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.
Dawn
These are truly the best chocolate chip cookies! I’ve made them 6 times in the last 2 months to bring in to work and all of my coworkers rave about them! The first time I made them using the exact recipe with just chocolate chips, the other times I added 1 tsp of almond extract (in addition to the vanilla) and in addition to the chocolate chips things like pecans, mini dehydrated marshmallows, caramel bits and macadamia nuts. No matter what you add, they are always amazing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! Love those additions, Dawn. Thanks so much for the review 😊
Tiffany
I was not born with the gift of cooking. My husband does all the kitchen stuff, so I wanted to make something to say thank you for being such an incredible human being, and this was the perfect thing. He won’t stay out of them, and quietly brought home all the ingredients to make more. If I can do right by this recipe, anyone can.
You are an excellent teacher for an amateur like me, and don’t leave anything out.
Michelle
This is a five star recipe for sure! I make them exactly as written, except I sprinkle a little Malson flake salt on them when they come out of the oven. Perfection! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! A sprinkle of salt is always a good idea here. Enjoy, Michelle 😊
Sara G
Excellent cookies! Marked as “a keeper”. So many of your recipes are good! Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We appreciate you coming back to leave a comment, Sara! So happy to hear that our recipes have been a hit for you 😊
Marlelne
These are the most delicious cookies! I love the name of the recipe!
Kelsey
I wish I could give this recipe more than 5 stars! This recipe has a permanent tab open – my family and I love these cookies that much 😁
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love this comment, Kelsey! So glad our recipe is such a winner for you 🥰
Karla
I haven’t made these since last year, but it’s been my go-to cookie recipe since it was published. I just came here to say how much I appreciate the new edit to include ingredient amounts WITH the instructions to save us having to scroll up and down. BRILLIANCE, thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy it’s helpful, Karla! ❤️
jack
The recipe is great and somewhat unique, but 300 grams of brown sugar is a lot more than 1-1/2 cups packed….is 300g correct?
Sam
Hi Jack! 1 cup of brown sugar is 200 grams so 1.5c is 300 grams. 🙂
jack loganbill
You are right, but I decided to go with 250 grams of brown sugar, and they turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GG
I made these cookies years ago. They were fantastic and I somehow remembered the name of the site. Great name by the way. Anyway I just made them today. They are in the oven now as I write this. I did one substitution which I have yet to see how much it will affect the cookies. I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. Was it a dumb thing to do? Also I used mini chocolate chips instead of regular size ones. Everything else I did according to the recipe……I think. : )
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
They might be a bit on the dry side with that substitution, since whole wheat flour tends to be thirstier. Let us know how they turned out!
gina girard
They are delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yay! So glad to hear it 😊
Bridget
Another chocolate chip cookie recipe…no, this one is magical!! Is it the maple syrup or the cornstarch?? Who knows, but it will be made on repeat in my house. The whole family gave it 5 stars
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the cookies were a hit with your family, Bridget! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤️
Carol
Hi, Sam! Long time follower, first time writing to you. I just whipped up a double batch of these & before I put the dough in the refrigerator to chill I was wondering if it should be “loose” (like brownie batter) or if I need to make some adjustments now. Thanks for your help 🙂
Sam
Hi Carol! It should be like a typical cookie dough. Did you weigh your flour? Did you make any substitutions? Did you let your butter cool before adding the sugars? These could all contribute to a loose batter. 🙁
Ann Campbell
Haven’t tried it yet just read about it and of course when you say it’s the worst. I’ve got to try it as it means. It has to be the best. Thank you for your recipes. I’m gonna try just about all of them. Do you by any chance have banana fosters, that works great with no alcohol.
Thank you
Ann
Tammie
I’ve been a die hard toll house fan for many years trying others along the way. These cookies are the best and my new favorite! The only change I made was to brown the butter! Yum!
Sha
Tried this recipe with 1/2 caramel chips and 1/2 semisweet chocolate chips. With the addition of the maple syrup taste was butterscotch as well as chocolate. Yum
Reina G.
I cackled loudly at the warnings on this recipe.
I have not tried it yet, but will first thing in the morning.
Sam
I can’t wait to hear how you like it, Reina!