10 Cookies From Hershey's Chocolate World, Ranked

If you've ever taken a tour around the state of Pennsylvania, Hershey will have undoubtedly been one of your stops. The cocoa-centric town offers too many attractions to count for the chocolate lover. Some of the most popular are, obviously, Hershey Park, and the close-by Hershey's Chocolate World gets some well-deserved attention to.

Hershey's Chocolate World offers a free tour of the chocolate-making process, several paid attractions (like a make-your-own chocolate bar experience), an expansive, mouthwatering gift shop, and a food court. Tucked in the back corner is a small counter you won't want to miss: The Chocolate World Bakery.

The bakery offers plenty of options to satisfy your sweet tooth — including cheesecakes, mini cakes, and cupcakes — but some of the most eye-catching are its cookies. Even the ones that aren't labeled "big" are pretty large, and the big cookies are behemoths. So, on a recent visit to Hershey's Chocolate World, I tried and ranked each of the options on offer to make your next trip a little easier. I ranked them based on how well the purported flavors of each cookie came through, as well as the texture and overall flavor complexity of each cookie.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Hopefully, this cookie will join the lineup of Hershey's discontinued products that are unlikely to ever see the light of day again. It was only around to celebrate America's 250th, so I think that's a reasonable desire. Is that too harsh? I hope not — this Red, White & Blue Iced Sugar Cookie just left much to be desired.

First of all, the cookie was incredibly dry, and it had a light texture almost akin to cake rather than a chewy cookie. Second, there was hardly any flavor to speak of — the cookie itself was very nondescript, and the only flavor in the icing was sugar. It was very reminiscent of the soft iced cookies you can buy at the grocery store, except it was drier. Needless to say, I wasn't a fan, and if you happen to head in while these are still on the menu, I'd pass them by.

Up next is Reese's Oreo Big Cookie. In case you missed it, Reese's is owned by Hershey, and this collaboration with the Oreo team should have been a hole-in-one. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed. Perhaps that's because I'm an Oreo super-fan, and this cookie just didn't live up to the hype.

I didn't get much Oreo flavor to speak of on the outside of the cookie, which was the first thing working against this selection. Rather, the crumbly bits on top of the cookie weren't very identifiable. They tasted bitter and slightly over-baked. The drizzle, which I assume was supposed to mimic Oreo cream, was so nondescript that I couldn't taste it — it seemed it was just there for the aesthetic benefits. I wouldn't call this cookie bad, and it was a definite step up from the previous, but I wasn't at all impressed by it.

Reese's Peanut Butter Blossom Big Cookie is my eighth-place contender, and while I didn't find any of the bitterness here that I found with the last cookie, I still couldn't rank it higher than the following for a few reasons. The peanut butter cup in the center definitely worked in its favor, though — who doesn't love a peanut butter cup?

This cookie was better than the previous, but it still failed to shine. I thought it was a little dry, especially compared to some of the following cookies, and I didn't get as much peanut butter flavor as I had expected. Overall, I don't think it entirely did justice to the classic candy. I'm sure the undiscerning child wouldn't have much to complain about here — however, if you're expecting an explosion of peanut butter flavor, you'll likely be underwhelmed by this selection.

I have to preface this by saying that I'm a dark chocolate girl. When I want to indulge in the delicacy, I go big or go home — the darker, the better, and anything that goes only halfway won't fly with me. That's the biggest reason I only gave Hershey's Double Chocolate Classic Cookie the seventh-place spot on this list; chocolate fans with varying palate preferences may beg to disagree.

In addition to not being as chocolatey as I was expecting, the cookie was too sweet for me to be super endeared to it. Again, this is coming form a dark, near-bitter chocolate loving gal, so take that opinion as you will. I just thought there could have been a better chocolate-sugar ratio here. Texturally, the cookie was also a little dry, and not as soft and chewy as some of the following. It wasn't bad, but it didn't impress.

Sitting squarely in the middle of this list are two classic cookies that, while standard representations of their namesakes, weren't the best versions of themselves that I've ever had. If you're a fan of classic chocolate chip cookies, this (and the next selection) may be the right choice for you. On the other hand, if you want something more novel and Hershey-centric, I'd go with one of my top four picks.

Hershey's Chocolate Chip Classic Cookie had enough going for it that any chocolate chip cookie fan will probably enjoy it. It was plenty soft (though I wouldn't necessarily call it chewy), the chocolate pieces were abundant, and the cookie itself even tasted a little malty. It was a perfectly fine chocolate chip cookie, though not anything exceptional in its category. If you want something a little extra on your chocolate chip cookie, go with the following.

The Kisses Chocolate Chunk Big Cookie is for the chocolate chip cookie fan who wants to go gourmet. It boasts all the positive assets of the previous cookie, but it also includes a chocolate drizzle and three large Hershey's Kisses on top. It's certainly a winner as far as aesthetics go, and it'll be tasty to anyone who can't get enough Kisses in their life.

Again, the cookie was fairly malty, and this one boasted even more chocolate than the previous — still, it didn't feel out of balance in the slightest. It was soft enough to please, but not quite as chewy as some of the following. I only ranked this in fifth place because all of the following are more unique offerings that boast some flavor diversity, but if you don't feel like being adventurous, you wouldn't do wrong by going with this one.

Now, I'm a pretty big fan of Reese's Pieces (they're my personal favorite Reese's snack), and these cookies absolutely did the candy justice. That said, I did wish there were more Reese's Pieces in each cookie, but even though they were pretty unevenly scattered throughout, I didn't think that detracted too much from the cookie.

This cookie wasn't doing too much, and though I appreciated it, that was a reason it didn't rank higher. If the cookie itself had boasted a stronger peanut butter flavor (or included more Pieces), I may have ranked this a spot of two higher. However, I really liked everything that was going on here — the cookie was super chewy and flavorful enough not to be boring, and it was as soft as can be. Though that made holding it a bit difficult, I hardly minded. =

Are you a savory sweets lover who wants the best of both worlds from their Hershey's Chocolate World cookie? Then look no further than Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Classic Cookie, which is pretty explosive in flavor and will be hard not to like, unless you're easily overwhelmed.

I really enjoyed this cookie. Texturally, it was one of the best of the bunch — incredibly thick and irresistibly chewy, it definitely felt like the treat it was designed to be. I also thought this was more chocolatey than the double chocolate cookie I put in seventh place, but that could just be the peanut butter playing tricks on me. As for the peanut butter pieces, they did everything they were supposed to. They added a soft, savory, salty element to the cookie that made it simply scrumptious. Still, anyone can recreate a chocolate peanut butter cookie — not everyone will be able to replicate the following delicacies.

Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme Big Cookie didn't even need the candy pieces on top, in my opinion. Not that they detracted from the cookie any — they certainly added to the visual appeal, and I'm sure any consumer with a relentless sweet tooth would appreciate the bite they offer. The real star of the show, however, was the cookie itself.

Fortunately, that's exactly how it should be. This cookie missed out on getting the number one spot by a very slim margin, but the following was simply stunning. The body of this cookie was somewhat more substantial than the others, which is to say, it didn't break apart as easily just from picking it up. I appreciated the structure, but its flavor was even better. The chewy cookie boasted abundant cookies 'n' creme flavor that the aforementioned Oreo cookie didn't even come close to capturing.

By far the best cookie at Hershey's Chocolate World is its Heath Caramel Cookie. I have no end of praise to give this giant masterpiece — everything was pretty perfect textually and in terms of its flavor. And this is coming from a girl who's never favored Heath bars very much.

The cookie was incredibly balanced, and even though it was topped with candy pieces and caramel drizzle, I didn't find it too saccharine in the slightest. It had a fantastic, sticky chew to it that really let the candy shine without overshadowing the cookie itself. Of course, its visual appeal was compelling, and I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up choosing this one just based off of its looks — you wouldn't be wrong to, either. Headed to Hershey's Chocolate World? There's really no other choice of sweet treat than the Heath Caramel Cookie.

Ranking all of the cookies available at Hershey's Chocolate World started by trying each of them on a recent trip to the attraction. I ordered one of each and took them over to a table so I could enjoy them immediately.

When ranking the cookies, I focused on how balanced their components were and how well the featured candy of each shone through (where applicable). I found the best balance of elements with the Heath Caramel Cookie. Its textures were impeccable and kept it feeling distinctly like a cookie, and it was the perfect canvas on which to showcase the chosen candy.