The Chocolate Chip Cookie Winner

Whew! This Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest has definitely been a journey. I was basically baking two different recipes a day for an entire week. Needless to say, I am CCC'ed out (well, almost). Still, it was an eye opening experience and I've learned a lot about what makes a good chocolate chip cookie.

I've even made a table so you can see how each recipe compared to the others in terms of ingredients and the amounts used. It's included at the bottom of this post.

Okay, so this is what I learned. First of all, it's not necessary to go out and buy a high quality chocolate bar. I've made nearly all of these with my regular store-brand semisweet chocolate chips and I can tell you right now that the cookies tasted perfectly fine with them. Secondly, chilling the cookie dough is probably the very best thing you can do. It gives the brown sugar a chance to really meld with the dough and the flavors will deepen exponentially. Third, become friends with browned butter because it is awesome!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (drumroll please . . . ). The winner of the Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest of 2011 is . . .

1. Joanne Chang's Chocolate Chip Cookies

AND

King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

What can I say? I just couldn't decide between the two and neither could my family. Both of them were thick and chewy with crispy edges and chock full of rich butterscotchy flavor. Just one bite and you're in absolute chocolate chip cookie bliss.

2. America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies



With the depth from the browned butter, these cookies were a close second. Plus, they didn't require any chilling time, which means instant eating gratification.

3. Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies


While these cookies didn't have the powerful caramel punch of the winners, they were still everything that a chocolate chip cookie should be in my book. They were thick, chewy, and tasted as though they came from a bakery. Just one isn't enough. Trust me, you'll be reaching for another, or a third.

I can't believe it. I started a quest to find ONE best chocolate chip cookie recipe and I ended up with FOUR excellent keepers. They are all winners in my book. Basically, it all comes down to one thing - how long are you willing to wait for your cookies?

If you can wait 48 hours, then by all means go for the King Arthur Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If two days sounds like too long, then hopefully you can hold out for one day and make Joanne Chang's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

If you're the type that will literally have cookies on your mind until you eat them, then try the Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookies. They'll work their magic while you sleep.

Finally, if you're the type that finds it hard to even resist the cookie dough while it's still in the bowl, then America's Test Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookies are for you. Just mix 'em up and bake 'em up and you'll have a delicious cookie in your mouth before you know it.

I just want to say a BIG thank you to all of you for following me on my CCC journey. I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and hearing your recommendations for other CCC recipes. You're all just the sweetest.

I'm definitely considering doing another quest in the future. I've thought about going for the best brownie but I'm open to other ideas.

So, what type of quest would YOU be interested in?

Baked CCCs	Ultimate Chewy	Auntie Pearl’s	“Best” CCC	Thick Chewy CCC	King Arthur Flour
2 ¼ c. flour	3 c. + 2 Tbsp. flour	2 c. flour	3 c. flour	2 ½ c. flour	2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt	1 tsp. salt	½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	½ tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter	10 ½ Tbsp. butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 c. unsalted butter
1 c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	2/3 c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	1 ½ c. brown sugar	2/3 c. brown sugar
½ c. white sugar	½ c. white sugar	½ c. white sugar	1 c. white sugar	NO white sugar	2/3 c. white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla	1 ½ tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	1 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg	2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg
2 c. choc. chips	2 c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. choc. chips	2 c. choc. chips	2 c. chocolate chips	2 c. choc. chips
			2 tsp. hot water		1 tsp. vinegar
					48 hour chill time

David Lebovitz	Olive Oil CCCs	ATK CCCs	Sugar Plum	Joanne Chang	New York Times
2 2/3 c. flour	2 ¼ c. flour	1 ¾ c. flour	2 ¼ c. flour	1 ¼ c. flour + 1 c. bread flour	1 ¾ c. + 2 Tbsp. cake flour + 1 2/3 c. bread flour
1 tsp. flaky sea salt	1 ½ tsp. salt	1 tsp. salt	¾ tsp. flaky sea salt	½ tsp. salt	1 ½ tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	½ tsp. baking soda	¾ tsp. baking soda	1 tsp. baking soda	1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 c. salted butter	¼ c. EVOO*	4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted + 10 Tbsp. browned butter	4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled + 8 Tbsp. browned butter	1 c. unsalted butter	1 ¼ c. unsalted butter
1 1/3 c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	1 c. brown sugar	¾ c. brown sugar	1 ¼ c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar	¾ c. sugar	½ c. sugar	½ c. sugar	¾ c. sugar	1 c. + 2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla	1 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla	1 ½ tsp. vanilla	2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs	2 eggs	1 egg + 1 egg yolk	1 egg	2 eggs	2 eggs
2 2/3 c. choc. chips	1 c. choc. chips	1 ¼ c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. choc. chips	1 ½ c. semisweet choc.	1 ¼ lb. chocolate discs
	1-2 Tbsp. milk		1 tsp. active dry yeast	½ c. milk chocolate, finely chopped	1 ½ tsp. baking powder
				24 hour chill time	24-48 hour chill

Ultimate Stand Mixer CCC
2 ½ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsalted butter, cold
1 c. brown sugar
¾ c. white sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 c. chocolate chips
6 hour chill time

NOTES:

1) The first table contains variations of the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. The second table contains recipes that use a lot of ingredients and methods that you don’t normally see every day.

2) EVOO = extra virgin olive oil

3) “Flour” always means all-purpose flour unless otherwise specified. “Butter” is always room-temperature/softened butter unless otherwise specified.

4) Any ingredients that would be considered “out of the ordinary,” or vastly different from those used in other recipes, are written in RED.

5) These charts are purely for comparison purposes so you can see how each recipe differed from the other. The complete recipes can be found in my blog posts for each one.

This is linked to:
A Little Birdie Told Me
These Chicks Cooked
Made it on Monday
Sweet Tooth Friday