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.
Valerie
Why, why, WHY would you share such an evil recipe? These cookies keep attacking my taste buds. I had 5 on my plate, and now there are none. They keep ending up in my stomach. I don’t know how to fix this. I would rate these cookies 10 out of 5 if possible.
Mallory
Hi there! Will using softened butter instead of melted butter be too difficult or do you think it will be alright? I only got them to come out perfectly one time and for some reason every other time I have made these cookies they come out runny and flat and I cannot figure out why! I always make sure to let the melted butter cool enough, as you said it could melt the sugars, but I’m stuck! Any suggestions?
Sam
I think softened would be just fine! Another option can be to add a bit more flour, say 1-2 Tablespoons if they are coming out too flat. I hope that helps!!
Rayanne
I have made these cookies twice this week! They are SO good!! This is by far the best chocolate chip cookie that I have ever had! My whole family loves them!
Sam
Yay! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed! 🙂 🙂
Adrienne
You’re hilarious AND We absolutely loved these! Thank you. 😙😙😙
Sam
Haha you are sweet! I’m so glad that you enjoyed both the post and the recipe, Adrienne!!! <3 <3
Dani
I recently made these cookies which were very good!!! There was some differences compared to yours, mine came out dark brown like they were over cooked but was really soft. Also, the dough was really sticky and I was not able to roll them into balls. Any advice?
Alli
These have been floating around my Facebook feed for weeks now and I finally had time to make some. SO DELICIOUS! I skimmed some comments on my way down here to leave mine (ha!) about them being flat, mine were too but I’m sure its because I live at a high altitude. That usually always happen when I try a recipe for the first time, it is easily remedied by adding a bit more flour. Maybe that will help others! This recipe is wonderful! The syrup was magical.
Cassandra
Hi Sam I’ve recently started baking and I’m looking for a really good chocolate chip cookie to take to a fourth of July party. This would be my first time baking cookies and I was thinking about splitting the dough in half and doing half with nuts and half without nuts. I wanted you opinion on a few things.
(1) How do you think this recipe would taste with the addition of nuts?
(2) What nut do you think would go best with this recipe and it’s flavors. .. walnuts, pecans, etc. ..?
(3) Do your think that adding nuts to this recipe would affect the recipe in anyway?
(4) What would be the perfect amount of nuts to add to a full batch of these cookies? And what would be the perfect amount of nuts to add to a half batch of these cookies?
Thanks 🙂
Sam
Hi Cassandra!
I think walnuts or pecans would be a great addition! I know that some people in the past have made this recipe with nuts and they’ve turned out great! I don’t think it will affect the recipe in any negative way, but I may suggest cutting back on the amount of chocolate chips just a tad to not overload the cookies. So, for half a batch, instead of adding 1 cup of chocolate chips, maybe just do 3/4 cup chocolate chips, and then 1/2 cup chopped nuts. The add-ins aren’t an exact science, though, so you can adjust as you’d like without having to worry about really screwing up the recipe.
I hope that helps, but please let me know if you have any more questions, I hope everyone loves the cookies!!
Winnie
Hi Sam, I’ve made these cookies twice. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. Man don’t I love cookies. So I know when I say these cookies are the best, they are really the best. A friend of mine who is on diet can’t stop eating them! My husband took some to work. His colleagues love them too (even though many of them are not cookie lovers like me). Thank you so much for the amazing recipe. Look forward to testing out your other cookie recipes.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear that they were such a hit! Thank you for commenting, Winnie!!
Ashley
BEST name ever for the WORST cookie ever! Your title made me click on the recipe, and then oh my goodness, can I just say how easy the recipe was?? So nice not to have all these complicated ingredients, measurements, weird steps!! LOVE this!
Sam
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them, Ashley!!
Gina
Hi Sam! Thanks so much for this recipe 🙂 It’s the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I make!!!
That said, I LOVE these straight from the oven, so rather than baking a bunch at once, I like to make one or two (or four) at a time and eat them while they are still warm 🙂 So I was thinking of portioning out the dough and freezing them for later use — would cooking the dough balls frozen alter the time & temperature do you think? Or should I thaw them first and bake as originally directed?
Thank you so much again for posting these — love them to bits <3
-G.
Sam
Thank you for commenting, Gina!! I think that these would be fine cooked from frozen, they may need a minute or so more so just watch your first batch carefully but I think they should be great this way! Enjoy!
Kelly
I wanted to leave a comment because I tend to read a lot of “looks delicious!” comments when I’m looking for recipes, which is great, but I want to know how it tastes! And these cookies were amazing!!! I was hesitant because how could you improve on a classic? Oh, it appears you can! Definitely try this recipe! Absolutely delicious!!!
Mary
These are killers! I doubled the ingredients and I’m still baking them. Everyone loves them! Only one question – is there something I can use instead of maple syrup? I used some a friend got me from Canada – but I won’t have it in the future (I live in Eastern Europe) and I want to make these cookies again and again :C ! Rating 10/5
Sam
Yay, I’m so glad you love them, Mary!! Hmm as for a substitute, I honestly don’t know what would give them that same flavor… do you have imitation maple syrup/pancake syrup where you are? I do know that would work, but I’m not sure if you have access to that, I’m sorry!
Ellie
Hi i really want to do this recipe but i don’t have maple syrup. Do you think i can use honey instead? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Ellie! I’m really sorry but I haven’t tried it with honey so I can’t say for sure. I don’t think it would be the same, unfortunately :-/
GWonder
Oh my Lord Sam, I don’t know if I want to hug you or yell at you!! I’m addicted to these cookies, I’ve made 5 batches in the course of 2 weeks!! I’ve varied with the chips and nuts, ranging from milk chocolate pecan, semi sweet with walnuts and white chocolate macadamia!! Each batch as delectable as the next!! I’m a huge baker, minimum of baking 5x per week and I love trying and tweaking different recipes but this one has been officially written and hidden for future generations to come exactly as you have it (if you knew me you’d understand what an honor that is)!! Funny thing is, I don’t eat sweets… this one has completely been my weakness!! Just curious… is it too soon to say that I love you 😘💕❤️
Sam
Haha, your comment made me laugh out loud, thank you!! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that you have enjoyed the recipe so much, I love all of the add-ins you have tried, and it’s such an honor that you love these and don’t even have a sweet tooth!!! Thank you for writing!! <3
Helen
HANDS DOWN the best cookies I’ve ever made/eaten. Do you have any suggestions to modify this for an oatmeal raisin recipe? The texture and flavor of the dough is so on point, I want to use it as a base for future cookie endeavors!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Helen! I’ve actually been experimenting with making these into an oatmeal cookie version and haven’t had much success so far, but if I figure it out I will certainly let you know!
Claudia
Made these cookies today! Have to say, I was first a sceptic, there are many people out there claiming to have the best recipe, but the use of cornstarch (an excellent ingredient to make soft, chewy cookies) and maple syrup intrigued me. These definitely live up to the title of best and worst cookie. Best in flavour and texture, worst for all the weight I and my family are going to gain after scarfing those bad boys down. Delicious!