You May Want To Skip The Vanilla For Your Next Batch Of Chocolate Chip Cookies

There's nothing quite like a batch of chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven. Pair them with a glass of fresh, cold milk, and you've got one of the best comfort foods anyone could ask for.

Chocolate chip cookies are beloved for their crisp edges and their soft, chewy insides, with gooey chocolate chips, butter, and of course, vanilla. If you've ever made a chocolate chip cookie recipe, you've probably noticed that they often include vanilla extract. After all, who wouldn't want to include a little taste of vanilla in their cookies?

This timeless baking ingredient is made by soaking vanilla beans in ethyl alcohol and water. But even high-quality vanilla extract may be hurting the taste of your chocolate chip cookies, rather than enhancing it. And you might be surprised by the reason vanilla won't be missed if you omit it from your next batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Vanilla can be found in a number of delicacies, including ice cream, cocktails, hot drinks, and practically any cake or cookie recipe. But it may be overused, especially when it comes to recipes involving chocolate. According to The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories, vanilla can make chocolatey flavors less potent.

An added flavoring, vanilla helps enhance the taste of dough. However, when combined with chocolate chips, the two compete with one another. And because vanilla is such a strong additive, it can overpower the flavor of the chocolate chips, which are supposed to be the stars of the show.

With the cost of vanilla extract, it may be better for your budget to leave it out of your recipes, especially the ones that call for chocolate chips. NPR reported in 2019 that the price of vanilla was 10 times higher than it was in previous years, due to a decrease in supply. But if you still want the taste of vanilla — whether for chocolate chip cookies or other recipes — there are plenty of substitutes.

Whether you've run out of vanilla extract or you want to spice it up with something different, there are a handful of vanilla extract substitutes to choose from. 

According to Ree Drummond, the best vanilla extract substitutes are bourbon, rum, maple syrup, honey, almond extract, and coffee. If you're looking for a vanilla flavor but are out of vanilla extract, try using vanilla powder, vanilla sugar, or vanilla-flavored milk.

Substitute or not, though, if you're making chocolate chip cookies, you'll want to save that vanilla extract for another time. It's better for cookie recipes that don't call for chocolate, as it can mellow out the chocolaty flavor. Instead, use it when making sugar cookie recipes, shortbread cookies, or oatmeal raisin cookies. At the end of the day, you might be surprised to discover that chocolate chip cookies taste even better without vanilla extract added to the mix.