Best cookie it is not
Chocolate chip cookies are a funny thing apparently. For example, if you like Chips Ahoy cookies, did you know they taste 10x better if you microwave it for just about.. 10 seconds or so? Maybe less? They get all soft and gooey and the thing is just heaven. Serious Eats thinks that Pret has a good cookie. Better than City Bakery. They also think Bouchon has a good cookie. So I tried them, although I only took pictures of the Pret cookie.
I didn’t bother eating the City Bakery cookie because I eat one of those pretty much once a month. I like it and know what it’s like. No need to ‘test’ it for the sake of trying new things. The Bouchon chocolate chunk cookie is ok. Good. I think this cookie would stand out in a taste test because there’s going to be a lot of bad cookies that have drier or harder texture. They’re also not too sweet. What I really want to talk about is the Pret cookie.
Essentially, you’ve all tasted the Pret cookie before. If you can read English and grew up in America, you know exactly how it tastes. It’s basically Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. It’s put into a cookie warmer at Pret stores, and when you get it, it’s all warm and tasty. If you’re not familiar with Tollhouse but instead know Mrs. Fields, then you also know what the Pret cookie taste like.
For those concerned with cookie prices. City Bakery cookie is $2.50, Bouchon is $2.45, and Pret is $1.95. The CB cookie is big and wide, but it’s thin. The Bouchon cookie has more heft, but it has none of the chewiness exhibited in a CB cookie. Ditto with the Pret cookie, since it’s warm, it’s mostly just soft. I think it’s important to note that when Serious Eats does these tastes tests, they probably do it at the office, so their Pret cookie wasn’t warm and gooey, so it’s surprising that it still tasted good. What is interesting is that I think most people upon reading SE, and then go to Pret… they ain’t waiting. So they eat a warm cookie and think, by golly, this shit is the bomb!
I mean it’s good, but it’s not the bomb. That’s the key take-away here. Also I think it comes down to what you’re looking for in a cookie. I know people like to talk about ‘crust’ because it provides a crunch. There’s no crust on the Pret cookie if you eat it right away, because it’s warm. There’s no crust on the Bouchon cookie either. The City Bakery cookie has one but it also has much crunchier edges due to being thinner. So if you like ’em soft all around, Pret is a nice option. If you like ’em crunchy and chewy like I do, City Bakery wins. If you like a good solid choice that’s not too flashy, Bouchon is a good choice. It’s really all about what you like. Now if you rush out and want to replicate the Serious Eats experience with the Pret cookie? You betta wait. Otherwise I should just do a million posts on food that taste good when it’s warmed up.
Posted by Danny on November 19, 2009 at 4:05 pm
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