Batch Three
Keepers
Recently opened on the corner of 2nd and Los Angeles, and having walked by a number of times, I decided to check out Keeper’s coffee window advertising a number of pastries. The bottom line: it’s fine. There’s a nice crisp on the edges, and it’s completely inoffensive with a solid flavor. But compared to some of the other things the small window at Keepers has available like mochi doughnuts, blueberry yuzu scones, and black sesame muffins, it sort of stands out for not trying something more interesting.
Bristol Farms
JFC. Right when this dropped in my hands I knew I was eating this in the parking lot because it was so damn hot and fresh. As @paranoidgarliclover mentioned, it’s incredibly decadent. If I had to guess, I’d say it could be 85% chocolate chips and wouldn’t be surprised if the remainder was 5% walnuts and 10% dough. Taking a bite through the crisp exterior crust revealed it to be basically uncooked and molten in the center. If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Even though I still felt like I wanted to take a shower afterwards.
Zooies
I’d had Zooies a couple times (but never visited the gas station location myself) and knew from previous cookies I had to make a trip out of it.
Zooies: Gooie
They’re not kidding when they say it’s gooey. If you like your cookies undercooked in the middle like me, this is a near flawless execution. It still maintained crisp edges, and taking into account the layered chocolate and hint of vanilla, it’s not hard to recognize this as one of the best cookies in the city.
Zooies: Chewy
I hadn’t knowingly had the Chewy before, so when I asked how it was different (hoping for a description of ingredients or technique) the response I got was “it’s chewier”. So yes, it’s a bit chewier, and because it lacks the gooeiness of the Gooie, the chocolate stands out as a bit more proportionally significant. The flavors are largely similar though, and for that reason of textural preference I’d go with the Gooie every time.
Zooies: Brown Butter
The Brown Butter was the only other thoroughbred chocolate chip cookie on Zooies menu, but with that extra brown butter training. Getting the taste out of the way first, it’s a solid chocolate chip cookie, though the brown butter flavor was maybe a bit too subdued because I was wishing it would distinguish itself more from the other two cookies. The big difference was the consistency—it was much airier and lighter than I anticipated—with a couple big pockets of air. The cakiness is fine is that’s what you’re looking for, but personally I did not find it as remarkable as the Gooie.
For what it’s worth, Zooies is a one stop shop for demonstrating the diversity to be found in chocolate chip cookies–each is distinct enough to justify standing apart from the others. However, if you’re getting a handful of cookies from Zooies, it is probably best to choose your favorite chocolate chip and then branch out to many of the different, more exciting flavors they have on offer.
The Chocolate and the Chip
I spotted the Chocolate and the Chip online, and knew that if there was a chocolate chip cookie specialist (it’s literally in the name) that I needed to include them.
The Chocolate and The Chip: The Original
This is the kind of cookie you’d be pleasantly surprised to find on the snack table at a PTA meeting. It absolutely checks all the boxes with a classic flavor profile that doesn’t do anything wild, but that’s about it. The original chocolate chip cookie is cooked all the way through, with no real crispness to the edges or chewiness in the center to speak of. Not to jump the gun, but after having the other cookies on offer from The Chocolate and The Chip, I get the feeling that because this is the table stakes cookie, it was probably baked farther in advance than the others and might have not been as “fresh”. Still, it’s easy to see the potential here in a cookie that’s fresh out of the oven.
The Chocolate and The Chip: Lavender
Now this is interesting. The lavender flavor really comes through in a fantastic way here, and overall the cookie seems much better executed than the original: it’s chewier and even a bit chocolatey-er. There’s also no real crisp or crunch to the edges here, but with a super soft center, it’s still a winner.
The Chocolate and The Chip: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip
This was the flavor of the week, and you can tell that there was a lot that went into it. Laced with marshmallows and caramel, this is one gooey chocolate chip cookie. Similar to the Lavender, the pumpkin flavor here is off the charts and perfect for this time of year. Yet again—and this now seems to be The Chocolate and The Chip’s MO—this cookie is soft baked but to super chewy and dense perfection.
Though I could take or leave the Original, It’s cookies like the Pumpkin and the Lavender that make The Chocolate and The Chip exciting. Be on the lookout for those special flavors.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle’s tahini chocolate chip cookie isn’t kidding about the tahini. It’s got little bits of chocolate scattered throughout, but unlike others doing similarly sesame (tahini/halva) inflected chocolate chip cookies, this one emphasizes the tahini nearly to the extreme. It’s even got raw sesame seeds on top, and just leans on the chocolate chips to balance it out. It’s got a fair crispness to it, but it’s also still chewy. If you give this to a child and they’ll hand it back to you asking for a chocolate chip cookie.
Tartine Silver Lake
For those that may have missed it, this is the same cookie that was on the menu at the now closed Manufactory. I liked it back then, and was pleased to see it had made the jump to the Tartine Silver Lake location. It’s thin, crispy, and a bit crunchy, with the standout element being the finely chopped walnuts evenly distributed throughout the cookie. Instead of larger, broken chunks of walnut found in many other chocolate chip cookies, the walnuts here add a much more pronounced and noticeable flavor. The nut becomes a feature, not a bug. It’s also a BIG cookie, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming because it’s also extremely thin.
All day baby
Contrasted to the Halva Chocolate Chip cookie that can also be found at All Day Baby, the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip is much less dense and closer to the mainstream. The airy texture and slight nuttiness from the brown butter obviously lacks the intensity of halva chocolate chip from batch one. This cookie also uses milk chocolate. There is some intense layering of chocolate as you work your way to the center—culminating in what seems like a small chocolate mountain in the center. All put together it seems like this cookie would be perfectly paired with a glass of milk.
Onward we go…
Batch One
Batch Two
I have a few uncomplicated recipes under my belt.
The Gjusta chocolate chip oatmeal cookie is by no means a miss and still great, and if that’s what’s in your neighborhood you can’t go wrong. It’s also just that there’s another one on the other side of town that’s essentially the same but better.
But my name is deceiving - I have a few good recipes under my belt and when I had more time baked for the holidays, but I‘m not a very experienced baker. 
