The battle of the butters has begun!  Last weekend, I pitted Kerrygold unsalted butter against fresh, unsalted butter from Hartzler dairy farm in the battle of the expensive butters.  Admittedly, I was surprised at how different the cookies turned out.  My personal observation was that the Kerrygold cookies turned out slightly sweeter and chewier, while the fresh butter made for a more crumbly cookie.

In terms of price, Kerrygold was slightly more expensive, coming in at $6.38 per pound to the dairy farm’s $6 per pound.  However, I could only get the dairy farm butter in a two-pound roll for $12, so it’s probably not something I would do on a regular basis.

A big thanks goes out to all my taste testers, particularly the Case Western Reserve University Chemistry Department for their enthusiastic participation and thoughtful comments.  Leave it to the scientists to know just how to help a girl carry out her experiment!

Interestingly, there was almost a perfect split in opinion.  Proponents of the Kerrygold cookies said they were sweeter, chewier, and had better flavor and aftertaste.  Those who liked the Hartzler cookies better found them to carry the chocolate chip flavor better and to have a better texture.

Since the vote was so close, as the Supreme Overlord of the I Wanna Bake! Empire, I declare Kerrygold to be the winner.  I thought the slight bit of extra sweetness and chewiness made the Kerrygold cookies ever so slightly closer to what I consider to be the ultimate chocolate chip cookie.

So that wraps up the first heat.  Next up is the battle of the store-bought butters.  If anyone is interested in participating in future taste tests, please comment below or send me an e-mail!