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.
Melissa
Definitely the best looking chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. The part I like best is no softened butter or electric mixer needed. Quick and easy and oh so delicious. Just made my second batch (this week!)
Sugar Spun Run
Hooray! I am so happy that you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies, Melissa! Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
Katherine
I made these once before and they were great. I want to make them again for a work event in a few days and I don’t have enough all purpose flour. I have a little all purpose and a whole thing of bread flour. Can I use a combination using the bread flour? I just really don’t want to buy another thing of flour when I have all the rest of the ingredients at the house. Help!! Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Katherine! I am so glad that you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, I do not recommend using bread flour for this recipe. Bread flour will make the cookies more bread-like and not as chewy. 🙁
David
I’m terribly sorry but….I’m underwhelmed! They don’t live up to the hype. I followed the recipe exactly, they turned out like they are supposed to, the texture is on point but the taste?? Eh. I won’t be making these again.
Sam
So disappointed to hear that they weren’t a hit for you, David! They should’ve had a rich, caramel-ly, buttery, vanilla taste, it’s what really sets them apart from every other chocolate chip cookie and I’m sorry to hear that wasn’t your experience!
Nika
These are the best chocolate chip cookies ever!!! Very, very addictive!! I have shared this recipe with several friends after baking them and sharing they cookies; they just had to have the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Sometimes I add pecans and walnuts (husband and daughter loves nuts in their cookies) and they are even better!! I love them either way; I just split the batch and make some with nuts and some without since I have one daughter who has a nut allergy.
Sugar Spun Run
Nika, thank you so much for sharing the recipe with your friends! I am so happy you enjoy the chocolate chips cookies. 🙂
Trish Slaughter
Well, dang! And I was doing so well with my diet! I’m Canadian, so pure maple syrup is easy to come by. Aunt Jemima might be just as good, but with cookies this fantastic, I’m not taking the risk!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Trish! These cookies are hard to resist in my home too, they are the “WORST”! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Christian's Mom
Amazing recipe and tips. Can’t wait to try! You’re a super positive person (I read the comments) & I commend you immensely. Take care
Sugar Spun Run
I really appreciate your kind words, Christina! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Chocolate Chip Cookies! 🙂
Brittany
I’ve made these many times over the past couple years and my whole family loves them! They truly are the “worst” because u just can’t stop eating them, end up gaining 5 lbs and going off your diet lol. Right now we decided we wanted to make them spontaneously but I only have salted butter in the fridge. Could I use salted and just lower the added salt in the recipe? If so how much should I reduce the added salt by?
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Brittany! If you wanted to use salted butter, I would cut the additional salt down to 1/2 teaspoon. Enjoy! 🙂
Mary Grace
👋 hi,
Can I chill the cookie dough overnight before I bake them?
Sam
Absolutely! I hope you love them. 🙂
Lisa
Wow. These must have to chill for a week before they don’t spread. I’m gonna add some more flour and see if this helps. What a waste of ingredients.
Sam
Hi Lisa! They only need 30 minutes to chill (though chilling for longer would not hurt!). Most likely either the butter was too hot when the sugar was added or the flour (or even another ingredient) was mis-measured. Please see the notes below the recipe, they should be helpful!
April
Amazing! I have been searching for a recipe that would deliver picture perfect cookies. This it! I tried it the first time and it seemed to take over 2 hours for the dough to chill til it wasn’t tacky and I got impatient and cooked them anyways. Big mistake. Came out greasy and undercooked. But then I tried again and learned from the mistakes. Really let the butter cool – it looked closer to what it looks like in the video. Let the dough chill in the fridge for an hour. Formed them into tall dough balls. Covered and let chill about another hour until the balls were not tacky. Did not have maple syrup on hand so I used maple pancake syrup and you cannot taste it. They do taste like a perfectly normal chocolate chip cookie – but after years of flattened, cooling hard cookies I am sold on the directions she gave that gave me a cookie as pretty to eat as it is good to eat – chewy, soft and chocolatey!! Thank you Sugar Spun Run!
Sam
Thank you so much, April! I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies so much. 🙂
Amy
I love these cookies. My favorite by far!
Is it possible to add other stuff to the recipe? Like a garbage can cookie, yes i just made that up. Would like to add oatmeal, coconut, nuts and maybe even peanut butter.
Sam
Hi Amy! I haven’t tried all of these additions. If you add the nuts I think that would be fine. If you add oats without changing anything, that could work, but I think the cookies would be a little more on the dry side. Adding peanut butter changes a lot of things so I’m not sure how that would turn out. 🙂
Mabelle
Once baked, how do I store them and for how long? Can I put them in the fridge? or just store them in an airtight container?
Sam
Hi Mabelle! You can just store them in an air tight container at room temperature for about a week. 🙂
Richard Atkins
lol a week hehe. I can’t keep em around for a few days before they are gone
Kari
These were good, but my entire family (husband and 4 kids) agreed that they aren’t the best.
David
I agree (see my comment above). I made a double recipe for an event, and was so sorry I spent all the money on something that was not a hit (There were several in the trash with a single bite taken out of them, and more than half the cookies were still on the buffet at the end of the party). #epicfail
Sam
Hmm, I’m starting to wonder if maybe there could’ve been an ingredient issue (could the butter have been bad? could the baking soda have been mis-measured accidentally? Or the syrup or vanilla?) that made these cookies not taste like they should’ve? I totally understand people have differences in taste, but these cookies fly off dessert tables for me (and for most other commenters as you can see from the reviews), so it’s alarming to me that so many would find themselves in the trash can. Is it possible at all that an ingredient was left out or not doubled that should’ve been? Of course that might not be the case, but if that many people in addition to yourself found the flavor to be bad enough to throw away, I’m wondering if maybe a single-batch re-try is in order and am happy to help troubleshoot if you think that might help!
David
Hi Sam
Thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding between us btw…
I am a pretty experienced baker, and especially when trying a new recipe, I take no chances. Everything was brand new and top notch, including expensive, 100% PURE maple syrup from Trader Joe’s…which might be part of the issue? Pure maple is not as sweet as ordinary table syrup, and that was my biggest criticism of the cookie; they were NOT sweet. They tasted like…chocolate chip bread! They were also a little TOO gummy/chewy for my taste. I like a hint of crisp in my cookies.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, David! I haven’t had an issue with using 100% pure maple syrup, so I don’t believe that was the issue. I am sorry that they weren’t a hit! 🙁
D
Please feel free to edit my comment for brevity! As I get older I have less patience for people who lack common sense. Some of these questions and comments are just bizarre. So Sam, kudos to you for being generous and kind… I’m the woman in the background rolling her eyes. Also, to the commentor who had people throwing these cookies away, it’s not the cookie. These are very similar ingredients and in nearly the same increments as found in most cookie recipes. It’s not like the recipe calls for a cup of vinegar or a handful of peppercorns. There is nothing “weird” involved so they could not have been trash can fodder. I imagine when you doubled the batch something got under added. We’ve all fallen victim to that, regardless of if we want to admit it or not. As for the slightly less conventional addition of maple syrup, it’s a quarter cup. Not really enough to be offensive even if you don’t like maple, in which case.. why make these cookies?
As for the cookie? Very good. Mine were a bit too soft to roll into balls after chilling 30 minutes but I easily adapted and simply used spoons to dole out the dough. Imagine that. I could have chilled it longer but wanted my cookies sooner! They did not spread too thin and were not greasy, just a softer dough to work with. The edges were crisp and the centers were soft and creamy… not pasty and greasy like an underdone cookie. My 75 pound pit bull sat faithfully near the oven and alerted me when the timer beeped. She very much enjoyed the chocolate chip free edges she could have and danced around each time a new batch came out and she was able to taste test some morsels. She’s a picky eater who only eats homemade food! Genuinely, her approval is high praise!
Side note: I used a 100% Vermont coal fired maple syrup, bought from a wild looking mountain man named Bob, at a farmers market this summer. He’s a one man operation and I paid 24 bucks for a half pint. It is unlike any maple syrup I’ve ever had and I’ve had fresh while in Vermont. I have used it sparingly on an English muffin or a bit tipped into a cup of tea but it’s too thin and expensive for pancakes. It does have a wonderful flavor and for me, really shined in these cookies. It imparted an excellent rich caramel flavor. I wonder if the bulk of people who didn’t notice the maple were using pan cake syrup. The ones sold in the grocery stores are mostly just corn syrup and high fructose at that. That would just add more sweet, not flavor.
Thank you Sam for a great new recipe to add to my collection!
Sam
I can’t thank you enough for this glowing review, it completely made my day, D! I’m so happy that both you and your pup were fans and I so enjoyed reading your comment (there’s no way I could bring myself to edit it!). I’m also now very intrigued by this syrup that you procured from “Bob”, if I ever make a trip up to Vermont I will certainly be looking for him! Thank you again for your sweet comment! <3
Jacki
OH MY GOD these are hands down the best cookies I’ve ever baked in my life!! I just ate one fresh from the oven and can die happy. Hope they’re just as amazing at room temp. The cookies are also SO photogenic! They are perfect. Thank you for this recipe!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Jacki! I am so glad you enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies. 🙂
Dana
Hi, is there any reason that you choose to melt the butter rather than just cream room temp butter? I was tempted to not melt it but decided to follow the recipe exactly. I’m letting the dough rest so I haven’t baked it yet. The raw cookie dough tastes very good though. I know… raw cookie dough…. I live on the edge some days😃.
Sam
Hi Dana! Melting the butter makes for chewier cookies with a better, more buttery flavor. 🙂
Emily Rodriguez
How long would it be okay to freeze the dough for? I got the date wrong for an event and made the batter way too early. Would it be alright to freeze the dough for 3-4 days?
Sam
Hi Emily! the dough will freeze for several months, but it will also keep in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for up to a week. The dough will get really hard in the fridge for that long so it will need to sit at room temperature for a bit before you can scoop it.