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.
Kate Segat
Made these instead of the usual “Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie” from Crisco. The extra time it takes to make these is so worth it! These cookies are fabulous. I’m making my third batch in as many days because I can’t keep them in the cookie jar! This recipe is a definite keeper for us. Thank you so much for sharing.
Justine Delise
No joke, these cookies will ruin your life! I’m not even a fan of chocolate chips, but these cookies are my newest obsession. Follow the recipe and you’ll be thrilled!
Justine Delise
(I pulled them out after 10-11 minutes. They still looked super doughy, but they cooked up a lot on the pan.)
D. B.
These cookies are amazing.
Karen
These cookies were delicious! The only thing I changed was to make them a bit smaller and bake them 9 minutes. I still am partial to my previous favorite recipe which has all brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of vanilla. I think that means I have some playing to do to bring both amazing recipes together. Thank you so much for this recipe! Definitely amazing cookies!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy it!! 🙂
Emily
I absolutely love this recipe. By far the best cookie recipe I’ve tried. I ran out of parchment paper and used a silpat mat. It still turned out good but the outer crust wasn’t as crispy as with my first batch with the parchment paper. I also used 1 cup of mini semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of milk chocolate chips. Oh and the butter tip was genius! Thanks Sam for the delicious recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them, Emily!! 🙂
Debra
I followed the recipe exactly and I’m a seasoned baker. My cookies were not even close to chewy. They were thick and cake like. I actually threw them out.
Sam
Definitely sounds like the flour was over-measured. I would use the spooning and leveling technique for measuring out your flour if you don’t have a scale, I hope you’ll give them another try because they’re definitely not cakey cookies at all — I don’t like cakey cookies either!
Mash
I was expecting flat and chewy like the images. I got round and cakey. I followed the recipe exactly as stated.
Sam
Hmm, how did you measure your flour? These are definitely flatter and chewier cookies (I hate cakey cookies myself). My best bet would be that the flour was over-measured, I’d try spooning and leveling the flour if you don’t have a scale to weigh it.
Nicole Cruell
These are the best I have made them twice my family loves 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Tiarra L Nelson
Hey, I made these cookies last week and they were awesome. Usually I make 2 types of cookies at Christmas. Chocolate dough with white chocolate chips and regular chocolate chip. This recipe was so good that I wanted to see if it could be modified to make chocolate dough. It can! I subbed 1/4 of the flour for coco powder just used white chips.Now for anyone interested you should make this recipe normal first so you know what the texture of the dough should be. The coco powder wasn’t quite as absorbent as the flour so i needed like and 1/8 of a cup flour to fix the texture. Baked up the texture was the same as my normal batch. Thanks for such a good recipie.
Sam
So glad to hear that you like them, and that the substitutions worked out so well! Thank you for sharing, Tiarra!! 🙂
Barbara
This recipe is the best I’ve tried, so darn good that they don’t last in this house! Thanks for sharing!
Amber
Followed the recipe to a “T”. The best chocolate chip cookies ever. So happy I found this recipe!
Shay
About to make these for Christmas. I figured I’d give everyone closest to me the worst cookie recipe I could find 😉 Any suggestions on how to ship these cookies? What is the shelf life?
Sam
I hope you love them! I’ve never shipped them before, but here is a good resource: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/11/10/heres-the-best-way-to-ship-cookies/
Amber
I’m very picky about chocolate chip cookies. I’ve tried many recipes only to be let down, and many ingredients wasted. It wasn’t until I tried these that I fell in love. This is probably my 6th time making them …they are a part of my weekly rotation. Though it is only my husband and I (no kids) we manage to down of ALL these in less than a week. One PREFERENCE of mine (though they taste delicious both ways) is to take out the maple syrup and replace the same amount with white sugar. They don’t spread as much and have much more of a bakery style look, feel, and texture to them. They taste so awesome. Thanks for this recipe!
Sam
So thrilled to hear this!! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed them! 🙂
Sarah
I absolutely LOVED these cookies. Made some for my family when I was home and they died. Even my dad gave a thumbs up!
Sam
So happy to hear this!!
Yuri
The best cookie recipe for me. I change a some ingredients like butter I use salted butter instead of salt, use dark brown sugar and organic chocolate make much more yummy! Thank you for share!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Yuri! Thank you for letting me know how they turned out for you!! 🙂
Heather
Ooooo, that was going to be my question – I only have dark brown sugar. I’m so glad it works, too! Next recipe to try!