New Jersey’s Favorite Dessert is Crowned! After three weeks, three tour stops, and hundreds of ballots cast across the Garden State, we finally have a winner in our 2026 Rank the Desserts Tour.

From a library in Gloucester to the tables of Montclair and Highland Park, and finally through our statewide virtual finale, New Jerseyans used Ranked Choice Voting to decide which treat truly reigns supreme.

Watch The Election:

Try ranked-choice voting for yourself here: https://www.rcv123.org/ballot/x7fCwQpV6cFFqrQJGmwJ8G2f

The Winner: Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1⁄4 cups packed brown sugar
1⁄4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips *
1 cup peanut butter chips *
1/2 cups chopped walnuts * (Optional)

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.

Step 2*
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the
instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto
ungreased cookie sheets. I use teaspoon for small cookies. If you want larger cookies,
use tablespoon but leave more space between as they will spread.

Step 3
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

*NOTE
This makes a very sturdy cookie dough. Use a KitchenAid if you have one.
If you don’t, I would recommend - cutting the amount of chocolate/peanut butter chips to
2/3 cup each and skip or use less walnuts AND use a standard hand mixer to cream
butter/sugars, then switch to a wooden spoon to add the rest of ingredients. Standard
hand mixers might break unless they have a powerful motor!