Old Fashion Chocolate Chip vs King Arthur Recipe Of The Year

So the recipe of the year for 2024 from King Arthur Baking is the Supersized, Super-Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie. I wondered how this compares to my old-fashioned chocolate chip recipe. I decided to ask my cookie expert, my sister, to join me for a day of baking lots and lots of chocolate chip cookies. The battle was on, Old Fashion Chocolate Chip vs King Arthur Recipe Of The Year. Was the newly crowned recipe the best-ever chocolate chip cookie? Read on to find out what we thought!

​What is the King Arthur Recipe of the Year?

Every year, King Arthur Flour creates a recipe that they call the Recipe of The Year. This is the 11th year they have crowned a recipe. In previous years, winners have included the classic coffee cake, sandwich bagels, and even cheesy pan pizza. So it was a surprise that the 2024 winner was the all too common chocolate chip cookie.

Well, this year’s winner isn’t that old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie we all love. It was an “elevated” version of the cookie. Using techniques such as brown butter, all brown sugar, tangzhong (more on that later), an overnight chill, and making them super-sized. As you can see, it required a lot of technique and time to make these cookies.

What Makes A Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?

Defining the perfect chocolate chip cookie is a very personal thing. Everyone has different things they require in a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. I prefer mine with just a bit less chocolate and more cookie, but some people want them loaded with chips. Some people prefer a margarine or shortening cookie and not butter. And others would rather just eat the cookie dough raw. Heck, we even baked a healthy, butter-free version the other day, just to see what that would be like, get that recipe here.

So here is what we decided we like best in a chocolate chip cookie: 

• golden brown color, 
• lots of butter, 
• a good balance in texture (not too hard, not too soft, a bit crunchy, and still chewy and gooey). 
• Not much to ask for, right?

Comparing The Two Recipes

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cookie Recipe

When you are looking for a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, you will find they all are generally the same. Check out my tried and true recipe below. But most will use softened unsalted butter (room temperature); all of the best chocolate chip cookies are made with butter. Equal parts brown sugar and white sugar, salt and baking soda. Wet ingredients include 2 whole eggs and vanilla. And usually around 2-1/4 cups of all-purpose flour and, of course, chocolate chips (either semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips).  In fact, when you compare the Ghirardelli, Nestle, and good old Betty Crocker Cookbook recipes, you will find they are all nearly identical. Read more about my traditional cookie recipe at The Best Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

King Arthur Recipe

When you start making the King Arthur Baking recipe, you will immediately notice there are a number of differences. The first big difference is the use of only light brown sugar and no white granulated sugar. Next, instead of creaming sugar and softened butter in the first step, you are combining the sugar with brown butter. To brown the butter, heat the butter until the milk solids caramelize, which imparts a golden color and a toasted nutty flavor. 

The most bizarre technique used was making a tangzhong. Simply put, it is a combination of milk and some flour heated until a thick paste is formed. Tangzhong is a centuries-old Chinese technique that is primarily used in making bread. The theory is by making this mixture you can add more moisture to the dough without it becoming too thin. It does produce a very soft texture that is more chewy. 

In addition to those changes, the King Arthur recipe used bread flour and not all-purpose flour. The difference between the two flours is the protein content; bread flour has more protein and thus impacts the structure of the baked goods. Here it is adding to the chewiness, when you use all-purpose flour it will be more tender and lighter. 

The other big difference is the use of both baking soda and baking powder; most chocolate chip cookies only use baking soda. By adding the baking powder and baking soda, you end up with a different texture. The powder tends to make the cookie lighter and more airy. 

The final difference is the use of chopped semisweet chocolate bars and not traditional chocolate chips. This makes for a more chocolate-packed cookie. Before scooping onto prepared baking sheets, it is suggested to chill this dough for at least 24 hours. We did cook these on parchment paper, but we did not make them as large as suggested. 

Who Won Old Fashion Chocolate Chip vs King Arthur Recipe Of The Year?

Who won the battle between the Old Fashion Chocolate Chip vs King Arthur Recipe Of The Year? While both the old-fashioned and the King Arthur Flour recipes were great cookies, we like the old-fashioned cookie the best. Not only did my sister and I both select that, we gave cookies to 4 other people, and they all ranked them the same way. I think what it came down to was the texture, the old fashioned is more crisp around the edges, with a chewy interior. The King Arthur recipe was softer and thicker. We did not find the cookies to spread nearly as much as we had thought they would, they seemed to rise more then spread. And honestly, we didn’t get any of the expected brown butter flavor, which would have been a big plus.

Both recipes are good, but the time involved in the recipe of the year didn’t pay off in the end. But give it a try; I would love to hear your opinion. No matter how you look at it, making a chocolate chip cookie is never a bad idea or a waste of time!

We also made a healthy, butter-free chocolate chip cookie just for a 3 way comparison, check out that video here! And get the NO butter healthy cookie at A Healthy, NO Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.