I went on a journey recently to try to find who makes the best chocolate chip cookie in NYC for a video/live stream and used a bunch of places mentioned a lot on reddit. Wanted to share my results here noting that I discovered through this process that I prefer cookies that are thinner with chew to it and a fair balance of chocolate to dough. I don't really like the mouthfeel of the thick cookies with loads of rich amounts of chocolate, and I kinda figure that if I wanted that much chocolate, I would just get a chocolate bar
- Maman – It was literally glistening when I had it, and for my tastes it hit all the marks pretty perfectly. I just thought it was wonderfully balanced and had a balance of chew to caramelized bottom that hit the spot for my tastes in a chocolate chip cookie
- Mah-Ze-Dahr – similar to Maman, I found the balance of this cookie very good and really appreciated the flake salt that they put on top. Also one of the more affordable cookies on the list at $2.50
- Culture Espresso – If you like chocolate, this is your cookie. I can see why a lot of people put this at the top of their ranking, but for me this is just too much chocolate. I can tell that it's high quality, but a little too rich for me
- Yanni's Coffee – They make a chocolate chip walnut cookie clearly inspired by Levain. They succeeded at making a better product.
- Dominique Ansel Bakery – A nice cookie, but the only criticism I have is that it is a bit light in color for me. The chocolate chip cookie shot glass is a better all around experience than the regular cookie to me.
- Daily Provisions – This one has caramel bits, but the overall composition of this cookie is solid. I think the caramel adds to the overall cookie, but it isn't totally the classic chocolate chip cookie experience you may be looking for. Also maybe a bit too rich for me to be able to take down a full cookie
- Levain Cookies – There's still something a little special about this cookie. It looks distinctive but it is ultimately a bit too sweet and rich for my tastes. I think the walnuts do a lot to lighten the load of this overall, but the copycat Yanni's did a better job at this format.
- Gooey on the Inside – Originally I thought this was one of the better of the thick cookies, but the $8.15 price tag made me bring it down a notch, and, like all the very thick cookies, was a little raw feeling on the inside
- Seven Grams Caffe – Comparable to the other thick cookies. Similarly too thick, too rich, too much chocolate for me. This one was a bit softer than others which rank higher but in a way that collapses. I prefer a bit more body, but with such a thick cookie, it's hard to manage.
- Janie's Life Changing Baked Goods – This is, on paper, everything I like in a cookie, but something about it was a little underwhelming when I had it. Maybe it suffered from the aftertaste of having a milk bar cookie prior to this
- Costco Wholesale Food Court – Honestly pretty solid, but NYC Costcos are pretty nightmareish environments. Cookie is good tho. Thick, chunky. In my opinion, it's a little too sweet.
- Crumbl – Honestly, I liked this one, and it was the first cookie I've ever gotten from crumbl. I got there at a time where there wasn't really a wait or a crowd, and don't think the hype is deserved, but… it was a good version of a chocolate chip cookie, even
- Chip City – The Chip City cookie is the type of decadence that is crafted only in the embers of a dying empire. It is crafted by the minds of hyperefficiency turned cannabilistic. It is the cookie analogue of "what if we made the entire plane out of the black box". As a thick chocolate chip cookie, everything about it is too much. Too sweet, too thick, too rich. I did not enjoy eating this, and I could not fathom eating an entire cookie as a single person unless I were substituting it for a full meal.
- Insomnia Cookies – A bit average. It's a very available cookie.
- Milk Bar – Christina Tosi you should be disappointed. This was as bad as a run-of-the-mill nestle cookie if not worse. It was pre-packaged and warmed up in the oven but even that could not put enough lipstick on this pig of a cookie that is nearly $6!
Appendix: I recently went to Jacque Torres and was a pretty big fan. I think there could be a bit more color on the bottom, but it was a pretty good match for my palate. I would rank it higher than Dominique Ansel probably, but as I had the other cookies on the same day, I didn't think it appropriate to rank as it was eaten in different context more casually.
Here's the video if you want to watch my full reviews for the cookies above!
by irl_alex