The Great Choc-Chip Cookie Comp: "The Chewy" by Alton Brown

It’s been a while. And I’ll admit, it’s been some time since a chocolate chip cookie was made. 

But I’m not done with this quest for perfection. So I present to you the next on my list: Alton Brown’s “The Chewy.”

Let me preface this by saying Alton Brown is one of my idols. He does everything with a purpose and truly knows the science behind food. He’s the type of person I aspire to be: one who sees food as one big, tasty science experiment. He is often on the quest for perfection, so I figured his chocolate chip cookies would impress.

He measures everything in ounces, which I have respect for. I feel it gives a more exact measurement than a cup measuring system. As far as ingredients go, nothing is too far out of the ordinary; however, he uses bread flour instead of regular, which is known to give foods a “chewier” texture (hence “The Chewy” name). He also adds an extra egg yolk and a few tablespoons of whole milk to his recipe; probably for texture and richness in flavor. 

I melted the butter per his instructions, sifted the dry ingredients, and followed the recipe to a tee. He chills his dough for one hour, and whatever Alton says, the world should do. They go into the oven at 375 for 15 minutes, with the instruction of rotating the pan halfway through, then cool on a cooling rack to prevent excess browning on the bottom.

While the cookies looked pretty standard, I noticed mine were very…inconsistent. Some were extra brown, some seemed slightly underdone, and every single one flattened a different amount. This most likely had to do with my oven, as well as the time I scooped the dough vs. when it had been taken out of the fridge; dough balls that had more time to sit and thaw in their spherical shape probably flattened a bit more.

Let’s get down to business.

The look: I mean, they looked like cookies. And cookies are automatically glamorous. However, rather than looking identical, they all kinda looked like long-lost cousins. But at the end of the day…a cookie is a cookie. 7/10

Crunchy Chew: Decent! They were certainly chewy, and definitely had a crispy exterior. Not quite as gooey as I wanted, but that’s just a matter of personal preference, where Alton and I might differ. 7/10

Chip to Dough Ratio: I PERSONALLY like more chocolate chips, but again, that’s just a matter of preference. His by NO MEANS fell short; I’m just a bit of a chocoholic. 8/10

Overall Taste: Okay. I love Alton Brown. He’s my idol, he speaks the language of food in a way I can only DREAM of one day matching. However, his cookies didn’t taste like…much. They had the chocolate, they had the flour…but it just felt like something was missing. Maybe more vanilla? More salt? While Alton Brown will forever be my favorite, his cookies were not. 6/10

Wow Factor: I LOVE the fact he’s going for the chew. He did everything scientifically possible to make these chewy cookies, and he succeeded. Other than that, there was nothing “WOW” about them…but that’s a quest that I can greatly respect. 7/10

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

Let me make a strong disclaimer: I will defend Alton Brown until the day I die. In no way did he lose any respect or appreciation in my eyes based on the performance of his cookies. He specifies right in the title that his cookies are meant to be chewy. And chewy they were. For those who focus on solely that in a cookie, these are probably perfect. However, I take my chocolate chip cookies very seriously, and when you compare them to Martha Stewart’s, they just don’t quite meet the mark. 

Alton Brown. Not the biggest fan of his cookies, but the biggest fan of him. And that’s enough.