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.
Camille S Walker
I have a new baby and no cornstarch, any suggestions?
Sam
Congratulations! You can substitute with flour. It won’t be quite the same but it should still turn out. ☺️
Jen
Anyone know what to substitute for the cornstarch? I completely ran out and read that flour is a good substitute!
Tammy
I have made these over and over and always have great success. I decided to try making them without chocolate chips and substituted white chocolate chips, then added 2 bags of salad topping candied cranberry and sliced almonds. It was an awesome revamp that I just had to share!!!
Sam
Thanks for letting me know Tammy! I am so glad you enjoyed them. 😊
VJ
Glad I couldn’t taste the maple syrup, which I detest. I made them exactly as in recipe, using real maple syrup. Tastes good, just like my mom’s.
Matt
I tried this recipe without the flower and it was different.
Kerry
My cookies were yummy but really flat. Do you know what I might have done wrong?
Sam
Hi Kerry! I’m sorry they were flat, sometimes cookies can be a little tricky. There are a few things that could have happened: you may have needed to add just a little more flour to your dough, your leveners could be bad, they may need to chill longer in the refrigerator, or if you place them on a hot pan they can spread too much. Hope this helps! ☺️
Mike
Ok WOW ! These are the Worst Cookies ever !!! They have created a tornado in my home ! Wife is upset and completely beside herself for the inability to stop eating them (when I went to Bed) ! The flavor only gets better and better as time moves on. How can that be ! I’m recently unemployed and and have been having the time of my life cooking and spreading wonderful memories and foods around to my friends and family ! This cookie recipe takes the cookie 🍪! Thank you and I will be following more of your items as I am sure to be impressed ….
Sam
Thank you very much, Mike! I am so glad everyone enjoys them. I am amazed that the cookies make it until you get to bed, my husband burns himself eating them off the pan when they come out of the oven! 😂 I hope you love everything you try.
Paola
Ooomg, i made this recipe and i think is the best. I am in love♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Sam
Thank you so much Paola! I am so glad you enjoyed them. ☺️
Lisa
I made some of these for participants of the Susan G Komen 3 Day… They are fabulous!! I will never make another chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Lisa! ☺️
Farmgal87
Getting ready to bake up a batch of these now! The cookie dough is definitely a winner in the flavor department. Did anyone use a kitchen scale to measure their flour. I measured out 415g exactly and my dough was so wet I ended up adding about half cup more to get it the right consistency. Hopefully I can achieve that soft middle I’m aiming for! I’ll post an update after I devour a few😍🍪
Sam
I hope they turn out for you. ☺️
Farmgal87
These are so good!!They turned out really yummy! Soft and gooey in the center with crispy edges. I love the caramel flavor that the maple adds too! I used a 3 Tbs cookie scoop and got exactly 20 big, delicious cookies. Makes me think I still may not have added enough flour. One question about the flour: When measuring do you scoop the flour and level or spoon it into the cup and level? I want to figure out the perfect weight for these next time😊 Thanks for a great recipe! These are bakery worthy cookies🍪
Sam
The best way to measure flour is always by weight. If you don’t have access to a kitchen scale, the proper way to measure out the flour is to spoon it into the measuring cp and then level it off.
Cathy
Does it say how much flour to use
Farmgal87
I originally measured out the recommended 415 g of flour but the dough was way too wet so I ended up adding 1/2 cup more. Not sure how many cups I used to get the 415 g though since I dumped my flour into the bowl on my scale. For my flour I needed more than 415g.
Margaret
Can you make the dough ahead of time say aweek or two and keep in fridge till ready to bake?
Sam
I wouldn’t recommend keeping it in the refrigerator for longer than 3-4 days. If you want to keep it that long, I would recommend chilling, scooping and then freezing it.
merrit
Grate cookies but I would put in less chocolate chips than the recipe calls for.
merrit
why did you choose maple syrup as your secret ingredient?
Sam
Lots and lots of taste testing led me here. ☺️
Kerry
Do you typically sift your flour?
Thanks!
Sam
No I do not sift the flour.
Melissa S.
I am now a convert! Never have I ever been a big fan of chocolate chip cookies in any form…until I stumbled upon this recipe. I limit my baking to the holidays because my body is highly susceptible to overindulgence…lol. I made these last Christmas to take on holiday trip to visit family. They disappeared quickly. I enjoyed them way too much. But here I am again readying my stretchy pants to accommodate these cookies. Two thumbs and 2 big toes up!!!
Sam
LOL! 😂 I am so glad you enjoy them, Melissa!