Few desserts are more classic than a warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. It’s a sweet treat that’s not too messy, rich, or indulgent, and it’s easy to whip up a batch at home.
However, I have 7- and 4-year-old children, and keeping up with the cookie demand can be extremely labor-intensive. Sometimes, home-baked desserts just aren’t possible.
So, I was curious to see which dessert chain serves up the best-tasting chocolate chip cookies. To find out, I bought cookies from three national brands: Crumbl, Insomnia Cookies, and Mrs. Fields and took them home to taste-test with my kids.
Here’s how we’d rank them from worst to best.
The cookie from Mrs. Fields was our least favorite
Mrs. Fields is the most established of the cookie brands we sampled. The company was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1977 by Debbi Fields. Today, the company has 250 locations around the world.
The cookie from Mrs. Fields was the smallest of the three I tried but also the least expensive ($2).
Perfectly round and evenly cooked, I thought it looked like a slightly larger version of a chewy Chips Ahoy cookie. Nothing was unappetizing about its appearance, but it was easily the least exciting of the three.
When I took a bite, I noticed it had a bit of crunch around the outside. Nothing about the flavor was unpleasant — it was sweet, probably the least salty of the three cookies, and soft on the inside.
However, I found the inside was soft and a bit gummy, which I didn’t love. It also had the smallest portion of chocolate chips of the three we tried.
My kids were careful to note that they loved all three cookies, but we all ranked this one as our least favorite.
The Crumbl cookie was good, but I prefer the brand’s other flavors
Of the three cookie brands I stopped at, Crumbl is the newest. Founded in Logan, Utah, in 2017, the chain now has over 1,000 locations across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
I have a lot of experience with Crumbl cookies, so I knew what to expect: an enormous, soft cookie served warm and loaded with thick chunks of chocolate.
The semi-sweet chocolate chunk cookie cost $5, but it was big enough for several people to share. Most of Crumbl’s offerings are visually compelling, and this one certainly would’ve made for the best Instagram post of the three.
My 4-year-old, who values softness in a cookie, called this her favorite of the group. It was so thick that, to me, it seemed more like a blondie than a proper cookie.
It was also so soft and mushy inside that it felt like it bordered on being underbaked. There was a ton of chocolate, and the creamy, melty, semi-sweet chunks seemed like the highest-quality chocolate in any of the three cookies.
However, the cookie itself was a bit bland — sweet with a touch of salt — and the size was not much of a draw for me.
My 7-year-old and I agreed that this was the second-best of the three we tried. Overall, it was good, but I’ve enjoyed other Crumbl cookies more than this one.
The version from Insomnia Cookies was my favorite
The first brick-and-mortar Insomnia Cookies location opened in Syracuse, New York, in 2006. True to its name, Insomnia caters to night owls, offering cookie delivery until 3 a.m.
The brand now has over 300 locations in the US, Canada, and England.
I made semi-frequent late-night stops at Insomnia after one opened up in my old neighborhood about 15 years ago, before I had children. However, it had been a long time since I had tried one, and I didn’t know if it would match my memory.
The $3 price tag seemed reasonable, and this cookie looked a bit darker than the others, making it seem richer and more appetizing.
Insomnia’s chocolate chip cookie was easily my favorite of the three we tried. It had the best flavor, with an almost caramel-like combination of vanilla and brown sugar, and hefty chocolate chunks.
It also had the best texture, with a nice crunch on the outside and a soft and gooey center. I’d definitely order from Insomnia Cookies again.
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