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  1 0 Jessie's right, it's really hard to declare a "perfect" cookie because so many factors play into it. I prefer chewy, while others prefer crunchy. Some people like nuts, others do not. Etc. As far as chocolate chip cookies go, well, my mom makes the best ones, but she just follows the directions on the Toll House chocolate chips package. Somehow, though, when she makes them, they're better than any other. That said, I've baked a lot of cookies in my life. One winter, in fact, I baked about 80 different kinds. Of those 80, there are two that I still make on a regular basis, years later, because they're so goddamn good. They're both Martha Stewart recipes. 1. Striped ice box cookies (a thin and crisp cornmeal cookie layered with chewy cherry filling). 2. Peanut butter-chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (another crispy cookie, with a slightly chewey texture when done right--don't overbake--and TONS of flavor.) If I were you, I would definitely put those on your list for this winter's baking. And you could even make the PB/chocolate chip ones that much more decadent by using a mixture of dark muscovado/light brown sugar in place of the brown sugar. Megan Seling answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Kristin Bell… 0 0 I have to agree that the Toll House recipe is pretty darn delicious! And you can alter that recipe a whole bunch of different ways. Kristin Bell commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  1 0 The New York Times came up with a 'perfect' recipe. Here's the link, but it's behind their stupid firewall. They took the Cooks Illustrated approach and came up with three recommendations that really do make a difference: 1. Let the dough sit for 36 hours. Sounds crazy but apparently the more time the butter and the flour have to cozy up to each other, the better. 2. Use wide flat chocolate chips (discs). The shape allows you to pack more chocolate into each cookie. Also, these are usually made out of high-quality chocolate. 3. Make big cookies. This allows for three distinct rings of texture: crunchy, chewy, and soft. They also added a fair amount of kosher salt (large crystals). I made these and they are outstanding. The downside is the time it takes and the cost of the ingredients. goreedgo answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 gingersnaps made with far more ginger that strictly necessary, twice as much powdered ginger than the Joy call for and then a small box of candied ginger, chopped fine and mixed in. sometimes more. also these almond peppermint twist things my mother makes that look like candy canes and are sprinkled with candy-cane pieces. I think her recipe is from an old copy of the betty crocker cookie book, she doesn't let me make them. pencilears answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Classic Toll House substituting double white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Max Blair answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 I don't really like cookies, but Mrs. Fnarf makes by far the best ones I've ever had. I dunno what they're called, but they're cooked to just about exactly halfway between chewy and crispy -- they kind of give a little, resisting all the way, and then break. Sort of like me. I think they might be some kind of oatmeal. Fnarf answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 The Chocolate Sambuca cookies on Epicurious are my idea of a perfect, divine cookie. But taste is very subjective because I bake these sometimes for Christmas and no one else seems as blown away by them as I am. The down side is you have to buy Sambuca (kind of expensive and not useful for much else). But if the idea of a slightly licorice-tinged chocolate cookie sounds good to you, give them a try. They're very unique. Christy O answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 The chocolate chunk cookies (with the white chocolate on top) at The Queen Mary are divine. You don't have to go to tea there, either. Just stroll in and get one, but ask that it be heated up. You will have a mouthgasm. Cedarthvader answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 There's a Dutch brand of ginger cookie baked in the shape of a giant windmill (like 6"x8") that the Dutch neighbors used to give us at Christmas that I still dream about. The LU cinnamon ginger spice cookie is as close as I've found in stores, but not the same as a giant cookie the size of a child's head. I make what I think is the best oatmeal cookie, based on the recipe that's on the side of the Quaker quick oats cannister, adding cinnamon and nutmeg for spice, cutting a bit of the sugar and using chopped Dove dark chocolate in place of Toll House chips. The closest I've had in Seattle is the Specialty's wheatgerm cookie. Luckier answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 The most delicious cookie would be a Northern New Mexican Biscochito baked in a wood burning oven high up in the Sangre De Christo Mountain Range. They are a crumbly cookie much like a shortbread with a hint of anise and brandy dusted with a sugar cinnamon mixture. best cookie ever. DJH answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Friday's Cookies: http://www.fridayscookies.com/ They're from Tacoma. I've never had something so perfect in my mouth until I ate one of those. I dream about them on a nightly basis. SO GOOD. Faber answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 These are ridiculous: http://leitesculinaria.com/9951/recipes-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies.html Easily the best cookies I've ever made. Some of, if not the best I've ever eaten. Intensely chocolatey without reaching overkill, with a variety of textures throughout the cookie, from crisp edges to a chewy center. RJF answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Ginger Snap at Great Harvest is about as good as it gets for me protosaurus answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 They're hopelessly trendy right now but Macarons are probably some of the better cookies I've ever had. They're both crunchy and chewey, delicate yet substantial, they're good with flavouring or plain. They tend to become more tasty sitting in the fridge overnight. They have ganache in the middle. They're pretty great. Macarons, sadly, are a pain in the butt to make. That said, I'd also like to make a case for what my family calls "sandtarts" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_tea_cake) they're simple, delicious, and variants are found in a ton of different baking cultures. aurorachrisma answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 The snickerdoodles at Besalu are my benchmark for cookie excellence. I can't even describe them. If the church used these instead of the little wafers of bread I'd still be catholic. Or, at least, go to mass regularly. Tom answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 I think that this is something that does depend on the person and their taste and texture preferences. In my opinion the world's greatest cookies are the simplest--like shortbread, say--made with the best quality of just a few ingredients, made simply and well. No that you asked, but in my opinion, the single greatest source for cookies is The Betty Crocker Cooky Book, a 1960s collection of cookies which has tons of basic but good cookie (cooky?) recipes. It is my go-to book for cookies. Although every single Dorie Greenspan cookie recipe I have ever tried has been amazing, too. Jessie Oleson answered in Baking Week about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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