What makes a chocolate chip cookie perfect?
Every day I wake up, brush my teeth, and ask myself this very important question. For me, the cookie must have a crunchy exterior and a soft, semi-doughy inside. It must be warm. The base and edges must be a tiny bit crispy.
Chocolate chips have to be semi-sweet and evenly spread out. They can’t be too big or too small.
Otherwise, game over. I’ll just eat snickerdoodle instead.
These age-old, classic desserts are everybody’s favorite indulgences. Don’t lie and tell me you don’t break out a package of Nestle Toll House cookies from time to time. You eat them at midnight, too? Welcome to the club.
I’ve gathered six different chocolate chip cookies from all over Dallas for a little Thursday taste testin’. Find out which cookie takes the top honors by making the jump. Go.
THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
A. The Hospitality Sweet – downtown Dallas // 2 cookies cost $3.79
B. Empire Baking Co. – acquired from The Pearl Cup // 2 cookies cost $5.41
C. Tiff’s Treats – downtown Dallas // 2 cookies cost $1.80
D. Reverie Bakery – Richardson // 2 cookies cost $4.33
E. Subway – downtown Dallas // 2 cookies cost $1.08
F. Neiman Marcus’ The Zodiac – downtown Dallas // 1 box of 4 cookies cost $5.41
THE TASTE TESTERS
Creative director Todd Johnson, Judy Pham, Krista Nightengale, Zac Crain, Cristina Daglas, and the rest of the web team. Total: 10 people.
TASTING NOTES
A. The Hospitality Sweet – a flattish cookie
- “Chewy and crisp on the edge. Nothing bad, but nothing surprising.”
- “Kind of dry and the chocolate’s too gooey.”
- “Classic, good, tasty.”
- “Gooey, melty chocolate. Nice crunch.”
- “The crisp is good. Flavor, eh.”
- “Semi-hard. Too thin.”
B. Empire Baking Co. – brownest, has sea salt, largest, and crunchy
- “Very crunchy, weird aftertaste.”
- “A little too crispy for me. I liked the salt.”
- “Crunchy, packed with chips.”
- “I like the salt, but it lingers too long.”
- “High butter content. A richer cookie.”
C. Tiff’s Treats – Super doughy
- “Tasted homemade, so I assume a Keebler’s or whatever.”
- “Soft, doughy, just right amount of sugar.”
- “What is that? Banana? Some other flavoring?”
- “Pretty much just SUCKS.”
- “Too undercooked, like dough. Gritty. Yuck.”
- “Very gooey and sweet.”
- “Lightest in color.”
D. Reverie Bakery – This is Richardson’s newest vegan bakeshop. It just opened four days ago. This cookie is gluten-free and has dairy-free chips.
- “Looks much better than it tastes.”
- “Pretty presentation. Has a fruity after taste.”
- “Super chewy. Not terribly flavorful.”
- “Way undercooked, too thick and doughy.”
- “Soft, not too fond of flavor.”
- “Big plump chocolate chips, but has an odd almost herbal after taste.”
D. Subway – Even though Subway’s slogan is “Eat fresh,” this cookie looks pretty flat and crunchy.
- “A little dry, bad aftertaste.”
- “Crazy sweet and crunchy.”
- “Entirely too crispy.”
- Crunchiest. Well-baked. NIce.”
- “Not my favorite.”
D. Neiman Marcus’ The Zodiac – smallest, looks oat-y, compact, and grayish coloring
- “Soft, chewy, undercooked.”
- “Slightest chew. Not bad.”
- “Spicy. Not okay.
- “Soft, good flavor.”
- “Tasted healthy. Gross.”
- “Nice, thick, and chewy. Makes me want to crawl into bed with a glass of milk and hibernate.”
THE RESULTS
A. The Hospitality Sweet – 2 votes
B. Empire Baking Co. – 2 votes
C. Tiff’s Treats – 3 votes
D. Reverie Bakery
E. Subway
F. Neiman Marcus’ Zodiac Room – 3 votes
CONCLUSIONS
Despite my rooting for the underdog (Reverie, since it is both new, gluten-free, and vegan), Tiff’s Treats and Neiman Marcus’ Zodiac cookies tied for first place. I totally get The Zodiac’s win, because those chocolate chip cookies are so famous they come in their own silver box WITH a recipe. (If you want the recipe, email me and I’ll send you a copy.)
Reverie, despite its gluten-free qualities, held up pretty well with the non-gluten-free cookies. It had the most chocolate chips.
Empire Baking Co.’s sea salt garnish gave it a little edge, and The Hospitality Sweet makes simple yet classic cookies without adding too much frou-frou.
But I hate Tiff’s Treats’ cookies with a passion. You’re basically eating raw cookie dough that has barely seen the inside of an oven. What’s the point of eating a chocolate chip cookie if it’s not cooked? At least the The Zodiac’s cookies have a crunchy exterior.
Tell me where you get your favorite chocolate chip cookies. In case I ever want to do a Taste Test Thursday: Chocolate Chip Cookies (Part II) post, let’s hear it.
