If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you might have seen that last week we held a major cookie taste-off. Our goal was simple: find the best chocolate chip cookies in Los Angeles. We sampled 16 highly recommended cookies from across the city, evaluating flavor, texture, and chip-to-dough balance. After blind tastings and lively debate, we compiled our favorites so you can plan your own cookie tour.
To download your Los Angeles Cookie Map, CLICK HERE!
We visited a variety of bakeries around the city. Several have multiple locations; those are noted below. Use this list to explore different neighborhoods and discover the cookie styles that appeal to you most.
Cookie Good (Santa Monica) | Diddy Riese (Westwood) | Sprinkles (Beverly Hills*)
Joan’s On Third (Beverly Grove) | Short Cake (The Grove) | Milk Jar Cookies (Mid-Wilshire)
Milk (Beverly Grove*) | Sycamore Kitchen (La Brea) | Stella Barra (Hollywood)
Lemonade (Larchmont Village*) | LAMILL (Silver Lake) | Valerie Confections (Echo Park*) | Proof Bakery (Atwater Village)
Big Sugar (Downtown location recommended) | Commissary (Burbank*) | Snookies Cookies (Glendale)
So what did we decide? The team ranked our top five favorites and had lively disagreements, but if I had to recommend one place to start, it would be Milk Jar Cookies for an outstanding balance of flavor, texture, and chocolate-to-dough ratio.
Photos by Jeff Mindell / Concept and Styling by Beautilitarian / Map Illustration by Striped Cat Studio / Creative Direction and cookie tasting by Studio DIY
Now we want to hear from you, SoCal readers: what is your personal favorite cookie? Try a few of these spots and tell us which one wins your vote. Remember one simple rule of life: never turn down a chocolate chip cookie.
Psst… if you enjoyed this tasting experiment, let us know — we might research other treats next.