Chocolate Chip Cookies: compare the 3 variations
Time, effort, key ingredients, diets, nutrition and cleanup side by side, so you can pick the one that fits tonight.
Which should I make?
- Kid helper ClassicA child can do 6 of the 9 steps: no knife, no heat.
- Least cleanup Brown Butter3 things to wash: saucepan, sheet pan, mixing bowl.
Side by side
| Classic | Chewy Oatmeal | Brown Butter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total time | 40 min | 45 min | 1 hr 25 min |
| Prep | 15 min | 15 min | 25 min |
| Level | Easy | Easy | Medium |
| Steps | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Serves | about 30 cookies | about 36 cookies | about 20 cookies |
| Key ingredients | all-purpose flour, unsalted butter and semisweet chocolate chips | old-fashioned rolled oats, unsalted butter and semisweet chocolate chips | unsalted butter, all-purpose flour and dark or bittersweet chocolate |
| Only in this one | None | ground cinnamon and old-fashioned rolled oats | dark or bittersweet chocolate |
| Dietary | |||
| Calories | 190 | 160 | 250 |
| Protein | 2 g | 2 g | 2 g |
| Carbs | 25 g | 22 g | 30 g |
| Fat | 10 g | 8 g | 13 g |
| Cleanup | 2/5 4 things to wash | 2/5 4 things to wash | 3/5 3 things to wash |
| Kid helper | Yes, 6 of 9 steps | Yes, 5 of 8 steps | Yes, 3 of 9 steps |
Nutrition is per serving. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Dietary: Based on the ingredient list and estimated nutrition; check labels; not medical advice. Cleanup score: 5 means one thing to wash, 1 means six or more. We count pots, pans, bowls and appliances, not the knife, board and spoons.
How we pick
- Fastest: the shortest total time, at least 10 minutes ahead of the next.
- Easiest: the lowest level (easy, medium, hard), then at least 2 fewer steps.
- Lightest: the fewest estimated calories a serving, at least 15% and 40 calories under the next (only when two or more have an estimate).
- Kid helper: the variation where a child can do the biggest share of the steps (no knife, no heat), when that's not all of them equally.
- Least cleanup: the best cleanup score, a point ahead of the next.
- Make it ahead: the only variation whose notes say how to make it ahead.
- Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free: the variation that fits a diet the others don't, from the ingredient lines.
A pick needs a clear winner; close calls are left out.