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.
Melinda
I recently made these cookies for my son who is a Marine, just recently graduated from boot camp. These poor boys live mostly off of MRE’s, since they’re still in training. I assumed they would be well received. Never did I imagine that my son would be SELLING THEM to his new brothers for $25 a bag. Three cookies per bag. They really are the worst, and now the new currency amongst the few and the proud. I imagine I’ll have this recipe memorized before too long. Ooh rah!
Sam
😂This comment just made my day! I really appreciate you telling me that story. Sounds like he is a good business man. Thank you to your whole family and especially him for the sacrifices he makes for this country.
Dee
Is there a substitute for the maple syrup that you recommend? TIA!
Sam
I use cheap syrup like Aunt Jemima, but really any pancake syrup will work.
Mai
I love the cookies so much . One thing I’m concerned of is that it spreads a lot during baking. Do I need to freeze the cookie batter longer before putting in the oven?
Sam
I am so glad you like the cookies. They may need a little more time chilling. Be sure to not place the dough on a hot cookie sheet and it is possible the dough could need just a touch more flour. Hope that helps. ☺️
Laura
I baked these cookies twice and they taste amazing!!!My husband devoured them. Form wise they are a little biscuit like, I followed the recipe to a T. My batter came out a bit sticky but chilling longer helped a ton. After they are baked they look a bit of a cookie biscuit hybrid. What could be the issue?
Sam
Hi Laura!! Hmm, these cookies are usually soft and chewy for me and I haven’t had them turn out biscuit-like. I’m wondering if maybe it could be an issue of too much flour? Are you using cups or weights to measure your flour? If you’re using cups, just make sure that you don’t scoop your flour, use a spoon to spoon it into the measuring cup and then level that off with a straightedge (like the back of a knife). This would be my best guess.
Sylvana
Can you omit the white sugar in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Sylvana, I imagine the cookies would still turn out but I haven’t tried it myself.
Megan
We LOVE these cookies! Been my favorite recipe for a few years. We add a whole package of Heath Toffee Bits to add to the yummy flavor from the syrup.
Sam
That sounds like an excellent addition! I am so glad everyone enjoys them! ☺️
Sherry
I’ve baked these cookies twice. Once at 1:00am! This is honestly my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe now. I’m not sure if it’s the syrup or the corn starch (or both) that make them so good. This one is a keeper. Thank you.
Sam
The syrup will give them the flavor and the corn starch helps with keeping them nice and soft and chewy. I am so glad you enjoy them! They are hard to resist! ☺️
Shirley
Yikes! No wonder these are so good..check out the amount of sugar in this recipe!
Brown AND white sugar AND maple syrup. Next time I will eliminate the white sugar and see what happens
Elizabeth
I swapped the maple syrup for honey and whipped it in to softened butter in a food processor. The cookies came out so amazing.
Sam
I have not tried it that way. I will have to remember to try it. ☺️
Carmel
Since I found this recipe I have not tried another one. This is by far is “The Best Worst Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe”. They are perfect every time. You have no idea how many recipes I have tried and how many batches of cookies I have made. I am now “The Cookie Mom”.
Anyone reading this post, don’t leave out the corn starch. I also use the light amber maple syrup.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy them! ☺️
Elena
Thank you my family loves these cookies. I add walnuts to mine.
I made two batches and sent them into school as a thank you to the teachers. Next thing I know I’m getting thank you notes asking for the recipe.
Sam
😂That is a pretty good thank you gift to send! I am so glad everyone enjoys them. ☺️
Kevin
These cookies really are great. Have tried many different recipes, and these by far are the loser, oops i mean winner! 👍
Sam
😂I am so glad you enjoy them! ☺️
The_MELTING
Great recipe! I use cannibutter in mine for wonderful edibles.
KELLEE
I omitted the chocolate chips and added 1 cup maple chips and 1 cup salted carmel chips…plus a handful of quick oats and some cinnamon. Everything else I left alone…chilling in the frig right now. I’ve been looking for a bad cookie base and this is the worst…I will let you know how they turned out…the dough is nasty (yum)
Sam
😂I hope you love them!
Sam lopez
Sam, this is Sam, let me just say this recipe has been saved and I make them all the time for my family!
So perfect with the exception that we can’t stop! When I make a batch and freeze the left overs they are gone the next day! Thank you!!
Sam
😂I know how that goes! I am so glad everyone enjoys them!