7 Whole Foods Bakery Cookies, Ranked Worst To Best

Whole Foods is known for its robust assortment of organic, better-for-you products as well as its prepared foods and famed salad bar. A section of the chain that perhaps doesn't get as much love is its bakery, specifically the cookies Whole Foods has to offer. To that end, I took it upon myself to sample seven cookies found within Whole Foods' bakery department and rank them accordingly.

To narrow this down, I opted for cookies that were baked in-store and were available in the bakery section. This means anything sold under other brands, including the in-house 365 brand, was off-limits. Some cookies were available in the bakery case in individual portions, while a couple had to be purchased in multi-packs. Some flavors were also offered in mini sizes, but I opted to go the full-size route for the best experience.

Before reading on, it's important to note that none of the cookies offered by Whole Foods were bad. Some were simply better executed than others and are worth their premium price tag. With everyone tightening their belts when it comes to the grocery budget, it's better to know which cookies are worth the splurge and which you can probably skip or save for another time.

When I previously ranked 12 cookies from Insomnia Cookies, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed their iteration of a peanut butter cookie. Alas, Whole Foods' peanut butter cookie was less successful. Though not bad by any means –– and likely to still be enjoyed by peanut butter cookie fans –– it ended up in last place for me.

Unlike the aforementioned Insomnia Cookies' peanut butter cookie, this one used chopped roasted peanuts for a bit of crunch and texture. The roasting of the peanuts was nice, offering a greater nutty flavor that gave this cookie a bit of depth. However, the cookie itself was crunchier than I expected, with firm edges and only a slight chewiness closer to the center. It also felt a bit greasy to the touch (which is probably to be expected, given the presence of peanut butter). There was a natural peanut flavor to this that made me think of those jars of better-for-you peanut butter that are made with nuts, salt, and nothing else. It was pleasant, but, as an avowed non-fan of peanut butter cookies, I simply couldn't rank this one higher than last place.

The second-to-last cookie is also a polarizing flavor, and again, I couldn't help but compare this oatmeal raisin cookie to one I'd previously tested from Insomnia Cookies. Like the peanut butter cookie, this flavor was also found wanting. Also, like the peanut butter cookie, the oatmeal raisin one had firmer edges but a nicely chewy interior (the way an oatmeal raisin cookie should be, in my humble opinion).

For fans of raisins, there were plenty to be found in this cookie. Fortunately, for those who are perhaps less enthusiastic about the tiny, dried fruits, I didn't find them to be overpowering. Instead, they contributed to the chewiness and added a touch of moisture to a cookie that was a bit crumbly in some spots. Another minor issue I noticed with this flavor was that, while it smelled a bit like cinnamon and nutmeg, I couldn't taste either spice in the cookie itself. When I get an oatmeal cookie, I want one that has those homey, warming spices that really hammer home the rustic feel of the cookie. This oatmeal raisin cookie was minimally spiced, with a flavor that almost evaporated after swallowing. This wasn't a bad cookie (none of the ones I tested were), but it did leave me feeling a bit bereft.

Some people think there's such a thing as too much chocolate. I am not one of those people. So long as the chocolate elements are balanced, there's simply no world in which the phrase "too much chocolate" is accurate. Fortunately for my taste buds, this happened to be the case in Whole Foods' double chocolate cookie.

When I plucked this cookie from its paper sleeve, I noticed immediately that it smelled sweet and richly cocoa-y. I could also tell that it had been baked from pre-portioned dough, as evidenced by the symmetrical ridges on top of the cookie. When it came to taste, this double chocolate cookie had a lovely bittersweet flavor. It was extremely chocolatey, the type of treat where you definitely need a glass of milk on hand, but it wasn't at all artificial. The darker chocolate base was wonderfully balanced with the chocolate chunks scattered throughout. As for texture, like many of the Whole Foods cookies, it had firmer-set edges and a softer, slightly chewy inside. The only reason this cookie didn't make it closer to the top is that other flavors impressed me more –– although I was torn between swapping this cookie for the one just above it.

Not available for individual sale at my Whole Foods, I had to shell out the dough to pick up a 12-pack of these thin, crispy almond cookies. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Luckily for me, these cookies surprised me with how much I liked them, so it wasn't a bad thing at all to have leftovers from this taste test.

When I cracked open the plastic clamshell, I was awash with the strong scent of almonds. It reminded me of marzipan, which is sweeter than almond paste, and felt like an inspiration point for these cookies. True to their name, these cookies were indeed crispy but were not hard or stale. Instead, they had a lovely snap and crunch to them with tangible chunks of almonds throughout. These added a bit of visual interest to such a thin cookie, as well as noticeable flavor and texture. The crispiness of the cookie had the added benefit of caramelizing the sugar, giving a deeper, more luscious almond flavor. It wasn't too sweet and, compared to so many other cookies on this list with their chocolate chunks, appeared unassuming. However, its nuanced flavors, notes of salt, and overall texture bumped this cookie up a notch. The reason it moved ahead of the double chocolate was because I was surprised at how much I truly enjoyed it.

When I first looked at this chocolate chip cookie, I didn't have high hopes. To me, it looked a bit burnt and a bit too crunchy. It even had a bit of a hard sound when I set it on my plate. There are plenty of recipes to make irresistible chocolate chip cookies, but this offering from Whole Foods looked like I was in for a disappointment. As you can see by its number three spot, though, I was dead wrong.

To begin, yes, it was crunchy, at least at the edges, which moved just past firm. However, that spoke to the caramelization of the sugar more than any burning of the cookie itself, because there was no burnt taste at all. This cookie was loaded with chocolate chips, which gave it some softness, especially as I ate more of it and got closer to the middle. A chocolate chip cookie that doesn't skimp on chocolate is always a welcome relief. What really bumped this cookie up to third place was the salt level. Far too often in my experience with grocery store cookies, you get a lot of one-note sweetness and nothing else. There's nothing to contrast the sugar in the dough and the sugar in the chocolate chips, so it all lands flat on your palate. A necessary lift in the form of an adequate amount of salt is needed, and that's what moved this cookie into the top three.

When I first got a whiff of this cookie, I was excited. To be fair, all the cookies from Whole Foods that I tried smelled delicious, but this snickerdoodle smelled identical to apple crisp. I know that cinnamon is a main ingredient in apple crisp and snickerdoodles, but that's really what my nose told me.

Like the previous cookies, this snickerdoodle had firmer edges and a wonderfully soft interior. As you can see from the photo, it was liberally dusted in cinnamon sugar, and that cinnamon carried throughout the cookie itself. This wasn't just a sugar cookie masquerading as a snickerdoodle; this was the real deal. While I'm unsure of the ingredients used, as this is one I picked up in an individual capacity from the Whole Foods bakery (although it's also available in multi-packs and mini sizes), I definitely noticed a tang. Was that from the all-important cream of tartar? Or had my taste buds simply imagined it? Either way, the result was a seriously delicious snickerdoodle. This flavor felt homey in the way the oatmeal raisin tried to be, but I was happy to learn that this cookie succeeded.

Finally, we have come to the best of the best, the cookie that you need to add to your basket on your next trip to Whole Foods: brown butter chocolate chip. Brown butter is the secret ingredient to leveling up your baked desserts. It offers a more complex, richer, nuttier note that just makes the end result that much more decadent. That was evident in this winning cookie, too.

The thickest of all the cookies I sampled, this flavor had no crispy edges and was instead soft, pliable, and slightly cakier all the way through. Like the crispy almond cookie, I was unable to find this flavor individually, and the smallest unit I could find was a four-pack. Unlike the double chocolate and chocolate chip flavors, this cookie looked like it was made with chopped up chocolate; it left ripples of chocolate throughout, which gave every mouthful a bite of the good stuff. It was homey, sweet, and so rich. I suspect you could catapult this cookie not just to the top of a list of Whole Foods cookies but a list of cookies, period, with a quick warm-up and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top. In fact, I think I just might have to do that right now.

For this ranking, I determined each cookie's spot on the basis of taste and texture. I liked a chewier texture as a general rule, and a flavor that's balanced and not too sweet or one-note. To reiterate, none of these cookies were bad, but some I would be more likely to purchase again than others. Five of the seven cookies I sampled were available for individual sale at my Whole Foods, while two were only sold in multi-packs. This didn't impact my ranking, but it is noted for those who might want to consider it for budgetary reasons. Finally, I determined the spots for the top three based on how often I returned for more bites –– a clear indicator of a successful cookie.