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.
K
Delicious delicious delicious. Please let me know how long can you freeze raw cookie dough for (although it won’t last long!)
Thanks
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cookies! I have frozen them successfully for a month. I haven’t been able to keep them longer, so at least a month. 🤣
Nowelle S
My cookies turned out good and I love the sweetness of the syrup. Good recipe.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Nowelle! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Michelle
I made these bad boys yesterday and let the dough sit in the fridge overnight. I made about a dozen this morning and they were all that!!!!
I put my cookie sheet in the freezer and then made the second batch. Awesome cookie!!!
Sam
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Michelle! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Maria
Everyone I make these for goes wild, I found the recipe 2 years ago and anyone who tries them alwayS ask me to make more . This is my keeper chocolate chip💕
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that the cookies have become a favorite of yours and so many people you have shared them with have enjoyed them, Maria. Thanks for sharing. I greatly appreciate your feedback. 🙂
Yara Abu Abuabbas
Do I need maple syrup??
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Yara! The maple syrup is not needed, however, it really enhances the flavor and sets this cookie apart. 🙂
Yara Abu Abuabbas
I am just about to make these without maple syrup!
Sugar Spun Run
Either way will work. 🙂
Yara Abu Abuabbas
I actually just found Maple syrup. Is Aunt Jemima original syrup ok to use?
Sugar Spun Run
Yes, that will be fine! I hope that you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Hallie
Came out amazingly delicious! Thank you!!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Hallie! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Michelle Law
I can’t find light brown sugar anywhere, can I use dark brown instead?! Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Michelle! Yes, that will be fine. The cookies will just be richer in flavor and have a toffee-like taste. Enjoy! 🙂
Jennifer Roberson
I followed the recipe exactly, but these turned out just like any other choc chip cookie I’ve made. The dough is delicious but the cookies are just pretty good, although they stuck badly to the pan. I tried cooking spray on one batch and they still stuck but not as bad. And I did chill the dough, used exact ingredients, etc. They cooked in about 9 mins. Not a great texture cookie, although the dough seemed like a good texture. I won’t make these again.
Sugar Spun Run
I am really sorry that these cookies were not a favorite of yours, Jennifer, and that the cookies stuck to your pan. This has not happened before which makes my think your dough was sticky and did not have enough flour added. Mismeasuring the flour is a common mistake in baking so I have created a guide that can be used as a reference in the future. Thanks for trying my recipe and for the feedback.
Liz
This recipe was very easy to follow, always appreciated for us non-bakers! I have to admit that I am cheating a little. They have not been baked yet, But I tasted the dough. It’s delicious! I am confident that my cookies will turn out well. While I say I am a non baker, I do bake to-die-for cranberry/orange glazed cookies every Christmas (this year will be the tenth year in a row). I have experimented with them enough to have an idea when the texture is right before they are baked! 6 minutes left in the chilling process. Thank you for the worst recipe 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for trying my recipe, Liz. I hope that you enjoy those warm cookies as they come out of the oven. 🙂
Viktoria Jackson
Hello I am sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if it would be okay to use softened butter instead of melted. I have not made this recipe yet because I wanted to know if I could do this, but I do plan to. I just wanted to know.
Sorry again, thank you
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Viktoria! Yes, that will be fine. 🙂
Viktoria S Jackson
Sorry again, but I have made the recipe, which is very good, thank you. But I believe that my cookies did not rise properly. They spread and cooked all the way though, but they did not rise as yours did from the pictures I have seen. I was wondering what I did wrong.
Thank you again, sorry
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Viktoria! I am so sorry to hear that you experienced an issue. A few things could have caused this. The dough wasn’t cool enough before baking. Warm cookie dough will cause the cookies to spread too much, so it may have needed to chill for longer. Second, your baking soda may have been expired or is old. This will also cause your cookies to spread too much as well. One last thought is flour. If the flour was not measured properly (guide: how to measure flour) than this could have also caused this to happen. It is hard to pinpoint one, but hopefully, this helps. 🙂
Glenda M Ogilvie
These are fab! Making them for the 2nd time. Forgot to refrig last time, but still turned out better than any other choc. chip cookie. This time I didn’t have semi-sweet choc. chips, so I used 1/2 milk-choc. and 1/2 Reeses Chips. “Sorry not sorry”. Wow. Thank you, Sam.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you came back for round two of this cookie recipe, Glenda. I hope this next batch tastes even better than the first. I am really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting. Happy Baking. 🙂
Glenda
Turned out awesome/possum! Thanks again.
Glenda
Second time superb. Brother came (illness free), so we are not eating and expanding alone.
Sam
I am so glad you both enjoyed the cookies, Glenda! 🙂
Jan
I have been using this recipe for a few years now! I haven’t used any other recipe after I discovered this. I am just wondering though what substitute for maple syrup I can use when it is not available? I would like to share this to my friends overseas where maple syrup is not very common…
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Jan! I am so glad that you have enjoyed this recipe. Others who could not get their ahold of maple syrup have used honey as a substitute. You can also leave it out entirely. I hope that they enjoy the recipe. 🙂
Nicole
Hi Sam,
These cookies came out perfect the first time I made them — the best cookies I’ve ever had! I was so proud.
However, when I tried to recreate them the next two times, they spread into a puddly mess. I’ve controlled for everything, it feels like — I weighed my dry ingredients (especially flour), I used room temperature eggs and melted butter, I’ve checked my oven temperature (and tried two different ovens), I’ve checked the freshness of my baking soda and powder, and I chilled my dough overnight and even up to 48 hours.
I can’t figure out what’s wrong! I’ve read dozens of articles on chocolate chip cookie baking and I feel like I’m losing my mind. Do you have any idea what might help? Thanks in advance!
Sam
Hi Nicole! That is so bizarre. Are you sure you butter has cooled enough before adding the sugars? That would be my best guess as to what is happening here. I hope this helps. 🙂
Nicole
Yes, I cooled the butter until it was room temperature, even going so far as to put it into the fridge for a bit (but not allowing it to resolidify). I bought a kitchen scale after the second batch went wrong, so I’m really stumped as to what the issue is! My baking sheet is even completely cool before I put the cookies in.
Thank you for trying to help, even if I can’t figure this out!
Sam
Hmm I’m really stumped too. Honestly with baking these things can just happen. It’s happened to me before and I couldn’t figure it out, but it was the only time it ever happened. I am really at a loss here too. Sorry 🙁
Sophia
This happened to me. I made this recipe successfully but since than I’ve never been able to get it right.
Nicole
I’m glad to know I’m at least not alone in my struggle. I’m hoping it works out for you in the future, Sophia!
Sara
Amazing recipe!
Tried this today and followed the recipe exactly. These turned out fabulous! Perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Thank you so much! My new go-to chocolate chip cookies 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you LOVED the cookies, Sara, and you now have a new go-to recipe! Thank you so much for commenting. Enjoy! 🙂
J9
Have you ever substituted the corn starch with anything? I’d like to make these, but don’t have any.
…Thinking tapioca or potato flakes? Maybe just more flour?
Sugar Spun Run
If you do not have cornstarch, on hand it is ok to leave it out. There is no great substitute for it. The cookies will still taste delicious just won’t be as soft and chewy. 🙂
Courtney Hitt
I have done it successfully with tapioca flour.
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for sharing, Courtney! 🙂
Records1138
These were okay, but for the amount of ingredients, time and effort, I was really expecting a cookie that would be “definitive” among them all.
Sugar Spun Run
I am really sorry that these cookies did not exceed your expectations. I appreciate you trying my recipe. 🙂
Records1138
Yes, I would like to rescind my comment. I tried them again the next day, and wow. The flavor that came out of them after cooling 100%. Not only that, but the chewiness that they held up to. Amazing.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them the next day! Thanks for commenting. 🙂