Chocolate Chip Cookie Delivery Throwdown

 

“Ok, I’m going to go curl up in a corner and die,” I said to my wife. We had just consumed the equivalent of a VW Beetle, but in cookies. And that was just the cookie from Goodly. We had two more to go. And we did it all for you, dear reader. You see, there’s been a surge of late-night cookie delivery businesses in Salt Lake City. Yes, you read that right: you can now order cookies without even leaving your couch, and they will be delivered to your door within an hour, piping hot and ready for you to drown your sorrows in a warm pile of butter, sugar, and chocolate.

I’m sure there are more that I haven’t heard of, but I’m most familiar with Goodly, Chip, and Crumbl. Goodly is perhaps the smallest of the three. They are currently renting out the Amour Spreads café/kitchen at night to do their baking. You can also walk in and buy cookies on the spot from a small table at the front of the vacated café. Goodly currently has one location, and offers delivery.

Chip got their start in Provo, and have expanded to Lehi, Salt Lake City, and Boise. They are a vendor at BYU’s Lavell Edwards stadium; you can order from your phone and they will bring a warm cookie right to your seat in the stands. Oh, and they’re Donovan Mitchell’s favorite, too.

Crumbl is by far the largest, location-wise. The company got its start satiating the late-night cravings of Aggies students in Logan. They have since seen rocket-like expansion to 19 locations in Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and Idaho.

So we thought it would be fun to do a chocolate chip cookie showdown. But first, the protocol. We bought the cookies earlier in the day, weighed them, then re-warmed each of them for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Then it was glamour shot time, then taste testing time. We judged the cookies on several criteria, the first of which is the consistency. My preference is to have a cookie that is moist, but I don’t like it too gooey, either. I don’t want to have to eat my cookie with a fork. The outside should be nice and crisp, providing a nice contrast to the soft inside of the cookie. Chocolate is of course the next criteria. I can go either way with milk or semi-sweet, but using a high-quality chocolate can make a big difference.

So how did each one stack up? Let’s find out.

Crumbl

Price: $10 for four cookies. $3 individually at the store.

Weight: 5 1/4 ounces. The featherweight of the group.

Appearance-wise, the Crumble cookie didn’t quite hold up to the others. To me it seemed a little under-baked, with a very blonde appearance and not much browning on the cookie at all. My hunch that it was undercooked was confirmed upon tearing it in half for the photo: the thing virtually fell apart in my hands, and you can see in the photo that it just kind of went limp and played dead. It was extremely undercooked for my taste. If you like your cookies on borderline drinkable, this one might be the one for you. The milk chocolate chips weren’t distributed evenly throughout; you can see that reflected in the photo. I loved the outside edge of the cookie, where it was cooked through a bit more. If you love gooey cookies that would be perfect in an ice cream sundae, this is the one for you.

Chip

Price: $10 for four cookies. $3 individually at the store.

Weight: 5 3/4 ounces.

I’m just going to cut right to the chase: I’m a traditionalist, and the Chip cookie checked all of the right boxes for me. It had the perfect chew and consistency. It wasn’t too doughy and held together well. It maintained its structural integrity. From an appearance standpoint it was also the most attractive of the bunch. The semi-sweet chocolate chips were a nice counter to the sweet dough. I really enjoyed this one. It is extremely rich; I have never been able to finish one of these in a single setting. If you’re looking for the best version of what I consider a traditional chocolate chip cookie, this is the one for you.

Goodly

Price: $20 for six cookies. $3.50 individually. The priciest of the bunch, and not much of a price break for ordering more than one.

Weight: 5 7/8 ounces. This one was the heaviest of the bunch, just beating Chip out.

I don’t even know where to start on this one. This thing is taller than my uncle Leo, and has a shape that is somewhat reminiscent of a cookie, although you could be forgiven for mistaking it as a scone, or perhaps an igloo. The texture inside and out was perfect. Just the perfect amount of crunch on the outside and chewiness on the inside. Goodly’s chocolate that they use is by far the best of the three. It is a semi-sweet and has almost fruity notes that you’ll find in some high-end chocolate. I liked their chocolate the best. I couldn’t believe how much chocolate they crammed into one cookie; I’m pretty sure there’s more chocolate than cookie dough. There’s a reason this one costs $0.50 more than the others, and it’s the quality of the ingredients (and the sheer size). If you’re a chocolate lover, this cookie is the one for you.

Summary

So who makes the best cookie? I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re a traditionalist, I’d suggest Chip. If you love gooey cookies, go for Crumbl. And if your bloodstream typically consists of 50% chocolate, definitely go with Goodly. For me, my go-to will probably be Chip. My wife preferred Goodly due to the chocolate content. But let’s be honest: we’re talking about cookies that are weighing in around 1/3 of a pound, delivered fresh and hot to your door, and you don’t have to do any cleanup work in the kitchen. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. Take them for a test drive and let me know what you think!