A Highly Opinionated List of London’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

From a man who knows a thing or two about cookies

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I am a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur and obviously that means I have a little black book of bakeries that make exceptional version of this treat. If you would have asked me 5 years ago where in London make an excellent chocolate chip cookie, I would have struggled to name more than a small handful of places but the city seems to experiencing some what of a cookie renaissance and we are extremely lucky to be inundated with excellent cookies, both classic and inventive. These are just some of what the city has to offer; its a far from complete list and I may add to it over time but know that all of these places, and all of these cookies, are excellent, for different reasons, and all worthy of a try.

Paulies Bagels -  The Surprising Cookie

This East London bagel shop (formerly known as The Bagel Guys) turns out some of my favourite bagels in the city and to my surprise their version of the chocolate chip cookie is a retro classic. Nothing fancy, nothing different, just a solid nostalgia-filled classic chocolate chip cookie. The only thing I would change is more salt. Paulie’s also makes an excellent Black and White cookie if you’re a fan (I am!)

Esters -  The Trend Setter

For a handful of years this East London coffee shop was my local, I lived around the corner and I would be there multiple times a week. Their coffee is excellent, their food is better than many London restaurants I’ve visited and their baking, brilliant. They have made a miso white chocolate cookie for many years and it has achieved something close to legendary status, it has inspired many copy cats (including multiple recipes I have written personally) and it is close to my perfect cookie. The miso adds a depth to the dough, a saltiness that perfectly balances out the sweet white chocolate. If I’m there for a coffee and the cookie is available I will, without doubt, always buy one.

Le Choux - The Fancy One

For a bakery that specialises in choux pastry this spot in West London turns out surprisingly excellent cookies. I say surprisingly but, actually, everything this bakery makes is truly excellent. The cookies are perfection, made with the best ingredients these are some fancy ass cookies! They sell a really special hazelnut and gianduja cookie that is incredibly good and their version of the classic chocolate chip cookie is stellar, both milk and dark chocolate versions, which reminds me of my own. All of their cookies use Valrhona chocolate so your getting excellent flavour all around.

Miel - The Thin One

This French bakery, in central London, is small in size but strong in stature, selling a whole host of wonderful treats (gianduja pain au chocolat anyone?). Their version of the chocolate chip cookie is thin and crisp and is made with the addition of toasted pecans. Somehow this cookie gives an air of sophistication and I just want to eat it whilst enjoying a coffee, sat on their terrace before inevitably going back inside to order a second.

Layla - The Perfect Puck

I adore this West London bakery, everything they make seems like a stand out. They specialise in laminated pastry but the cookies, to me, are a signature. There seems to be a small, but growing, trend to make cookies using pastry rings, to create a puck-like finish. This is not necessarily a new idea,

Dorie Greenspan

’s sadly long-closed cookie shop, Buerre & Sel, in NYC used to make cookies using this idea but I am now seeing more and more places make their chocolate chip cookie in this style. The great thing with this method is you get an excellent texture on the edges, if you like the contrast between crisp and gooey this a cookie you’ll love. Not to sound arrogant but, I genuinely adore my own cookie recipe and this really reminds me of that recipe so yes I truly loved this cookie. The cookie is made with Pump St Chocolate, a favourite of mine and the balance between the dough and the chocoalte is perfect, complimented by just the right amount of salt.

Toad Bakery - The Double Chocolate One

I am, admittedly, really bad when it comes to visiting South London bakeries, I am always busy and getting south of the river sometimes feels like a mission, especially considering I live at the very end of a north London tube line. This bakery, in Peckham, is one of Londons best and is more than worth a visit (be better than me). They currently have a thin double chocolate cookie on the menu which also happens to be vegan. The edges of this cookie are crisp and a little crumbly and the centre is dense and fudgy, studded with melted chunks of chocolate and finished with a generous sprinkling of flaked sea salt.

Crumbs and Doilies - The Chunky American One

This soho bakery is rightly famous for their cakes and cupcakes, they’re the only bakery that I trust with a cupcake, and now they also sell an amazing selection of thick and chunky cookies. Inspired by Levain bakery in NYC they are incredibly chunky and a little underbaked in the middle to create the ultimate in gooey cookies. The classic chocolate chip is an all rounder, nostalgic and retro, but they also make a real Willy Wonka style variety of flavours.

Small Batch Cookies

Talking of cookies, my brand new book Small Batch Cookies is available to pre-order now! The book is the last in my series of, what I like to call, my functional baking series. The series started with One Tin Bakes and was followed by its sibling One Tin Bakes Easy, Small Batch Bakes came next and I am now closing this chapter with Cookies. I call them functional baking books because they were all written to eliminate a barrier to entry. Baking is so often thought of as an expensive hobby which requires lot of equipment; One Tin Bakes was written to prove you can make anything just using one tin, for all 75 of the recipes. Small Batch had a similar point of view but the barrier to entry was recipe size. So much of baking is about big celebrations, with recipes that serve 12 and above. With Small Batch Cookies, it was about taking recipes that often serve over 20 people and slimming that down so the recipes were appropriate for all households no matter the size or occasion, cookies arent just for parties. Some recipes make just one cookie and none make more than six. There is a huge variety of recipe style from classic american chocolate chip cookies, to british and european butter cookies, aka biscuits. Not matter what style of cookie you are in the mood for, Small Batch Cookies has the recipe you need.

Competition

If you pre-order the book before its official release date you are going to be eligible for a massive giveaway. I don’t want to say too much before I announce it officially next week but lets just say its the biggest give-away I have ever done and includes a stand mixer. Keep an eye on my instagram account for details.