Chocolate Chip Cookie Test

  Chocolate Chip Cookies, left to right- Martha Stewart's Soft and Chewy,  Cook's Illustrated The Perfect CCC,  Alton Brown's The Chewy, (the random one in the middle was a whole wheat variety that used oil that was not good enough to even be in the running) and The New York Times CCC.
 
 My son decided he wanted to do a Chocolate Chip Cookie science project this year. He wanted to find out which variables make the chewiest chocolate chip cookie.  We did some research and found 5 recipes that we wanted to test.  Some used bread flour, cake flour, an extra egg yolk or melted butter.  Some required chilling the dough in the refrigerator for a specific amount of time.  

We mixed up all the doughs on the same day and had 4 taste tests.  
Of course, since all people have different tastes and things they like about cookies, the reviews were different each time.  The first time, CI'S Perfect CCC was the overall winner in chewiness and taste.  The next time it was a tie between Martha Stewart and Alton Brown's The Chewy.  The last time we taste tested, the majority of the tasters liked Martha Stewarts cookie the best.  I am not a huge fan of Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I enjoyed CI's cookie the best.  I thought it had the best flavor and texture.  My husband loved The Chewy.  My kids all liked different ones better than the others, so the problem was never resolved!  

The good news is that we now have about 100 CCC dough balls in the freezer, for a quick snack whenever we might want one!


   Recipe for Alton Brown's The Chewy

Recipe for The NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies from Recipe Girl

Recipe for Martha Stewart's Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Recipe for Cook's Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie from the way the cookie crumbles