In the first of our new taste testing features, News Shopper’s Carole Hoggan, Alison Masters and Helen Backway roll up their sleeves, grab a cup of tea and put the humble cookie to the test.

THE traditional cuppa would not be complete without a biccie to go with it. But what is the top cookie on the market?

Five supermarkets offered us their best biscuits to try out.

But this had to be done properly or we were in danger of being influenced by packaging, design and how helpful the staff were at each place. So some independent adjudicators at Shopper Towers stepped in, gave each cookie a plate (pink of course!) a number and the scientific testing began.

Our diets were put aside to try each one out thoroughly, scientifically studying (well we pulled each one apart!) the texture, crunch, chocolate-to-biscuit ratio and of course the taste.

A word of warning, don’t try this at home as the three Whiches were decidedly green after scoffing too many cookies, all in the name of reader research.

So which one got the Shopper vote and which one took the biscuit?

Read on and find out.

Morrisons

The Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies, 200g pack, £1.39

AM: The smallest of our selection, this pre-packed cookie was surprisingly tasty and stood up to the competition posed by its freshly baked competitors. Not too sweet and deliciously moreish! 3/5

HB: This was more of a biscuit than a cookie, small and crunchie, packed full of chocolate flavours but not much else. I found it too much, even for my sweet tooth. 3/5

CH: This offering was small, more like a biscuit than a cookie. It was very chocolatey with quite big chunks of chocolate in it. It was crispy and crunchy, very nice. 4/5

Waitrose

Chocolate Chunk Cookie, individually wrapped, 39p each

AM: A generously-sized cookie which was soft but much too stodgy. It had all the shelf appeal but none of the staying power which would make me want to eat it again. 2/5

HB: The biscuit-to-chocolate chip ratio was not good in this offering but it was a good size and soft and thick. Sadly it was let down by the lack of flavour. 2/5

CH: The cookie was quite big, thick and very soft. There weren’t many chocolate chunks in this one and it had no taste to it. Very bland. 2/5

M&S

Milk Chocolate Cookies, 5-pack, £2.36

AM: This huge cookie had an indulgent, sticky texture which made it rather rich but enjoyable. Definitely the elite of the cookie offerings! 4/5

HB: A decidedly thinner cookie than some of the others but it was soft and gooey. The sweetness meant it would be an indulgent treat rather than a stuff yourself silly job. My favourite. 4/5

CH: This cookie was thin but quite big. It was crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. It had nice size chocolate chunks. It tasted very buttery and was quite rich. My favourite 5/5

Tesco

Finest* Chocolate Chip Cookies, 5-pack, 99p

AM: This cookie’s buttery scent gave it maximum allure, which sadly led to maximum disappointment. The greasy, sickly mixture tasted more like uncooked cookie dough, and not in a winning Ben & Jerry’s way. 2/5

HB: I was put off by the appearance of this one, it looked small and anaemic. Sadly it didn’t get any better when I took a bite, it was too doughy and stodgy for my liking. 1/5

CH: This cookie was small to medium. It was very greasy, it didn’t have many chocolate chunks in it and it was slightly doughy. It had a slight odd nutty taste too. Bland and tasteless. 2/5

Sainsbury’s

Taste the Difference Truly Indulgent Milk Chocolate Cookies, 4 pack, £1.39

AM: The soft, crumbly texture of this cookie made it a strong contender for poll position, but it was let down by its over-sweet flavour, proving that sometimes less is more. 3/5

HB: Not much to say about this one, it ticked most of the boxes, was all the things a good cookie should be; soft, big and crumbly but it was a bit doughy and sweet. 3/5

CH: This cookie was quite large. It had enough chocolate chunks in it, and it was soft and very crumbly. Very sweet though. 3/5

In the end it was not just any cookie, but the M&S cookie which came out on top of our terrific taste test.

What would you like the tremendous trio to test? Email your ideas