Welcome to yet another BuzzFeed office taste test, where I somehow convince my coworkers to eat an unreasonable amount of food in the middle of their workday. If you’re new here, we’ve been slowly making our way through eating nostalgic boxed treats, and this time, we’re ranking one of my favorites: store-bought cookie dough.
To my surprise, while I was doing some very important ~cookie research~, I found that cookie dough has come a long way since the days of the big Nestlé Toll House tub. From gourmet (aka expensive) versions to vegan dough to ones that are specifically designed to be eaten raw, there’s no shortage of brands entering the cookie scene. So, for the sake of science, our taste test included a pretty wide variety of brands.
When it comes to store-bought cookie dough, you really have two options: break-and-bake and boxed mixes. Most people are probably more familiar with break-and-bake varieties (i.e., the cookie dough that’s already mixed and preportioned in a convenient package). But, similar to boxed brownies and cakes, there are dry cookie dough mixes that require ingredient additions (usually some sort of fat and eggs) to form your dough. I was really interested in testing whether these mixes were worth the added effort (because why get these mixes when pre-made cookie dough is so readily available?!), so I grabbed both options for my coworkers to test.
With all that said, here are the break-and-bake brands I grabbed:
And here are the boxed mixes I chose:
One of the main differences between the break-and-bakes and boxed mixes was a few of the ingredients. With the exception of Trader Joe’s (and the gluten-free and plant-based replacements in Sweet Loren’s), the break-and-bakes all include sugar and “less than 2% of” molasses rather than brown sugar. By contrast, all the mixes listed brown sugar as an ingredient.
It’s safe to say the break-and-bake doughs didn’t require much effort on my part save from placing them on a baking tray. And since these premade doughs all benefit from some fridge time, I made sure to give the dry mixes the same love and put them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before baking. (I wish I could’ve left them in longer, but I was making an ungodly amount of cookies, and time was not on my side.)
As for the boxed mixes, I used my 1.75-inch cookie scoop to ensure relative size consistency. This yielded cookies on the larger side, but it’s the only size cookie scoop I have (and the ideal size for cookies, in my opinion). To my surprise, the instructions for each boxed mix were pretty much identical: all of them called for one egg and one stick of softened butter. Bake times varied slightly and were listed as anywhere from 8 to 16 minutes at 350ºF to 375ºF, depending on the amount of cookie dough scooped.
As always, this was a blind taste test for my coworkers, who were asked to give their thoughts and rank each cookie’s taste and texture from 1 (terrible) to 5 (perfect) so that we could get an average rating for each. Even though everyone was given a heads-up that this test included break-and-bake, mixes, and gluten- and dairy-free cookies, no one knew which was which.
7. Sweet Loren’s — When I told everyone there was a gluten- and dairy-free cookie in the mix, it didn’t take long for them to guess which. On its own, Sweet Loren’s probably has a fighting chance, but from taste to texture, it stuck out like a sore thumb among the rest.
I wish I could tell you that this cookie blended in with the rest, but alas, even the look wasn’t fooling anyone. Its grayish hue and sandy vibe immediately threw everyone off at first glance, and there weren’t many redeeming qualities when it came to flavor. Megan referred to it as “cookie-flavored Play-Doh,” and a few of us thought it tasted like a nut-based cookie despite its advertising that it doesn’t contain any peanuts or tree nuts. To me, it resembled more of a hearty bowl of oatmeal than a chocolate chip cookie. Lauren and I didn’t necessarily hate the oaty flavor, but we were clearly in the minority.
The texture of this cookie was probably the hardest for folks to overlook. The words “sand,” “chalk,” and “sawdust” were mentioned maybe a dozen times. Spencer may or may not have even made a Dune: Part Two reference. The first bite was a little confusing. As Sarah put it, the outside was dry, but the inside was somehow “wet” with a super chewy texture. It’s not entirely surprising, given the main ingredients in these cookies are oat flour (which explains the oatmeal vibes), tapioca flour (which explains the chew), and potato starch.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 2
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 2.25
Texture: 1.75
I’ll reiterate that I think Sweet Loren’s is a decent gluten-free, plant-based, and allergen-friendly option — it’s just hard to compare to the classic chocolate chip cookies we all grew up with.
6. Stonewall Kitchen —The most expensive boxed mix of the bunch definitely let us down. The reviews were a little mixed; some liked the texture but hated the taste, others vice versa. The overall consensus seemed to be “It’s fine, but could definitely be better.”
I won’t lie; visually, these cookies reeled us in at first. Whereas a lot of the others baked pretty thin, Stonewall Kitchen’s was a tall stack (think Levain-style cookies for all my fellow New Yorkers). Unfortunately, the first bite was far from Levain. Most people found that they lacked flavor and were a little bland. I personally thought there was a nice vanilla flavor to them, but I agreed with Fabiana that they weren’t sweet enough. The color was a little pale, so it may not have had as much brown sugar as the rest, which made it fall in comparison.
Potentially having less brown sugar also made these cookies not as chewy as the others. In fact, they were pretty dry. Even while I was mixing the dough, it was super stiff, crumbly, and hard to scoop. Both Spencer and Lauren equated it more to an oatmeal cookie look-wise, but even as an oatmeal cookie lover, Spencer thought that the texture “didn’t work here.” Overall, I think the photo on the box was pretty deceptive in terms of how these turned out.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 2.5
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 2.4
Texture: 2.6
If you’re thinking of spending $10 on a box of cookie mix, maybe think again. As much as we all wanted this seemingly “higher-quality” brand to live up to our expectations, the end result was a sad, dry cookie we’d need a gallon of milk to get down.
5. Betty Crocker — I’m not sure any of us would qualify this as a chocolate chip cookie, but maybe a sugar cookie wearing a chocolate chip cookie disguise. Needless to say, we were not impressed.
If it were solely up to me (and only me), I’d likely put Betty Crocker at the bottom of the pack. They were flat and pale, making Lauren deem them the “ugliest of the bunch.” There was something about them that tasted manufactured, like a mediocre grocery store cookie you’d buy last minute for a party you forgot about. Natasha and Ajani found them to be way too sweet, and Sarah and Spencer noted a “weird aftertaste.” However, Megan and Fabiana enjoyed the sweetness level and wouldn’t be mad if someone served them a plate full of Betty Crocker cookies.
Despite the mixed reviews, watching these bake, all I could think was: Did I do something wrong?! They spread much more than expected and started forming small holes on the surface. Lauren mentioned that they tasted like there was too much butter, which would account for how thin they got. It is a bit of a mystery, though, considering Betty Crocker contains the same amount of dry mix (496 grams) and calls for the same amount of butter (one stick) as the other boxed mixes. Maybe this mystery can’t be solved, but what’s not a mystery is how texturally unappealing biting into these thin, bendy cookies was.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 2.6
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 2.4
Texture: 2.75
Oh, Betty, sadly, you’re only one for three on these taste tests. Was there too much butter? Not enough brown sugar? All of the above? None of us could quite put our finger on it, but these “weird” cookies will definitely not be in our shopping carts any time soon.
4. Pillsbury — This was the cookie we all had the least to say about. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, but it’s also not great, which is exactly how I’d describe a Pillsbury cookie.
The more we ate this cookie, the less we seemed to like it. The first bite was filled with nostalgic goodness, but by the third, I was questioning if I was even eating a chocolate chip cookie. Lauren clocked right away that these were Pillsbury and said that they reminded her of the printed sugar cookies. Surprising, considering they were, ya know, chocolate. It could be that there weren’t enough chocolate chips, as Ajani pointed out, or maybe the chocolate itself was a little off, which Lauren also mentioned. All in all, they seriously lacked flavor.
We were all pretty torn about whether these passed our texture test. While Ajani thought they were perfectly chewy, Sarah thought they were “a little too chewy.” I don’t think they had the unappealing “bendiness” of Betty Crocker, but they still didn’t give me that satisfying chew. As Megan pointed out, these might be a better option for kids than a room full of serious, cookie-loving adults.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 3.1
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 3.2
Texture: 3
Pillsbury was certainly fine, passable even, but it lacked that chocolate chip cookie depth we all know and love. But, hey, if you’re a fan of the classic Pillsbury sugar cookies and not a fan of chocolate, you might love these.
3. Trader Joe’s — If we were judging by appearance alone, this cookie would’ve won big. Trader Joe’s must have a reputation for beautiful desserts because half of our testers knew what brand this was just by looking at it. Unfortunately, its picture-perfect look wasn’t enough to sway everyone.
If I wanted to trick someone into thinking I whipped up a homemade batch of cookies, I’d put out a plate of these; they were visually stunning. But perceptions shifted once we took a bite. Almost all of us described these cookies as just alright, and we weren’t all that impressed with the flavor. Natasha and I also spotted an aftertaste that we could not figure out. After my fifth or sixth bite, my guess was that it was molasses, so it’s possible that the brown sugar in these was a bit more intense than the bit of molasses in the other break-and-bakes. However, Fabiana and Ajani both thought the chocolate chunks were their redeeming factor, and I personally loved the bit of saltiness in these to cut the sweetness.
Texturally, these were a little confusing. They were definitely the second thickest cookie we tried, and half of us thought that gave it a nice chew in the center. However, Ajani, Sarah, and Lauren described these as “chewy but hard,” and Natasha agreed they were “too tough.” I think that extra bit of brown sugar made chewing these a bit more of an effort, and that’s just something you either love or hate.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 3.3
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 3
Texture: 3.6
This was definitely a polarizing one, but if you’re a fan of a super chewy, molasses-y cookie, Trader Joe’s might be the one for you. Even if you’re not, you can just make them and admire their beauty.
2. Nestlé Toll House — A nostalgic cookie that had us hooked from the first bite, Nestlé Toll House is proof that sometimes you don’t need to mess with a classic. After all, there’s a reason Phoebe’s grandmother was able to pass this recipe off as homemade.
I can’t imagine a single person who would be mad if you served them a Nestlé Toll House cookie. The classic flavors are exactly what you’d expect and want — no frills or fuss, just a damn good cookie, and everyone guessed it was at least one of the OG brands. Sarah thought they were “perfect,” and Lauren compared them to something homemade. It’s true that they had more depth than some of the other classic brands, and even though the intense sweetness of those little chocolate chips hurt my sensitive teeth, I could not stop going in for multiple bites.
The flavor may not have been Fabiana and Natasha’s favorite, as they described it as average and a little artificial, but the texture sure blew everyone away. Megan was “obsessed” with how soft and chewy they were, and I loved that they still retained those signature golden edges. There’s also something so satisfying to me about biting into a thinner chocolate chip cookie and hitting that little dome of a chocolate chip that sticks out.
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 3.4
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 3.3
Texture: 3.4
This classic, sweet cookie will undoubtedly transport everyone back to the days of sleepovers and Friday night Blockbuster runs. And if you’re thinking, “What the heck is Blockbuster…?” just trust me and buy these cookies.
1. Ghirardelli — Eating this cookie was a luxury experience none of us will soon forget. Everything from the chocolate chips to the crisp yet chewy texture had us swooning and ready to grab a second serving (and maybe a third).
From that first taste of the high-quality chocolate, over half of our testers just knew this had to be Ghirardelli. “Triple chocolate” isn’t just a gimmick; you can actually taste every type of chocolate in these cookies. Sarah described it as “divine,” Natasha said it was “wonderful,” and Spencer threw out the words “fancy” and “rich” a few times. But don’t be fooled; Ghirardelli isn’t just relying on their chocolate to carry this cookie. Lauren said she’d enjoy this one even without the chips, which is probably the highest praise you can give a chocolate chip cookie.
The photo of this cookie does not do it justice (food styling isn’t my forte, sorry!), but trust me when I tell you, it had the perfect balance of chewy and crisp and absolutely did not skimp on the chocolate chips. The edges were golden, and despite it baking quite thin, there was still a fudgy center. Take it from Sarah, who said she’d literally marry this cookie (same).
⭐️ OVERALL SCORE: 4
Here’s how it broke down:
Taste: 4.2
Texture: 3.8
We had almost written off boxed cookie mixes until we took a bite of Ghirardelli. This mix is absolutely worth the extra effort, and you can consider this our official petition for it to be more readily available in stores (or maybe the brand can just send us all a lifetime supply, thanks!).
Well, there you have it, folks! Ghirardelli won us all over and is officially our favorite boxed chocolate chip cookie. Let us know your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough brand and what you’d like us to try next in the comments below!
And if you want to check out our other group taste tests, you can find them below:
