Does Chips Ahoy Have an Expiration Date? What You Need to Know…
If you are a fan of chocolate chip cookies, then there is no chance that you have missed out on trying the great Chips Ahoy. Chips Ahoy is one of the best and most popular brands when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, but not many people are familiar with the features of these cookies, such as the expiry date. So, does Chips Ahoy have an expiration date?
Chips Ahoy has an expiration date. But, if you keep them unopened, they can stay in great quality for about 9 months. However, the date refers to the guarantee of the quality, so the cookies will not go bad if the date passes. This means that if there are not any texture changes you can freely eat your cookies.
If Chips Ahoy has recently become the number one chocolate chip cookie brand, then you are obliged to learn something more about the features of its cookies. In this article, I have shared everything you need to know about the expiration date of Chips Ahoy, and whether or not you can eat expired cookies. This will give you a way to feel safer when maintaining food around your house, so you will be sure that you are not wasting food unnecessarily.
Do Chips Ahoy Expire?
All products are required by law to contain an expiration date on their package, therefore, you should expect to see one on Chips Ahoy as well. If you have seen the date, then you have probably noticed that the duration of the expiration date is around nine months. Therefore, if you keep your Chips Ahoy cookies properly and unopened, they will certainly be good as new for almost one year.
However, it is important to remember that the expiration date does not really refer to the state in which your cookies will be. In other words, it does not mean that after the date your cookies will go bad, and you will not be able to eat them. On the contrary, nothing will happen to them if they are unopened and stored in a cool and dry place.
The expiration date on the Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies is accompanied by the label “best by”, meaning that their taste and quality are guaranteed up to that particular date that is put on the package. This means that the manufacturer is protecting themselves from the possible changes that might occur if you keep your cookies longer than the date.
To say this in a simple manner, the expiration date that is on the package does not mean a lot since cookies do not actually expire at all.
So, if you keep your cookies unopened and stored properly, they will be good for about nine months, as stated by the expiration date. However, if you open them, you might notice some changes after a while, so it is recommended that you eat them as soon as possible. This also does not mean that your Chips Ahoy cookies will go bad, but they might change their fresh texture a little bit.
How Long Do Chips Ahoy Cookies Last After Expiration Date?
Chocolate chip cookies are made in a way to not absorb any moisture, i.e. there is no water in their content, so they cannot really go bad. You might notice that if you keep them for a long time they might become stale, but they will never actually spoil.
When it comes to Chips Ahoy, they are known to last in a good condition for a very long time, and they are packed in a really secure way, so storing them is not really an issue.
Therefore, you can eat Chips Ahoy chocolate cookies even a year or two after their date expires, and you will not notice any particular changes. Some people have eaten Chips Ahoy even four years after the expiration date has passed, and nothing really happened. Of course, if you keep your cookies for that long, you will probably notice some stale taste of the same, but the flavors will definitely not be spoiled.
Where Is the Expiration Date on the Chips Ahoy Cookies?
If you want to check the date of expiration of your Chips Ahoy cookies, you will have to read the label that is put on the package. Usually, the expiration date is put on the side of the bag, somewhere close to the barcode of the product. You will notice two date formats – one that refers to the day of production, and the other to the best-before date.
How Do Store-Bought Cookies Last Longer than Fresh Baked Cookies?
When you bake things at your home, you mostly use the main ingredients that are included in the recipe, and the recipe is usually adjusted for home baking. Therefore, you do not need any types of other ingredients that will make your cookies last longer considering that you are baking only for your family, not in large batches. Also, when you want to preserve food such as cookies for a longer time, you probably just wrap it up and put it in the freezer.
This is enough to keep your cookies edible for a longer time. That is why no recipe includes any ingredients that are suitable for preserving baked goods for a long time. No one usually thinks about this since everyone is baking according to their needs, i.e. they bake for a particular number of people.
On the other hand, manufactured cookies use additional ingredients called preservatives. These usually include sugar and salt which absorb the water out of the cookies keeping them dry and fresh at all times. When there is no moisture in the cookies they stay fresh for a long time, so there is no chance for them to go bad for a long time.
What Is the Bad Side of Chips Ahoy?
Even though Chips Ahoy is quite delicious and crunchy, they are not the best snack choice for your diet. Firstly, they contain a significant amount of sugar which is the greatest enemy to your body. Secondly, there is also a certain amount of corn syrup in the content of the cookies which can lead to weight gain, body fat, and the increase of triglyceride levels. What is more, when you start eating them, it is hard to stop. [1]
As I stated above, you can freely eat expired Chips Ahoy cookies since they do not really go bad. However, you might experience some stale taste in them if they have stayed stored for a significant amount of time.
