Chocolate Chip Cookie Brand Test: How the Cookies Crumble
Some may say the middle of summer is not the best time for a warm, straight-out-of-the-oven, ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie brand test. However, with National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day rapidly approaching (August 4th), it is the IN team’s sacred duty to make sure our dear readers are prepared to celebrate. We’re more than willing to make this sacrifice.
For this brand test, we put aside our competitive natures to explore three place-and-bake chocolate chip cookie dough brands. These products have their own unique qualities and benefits that would give them an edge, depending on who purchases them. So rather than pitting brands against one another, we will go over what makes each special and let you decide for yourself which is best. You may notice that the Pillsbury place-and-bake dough is not on this list. Since General Mills is a client, we decided to not review this brand to remain unbiased.
THE BRANDS
Sweet Loren’s
Price: $6.49
Price per ounce: $0.54
This brand was relatively unknown by our testers. Sweet Loren’s looks a bit different than your typical chocolate chip cookie, but for a good reason. This place-and-bake cookie dough is gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, and nut-free – but certainly not flavor-free.
Nestlé Toll House
Price: $4.99
Price per ounce: $0.30
The most well-known of our options, Nestlé Toll House is what comes to mind when a lot of us think of store-bought cookie dough. For more than 80 years, Nestlé has been baking up delicious cookies, and their refrigerated place-and-bake dough has graced many a kitchen fridge.
Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar
Price: $5.99
Price per ounce: $0.30
Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar has been a sweet, craveable Minnesota State Fair staple since 1979. So naturally when our team saw there was a frozen place-and-bake dough available at our local grocery store, we jumped on the opportunity to try them.
HOW THE COOKIES CRUMBLED
Despite their muted appearance, the cookies from Sweet Loren’s had a crispiness that delighted some of our testers. Although it’s nut-free, the cookie had an earthy, nutty flavor that, while being slightly unappealing to some of our testers, was welcomed by others whole-heartedly. Even being a healthier and more environmentally-conscious option, this was the preferred cookie for some of our testers. Others found an artificial aftertaste that was somewhat off-putting.
Nestlé Toll House is a powerhouse in the chocolate chip cookie game, and their cookie walks the walk. The IN team was impressed by the appearance of this cookie and noted that it had the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor the testers were expecting. This choice is not taking any risks, and it certainly doesn’t need to.
Time to see if Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar can bring the flavors of the state fair to our kitchen! Our testers were impressed with its golden-brown appearance. The suggested baking method produced a soft, warm cookie with notes of vanilla and butter. Though our testers were impressed with the frozen dough, nothing beats eating a bucket of them at the state fair.
So, which of these place-and-bake cookie doughs will suit your needs this National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day? We say that any of these three options would be an excellent choice, depending on what you’re looking for. Nestlé Toll House’s dough is widely available, and the classic flavor is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Sweet Loren’s will delight those seeking a gluten-free, plant-based option if they’re willing to look past the elevated cost. Lastly, Sweet Martha’s frozen dough can be placed on the baking sheet directly from the freezer, so you have the option of enjoying the occasional fresh-baked cookie for weeks on end, or, in the true state fair spirit, gobbling them down by the bucketful.
