Go no further! While many have called these the best chocolate chip cookies, I assure you they are actually the worst, and this recipe might actually ruin your life.
Consider yourself warned.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies are the Worst
I can only assume that 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 the “best chocolate chip cookies”, and dog-eared cookbooks of “award winning” and your family favorites, you have somehow found yourself here, face-to-cookie with the actual worst chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Oh, I know what you’re thinking: It’s just a cookie, right?
I mean, sure, they look innocent enough. Golden with melty chocolate chips, crinkled edges and chewy, melt-in-your-mouth interiors… but one bite and you’re positively 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.
A Secret Ingredient You’ll Wish You Never Discovered
How obnoxiously cliche, and, even more obnoxiously, intriguing.
I won’t drag it out. The secret ingredient is maple syrup. And sure, pure maple syrup (priced per ounce nearly the same as gold) would work just wonderfully here. But, if you have a sticky bottle of Aunt Jemima in your cabinet (as I happened to when I set out on the unholy quest for a secret ingredient for the worst-but-should-be best chocolate chip cookies), that will work just fine, too.
What kind of self-respecting cookie doesn’t demand purity and quality?
Only the worst kind.
Ingredients (& Secret Ingredients)
I credit (or, rather, blame) this “secret ingredient” for being the greatest offender in this positively worst chocolate chip cookie recipe. It gives the cookies a subtle, caramelized flavor as well as long-lasting chewiness and softness (these cookies stay soft for days, and the cornstarch helps with that as well), and the flavor is other-worldly.
And, while anyone who takes a bite will be able to detect the extra richness of flavor, not a single taste-tester was able to identify exactly what the secret ingredient actually is. Just that they were enjoying “really, really good cookies”.
OK, so what’s so bad about really good chocolate chip cookies?
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 (chocolate chip or not) of the past and struggle to hold back scornful laughs at anyone who comments on their own personal best chocolate chip cookies. Nobody likes a cookie snob, and yet here you are.
Here comes that girl again, the one who’s too good for Chips Ahoy.
A Cookie Recipe for Ruining Your Life
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 chocolate chip cookies readily available for consumption.
Perhaps worst of all is that this recipe can be made so easily. There’s no stand mixer or even an electric hand-held one required. They can be stirred by hand, dirtying only two bowls.
They do need to chill for at least 30 minutes, which would only serve as a deterrent if 25 of those minutes weren’t spent sneaking copious chunks of cookie dough from the refrigerator.
If you’ve made it this far, I fear it may already be too late for you.
It’s too late for me, sadly, 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 refrigerator 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” chocolate chip cookies. Stick to Grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe and the old family favorites. Those cookies are safe, your friends, made to be consumed by you.
These cookies will consume you, instead.
Good luck out there. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
If your cookies are spreading too much, you can try stirring in a bit more flour or just chilling them (covered) for longer.
It could be that your flour was over-measured. 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).
Honey or light or dark corn syrup would work instead of the syrup, just note that the flavor will be slightly different.
Easily one of the most-asked questions that I get, I suspect those who ask this question were merely so distracted by the siren call of these cookies that they were unable to read the blog post. Just know that they would be the best chocolate chip cookies… if they didn’t turn you into a cookie obsessed monster at first bite.
If you’re looking for something a little tamer but still delicious, check out my best chocolate chip cookie recipe, instead.
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my email list to be notified of all my newest recipes and find my video tutorials on YouTube.
The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and then cooled until no longer warm to the touch (see note)
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup²
- 3 ⅓ cups (415 g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340 g) 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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups (300 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until combined.2 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract and maple syrup.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup²
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 ⅓ cups (415 g) all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, stirring until completely combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.2 cups (340 g) 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) and up to 3 days (the cookies look and taste even better after a longer chill. Note the dough will be harder to scoop after a longer chill time, just let it sit at room temperature a bit until it's scoopable)
- 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 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 warm 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
¹Butter
You do not want your butter to be too hot or it may melt the sugar and you’ll have a very runny dough. Best practice would be to cut the butter into about Tablespoon-sized pieces, microwave in 10-second increments (stirring after each) until it is just completely melted, and then allow it to sit for 5 minutes. If your butter is too hot it could make your cookie dough or resulting cookies greasy.²Maple Syrup
I don’t recommend leaving out the maple syrup, it is critical to the flavor and is what makes these truly the “worst” chocolate chip cookies. In a pinch, honey or even corn syrup or golden syrup will work as a substitute to give you the same texture, but the flavor will not be the same. Pure maple syrup and imitation “pancake syrup” both work just fine here, the former lends itself to slightly flatter cookies and the latter to slightly thicker ones.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Cookie dough may be chilled, scooped, individually wrapped in plastic wrap and then frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months.Gluten Free
A number of readers have commented that this recipe works well when substituting the flour 1:1 with Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour, but I have not tested this myself.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Cookie Recipes That are Also Pretty Terrible But Not As Bad:
I originally published my chocolate chip cookie recipe on 3/21/16. I have since updated it to include new photos and a video, but the recipe has remained unchanged.
Melanie
Hands down the “worst” chocolate chip cookies ever. I make these for our guests at our vacation rental place in Germany and they get rave reviews.
Do you think you could use this recipe to make a cookie cake? If so, how do you think the baking time or temperature might need to be altered to bake just right?
Sam
Hi Melanie! I haven’t tried it as a cookie cake but I think it could work. The temperature will remain the same but I’m not sure on a bake time.
Kimberly Threet
One of my most favorite things to do as a stay at home Mom is to bake homemade cookies for my kids as an after school snack, for years I’ve done this at least weekly. So much so when they ask what I’m baking and I say cookies, they grumble…. ughhh cookies!!! What kid says this??! Today I went to make some and my 16 yr old son said “please don’t get a recipe offline Mom, Everytime you do the cookies…. are gross, they remind me of bread with chocolate chips!!” 🤢 I came across this recipe and I will not ever use another chocolate chip cookie 🍪 recipe again. Finally a recipe all my kids approve of!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Kimberly! Hopefully next time you tell them you are making chocolate chip cookies you’ll get a much better response. 🙂
Jennie
I used 1-1 Gluten Free Flour instead of All Purpose and they came out amazing! I’ve made these both with and without gluten, and it totally works just as well gluten free!
Batya Preiser
These look really yummy. I can’t do dairy butter and don’t like margarine, would this work with canola oil without disqualifying the “worst”?
Sam
Hi Batya! Unfortunately I have not had success using canola oil, it makes the cookie dough too greasy and the recipe just doesn’t turn out as well. Is Earth Balance butter (non-dairy butter) an option for you? While the flavor is not quite as good, I think it could be a good alternative. Oh! And I’ve had people tell me that coconut oil (in liquid form) has worked well instead of butter, if that helps!
Willa Bost
I’ve officially adopted this as the only chocolate chip cookie recipe for me. Customers love it! How long will the dough last in the refrigerator? Can I freeze it?
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Willa! The dough will keep up to 5 days (tightly covered/in an airtight container) in the fridge, and yes it can be frozen for several months. Enjoy!
Nyaziah
Can I use some dark chocolate chips in addition to semi sweet? I’m nervous because I can’t make Chocolate chip cookies to save my life. They always come out flavorless. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong but I plan to make these tonight
Sam
Hi Nyaziah! Yes you can, that won’t be an issue. Enjoy! 🙂
Nyaziah
Best cookies ever. I went out and bought new baking soda and baking powder and it really made the difference. Now I just have to perfect apple pie which is always too runny when I make it.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Nyaziah! Be sure to check out my apple pie recipe! 🙂
Maria B Rugolo
Fantastic recipe! My husband says best chocolate chip cookies ever!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Francisca
These sound amazing can’t wait to try them. Are these cookies able to chill for hours before baking? Maybe even days. Not just 30 mins? Will it affect the cookie at all?
Sam
Hi Francisca! They can chill for up to 5-7 days in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in the fridge. It will help the flavor develop some, but personally I’ve always found 30 minutes to be sufficient. The dough will become quite hard after chilling all that time, so you may need to let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so before you are able to scoop it. I hope that helps!
Terri Bruch
You are right –these are the worst –I mean BEST!!!! I used to own a bakery –now I just bake with my granddaughters I ONLY use your recipe for chocolate chip cookies and I kept telling them it had a secret ingredient! This year over spring break my granddaughters could have their own baking day with Grandma and pick whatever they wanted to make. My 8 year old said I wanna make those delicious chocolate chip cookies with the secret ingredient!!! We had to pinkie swear never to reveal to secret ingredient!!! Now she has great fun when her Dad, her Grandpa and even her sister tries to find out the secret ingredient and she says NO WAY They are DELICIOUS and THEY are a secret!!!!!
Sam
🤣 I love this story! It’s so cute! I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much. 🙂
Julie
What should I do if i added too much flour into the recipe? How can I fix the rest of my batch?
Sam
Hi Julie! You can try to proceed with the recipe as it is if the dough isn’t too crumbly, though they won’t be as flavorful and the cookies may not spread as they ought too. However without knowing exactly how much flour you added, the only safe bet is to proportionately increase all of the remaining ingredients, unfortunately.
Nicki
Omg these really are the worst!! Lol. I got up during the night last night, craving one of these!! I’m only allowing myself to make these on special occasions from now on, they’re just too good!! 😂
Ryan J Roth
I like to use this as a base recipe for a prebiotic chocolate chocolate chip cookie. I substitute Yacon syrup instead of Maple. I also substitute sugar with xylitol and switch quantities with brown sugar, which means I use 1.5 cups xylitol and 0.5 cups brown sugar. Add 0.25 cup of Inulin powder and 0.25 or 0.333 cup of cocoa powder. Those are the changes. Oh, one more, I dress the cookies when they come out of the oven by adding chips on top. Yum!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Ryan! Thank you for your feedback using your substitutions. 🙂
Carrie
One of the best cookies I’ve ever had. It’s hard to stop at 3!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Carrie! 🙂
Larissa
Would this recipe adapt well for high altitude baking? Thanks.
Sam
Hi Larissa! Unfortunately I don’t have much experience with high altitude baking. I think they should do well though. I know others have had success. 🙂
Jess
Cant wait to try this recipe! Could i add some flaky sea salt on top after it bakes?
Sam
Oh definitely, that will be a great addition! Enjoy 🙂
Cheryl
Wowza!! This recipe hits it out of the park in all respects! Easy (no mixer!), chewy, a little bit crunchy, and the most delicious and outstanding flavor!! Dang! I’m a baker and this recipe shook me. Thanks so much!!
Sam
I am so happy to hear this, Cheryl! Thank you so much for letting me know how they turned out for you, I appreciate it! 🙂
Julie
I have spooned flour into measuring cups, weighed the flour, bought new baking powder and still they spread. I made 2 batches initially and they were great but now spreading. I melt the butter exactly as instructed with 5 minute wait but still they spread. Two different houses, 2 geographic locations……what’s up?
Sam
Hi Julie! I’m really not sure, it honestly sounds like you’re doing everything right. Even though you are letting the butter cool for 5 minutes, is it no longer warm to the touch before you add the sugar? I would make sure of that. But barring that being an issue, I’m honestly not sure. You can always try adding more flour so the dough seems to be the “right’ consistency and that should help you, but I’m not sure why this recipe is being difficult for you 🙁
Linda
Hi Sam, Do you think these cookies would turn out the same if made with Splenda?
Sam
Hi Linda! I haven’t tried it but the splenda could work. It will definitely change the taste, and you’ll want to still use the brown sugar for best taste/texture. 🙂