TODAY

We tried 5 chocolate chip cookie mixes and 1 blew the competition out of the oven

When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, I must admit that I’m a bit of an expert. After releasing my debut cookbook, "Basic Bitchen," my own chocolate chip cookies were, by far, the most popular and shared recipe to emerge from the book. They’re big, they’re fluffy, they’re slightly salty and, most importantly, they’re soft and gooey with a delightfully crisp shell.

Baking homemade chocolate chip cookies is quite simple, but not simple enough for many Americans who rely on pre-mixed box kits to satisfy a sudden sweet craving. These flour, sugar and chocolate chip blends typically require just a stick of softened butter and an egg before they’re ready to be mixed into dough, rolled out and placed into the oven.

Admittedly, it may be our instinct to call this type of baking "lazy," but many box kits are actually quite delicious. In fact, most may even rival your grandma’s famous recipe or — dare I say it — my own.

We put five popular mixes to the test to figure out which yielded the softest, chewiest, gooiest, melt-in-your-mouth cookie. There is a time and place for super crispy cookies, but not in this round-up.

Here’s how the cookies crumbled in terms of texture, including how they ranked in taste:

5. Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (#2 in taste)

What these lacked in soft texture, they made up for in flavor. Like the brownie taste test we conducted a couple weeks ago, ranking these box kits was like splitting hairs. Not a single product disappointed us, but these did tend to spread a bit while baking, resulting in crunchy edges. This wasn’t a bad thing, though, and likely a preference for many people. But if you’re a soft cookie connoisseur, you may feel a bit underwhelmed by the unbalanced mouthfeel (unless you eat them hot and right out of the oven). The taste is wonderful, though — classic, cake-like and not overwhelmingly sweet. If you’re in a pinch, dunk one (or four if we’re being honest) in a glass of milk and indulge.

(editor：)