Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies are a classic, decades-old recipe for bakery-style cookies that are soft, gooey, and loaded with chocolate chips!
This is the 1990s version, originally found in the Mrs. Fields cookie book. If you are looking for the urban legend Mrs. Fields cookies with ground oats and a grated Hershey bar, I've got you covered. You can find that recipe HERE. You might also like to check out my giant collection of famous chocolate chip cookie recipes from Jacques Torres to Subway and Chick-fil-A to Snoop Dogg!
Watch out step by step video!
Debbi Fields, the founder of Mrs. Fields, opened her first mall pop-up bakery shops in the 1980s. Unlike other popular cookies of the time (Chips Ahoy, Famous Amos), the cookies sold at Mrs. Fields' shops were soft, thick, and tasted homemade. Many recipes claim to be the original Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie, but the most famous versions are nothing more than the urban legend Neiman Marcus cookie recipe. Side-by-side comparisons show that the story and the recipe are the same, and both are a hoax.
Mrs. Fields shared a chocolate chip cookie recipe in her 1992 cookie book called "Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies". She also shared the recipe on her blog, citing, "I'll admit I'm embarrassed. I've been blogging my way along here without ever sharing my chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I didn't realize it until a reader emailed asking for it yesterday. (Thanks, Chet!) So, today, I'm sharing it with you. This is my Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, and it's perfect in every way--soft, luscious, chewy, and packed with flavor. It's everything you love about chocolate chip cookies. And if you want to really enhance the cookies, make the dough and let it age for a day or two in your fridge--whoa!"
Is it the same one used in her mall shops? I doubt it. The business has changed hands over the years, and the recipe has changed along with it. The current cookies sold in Mrs. Fields' shops have almost an artificial taste, are slightly crumbly, and are not what you'd expect from such a nostalgic brand.
The Blue Ribbon cookie recipe, however, IS from Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields).
I've made this recipe multiple times, following the directions to the letter. I've made them with chilled cookie dough and unchilled cookie dough. I also experimented with baking temperature and cookie size. Here are my findings:
Original
Her recipe calls for rounded tablespoon-sized cookies, unchilled (says you can bake them chilled or unchilled), and baked at 300 degrees for 18-22 minutes. The result was soft and chewy cookies that were a little on the thinner side and small. They were delicious, but more on the cakey side vs thick or gooey. I did not see the benefit of baking them at 300 degrees for 20+ minutes, as they appeared to be done around the 15-16 minute mark. Had the dough been chilled, they would have been thicker. All in all, a delicious cookie.
Brandy's
I made them two more times with the following adaptations. I made them larger (3 tablespoon-sized), chilled for an hour, then baked at 350 degrees for 13-14 minutes. The result was ABSOLUTE perfection. Soft, thick, and taste homemade just like the ones sold in her original bake shops. These are the ones shown in the photos here.
The choice is yours! Make her original recipe or try my adaptation. Both are delicious, both made with the same exact ingredients and measurements, the only changes are the 1-hour chill, the baking time, and temperature. Both versions are shared below. Scroll to the end of the post for an easy-to-follow printable version!
Here are the Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose is the gold standard for cookies. I always baked with all-purpose flour unless the recipe notes otherwise.
- Baking soda and salt: for leavening and flavor.
- Sugar: This recipe uses a combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. A higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar yields cookies with a softer texture.
- Butter: This recipe uses salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Eggs: You'll need two large eggs, room temperature, for richness and flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: A heavy two teaspoons, but as always, measure vanilla with your heart.
- Chocolate chips: A 12-ounce bag or two cups of your favorite brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Directions---Brandy's Adaptation (shown in photos)
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended.
- Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed.
- Scoop cookie dough using 3 Tbsp. sized scoop onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
- Chill cookie dough balls for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet (4-6 cookies at a time), 2 " apart.
- Bake for 14 minutes* or until golden brown. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a baking rack or cool surface.
*Note: I only bake on light metal baking sheets. If you bake on dark metal, you'll need to check the cookies a little earlier to make sure they don't brown too quickly.
Directions--Original
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended.
- Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed.
- Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
- Bake low and slow for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer cookies immediately to a baking rack or cool surface.
Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Cookie Recipe, an adaptation
Mrs. Fields Blue Ribbon Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup salted butter 2 sticks
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 cups
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended.
- Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed.
- Scoop cookie dough using 3 Tbsp. sized scoop onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
- Chill cookie dough balls for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet (4-6 cookies at a time), 2" apart.
- Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a baking rack or cool surface.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended.
Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed.
Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake low and slow for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer cookies immediately to a baking rack or cool surface. Brandy's version makes 20 cookies. Mrs. Fields' version makes 36+ cookies.
Brandy says
I've made these now in normal and bakery-sized, and both were delicious. Still recommend baking at the higher temp, but it's personal preference.