Battle of the Cookies: Our Top 5

I was in the pool, lounging on a raft at my St. Barts villa (can't blame a girl for dreaming), when the phone rang. It was my Patch editor, wanting my return.

So soon? I was just starting to recuperate from the last exhausting enterprise--the Battle of the Frozen Yogurts. This latest endeavor sounded even more daunting: the Battle of the Cookies? Heavens.

Which is how I found myself back in my trusty judge's robe, appraising the hopeful lineup on the table in front of me.

For starting criteria, I wanted optimal freshness—nothing packaged.

Next, I chose two classic bakeries, each turning out different volumes of cookies,  and Italian bakeries from Larchmont and Mamaroneck (we have so many of them!). Then, I sampled twenty to thirty cookies in order to make my ruling, which wasn't easy, considering how fierce the confectionary competition turned out to be. But it had to be done.

Here then, are the results for how some of these cookies crumbled—and which ones won.

Best classic choco-chip

The winner is Bradley's Desserts & Catering for their classic chocolate chip cookie. It's the bakery's best seller, which is no surprise. The smallish size ( 2-3") delivers great, big, better-than-homemade taste with high-quality chocolate chips.

"We bake fresh cookies every morning," says owner Bradley Smith. "If we run out, we bake again in the afternoon."  The cookie's texture is amazing—chewy and moist, yet firm. Chocolate chips taste as if they've been warmed and on the verge of melting, even when the same batch was sampled hours later.

Price: $12.50 per pound.

Pay: MasterCard, Discover, Visa, Cash, Debit Card, American Express

Hours: Monday to Sunday, 7:00am - 6:00pm

Address: 2 Chatsworth Ave., Larchmont

Phone: (914) 833-1095

Best Italian cookie

Hands down, it's the pignoli cookie at Boiano Pastry Shop. How did this Italian bakery come to be selected? When I dashed into Dunkin' Donuts to see if they had cookies, the clerk said they didn't, and two women in line recommended Boiano as the best bakery around. Cookies are baked fresh daily. Owner Pat Colalillo's pignoli cookie is the biggest selling cookie for a reason: it's perfect. Pignoli (pine nuts) make a great, almost crunchy shell. Bite inside and find the soft, almond cake. Divine.

Price: $15.50 per pound

Pay: Personal Check, Cash

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm; Sunday, 7am to 4pm

Address: 258 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck

Phone: (914) 698-2070

Best choco-chip variation

Goes to Bread & Cocoa, a  much smaller bakery than Bradley's, for their pecan chocolate-chip cookie that's sprinkled with sea salt. Who would have thought sea salt would be so good on a cookie?

"It stays on the tongue a little longer because it sits on top of the cookie rather than if it were mixed into the batter," explains Laurie Vander Woude, co-owner with Angela Ingrao.

The salt softens the chocolate at the same time that it elevates it.  Astonishing. Woude bakes small batches through the day.

Price: $1.25 each

Pay: Cash

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 8am to 5 pm; Sunday, 8:30am to 2pm; closed on Mondays

Address: 2110 Boston Post Rd., Larchmont

Phone: (914) 834-6463‎

Best bar cookie  

The bar cookie at Bread & Cocoa looks like something you'd serve on fine floral china with tea—or  like something you'd nosh on while you're on the run. But you're going to want to sit down and marvel. It's shortbread made with fresh rosemary and orange oil (which is oil squeezed from orange zest). "It's almost biscuit-like," says Woude, and she's right about the texture that holds its rectangular shape beautifully while staying moist inside. Wait until you bite in and the essence of rosemary and orange lift up, balanced with ideal sweetness. Is it her own invention? Replies Woude, "It flat-out is."  

Price: $1 each

Pay: Cash

Best selection of Italian butter cookies

What's better than an assortment of Italian cookies to bring to a birthday party or similar event? This is where Palombo Pastry Shop Caffé excels. Put together your own assortment of gems such as jelly-filled, sugar-dusted, or topped with almonds. While this Bronx-based bakery has some good offerings, it is re-supplied every three days and could not match a baked-daily experience.

Price: $14 per pound

Pay: Cash

Hours: Monday to Sunday, 7am to 8:30pm

Address: 26 Chatsworth Ave., Larchmont

Phone: (914) 834-8104

If we missed your favorite cookie, let us know!