Disney World Chocolate Chip Cookie Bakeoff: Grand Floridian VS Num Num Cookies

This week, my family and I decided to hold a Disney World Chocolate Chip Cookie Bakeoff!  Amidst the global pandemic of COVID-19, the Walt Disney Company has striven to provide ways of incorporating Disney magic into the lives of those who are stuck at home and social distancing.  One way Disney fans can enjoy the parks from home is by preparing some of their favorite snacks and treats with OFFICIAL Disney recipes straight from the parks!  This is a most welcome gift for those who are really missing their Disney fix! 

Two of the recipes my family was most excited to check out were the chocolate chip cookies from Grand Floridian Resort and Jack Jack’s Num Num Cookies from Hollywood Studios.  The Num Num Cookie was one of our FAVORITE treats on our last visit to Walt Disney World. I figured what would be more fun than to have our own Disney World Chocolate Chip Cookie Bakeoff to determine the superior Disney offering?!  We spent the day baking each of the chocolate chip cookie recipes (which were distinctly different) and undertook the ARDUOUS task of tasting each one 😉.  After tasting, each family member voted for the cookie they liked best!  Read along as I walk you through the ins and outs of each cookie recipe (with links to the official recipes) and our final thoughts on our Disney World Chocolate Chip Cookie Bakeoff!

The Recipes

I found both of these recipes on the Disney Parks Blog. You can find the recipe for the Grand Floridian Chocolate Chip Cookies HERE and the Num Num Cookies HERE!

As I mentioned before, both Disney World chocolate chip cookie recipes are distinctly different.  Here, I’ll walk you through these variations and how they may affect your final product

Chocolate – You MUST have chocolate in chocolate chip cookies!  The Grand Floridian recipe calls for your standard semi-sweet chocolate chips.  The Num Num Cookie recipe, on the other hand, requires mini chips as well as chocolate chunks.  My kids were a big fan of this variation in the Num Num Cookie, which DEFINITELY made the chocolate stand out in the final product.

Butter – Each cookie recipe required a different temperature of the butter before creaming with the sugars.  The Grand Floridian recipe calls for softened butter, which will yield tenderness and lift in the cookies.  The Num Num Cookie calls for cold butter.  Because the butter is cold, it will be more difficult to cream together with the sugars and will result in a denser cookie.  The final product, however, yields flaky layers and crispier cookies.

Sugar – The Grand Floridian Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe requires powdered sugar rather than granulated sugar.  Powdered sugar yields softer cookies and a melt-in-your-mouth texture.  Granulated sugar, on the other hand, will cause more air to incorporate while creaming with the butter.  This is the case with the Num Num Cookie recipe, and will produce a crisper cookie.

Cornstarch – The Num Num Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe also incorporates cornstarch.  This ingredient will soften the rigid proteins of the flour and create a lighter and chewier texture to the dessert.

The Final Product

Overall, I’m happy with how each batch of cookies turned out.  The recipes were easy to follow and (while different) cross-utilized ingredients I already had at home.

Compared to the Num Num Cookies, the Grand Floridian Cookies were softer and more lifted.  They also had a buttery taste and texture.  The Num Num Cookies were more impressive in appearance due to their larger size and the contrasting sizes of the chocolate chips and chunks.  These cookies had a nice crisp outside, with a chewy inside. 

Final Thoughts

The girls were a big fan of the Num Num Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The different sized chocolate chips and chunks were definitely a draw for them (as well as the fact that they came out MUCH BIGGER than the Grand Floridian Chocolate Chip Cookies)!  My husband and I preferred the Grand Floridian Chocolate Chip Cookies due to their softer texture (which we now know can be attributed to the softened butter and powdered sugar!).

The girls sure enjoyed participating in our Disney World Chocolate Chip Cookie Bakeoff!  It was fun to get everyone involved in the kitchen to create some Disney magic together.  Because we were such fans of the Num Num Cookie during our last trip to Walt Disney World, it was a lot of fun to try and recreate this recipe at home!  And while our homemade Num Num Cookies were QUITE DELICIOUS…Disney World’s Chocolate Chip Cookie had us beat!

Be sure to check out other official Disney recipes by checking out the Disney Parks Blog!

Are you missing the parks and feeling those Disney Blues?  Check out my Top 10 Ways to BEAT the Disney Blues HERE!

Have you tried recreating some of your favorite dishes from the Disney Parks at home?  Tell me about some of your favorite recipes in the comments!

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