We tested the cookie recipes on Nestle, Hershey's, and Ghirardelli chocolate chip packages, and Ghirardelli's was our favorite (2024)

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We decided to stick to Nestle, Ghirardelli, and Hershey's semi-sweet chips for consistency.

I was able to find all three brands of chocolate chips in the baking aisle of my local supermarket.

In New York City grocery store's baking aisle, a 12-ounce bag of Hershey's chocolate chips cost $4.19 and 12-ounce bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips cost $5.49. Nestle chocolate chips only came in a large 24-ounce package and cost $7.69. At those prices and sizes, Hershey's chips were 35 cents per ounce and Ghirardelli's were 46 cents per ounce, and Nestle's bigger bag contained the most value at 32 cents per ounce.

Target sells 12-ounce bags of Nestle and Ghirardelli chocolate chips for $2.99, and Hershey's chips for $2.49, making Hershey's the most affordable option there.

Prices will vary depending on where you purchase these chips.

The recipes on the backs of the packages were virtually identical.

The only difference was that Nestle's Toll House cookie recipe called for a teaspoon of salt while Hershey's and Ghirardelli called for half a teaspoon.

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Since the cookie recipes were basically the same, the best cookie would be heavily determined by the differences between the chocolate chips.

We decided to evaluate the cookies based on three factors, ranking them each from one (bad) to five (delicious).

• Overall taste
• Texture of the cookie
• "Meltiness" of the chocolate chips

Preparing each batch of cookies started by measuring out the dry and wet ingredients separately.

Flour, salt, and baking soda went in one bowl. Butter, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla went in another.

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The dry ingredients were then slowly added to the wet ones and beat together with a mixer.

Softening the butter beforehand makes this process easier.

In went the chocolate chips!

Each recipe called for two cups of chocolate chips.

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With the chips mixed in, we were ready to form the cookies.

I may or may not have eaten a few spoonfuls of raw dough. Don't try that at home.

Nestle and Ghirardelli instructed that each cookie be a tablespoon's worth of dough. Hershey's said a teaspoon.

I just eyeballed the amounts and rolled the dough into balls with my hands.

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All of the cookies baked beautifully.

All three recipes said that the cookies should bake at 375 degrees for between eight and 11 minutes.

After a few minutes cooling on the kitchen table, it was time to start taste-testing.

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The cookies all looked equally delicious.

It was hard to tell them apart.

For the purposes of the experiment, I kept track of which cookies were from which brands, but kept my two fellow testers in the dark.

We tried the Nestle cookies first, then Hershey's, then Ghirardelli.

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First up were the Nestle cookies. One tester remarked that he tasted "a good saltiness with the sweetness" — perhaps because the recipe called for slightly more salt than the others.

To me, they tasted exactly the way you'd want chocolate chip cookies to taste. With the perfect amount of crunch and gooey chocolate chips, Nestle's Toll House recipe is considered the original chocolate chip cookie for a reason.

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Hershey's chocolate chip cookies were a little bit softer than Nestle's, but the bitterness of the chocolate wasn't everyone's favorite.

One tester said of Hershey's that "I usually don't like their chocolate, but this is good."

Another was "not digging the chocolate" because it tasted bitter in his opinion.

I agreed that the chocolate tasted a tad bitter. While the fluffy texture of the cookies and the oozing chocolate chips made this cookie a strong contender, it wasn't our favorite.

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"The sweet to bitter ratio of [Ghirardelli's] is the best," one tester said. "This one is right down the middle."

One tester said that the chocolate tasted better than Hershey's but "it's not as salty as I would like." The rest of the group appreciated how the cookies struck the right balance of sweetness without being too over-the-top.

After a very scientific analysis ...

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... Ghirardelli cookies won the day.

If you prefer sweeter chocolate chip cookies with a hint of saltiness, Nestle's recipe might be for you. But we enjoyed the melty, understated sweetness of the Ghirardelli the most.

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