I Asked 4 Experts To Name the Best Store-Bought Chocolate Chip Cookies—They All Said the Same Brand

Chocolate chip cookies are ideal for almost any occasion, whether you’re searching for a snack to curb a sweet craving or putting together a special cookie platter. They’re a crowd-pleaser at bake sales and can be dressed up in countless ways, including being transformed into easy ice cream sandwiches. While homemade chocolate chip cookies are undeniably superior, sometimes you just need a quick fix from the grocery store.

With so many brands lining the packaged-cookie aisle, what’s the best store-bought chocolate chip cookie option on the shelves? To find out, I turned to professional bakers and chefs for their expert opinions. It turns out they all reach for the same brand.

The 4 Experts I Asked 

• Jenny Keller: Founder of Jenny’s Cookies
• Derrell Smith: Chef and Tastemade Host
• Anna Haidar: Baker, food photographer, and founder of Wild Whisk Studio
• Kristina Lavallee: Celebrity cake designer and founder of The Cake Girl 

The Best Packaged Chocolate Chip Cookies 

No matter the occasion, the professional bakers and chefs I spoke with all reach for Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies when they need a store-bought option.

Tate’s grew from a small Long Island, New York, bakery baking chocolate chip cookies into a grocery store mainstay produced on a much larger scale. However, the cookies are still made with the same ingredients you’d use at home—butter, sugar, flour, eggs, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and chocolate chips—without any preservatives. They’re available at retailers nationwide, including Safeway, Kroger, Whole Foods, and Target. The iconic green-and-white bag is hard to miss.

Keller says Tate’s is her go-to when she wants something that tastes classic and is reliably delicious. “[These cookies] are thin and crispy with a ton of butter flavor,” she says. “They’re loaded with chocolate and feel like a bakery-style treat you can enjoy anytime.”

Smith says he likes the thinness and crispness of the cookies, which taste like crunchy butter studded with chocolate chips.

Lavallee also loves how thin the cookies are, which provides a contrast to the thicker, gooier cookies she prefers to bake herself. “They’re not overly sweet, and the balance of flavors lets the butter and chocolate shine instead of sugar dominating the profile,” she says. “An added bonus is that I don’t get the greasy or artificial aftertaste common in some store-bought sweets.”

Thanks to their bakery-style flavor, Haidar says she loves to warm them up and finish them with a sprinkle of salt to balance the sweetness even further.