Ever wondered how far you can push a chocolate chip cookie before it stops being a cookie altogether?
That’s exactly what I set out to discover in this rather chaotic (but oddly delicious) baking experiment. Inspired by the idea of pushing classic recipes to their absolute limit, I took the beloved chocolate chip cookie and created three progressively more criminal versions to see what still works… and what should probably never be made again.
You can watch the full video above, or click here to watch it on YouTube.
If you enjoy cookie experiments, you might also like when I tried baking cookies in my car using the sun!
What Is “Unnecessary Kitchen Crimes”?
This is a little experimental series idea I’m testing where I deliberately mess with a classic recipe to see how badly I can break it before it stops being edible. It’s part food science, part chaos, and a sprinkle of curiosity — and your feedback will help me decide whether to turn this into an ongoing thing.
For this first one, I chose the classic chocolate chip cookie and created:
- A control batch (the proper one, no crimes here)
- A minor crime version (just a couple cheeky tweaks)
- A major crime (things get weird)
- And a culinary catastrophe (the cookie that broke reality)
Let’s walk through each one…
The Four Cookie Experiments
1. The Control Cookie (No Crimes Committed)
This is your classic, chewy, buttery chocolate chip cookie. Soft centre, golden edges, proper comfort food. Nothing unusual here — this sets the benchmark.
Method:
- Cream together 100g softened butter with 100g light brown sugar until smooth.
- Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Stir in 125g self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, and a pinch of salt.
- Fold in 100g chocolate chips.
- Spoon onto baking tray and bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 10–12 minutes until golden.
2. The Minor Crime
Swaps: Butter replaced with olive oil, and the sugar split into 50g white + 50g light brown.
What happened:
- Still recognisably a cookie
- Slightly oilier texture, flatter shape
- Less depth of flavour, but still sweet and totally edible
What we learned: Olive oil works in a pinch, but it changes the richness. The sugar blend gave it a lighter taste — good, but lacking the deep chew of the original.
Method:
- Mix 100ml olive oil with 50g white sugar and 50g light brown sugar.
- Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Stir in 125g self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, and a pinch of salt.
- Fold in 100g chocolate chips.
- Spoon onto baking tray and bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 10–12 minutes.
3. The Major Crime
Tweaks: Egg yolk only (no white), 50g jam + 50g sugar, 40g grated extra mature cheddar, bicarbonate of soda stays in.
What happened:
- Surprisingly delicious — sweet and savoury played nicely
- Texture was denser but not dry
- The jam added chew and a slight fruity tang
What we learned: Jam adds moisture and chew thanks to pectin, while the cheddar brought in umami and a salty balance. Egg yolk gave richness, but no white = denser dough.
Method:
- Cream 100g butter with 50g sugar and 50g raspberry jam.
- Mix in 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Stir in 125g self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
- Fold in 100g chocolate chips and 40g grated extra mature cheddar.
- Spoon onto baking tray and bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 10–12 minutes.
4. The Culinary Catastrophe
This one had it all: 1 small ripe banana, 1 tbsp mayo, 40g ketchup, 2.5 crushed Weetabix biscuits, 40g grated cheddar, and still some chocolate chips. No salt, but bicarbonate of soda was included.
What happened:
- Somehow held together
- Wild mix of flavours — tangy, sweet, bready, and oddly cheesy
- Texture was soft but dense, like a confused breakfast bar
What we learned: Even chaos has structure when bicarb is involved. The banana, mayo, and Weetabix created a cakier consistency, but it was edible. Just.
Method:
- Mash 1 small ripe banana, mix with 100g softened butter, 1 tbsp mayo, and 40g ketchup.
- Stir in 125g self-raising flour, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, and 2.5 crushed Weetabix biscuits.
- Add 40g grated cheddar and 100g chocolate chips.
- Mix well and spoon onto baking tray.
- Bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 12–14 minutes.
Final Thoughts
So… can you ruin a chocolate chip cookie?
Kind of. But even the worst one still resembled a cookie in some way — the key is balance. Butter, sugar type, egg structure, and leavening (bicarb) are all critical. But surprisingly, chocolate chips can survive just about anything. The jam ones blew my mind, but Mrs B didn’t agree with me on that one!
Let me know in the comments what recipe I should commit crimes against next — and if you’d actually try any of these.
And if you want to bake them yourself (for some reason), the full ingredient lists are just below.
Thanks for reading — and watching!
Barry 🙂