Go no further! This chocolate chip cookie recipe will ruin your life.
Consider yourself warned.
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 cookie recipe”, and dog-eared cookbooks of “award winning” and family favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes, you have somehow found yourself here, face-to-cookie with the actual worst chocolate chip cookie.
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 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 best-turned-worst chocolate chip cookie recipe), that will work just fine, too.
What kind of self-respecting cookie doesn’t demand purity and quality?
Only the worst kind.
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 to die for.
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 was. 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 recipe? 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 any other “delicious” cookie. 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 chocolate chip cookie 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 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 ever” 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.
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.
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and then cooled for at least 5 minutes and until no longer warm to the touch (see note) (226g)
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar packed (300g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup² (60ml)
- 3 ¼ 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
- 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop
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 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
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 the worst 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.
KM
This recipe is wonderful! I’ve made it with different combinations of chocolate chips, even adding some Reese’s peanut butter chips. They’re always a hit!
I was wondering- do you think I could do half semi-sweet mini chips and half M&Ms? Would that work?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! Enjoy 🥰
Brittani
Hi, can I use half semi sweet and half chopped milk chocolate baking bar?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sure! Enjoy 😊
Christan
Made these exactly by the recipe, except I browned my butter first, and I split the batch in half and added chopped cooked bacon to one half and caramel morsels to the other half. These are hands down some of the WORST cookies I’ve ever made, by gosh… I’m gonna have to eat every single one so I can get them outta my sight that’s how BAD they are!!! (Like, so good, dude… the maple syrup adds so much flavor and texture!!
Megan Hoop
Awful! These never last more than one day in our house. My kids and hubby RAVE over my (your) cookies. Thank you so much!! Also a big fan of your potato soup recipe and countless others. I’m not an avid baker or cook but when I follow your recipes you always make me look good. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your gift with the world! (Also…I despise email subscriptions but yours is one that I don’t mind one bit 😉
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for the sweet review Megan! We’re so happy you are enjoying our recipes and the emails too! It means a lot to us to receive comments like these! 🥰
Robin Edwards
Thank you, Sam, for sharing this sensational recipe! I also enjoy the warmth and humor that come through in your writing. And while it’s refreshing to see a baker NOT title a recipe “The BEST ___”, I’m calling these “Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies”, because I just can’t bring myself to call your delicious recipe “the worst”.
Olha
A great cookie I made these today. I got 44 cookies with 2 tablespoon portions I wonder why
Gigi
This is the only chocolate chip cookie I make now. I do have a few secrets that I’ve added to make them my version for the people I bake for. Thank so much for all the goodies you share. Gigi
Louise
I have made these cookies multiple times, and they are SO yummy:). Do you think these cookies can stand alone without the chocolate chips? I know some would say this is heresy, but the purist in me wants to try!
Sam
Hi Louise! You can omit the chocolate chips if you so please. 🙂
Shelley
Looks fabulous and I love the write-up! I needed a laugh. (You have convinced me, though, that I do need to be scared of these cookies). CCC are one of my most favorite things in life…🙄
I am going to try making them with AP einkorn flour. I wonder if you have had anyone use it with this recipe. I couldn’t find any comments. Hopefully, I can come back here and update.👍
Sam
Hi Shelley! I haven’t personally used it, or had anyone comment making it that way, but I would love to hear how it goes. 🙂
Susan
Well, the description is accurate My jeans have gotten a bit snug, BUT these cookies just might be the thing to get the boyfriend BACK!
Jill Nagle
You’re hilarious, and I loved reading the entire article before the recipe. I have been working on my own chocolate chip cookie recipe for about 15 years, and I think I have reached darn near perfection, but it was very entertaining — and informative — to read your writing. Kudos!
S
Hello. How do you need to thaw the cookies before baking once frozen?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
No need to thaw, just pop on your tray and bake! They may just need a few extra minutes when baked from frozen 😊
MaryAnn
Hi! Has anyone tried using peanut butter chips with this recipe? I’m interested to know how the flavor combination would be like with peanut butter chips and maple syrup… thanks in advance!!
Brittani
Hi MaryAnn,
Did you try using peanutbutter chips?
Ana
This is so bad it’s good.
Michele
My teenagers said they are the best! Fail proof and bake up well every time. Honestly, these look and taste like they could easily be sold at a bakery.
Cathy M
This recipe never fails, and we always make them gluten free. When it has failed- spread to mu h- it was exactly because my butter was still too warm..I knew, I was in a rush.
Bernice
The first time I made this recipe they came out perfect! The second time i made them they came out completely flattened… what happened?
Sam
I’m so sorry this happened, Bernice! If they came out too flat is it possible that you added the sugars to the butter when it was still a bit too warm? Or maybe they needed just a touch more flour?
Natty
Made these AGAIN! I am going to make the mini ones next. Thank you for tge “worst” CCC I Have ever baked!