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.
Claire
I was googling to make some cookies for my family, and all the other recipes looked same and this just caught my eyes. The rates were really high and the title was really interesting! I laughed a lot while I was reading your story.
I have one question! For chilling the dough, do I need to chill in the refrigerator? Or just leave outside?
And thank you so much for sharing this great recipe! Now it makes me hungry : ) I think I will love these cookies!
Sam
Hi, Claire! They need to be chilled in the refrigerator. I hope you love them. 🙂
Dana
I’m sending cookies from here in Alaska to the lower 48, and I was searching for a chocolate chip recipe, even though I’ve made gazillion chocolate chip cookies throughout my life… I’m going to try these tomorrow. . I’m going to sprinkle a little sea salt on top just to add my own flare, love salty and sweet.
Sam
I hope you love them, Dana! 🙂
B
Yuk
Heather
Delicious and probably the best cookie i’ve ever made, rivaling the layer chocolate chip cookies….but definitely up there and very easy!!
Sam
Thank you very much, Heather! I am so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Brenda Sweeney
Have you used Log Cabin syrup in this recipe? That is all I have.
Sam
Hi Brenda! You can use it and it will work just fine. 🙂
Lisa
My daughters and I went to make these cookies to realize we finished the maple syrup with our pancakes that morning. Instead we used local honey. They came out amazing and everyone loved them. Thank you for sharing the recipe
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Lisa! 🙂
melissa
Hi! Can I bake them and freeze them after they cool down?
Sam
I have not tried it, but I think it would work. You would just need them to cool completely before freezing. I have frozen the dough before and it works very well. You just need to roll it out first and wrap it individually. 🙂
Adero
Love your sense of humor and they really are the best cookies I’ve ever had!
Sam
Thank you so much! I am glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Ariel
I don’t generally read the blog part of any recipe but this one captured me and carried my attention through. So now I guess I’m going to the kitchen right now to make these.
Sam
I hope you love them, Ariel! I am glad you enjoyed the story. I had a lot of fun writing this one. 🙂
Adrienne
Hi! I am planning on making these cookies for out annual cookie swap. I need 8 dozen. How many cookies does this recipe make? Is it alright to double the recipe?
Sam
Hi, Adrienne! The recipe makes about 32 cookies, so you would have to triple the recipe. There shouldn’t be any issue tripling the recipe, but be warned it may not be enough once everyone gets a taste! 😉
Ashley
Holy cow!!!! The best cookies I have ever made all thanks to you! I ended up only doing 1 cup of mini choc chips and 1/2 cup of mini M&M’s and they were chocolatey enough for me but that’s the only thing I changed! Genius move with the maple syrup! Wow, soooo good! Thank you for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Ashley! The maple syrup really adds a lot to the flavor and chewiness of the cookies. 🙂
Lola
YUMMMM!
Alejandra Lopez
Hi I just made these cookie yesterday for my kids and they loved them! They are very tasty, soft in the middle, they were perfect. But I look at the pictures you have posted here and yours look flatter from the top and mine came out looking very fluffy from the top and you can’t see the chocolate chips until you bite the cookie. This is the third time I do chocolate chip cookies using every time someone else recipe and they always come out that way. I’m wondering what am I doing wrong?
Sam
Hi, Alejandra! If they are still puffy after they cool, there is too much flour in the mixture. I nestle additional chocolate chips on the top when they come out of the oven for appearances. 🙂
Kenna
Do I really need cornstarch? Could I skip the ingredient or substitute?
Sam
Hi, Kenna! You can substitute flour for the cornstarch, but your cookies won’t be as soft and chewy and they will spread more when baking. So for best results, I really recommend using the cornstarch. 🙂
Levana
I don’t usually bake, but I made these cookies for my boyfriend and his family when he was sick. They absolutely loved them! I’m not a big chocolate chip cookie fan myself so I didn’t try any until a couple days later, and now I literally can’t stop. They’re cakey and just the right mix of soft and crunchy and not too sweet or too chocolatey at all. They’re so good and I truly believe it is the maple syrup that makes them so good.
They really are the worst because I’ve eaten 4 in the span of 2 hours- and they’re big cookies!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Levana! The maple syrup really does add an extra layer of flavor you don’t get in many cookies. 🙂