CATEGORY

Refrigerated Cookie Dough

2009 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER

Pillsbury

What Makes a Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Roll)?

There’s almost nothing more familiar or enticing than a plate of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, which is exactly why it can be difficult to find a brand that lives up to that time-tested secret family recipe.

A high-quality refrigerated chocolate chip cookie roll looks toasted and golden brown, with a mostly uniform appearance. It’s no shocker that chocolate chips should be noticeable and present, without dominating other ingredients.

Both the character and intensity of the dough should be refined, containing notes of creamy butter, real vanilla, toasted grain, and semi-sweet chocolate.

Sweetness is the primary taste, though it’s not the only one. Salt, bitterness, and even sourness may contribute to the overall taste, but will play only minor roles.

A quality chocolate chip cookie dough is indeed an indulgent treat, but its chocolate intensity is not overly bold. When combined with the butter, brown sugar, toasted grain, and real vanilla notes, the overall flavor complexity of the cookie is slightly increased.

Chocolate is obviously an important part of any self-respecting cookie, and the first thing to look for are smooth and creamy chips. The texture of the cookie should have a crispy outside edge, with a chewy inside that doesn’t stick to your mouth.

How else would we test a chocolate chip cookie, but to serve it with a tall glass of milk? We dunked the cookies for three seconds, and noticed the best the brands absorbed the milk without getting oversaturated or losing their shape. What’s more, the good ones were only enhanced by the sweet dairy and acidity of the milk.

We know what makes a great cookie dough, but what makes a bad one?

Watch out for cookies that pack too much sugar, which can mean an overly gritty texture and overpowering finish that outstays its welcome. A quality brand will also hold up under pressure—we can’t have cookies falling apart during the all-important dunk.

Why is Pillsbury the best chocolate chip cookie dough?

We’d like to tell you the winner was chosen based on the discovery that some sweet old lady was the person who made them, but the fact is a bright chocolate character coupled with pure caramel, vanilla, and brown sugar notes had much more to do with it. Pillsbury was the ChefsBest Award Winner for being the quintessential chocolate chip cookie. The creamy chocolate chips, toasted aroma, and solid flavor intensity coalesced into that familiar standard we’ve all come to associate with wholesome goodness.

The category judged was defined as refrigerated cookie dough, not including cookies, mixes or ingredients. The following were tested: chocolate chip roll, chocolate chip snap-off, chocolate chunk snap-off, ultimate/deluxe chocolate and sugar snap-off.

Other Leading Brands:

Nestlé