Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies are hard to beat. But sometimes we have to settle for cookies straight out of the box.
Which are best?
Trained tasters at Consumer Reports tackled the crumby job, tasting 18 different chocolate chip cookies. Many packaged ones rated just OK; they were dry and gritty, including top-seller Chips Ahoy. Skip the Weight Watchers as well. They had the fewest calories and some fiber, but were the lowest rated.
"The tasters were left with a chalky-mouth feeling and the chips were gritty. And each cookie still packed in 90 calories," said Erin Gudeux of Consumer Reports. Instead, Consumer Reports says splurge on the top-rated chocolate chip cookie from Tate's Bake Shop. They were the only one to rate excellent, with big butter and chocolate flavors. "Probably not surprisingly, the Tate's were also the highest in fat and calories," Gudeux said.
For about half the cost, 37-cents a serving, Pepperidge Farm Double Chocolate Nantucket Dark Chocolate Cookies were the next best. They're big in chocolate flavor. And they might just fill the bill if you can't bake up a batch of your own chocolate chip cookies at home.