I love chocolate chip cookies. Mike and I love traveling. One day, we were chatting about how Mike always gets the same dish every time we get udon. He always orders niku udon so he has a very deep knowledge of how it’s supposed to taste and thus knows when and where it tastes good. Inspired by that, I told him that I wanted my own niku udon. But what?! What was something that I loved that they almost always universally make everywhere in the world? I thought about it long and hard but ultimately couldn’t come up with anything. I mean, I love beef chow fun, but do I really want to eat beef chow fun everywhere – even potentially in Egypt? It was Mike who came up with chocolate chip cookies. And it was perfect! I deeply, deeply love chocolate chip cookies. And we see them almost everywhere, from humble mom and pop bakeries in the middle of America, to high end patisseries in Paris. And so, my search begins. I’m going to try to eat a chocolate chip cookie from every city we visit. I’m on a search for the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. Let me know where your favorites are and I will definitely search them out. Is it crazy to travel for chocolate chip cookies? Yes. Am I crazy? Yes, for cookies!
A note on my perfect chocolate chip cookie:
My perfect chocolate chip cookie is thick, with crisp caramelized edges, soft and chewy insides, a slightly gooey center, and pools of melty chocolate. The cookie part needs to have that caramelized hint of toffee and I like larger pools of semi sweet dark chocolate rather than small milk chocolate chips. Warm is always better but a good cookie is a good cookie. A great cookie even tastes good they next day.
Each cookie will be rated on a 25 point scale, 5 points each for edges, middles, chocolate, cookie, and taste.
Please let me know your favorite chocolate chip cookies. With luck, I hope to try them all! This page will be continuously updated with chocolate chip cookie reviews, so be sure to check back. I’ll also be posting individual, in-depth reviews.
Updated whenever I eat a new cookie!
Standard Baking Co’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Standard Bakery Co, Portland, Maine
13/25
I had high hopes for this “fresh from the oven!” cookie, but ultimately, it was a DNF for me. It was slightly warm from the oven, which made the chocolate chunks melty, but really, I think I expecting too much. Read the full Standard Baking Co. chocolate chip cookie review here.
Flour Bakery’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Flour Bakery, Boston, Massachusetts
18/25
This cookie didn’t have an immediate wow factor while I was looking at it in the case, but upon my first bite, I was sold. Softer golden edges with a fudgy chewy middle and large chunks of both semi-sweet and milk chocolate. Read the full Flour Bakery chocolate chip cookie review here.
Maman’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Maman, New York City, New York
13/25
This cookie was meh. I had read so many good things about it that I guess I built it up in my mind. It’s a very nutty chocolate chip cookie, which can be a good thing, but didn’t really work for me. It did come out of a warming case though. It was a DNF for me. Read the full Maman chocolate chip cookie review here.
Jacques Torres’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Jacques Torres, New York City, New York
17/25
I wasn’t particularly excited to try the “famous” Jacques Torres CCC – it’s been around for a while and I admit, I buy into hype (ie Chip and Levain). The cookies were flat and giant and they looked kind of old, but when I bit into one, I fell in love. It was flat and chewy and crispy and I really really ended up loving it. No joke, it was my favorite NYC CCC and I didn’t expect that at all. Read the full Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie review here.
Chip NYC’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chip, New York City, New York
12/25
I wanted to love this cookie, I did, but it didn’t even pass my chocolate chip cookie matrix! If you love cookies that taste like scones, maybe this cookie is for you. It was a definite DNF for me and it made me so sad. Read the full Chip NYC chocolate chip cookie review here.
Levain’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Levain, New York City, New York
13.5/25
This was another cookie that I was pretty hyped up to try because I naively believe in Instagram hype. It was definitely better than Chip but it was still not the kind of chocolate chip cookie I’m looking for. A bit too dough-y and underbaked for me. Read the full Levain chocolate chip cookie review here.
Slab’s famous Chocolate Chip Cookie
Slab Sandwiches and Pie, Seattle, Washington
19.5/25
This was an almost perfect chocolate chip cookie experience. The cookie was super fresh and had just the most amazing contrasting textures. Sweet with a good hit of salt. A very very good cookie, both slightly warm from the oven and even later, cold, after being left in the car. Read the full Slab Sandwiches and Pie chocolate chip cookie review here.
I loved the CCC from Standard Bakery in Maine!
Ooh. What a great challenge. I’d suggest you try Ben’s Cookies- you can buy them in London and Oxford UK and they’re seriously good, especially soon out of the oven.
ooh yay i will definitely try them out!
Here are two more for your list – when you travel ;)
Toasted Rye, dark chocolate and sea salt cookie from Bread41 in Dublin, Ireland
Lehamin in Tel Aviv, Israel
oh my gosh i would be over the moon to try those two!! if we ever make it to either i will definitely try the CCCs!!
Just had an INCREDIBLE chocolate chip cookie at Mainstay Provisions in Seattle. Crispy edges, chewy center, and massive pools of dark chocolate.
ooh that sounds like perfection!!
I’m on the best chocolate chip cookie hunt in NYC, and would suggest you try out Culture Espresso CCC! My favorite so far.
oooh that one was on my list but we didn’t make it!! next time for sure!
I consider myself a chocolate chip cookie monster & I love, Love, LOVE Cow Chip Cookies from Seattle. You can follow your nose to the shop ….ah, breathe in the vanilla, sugar, butter, sigh….
http://www.cowchipcookies.com/bestcookies/
haven’t tried them but will give them a go soon!!
The giant cookies from Choc Cookies are definitely worth a try! SF Bay area- Cupertino, CA (choccookies.com)
i will try them next time we’re in the bay area!! thanks for the idea!!
Union Kitchen in Washington, D.C.!
thanks for the tip! i wish i could travel EVERYWHERE for all the CCCs!!
Tandem Bakery in Portland, Maine!
ooh i tried that one a couple of years ago but i need to refresh my memory and take pics of it!! thanks for reminding me!
How about the CCC from East Van Roasters in Vancouver? Can it have other things in it? The popcorn cookie at Timbretrain is also fantastic- chocolate chips, toffee and popcorn.
only true CCCs please!! i will do ones with nuts if they don’t have without but i want to keep it pure!
i’ll give the east van roasters one a try! thanks for the tip!
I think you are probably a purist so no nuts in the cookie but Le Gourmand in Toronto makes a good chocolate chunk walnut cookie. I look forward to reading about all your reviews and finds.
Good luck on this delectable adventure! Choc Cookies in the SF Bay area (Cupertino) ? Giant, warm, crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle. They hold up for a few days too. Worth a try for sure.
Thanks for starting this list! I’ve been searching for the perfect CCC for awhile. However, what’s “perfect?” I was originally looking for what you were looking for (minus gooey chocolate. I like the bite of a hard chocolate). However, having Levain (mail order) and a place called Specialtys here in San Jose, I’m open to everything. Good news, is that I’m going to Seattle next weekend, so can’t wait to try Slab!
let me know what you think of slab!!
next time we’re in san jose, i’ll check out specialty’s!
Proof Bakery in LA and Dandelion in SF has pretty good chocolate chip cookies :)
This is an excellent endeavor!! My favorite is Dandelion Chocolate’s chocolate chip cookie (in San Francisco on Valencia St.)
You must try the cookie from Mah Ze Dahr Bakery in NYC! Amazing if you like a salty cookie.
I would highly recommend the chocolate chip cookie at Culture Espresso in NYC as well! Fits pretty well with what you said you liked in a cookie. Definitely a good crunchy outside, softer, gooey inside combo with melted pools of chocolate. They sell out often by the end of each day (if you’re looking for hype as well LOL).
ooh that was one that i really wanted to try, everyone talks about it but on our super short trip we didn’t make it :( hopefully we’ll get a chance to in the future!
I love the idea.
May I suggest that you keep track of how hungry you were when you ate the cookie, and how much of a sweet craving you had? You’d be surprised how much difference that makes.
The other idea is to revisit when possible, and see how repeatable your judgment is (and how repeatable their performance is).
these are very good points. i’m dreaming of the day when i can travel for ccc’s again :)
My family’s favorite chocolate chip cookie comes from a tiny little bakery in northern Michigan called Tom’s Mom’s Cookies. They’re so good that we can never pass through Harbor Springs without a stop to pick up a mix dozen. YUM!!
I think it might be the one and no more looking for the best chocolate chip cookies in the WORLD,DON’T HAVE TO LOOK NO FURTHER.
Can’t believe I am commenting on this site but alas, this important work, and I do feel it’s my duty as a citizen of planet earth to chip in my two cents here.
Coquine in Portland Oregon https://www.coquinepdx.com/shipping are f%*^ing incredible
but holy S#@* just thinking about the CCC’s at Gjusta https://gjusta.com in Venice Beach California, Good lord. I would do terrible things to get a couple of those in my hands rn.
I haven’t had the CCC from Coquine in Portland but would be curious to try them since I agree with you that the CCC at Gjust in Venice CA are amazing. I have been trying to duplicate the recipe for months now. Getting close but not there yet.
I am with you – I love chocolate chip cookies! I am always on the look out for an amazing one. I do really like the one at Craftsman and Wolves in San Francisco. I also love the Jacques Torres cookie in NY – I always get one when I am there. A surprisingly good one is at Bristol Farms ( a gourmet grocery store in Southern CA) – they are huge and served warm, the chocolate is a little sweet but overall a really good cookie.