The One Chips Ahoy! Flavor That Shouldn't Touch Your Shopping Cart

The joy of dipping a homemade cookie into a tall glass of milk is like no other. Evoking childhood memories of playing out in the yard and running into the kitchen for a quick re-fuel, there's something wonderfully nostalgic about this comforting combination. Store-bought cookies are equally as good if you choose the right brand, such as Chips Ahoy! However, the one Chips Ahoy! flavor that shouldn't touch your shopping cart? Crunchy Chocolate Caramel. The loser in our list of Chips Ahoy! Cookies ranked worst to best was a disappointment due to the hard texture of the caramel chips baked into the batter.

While these cookies are billed as "crunchy" we thought the caramel itself would have a gooey, silky texture to counterbalance their crispness. However, the caramel chips were dry and definitely didn't resemble homemade cookies that tend to have a softer interior. They also had an artificial taste that was nothing like the nutty, buttery flavor of real caramel, and a very crumbly character. We wouldn't describe these cookies as bad per se, but there was plenty of room for improvement. The combination of semi-sweet chocolate chunks and chocolate chips, mentioned in the ingredients on the label, unfortunately didn't make up for the shortcomings of the caramel-flavored chips.

A better way to quell your craving for caramel would be to supercharge homemade cookies with a simple caramel stuffing. All you need to do is place a caramel in the center of a ball of cookie dough and fully encase it before baking. This move produces a cookie with a gooey center rather than one interspersed with hard, snap-able nuggets of caramel.

The best Chips Ahoy! flavor we tried were the chewy cookies. Essentially basic chocolate chip cookies at heart, it was their texture that we loved. They were soft and easy to bite into, unlike the crunchy chocolate caramel, which gave them a fresh-baked vibe and mouthwatering quality that was reminiscent of a home-made batch. As they had such a chewy and soft texture, they were yummy on their own and didn't require a glass of milk to make them more palatable. However, a quick dunk made them taste even better. While you could buy fresher cookies from the bakery section, these packaged cookies are an awesome alternative. Moreover, they have a longer shelf-life, which means you can keep a pack in your pantry for cookie emergencies. An open packet of store-bought cookies will stay fresh on your counter for a couple of days; the family sized packets of Chips Ahoy! cookies have a resealable lift tab, which makes them easier to open and close. However, they'll last longer if you place them in an airtight container.