5 Best And 5 Worst Chain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies feel like home. Which is probably why many fast food chains create their own versions to cash in on this nostalgia-rich dessert. While there are some solid options out there ... in my tasting, I found nearly none of them could get close to the taste of a fresh-from-the-oven, made-with-love, passed-down recipe of a true favorite chocolate chip cookie.

One afternoon, I zipped around 10 different chains to gather their rendition of the chocolate chip — often chocolate chunk — cookie. Then, I tasted each, with the occasional second opinion of my son.

What makes the best chocolate chip cookie? Of course, that's an incredibly subjective opinion, but for me, I searched for cookies with a nice texture, decadent distribution of chocolate chips, and a flavor that was enjoyable. Of course, cookies that tasted stale didn't do well in my ranking.  

I'm a newer fan of Firehouse Subs. I've been impressed by the quality of the toasted subs, and the hot sauce bar is a delicious addition to any sandwich shop. Until this tasting, I've not had an opportunity to try the cookies, but after giving them a try, I'm willing to keep my dining here strictly to sub sandwiches.

My least favorite cookie of any that I have tried came from Firehouse Subs. This is yet another instance of a cookie that tastes too boring and a little stale. It's almost as if when the cookie was being made, they forgot that chocolate chips were an essential ingredient and chose to add them in at the last minute. Whether that's actually what happened is anyone's guess, but there wasn't much flavor going on here.

I will say that the texture of the cookie isn't so bad, but even as you bite into it, you can tell there's not much to taste. I had high hopes for this cookie because I've found Firehouse Subs to be very enjoyable — but there are other sub shops that have exceptional cookies, and Firehouse Subs isn't one of them. It's hard to tell, based on the flavor, whether the cookie was actually made in-house or not, but I wouldn't recommend having this as your dessert.

McDonald's has a special place in my heart. It's a favorite errand stop for us on the weekend, and my son is definitely a lover of the almighty Happy Meal. It never fails to remind me of the times I would get McDonald's as a kid. On this particular stop, McDonald's was rolling out Squishmellow stuffed animals (finally switching out the Pokémon Happy Meals), so he was especially excited. To make it extra special, I took the opportunity to try out the chocolate chip cookies. He was the first one to take a bite, and it was an immediate favorite. My son can be on the picky side when it comes to food, so this is high praise for a chocolate chip cookie. You can bet that we probably started a whole new phase of our McDonald's run that will likely always include a chocolate chip cookie.

Compared to the other chocolate chip cookies from the chains I tried, these were quite a bit smaller, so it made sense that they sell them in two packs as well as all on their own. This cookie's flavor was exactly what you expect from a chocolate chip cookie. There's nothing terribly special about it, but it's a reasonable balance between a soft and sweet cookie, easy enough for little ones to eat and keep its shape. It reminded me of the type of chocolate chip cookies you might purchase from a school bake sale. From my son, this cookie received a thumbs up and the review: "Soft and good."

Once upon a time, I frequented Panera for tasty brunches, meetings with friends, and even light dinners, so I'm familiar with its offerings. Unfortunately, the chocolate chip cookie was nowhere near the quality that I remember Panera having.

I ordered it at the checkout rather than the kiosk because I knew it would be easy to grab my cookie and go, and when I placed my order, the crew member asked if I wanted it warmed. I said yes, and was surprised to see she was able to simply move it from a warming plate that was visible right in the pastry case. I thought this was rather genius, and it's the only location I noticed this in full view of the customer.

Aside from this invention, the cookie was the definition of bland. There was nothing exciting about what was happening here; the flavor was boring. And it was a rather hard bite, leading me to believe that it was at least a day or two old, even if it had been warmed.

The green siren is well known for its coffee drinks and inventive mixtures. There's something for coffee aficionados, tea lovers, and even those with a sweet tooth — and it's more than just the Frappuccino menu. In fact, while working on this piece, I am also writing an article about Starbucks' beloved snack bakery items, and in that piece (spoiler) I found that the chocolate chip cookie was my favorite. Compared to some of the other chains, I found that the Starbucks cookie is decently sized, tender, inviting, and reasonably chocolate chippy with a more mild — but still enjoyable — cookie taste.

The way baristas warm these ... it makes them taste more homemade than some of the others. I also noticed that it's a lot flatter than other cookies. But even though it's flat, the cookie is by no means hard. With a cookie that looks like this one, you might expect an undesirable crispy bite — however, I found a super soft bite, even after it had fully cooled. A word of caution with this cookie: When you retrieve it from the counter, it will be hot if you've chosen to get it warm. I share this both to protect your fingertips and to tell you that the cookie will be gooey. Handle with care if you don't want a burned mouth.

While I have certainly enjoyed a shake or two from Arby's, this was my first time trying a cookie. Arby's went a slightly different route with its chocolate chip cookie, offering a salted caramel and chocolate cookie. It's also prepackaged and wrapped with its own nutrition information on the back. It doesn't feel like a homemade cookie, and that's my major complaint about this one — but I also found it to be hard. No doubt that's from a lack of freshness, but the chain could deal with making these cookies in house.

If the Arby's crew could at least cook these on site, I have to imagine it wouldn't taste as stale as this one did. Although I did like the bit of caramel in there, the flavor that jumped out at me more than anything else was that it just tasted old. You know the type: When you open a box of forgotten cookies only to realize they have that slightly off flavor. Arby's has a long way to go to make its cookies enjoyable.

The chocolate chip cookie at Crumbl is how the whole Crumbl chain began. In 2017, Crumbl's very own Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley endeavored to create what they called "the perfect chocolate chip cookie." Now, the chain rotates through different flavors each week, so while the Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie is a frequent player, it's not on the menu every week.

I love Crumbl cookies, so I was expecting the milk chocolate chip Crumbl cookie to do very well. I'll admit the flavor didn't blow me away; I was expecting more. But it was one of the more enjoyable cookies I tried, largely due to texture. Its deep bite made it hard to stop eating. Rather than being a sweet cookie, it had a muted flavor. Those who prefer a cookie that isn't overly sweet will love these.

I love finding a good chicken chain, and PDQ is one of my favorites when it comes to chicken tenders. Every time we go, I long to try the cookies, but I always fill up with chicken, fries, and a milkshake. So this was the perfect opportunity to determine if the chocolate chip cookie is even worth saving room for. While it looked pretty good on the outside, the only flavor in this chocolate chip cookie was in the chocolate chips themselves. The parts surrounding the chocolate chip needed so much more.

The tender bite of the cookies was evident, and I could tell that it was somewhat freshly cooked before it's wrapped. However, in addition to its boring flavor, I found far too few chocolate chips in this cookie to make it desirable. Therefore, I concluded that the chocolate chip cookie at PDQ isn't worth saving space for. You're better off ordering a milkshake.

Of all the chains I visited on this particular afternoon, Chick-fil-A was easily the busiest. Ordering just a cookie seemed like a strange mission compared to the larger family orders being made around me. When my cookie was finally ready, it came wrapped in a peekaboo paper container, secured with a sticker.

The cookie itself has more chunks than chips, and I noticed the texture throughout was more granular; it was as if there was oatmeal in it, but I didn't catch oatmeal on any ingredient list. A closer examination of the chain's website revealed that it indeed has what the chain called "wholesome oats" interspersed with dark and milk chocolate chips. I really like oatmeal cookies, so I enjoyed the texture, but to those who don't appreciate oatmeal cookies, I can imagine the cookie feeling too lumpy. 

For a super enjoyable treat, make an ice cream sandwich with these cookies. This little fast food hack will require you order two chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream. Then, take the ice cream and slather it all over the back of the first cookie. Finally, take the other cookie and put it on top before chowing down.

Recently, I've noticed a decline in the quality of Wendy's products and service. And on this visit, I wasn't impressed by the customer service or the product. The location had turned around its menu boards so that the only way to order was at the kiosk. While I wouldn't normally mind this, for this particular drop in — when I was just ordering a chocolate chip cookie — the wait would've been far less had I been allowed to order at the cash register. After all, the little tower holding the cookies is right between the cash registers. They would have picked one out, put it in a bag, and hand it to me. Instead, I waited 15 minutes for my order. Once I finally got my cookie, it tasted as though it had been sitting for some time.

I recognize that you're not going to get the freshest cookies when you go to a fast food restaurant, but this one had enough resistance with the bite that it wasn't super smooth while crunching through. It was more of a chocolate chunk cookie than chocolate chip, and while I was pleased with the amount of chocolate throughout, the light staleness that had started to form in flavor and texture was off-putting.

I'm beginning to think that Jersey Mike's can simply do no wrong. I love so many of the sub offerings here, and from cold to hot, it's usually my favorite sub location. You just can't beat the sub preparation, with meat and cheese sliced right in front of the customer before they're layered on top of the bread. As a result, the sandwiches taste and feel fresh. Typically, my order gets chips and a drink as a side, but I've long been curious about how the chocolate chip would taste. In the world of chocolate chip cookies, it doesn't disappoint.

I was blown away by how perfect the texture was with this cookie. It was perfectly soft and easy to eat. There weren't too many chocolate chips — though I would have liked to see more chips to make it, you know, the best chain restaurant chocolate chip cookie in the world. Aside from that mild complaint, it was an excellent option, and if I hadn't been comparing the chocolate chip cookies to one another, I may not have noticed the absence of a few chocolate chips.

One afternoon, I went from chain to chain gathering these cookies. Though there are other chains out there with chocolate chip cookies, these were the closest in my area. 

I compared taste and texture. Ideally, the best chocolate chip cookie has a reasonable distribution of chocolate, a soft (but not gooey) bite, and an enjoyable flavor. Staleness should also be avoided at all costs, and it should taste fresh and not as though it's been sitting. Those cookies that were enjoyable to eat for flavor, texture, or both were some of my best cookie options — even when nothing compares to homemade cookies.