Go no further, these chocolate chip cookies will ruin your life.
You have been warned.
I can only assume something must have gone horribly wrong to bring you here today.
Amidst a cherry-picked Pinterest Sea of “perfect chocolate chip cookies” a Google Forest of “best ever chocolate chip cookies”, and dog-eared cookbooks of “award-winning” and family favorite recipes, you have somehow found yourself here, face-to-cookie with the “worst” chocolate chip cookies.
I know what you’re probably thinking: It’s just a cookie, right? I mean, they look innocent enough, golden with melty chocolate chips, crinkled edges and melt-in-your-mouth interiors… but one bite and you’re ruined for life.
These cookies will consume your life, shrink your jeans, and steal your boyfriend (I wouldn’t put it past them, anyway).
They even contain a secret ingredient.
How obnoxiously cliché, and, even more obnoxiously, intriguing.
I won’t drag it out, the secret ingredient is maple syrup. Sure, pure maple syrup (priced per ounce nearly the same as gold) would be just wonderful. But, if you have a sticky bottle of Aunt Jemima in your cabinet (as I did), that will work just fine, too.
What kind of self-respecting cookie doesn’t demand purity and quality? Only the worst kind.
I credit this “secret ingredient” for being the greatest offender in this recipe. It gives the cookies a subtle, caramelized flavor, as well as long-lasting chewiness and softness (these cookies stay soft for days, the cornstarch also helps with that significantly), and the flavor is to die for.
And while anyone who takes a bite will be able to detect the extra richness of flavor, no one who I shared these cookies with was able to identify any sort of secret ingredient. Just “really, really, good cookies”.
OK, so what’s so bad about really really good cookies?
A Recipe For Ruining Your Life
How about the fact that they will consume you as you consume them. I’m not kidding about them wrecking your relationships.
Mom’s favorite chocolate chip cookie? Ditch it. You will snub your nose at every “favorite” cookie of the past and struggle to hold back scornful laughs at anyone who comments on a “delicious cookie”. Nobody likes a cookie snob, but you will become one.
Here comes that girl again, the one who’s too good for Chips Ahoy.
Be prepared for weight gain. It creeps up slowly, the cookies gently embracing you at first, then clinging to your thighs, your stomach, tighter and tighter until yoga pants are your only way out of the house. If you’re worried about your significant other noticing, don’t bother. They don’t notice anything anymore, only whether or not there are more cookies readily available for consumption.
Perhaps worst of all is that these chocolate chip cookies can be made so easily. There’s no KitchenAid or any sort of electric hand mixer required to make these cookies. They can be stirred by hand, dirtying only two bowls.
They do need to chill for 30 minutes, which would only serve as a deterrent if 25 of those minutes weren’t spent sneaking copious chunks of dough from the refrigerator.
If you’ve made it this far, I fear it might already be too late for you.
It’s too late for me, unfortunately, and I’ve made these cookies nearly a dozen times in the past two weeks. I’m swapping gym time for cookie time to keep my fridge well-stocked with dough, and the photo shoot for this post took three times as long as it should have because I kept eating the subjects.
If you can, stick to the “best ever” cookies, stick to Grandma’s chocolate chip cookies and the family favorites. Those cookies are safe, they are your friends, made to be consumed by you.
These cookies will consume you, instead.
Good luck.
More Cookie Recipes You May Enjoy!
The WORST EVER Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and then cooled for at least 5 minutes¹ (226g)
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed (300g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup² (60ml)
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour (415g)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips I used half regular semisweet chips and half mini semisweet chips
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together melted butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and maple syrup.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, stirring until completely combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl with clear wrap and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes (chilling!? I told you, this recipe is the worst.)
- While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper (if you don't have parchment paper, you can bake directly on an ungreased cookie sheet).
- Scoop about 2-2 1/2 Tablespoons of cookie dough and roll into balls, making them slightly taller than they are wide. Place them at least 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake about 13 minutes (cookies will appear to be a bit underdone, but edges should be just beginning to turn golden brown).
- Allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet. If desired, gently press a few chocolate chips on top of the hot cookies.
- Keep unbaked cookie dough in fridge while waiting to put the next batch in the oven, and do not place cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet.
Notes
Why Did My Cookies Spread Too Much?
Did you run into cookies that spread all over the baking sheet in the oven? Here are your most likely culprits:- The butter was too hot when you added your sugar, causing the sugar to melt and creating a greasy cookie dough that never stood a chance.
- You didn't add enough flour. If the flour was under-measured, your cookies could spread when baking.
- Your baking powder/baking soda was bad. These need to be stored properly and often will expire after 6 months, if yours is old, that could be the problem.
- The dough didn't chill long enough. If your dough is still very sticky after 30 minutes, let it chill longer.
- You put your cookie dough on a hot cookie sheet. It actually starts to melt before it can even begin baking.
- Your oven temperature is incorrect. Make sure the oven is fully preheated and at the correct temperature before baking your cookies. Many ovens do not report their temperatures correctly and run hotter or colder than they indicate. I purchased two inexpensive oven thermometers that I keep in my oven to make sure the temperature is right.
Why Did My Cookies Not Spread In the Oven?
Did your cookies not spread at all? Did they stay in balls even after baking? This might be the reason:- Flour was over-measured. It's so easy to over-measure flour, especially when using cups rather than weight measurements. Never scoop your flour directly into your measuring cup, it packs the flour into the cup and you end up with way more than the recipe actually calls for. Instead, use a scale (this is the scale that I use) or use a spoon to pour the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a straightedge (like the back of a knife).
- Your oven temperature could be incorrect. See above note, just as it can cause your cookies to spread too much, it can cause them to not spread enough!
Nutrition
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
I originally published this recipe 3/21/16. I am re-sharing it today with a new photo and a new video and some additional notes that I’m hoping will be helpful. While I’d like to update all of my photos, they’ve become so well-known that I have chosen not to replace all of them at this time.
Deandre Whitestone says
I made these cookies and they were great. They were sweet and chewy. These are a game changer. Will definitely make again 🍪💯
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Deandre! 🙂
Katie says
Amazing cookie recipe! This will be our new go-to.
TreatsbyArielle says
Hi Sam, how do you recommend freezing the dough for later? Should I freeze in balls and bake, or can I freeze the dough and roll the cookies after letting the dough warm up a little?
Sam says
I would roll the dough balls, wrap them individually, then store in a freezer bag. You can bake them from frozen, it will just take an extra minute or two. 🙂
Heidi Thompson says
DELICIOUS!
Tammy says
I made these for Christmas and they turned out great but spread more than I thought they would. First batch cookies touched but next batches looked great. Thank you for the recipe.
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Tammy! 🙂
Chaz Judy says
I made these with GF flour and they turned out delightfully terrible😜 nice job, I’ll add these to my Cookie folder.
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for your feedback using GF flour. 🙂
Gingerbread House says
Hi Sam! I made this recipe yesterday and my cookies were round didn’t even look like the pictures and we’re oval shapes! I followed the recipe exactly! They also had cracks on them????
Gingerbread House says
My cookies were not round***
Sam says
I’m not sure what you mean here? Did the cookies not spread at all? If that’s the case there may have been too much flour in the dough. If you aren’t using weights make sure to check out my post on how to measure flour to avoid this in the future. 🙂
Tziporah Lichtenstein says
These are really the WORST!!!
a few questions: can I easily double this recipe? (I’m trying to stock up…and disappears!)
In general, how do you measure brown sugar, packed?
Also what would happen if I use dark brown sugar in place of light brown? can I swap? (easier to find dark brown sugar in my country)
Thank you! you are my go-to site for cookies, I stopped looking anywhere else:)
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! Yes this recipe can easily be doubled, I’ve done it many many times. I typically weigh my ingredients, but if I do use cups for the brown sugar, the cups are packed not loose. You can use dark brown sugar. It will make the cookies a little bit richer. 🙂
Carmín says
Hi Sam I made these cookies and when I did the taller shape of the cookies when rolling them. I baked them and the had cracks in them and where weird shapes. How do I prevent them from cracking and shaping in an oval shape? The cookies didn’t really have a taste to them either? They were alright! Thanks though! I will definitely try your second best chocolate chip cookies recipe!
Sam says
Hmmm if they didn’t spread, cracked and had little flavor it sounds like there was probably too much flour in the dough. Did you weigh your ingredients? If not I would recommend checking out my post on how to measure flour to avoid this in the future. 🙂
Jess says
Hi Sam! I see the recipe calls for semi sweet chocolate chips can I use milk chocolate chips instead? Would milk chocolate chips also work in your second best chocolate chip cookies recipe? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Jess! The milk chocolate will work. They are just going to be a bit sweeter. 🙂
Bryan says
You’re right it was the worst
Megan says
Hi! How much flour would you add if you lived at a higher elevation?
Also for the maple syrup does it matter if it is the kind that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup in it?
Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Megan! I am not sure how to alter the recipe for high altitude. The maple syrup is for taste so high fructose corn syrup shouldn’t make much of a difference here. 🙂
Jada Hall says
Hi, I made your worst chocolate chip cookies yesterday and they were the best not the worst. For some reason my dough was very sticky after I chill the dough in the refrigerator for more than an 1hr. And it has been on my mind. What did I do wrong to have sticky dough ? I will love to try the recipe again today.
Thankyou
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jada! You may have just needed a little bit more flour in the dough. 🙂
CC says
I haven’t made these yet but I am planning to make them tonight for new Year’s eve and they look amazingly delicious! I was wondering since I love all of your recipes, do you have any or at least one cookbook that is sold or that I could buy? thanks!
Sam says
I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much! I don’t have a cookbook at this time. It’s something I am considering. I do have a free e-book you could download by joining my email list. 🙂
Cecilia says
Hi! Does the maple syrup need to be room temperature? Thanks!
Sam says
Hi Cecilia! For best results I would use room temperature maple syrup 🙂