It’s a matter of great debate among chocolate chip cookie lovers: Chewy and gooey? Cakelike and tender? Crisp and crunchy? (Or maybe you’re one of those people who likes to eat just the dough? We see you.) Whatever your preference, we’ve got a recipe you’re bound to adore. Here are 11 of our readers’ most-loved chocolate chip cookie recipes.
“OMG these cookies are as good as buying them at the bakery!”
This is what people are talking about when they refer to “The New York Times’s chocolate chip cookie recipe.” The cookbook author and writer David Leite adapted it from Jacques Torres to accompany a 2008 article about the science of making a perfect chocolate chip cookie. It’s a tad fussy: You need bread flour and cake flour, and 36 hours to chill the dough for the best texture and flavor. But when we say the results are worth it, we mean it. (One food editor we know — ahem — baked 10 batches to give out as wedding favors.)
“These cookies are always a huge hit EVERY time I make them, which has been at least 2 dozen times.”
Impossibly tender and savory-sweet, these cookies were adapted from the chef Danielle Oron, a New Jersey native with Israeli roots who grew up drizzling her bowls of vanilla ice cream with lightly nutty tahini.
“This is it. The only chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll ever need.”
Legend has it that Ruth Wakefield accidentally invented the chocolate chip cookie at the Toll House Inn, her popular restaurant in eastern Massachusetts. She was experimenting with making a chocolate drop cookie, but, in a rush, skipped melting the semisweet chocolate. Instead, she broke it apart with an ice pick and added it to butterscotch cookie dough. This version is very close to the original — Wakefield’s called for a teaspoon of hot water and ½-teaspoon-size cookies — and it’s the one you will still find on the back of every yellow bag of Nestlé chocolate chips. It never disappoints.
“Cookies the size of your face, and they’re perfect.”
This recipe from the baker and blogger Sarah Kieffer features a clever technique: banging the pan on the counter a couple of times during baking. That simple trick creates crinkly, crackly edges and a soft, gooey center.
“Lost count of how many times I’ve made these, always to rave reviews.”
Almond flour is the only special ingredient required to make this gluten-free version of the Jacques Torres recipe. For even more flavor, toast the almond flour in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until golden and fragrant, then let cool before using.
“These were soooo good! Even my husband, who is not a vegan, said they were delicious.”
Erin Jeanne McDowell baked more than 50 batches of cookies in her quest to develop a worthy vegan version of the famous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie. She used a combination of vegan butter, flaxseed meal, cane sugar and coconut sugar for a superb cookie that will make everyone happy.
Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
“I am seriously in love with these cookies.”
The internet went wild for these chocolate chip shortbread cookies from Alison Roman when they were first published in her 2017 cookbook, “Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes.” They are rich, crispy, crumbly and tender all at the same time, and the dough freezes like a dream. (Hot tip: There is no egg in the dough, so eat as many raw spoonfuls as you like.)
“In our home, this is the cookie by which all other cookies are judged i.e. ‘This other cookie is good, but not as good as the $250 cookie. Maybe $225 good.’”
This oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie recipe was born of an urban myth about a woman lunching at the Neiman Marcus Cafe in Dallas. She enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies so much, the story goes, that she asked for the recipe. “Two-fifty,” the waitress said. Just $2.50! When the credit card bill arrived, she’d been charged $250. The story was later debunked, but in 1997, Neiman Marcus developed a recipe anyway and gave it away for free. It’s a special cookie, rich with grated milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips, ground oats and chopped nuts.
Recipe: The $250 Cookie Recipe
“Didn’t think I would ever need another chocolate chip cookie recipe, but this one really takes the cake!”
This easy, foolproof chocolate chip cookie recipe from Sherry Yard, the former executive pastry chef at Spago, has more than 3,000 five-star ratings. Using chopped chocolate bars instead of chips means you get a lovely smattering of small shards and large chunks distributed throughout the cookie. Serving with cold milk is a no-brainer.
“This is a fantastic cookie. The texture was wonderful — slightly crisp on the edges and chewy on the inside.”
For domed cookies ideal for gifting, try this recipe from Ravneet Gill. Rolling the dough into balls before chilling for at least 12 hours yields uniform circles with soft, chocolaty centers.
Recipe: Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
“I’ve made this recipe four times in the past month!”
Adapted from the cookbook “Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero, this recipe is here to make use of that single, sad banana on your countertop. These dairy-free cookies are chunky and packed with rolled oats, chocolate chips and walnuts.
