eating because we have so many more.
04:49I know.
04:49But I kind of can't stop, which is a good thing.
04:51Okay.
04:52I'm going to go first, and you can bully me down to my...
04:55How much?
04:56I was going to give it an eight.
04:58Oh, you're going to get an eight.
04:58Oh, I was giving it a seven, so that's fine.
05:00Yes, even now.
05:02Seven and a half.
05:02Perfect.
05:05These have way less chocolate.
05:07Still much more, I feel like, looks a little more homemade.
05:10Yeah, it definitely does look homemade.
05:12There's, like, such a color difference between the edge and the middle.
05:15Do you know, I have a feeling that the mixture was very warm and curdled when it was spooned
05:23onto the sheet.
05:24Mm-hmm.
05:24It looks a little, do you see, almost streaky, and the texture doesn't look absolutely right.
05:30They also look a little, like, a little shiny, which makes me wonder, I'm like, is this more
05:34of a higher oil instead of butter?
05:36Oil, obviously, to make them more shelf-stable.
05:38Lots of chocolate.
05:40But yes, lots of chocolate, but it's all, like, coagulated kind of in the center.
05:46I don't love the flavor.
05:47This is too soft.
05:49Yeah, it almost tastes raw.
05:50I think the mix is wrong.
05:51Mm-hmm.
05:52I like the chocolate, but when everything else is off and also that, like,
05:56vanilla flavor is too strong.
05:58And I agree with you, yeah, they taste underdone.
06:00And they're not crisp.
06:02Yeah.
06:02Right.
06:03Uh, four?
06:04Yeah.
06:05You were going to say three, mean woman.
06:16So these aren't as big, and I like them big, but, you know, never mind.
06:20At least they're a decent size.
06:22And I actually love it when the mixture cracks like that.
06:25The little crackles.
06:26There doesn't look like a lot of chocolate in this one.
06:28It's very light compared to the other ones as well.
06:33It tastes like it's supposed to be healthy.
06:34And that looks like milk chocolate, which never tastes as chocolatey.
06:39Yeah, because of the cacao percentages.
06:41And for me, it's too sweet.
06:43Yeah.
06:43I like the look of it, but there's not enough chocolate.
06:46It's too sweet.
06:48I don't mind the structure of it.
06:49I like how the edges are, like, slightly crisp, and it does give way to that chew.
06:52But, like, the chocolate is just not very pleasant.
06:55And the overall flavor is not very pleasant.
06:56Um, four?
06:58I would say it's a five.
07:02Oh, wow, Prue, what a surprise.
07:04More cookies.
07:06Oh, there's chunks and chips.
07:08That's interesting.
07:10Feel really soft, too.
07:10There's lots of chocolate.
07:11There is lots of chocolate.
07:12I would say chocolate generosity.
07:14Definitely, like, a high, high marker for me.
07:16Now, let's just see if it tastes decent.
07:18It's a bit chewy, which I like.
07:20This is very chewy.
07:21It's always difficult to get it chewy in the middle and crisp at the edge.
07:25Yeah.
07:26And the outside is not crisp.
07:27It's much easier if they're straight out of the oven when you eat them, because then
07:31the middle is soft.
07:32Mm-hmm.
07:32Well, you'll have to let it cool.
07:34Mm-hmm.
07:34But if they're really fresh, then the outside is still crisp.
07:38But if you're going to put it in a packet and set it two weeks later...
07:41Yeah, not as crisp.
07:42Very difficult.
07:43There is an artificial flavor to the rest of the dough that I don't particularly like on this one.
07:48I think we've had, in my mind, better versions of the chewy cookie.
07:53We have.
07:54It's a bit boring.
07:55Yes.
07:56Telepathically, just tell it to me.
07:57I'm going to look like an idiot.
07:59Four?
07:59I was also going to say four.
08:01Oh my god!
08:04We're back to the smalls.
08:05We're back to tiny ones, yeah.
08:07All right.
08:08Color-wise, chocolate distribution.
08:10These feel very soft.
08:11But I like the softness.
08:12Hmm.
08:13There's lots of chocolate, too, because it's a high sugar content.
08:16Mm-hmm.
08:16Cookie, you get a caramelized brown back, which is lovely.
08:20Hear me out.
08:21For these smaller ones, this has a very well-balanced flavor in my mind.
08:25I just wish it was, like, a little more savory.
08:27No, I think it's a good cookie.
08:29Mm-hmm.
08:29I'm going to give it a six.
08:31A six?
08:32Yeah.
08:32Exactly what I was going to do.
08:33Oh!
08:33So there we are.
08:34Oh my god, on record!
08:44Just looking at that, I want it to taste right.
08:47It's big enough, nice and big, lots of chocolate, evenly distributed.
08:52And it also has that really nice browning on the bottom, too, a little bit of that caramelization.
08:56Lots of chocolate.
08:57Please.
08:58Do you know, we've been eating chocolate cookies for hours.
09:01Mm-hmm.
09:02We should be unable to bear another mouthful.
09:05And I'm going to eat this whole thing.
09:06Me too.
09:08For me, this is a winner.
09:10This is, by far, the best cookie that we've had.
09:13Not even just, like, bakery-style.
09:15It's nice, flavorsome chocolate.
09:17Mm-hmm.
09:18It has, like, a really nice, like, coffee edge to it, almost like there is, like, espresso
09:22powder in the dough.
09:23There's not too much sugar in the dough, leaving the chocolate to do the sweetening.
09:27These taste like they have, like, brown butter.
09:29All of those milk solids are toasted, like, the water content has, like, evaporated.
09:35That's a really roundabout way of explaining what brown butter is.
09:37Yes, it is when you heat your butter enough where your milk solids start to toast,
09:40and the water content in the butter has evaporated.
09:43And the butter goes brown.
09:43And it's really delicious and nutty.
09:45And it's beautifully shaped.
09:46This is the one to buy.
09:47This is the one to buy.
09:48I hesitate to say anything is perfect, but I'm going to give this, like, a nine.
09:51Me too.
09:52Nine out of 10.
09:53Love it.
09:55So we've got our top three here.
09:56Okay, first one, Pru, I don't know if you're familiar with old Chips Ahoy here,
10:00a la Americana.
10:02This is probably everybody's, like, first introduction to a packaged chocolate chip cookie.
10:06I think, like, we really like this.
10:08For a value brand and also just, like, a staple, not terrible.
10:11I liked it.
10:12And then we've also got Kirkland, which is Costco for all of you big warehouse fans.
10:18Big old, like, kind of cult fan favorite.
10:21And then, lo and behold, the grand dame, Whole Foods.
10:25Now, I know Whole Foods does a brown butter, which is crazy.
10:29I could actually pick that up.
10:30This is Whole Foods Bakery.
10:31It's a little bit more of the upper echelon grocery store here.
10:35So it's about $2 per cookie.
10:37So a little bit more of your splurge, but I think it's worth it.
10:39So it should be better.
10:40Yeah.
10:41If you're charging that sort of money, you should make a decent one.
10:44This is only a couple of dollars more.
10:46This is party ready.
10:47This is.
10:48And this is lots.
10:49Two, four, six.
10:50Better value and not a terrible flavor.
10:52So, yeah.
10:53And we chose it without knowing the price and without knowing how many were in the box.
10:58So that is really terrific value, isn't it?
11:01But our ultimate winner at the end of the day, we got to go to Whole Foods.
11:05The chocolate flavor, the structure, the crumb, it looks homemade.
11:09There is those imperfections.
11:10It's delicious.
11:11Yeah.
11:11It's absolutely.
11:12We kept eating it.
11:13Come on.
11:14We couldn't stop eating it.
11:15And I don't think either of us could make a better one.
11:21Do we forget any of your favorite brands?
11:23Let us know in the comments.
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