Top 10 Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in 2021 (Pepperidge Farm, Tate's Bake Shop, and More)

We've selected the most popular chocolate chip cookies and they're different in terms of texture, size, and packaging. Hopefully, you'll find one that suits your taste!

It's important to know what needs to be considered when buying packaged chocolate chip cookies to get the perfect taste and texture. Make sure that you check all these tips and suggestions before making your decision!

A survey from National Today found that 65% of Americans prefer chewy cookies, whereas 35% like crunchy cookies. Of course, only you know what you like best, so be sure to know what you're looking for in your perfect cookies.

Using granulated sugar and adding more on all-purpose flour can make the cookies crispier. Crunchy texture also requires a lower temperature and a longer baking time. On the other hand, using melted butter and ingredients that can hold moisture like brown sugar and eggs will result in a moist and chewy texture.

In general, you can tell whether the cookie is crunchy or chewy since it's labeled on the packaging; however, not all packaging provides this information. That's why you can use the ingredient information to find out instead.

Since ingredients are listed in order of quantity, we suggest you pay attention to the order of the ingredients are listed. This is a great way to help you know the cookie texture when it's not labeled on the packaging.

The first thing to check is the fats content, which includes vegetable oil, butter, margarine, shortening, as well as high-fructose corn syrup. A high amount of fats makes for a chewy and flat texture. If fats content is listed as the first few ingredients, it usually refers to a soft-baked cookie.

Another thing to consider is the type of sugar. A chewy cookie usually contains a higher amount of brown sugar or honey than white sugar, so they should be listed before white sugar in the ingredient lists.

However, some cookies contain both brown and white sugars to make the perfect texture and flavor. Brown sugar has a molasses flavor and make a cookie moister and denser while white sugar will make a cookie crispier.

Chocolate chips can be separated into 5 main types: dark, bittersweet, semisweet, milk, and white. Technically, white chocolate chips are not a type of chocolate chips because they're made without cacao. 

Dark chocolate chips contain the highest level of cacao, usually between 70% to 100%. Thus, they suit someone who likes a bitter and intense chocolate flavor with only a mild sweetness or no sweetness at all.

Bittersweet chocolate chips have about 70% of cacao content while semisweet chocolate chips contain about 60% of cacao content. They’re pretty similar, but the main differences are the amount of chocolate liquor and sugar.

Although it's called chocolate liquor, it has nothing to do with alcohol. Instead, it's a dark and thick paste that is made of cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Bittersweet chocolate chips have a higher amount of chocolate liquor and a lesser amount of sugar. Thus, they have a stronger flavor compared to semisweet chocolate chips.

Milk chocolate chips are sweet and contain the least amount of cacao content. They tend to be easy to melt because they’re mixed with milk powder; however, they’re smoother and creamier compared with other types of chocolate chip.

How about some alternatives to chocolate chips? For example, what about white chocolate? White chocolate chips aren't considered to be chocolate chips because they contain no cacao. Instead, they contain at least 20% of the cocoa butter content, milk, and vanilla.

As well as white chocolate chips, you can find flavored chocolate chips like butterscotch chips, caramel chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and so on. If you like a sweet taste and unique flavors, these chocolate chips are a great option.

Some cookies come in one serving size like an individual bag, a few cookies in one bag, or bite-sized cookies that make a perfect portion size. These types of packaging are convenient for grab-and-go, and you don’t need to worry about storing the leftovers.

On the other hand, you may want to think about resealable bags when they’re not individually wrapped cookies. We suggest you to look for a packaging with a zipper or a pull tab like Chips Ahoy to keep your cookies fresh.

Most cookies are not a great option for weight-loss, so it's important to know the contents of the cookies before buying.

Chocolate chip cookies are usually high in calories, carbohydrates, saturated fats, and sugar, whereas they're low in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Thus, many popular brands like Chips Ahoy! and Pepperidge Farm aren't a great option for restrictive diets like ketogenic, Dukan, Atkins, vegan, paleo, and low-carb unless they're specifically labeled so.

Since there are many options on the market, you can always look for other alternatives for ingredient substitutions to suit your diet. Reading all the listed ingredients and paying attention to the nutritional values are highly recommended.

Vegan chocolate chip cookies come in many variations. Most vegan cookies contain ingredients like coconut oil, plant-based milk, plant-based flour, and vegan chocolate chips that are made from sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and cocoa butter.

You may also want to consider adding more nutrition to your cookies with oats, seeds, and nuts. Some of these include sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, cashews, and almonds.

A couple of well-known vegan chocolate chip cookie brands you may want to consider are Back to Nature and Lenny & Larry's. They offer different ingredients and come with both chewy and crunchy cookies.

We suggest you look for ingredients like almond flour and coconut flour as alternatives to wheat flour if you're doing a ketogenic, Atkins, or low-carb diet. These ingredients are low in carbohydrates and sugar, but they're high in protein and fiber.

Since these types of diets have to limit the daily intake of carbohydrates, you'll have to make sure that you consume enough protein and fats. High fats ingredients like full-fat dairy, butter, oils, nuts, and seeds are also great options for these types of diets!

The rule of the Dukan diet is to eat a lot of lean protein but limit the amount of carbohydrates and fats. So when it comes to cookies, we suggest you choose ingredients like oat bran, non-fat dairy milk, and eggs.

Although oat bran has a similar amount of carbohydrates and fats as oatmeal, it has higher protein and fiber content than oatmeal. But since there aren't many brands that make chocolate chip cookies specifically for the Dukan diet, you may want to consider making your own cookies. 

If you want to increase protein intake, try adding nonfat Greek yogurt to your cookies. Greek yogurt is also a good substitute for butter because it has a thick and creamy texture.

Consuming cookies during a paleo diet may not be a good idea since the basic concept of paleo is to eat whole foods; however, there are always alternative ingredients to choose from. Avoid grains, dairy, and white sugar. Instead, choose cookies that are made from nuts, coconut oil, and 100% unsweetened cacao chocolate chips. 

It's better to avoid added sugars on the paleo diet, although it may be difficult to find cookies that are made without sugar unless you make your own at home. We suggest you look for sweeteners like raw honey, stevia, lucuma powder, and monk fruit. Coconut sugar also works for this diet.

The almond flour chocolate chip cookies from Simple Mills is a good option because they're made with whole food ingredients like nuts and seed flour blends, coconut oil, arrowroot, and tapioca starch, and are free from grains and corn.

Most cookies contain common allergens like wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, egg, and nuts. Thus, it's important to always make sure that you read all the listed ingredients for your safety.

If you're allergic to gluten, you may want to replace wheat, rye, barley, and spelt with other flours like coconut, almond, oat, or brown rice since they're all free from gluten. Look for the term "gluten-free" on the packaging of the cookies you're considering.

Although it's labeled as gluten-free, it's not 100% free of gluten. Under the FDA's rule, this means the foods must contain a very low amount of gluten or less than 20 parts per million (ppm). So depending on your sensitivity to gluten, you may want to look over the ingredients list one more time before purchasing. Also make sure it's not processed in a facility with products containing gluten!

There are many Americans who become lactose intolerant when they grow into young adults. The studies have found that approximately 30 millions of Americans become lactose intolerant by the age of 20.

If you're lactose intolerant or sensitive to dairy, it's better to replace dairy products with plant-based products that contain ingredients like brown rice, nut butter, oats, and pea protein. Some of the well-known brands are such as Orgain, Made Good's, and Enjoy Life Foods.

A nut allergy is one of the most common food allergies in the U.S. If you know that you're allergic to a certain food, make sure to always check the ingredients list for that! You might sacrifice a bit of nutty flavor, but at least you'll be safe. Also make sure it hasn't been processed in a facility with other products that do contain nuts.

Not all types of cookies have the same shelf life! The shelf life of an unopened package for both soft and hard cookies is approximately 1 to 2 months. Once opened, hard cookies will last for about 2 to 3 weeks, whereas soft cookies will last only for 7 to 10 days.

If you want to extend the shelf life of your cookies, we suggest putting them in the freezer, where they will last for about 4 to 5 months. You can take out the amount you want to eat and warm them up in a microwave. This is a good way to preserve the quality of your cookies and you can enjoy having them fresh every time.

Making your own cookies from scratch is a great option when you can't find your favorite flavor in packaged cookies. You can customize the ingredients, flavor, and texture you want in your cookies. It's also a fun activity for the whole family to do together! Check out our suggestions for useful baking tools!

Cookie textures, types of chocolate chips, packaging designs, and shelf life are four main concerns that we suggest you keep in mind when buying chocolate chip cookies. Don't forget to always read the ingredients list, especially if you follow a certain type of diet or have food allergies.

Now you can see that anyone can have sweets; however, how you will choose your sweets is the most important factor. With all the tips and suggestions we have provided you, we hope you'll find the right type of cookie that you're looking for.

Author: Apinya Masuda

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