The Brand Behind The Best Store-Bought Chocolate Chip Cookies We Tried Is No Surprise

There's a common (debunked) myth that baking a tray of chocolate chip cookies before a realtor shows your house may help it sell faster. They are, after all, one of the most prevalent and beloved cookie varieties (at least in the United States), and the idea is that the comforting scent of a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie will help potential buyers feel at home. Now, store-bought chocolate chip cookies won't permeate your home with that delicious aroma, but they're still a top seller when it comes to baked goods (after Oreos), perfect for both personal indulgence and pleasing a crowd at a potluck. Now, if you go by the numbers, Chips Ahoy! is at the top of this delicious sub-group. The brand outsells major competitors like Toll House, Famous Amos ... and any other offering you can think of. So, it's no huge surprise that Chips Ahoy! also came in first when Chowhound ranked 16 store-bought chocolate chip cookies.

Honestly, the competition didn't seem too stiff. 16 types of cookies is a lot, but the number-six spot, Annie's Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites, was described as being "weirdly dry and powdery" with a disappointing ratio of chips-to-cookie. So it is really just four other brands that gave Chips Ahoy! a run for its money. However, Chips Ahoy! was the worthy victor, as the cookie met or exceeded expectations in every category: a pleasant, complex flavor, a healthy dose of chocolate, and a satisfying crunch. (Although, Chowhound noted, the brand still can't compete with homemade.)

Chips Ahoy! has been satisfying sweet tooths since its founding by Nabisco in 1963. For much of that time, a key message in Chips Ahoy! marketing campaigns has centered around how many chips are in each cookie — whether that be 16 chips per cookie (circa 1960s), a whopping 32 (in the 1980s), or its famous promise of "1,000 chips per bag" (1990s). So it's good to know that, based on Chowhound's ranking, the brand genuinely does put a good number of chocolate chips in each cookie. In fact, when Chips Ahoy! announced a recipe change in March 2024, it promised even more chocolate than before, and of a higher quality, at that.

In addition to its original chocolate chip cookies, Chips Ahoy! makes a thin version of this cookie, in addition to chewy, chunky, and mini. So if you've got a crispy cookie lover in your household, while you prefer chewy, Chips Ahoy! has you covered. Beyond classic chocolate chips, the brand has also introduced some more creative flavors, such as a red velvet cookie, fudge-filled cookies, confetti cake cookies, and even a limited-time, ice cream sandwich-inspired cookie. As of 2023, there were 15 Chips Ahoy! flavors — so while the brand is still far behind Oreo by that statistic (which has released more than 85 flavors!), the company is still giving consumers plenty of opportunities to try something new while reaching for its reliable standby.