I read the hypothesis as relating the appearance of the cookie. That is the proportionate ratio of visible chocolate to dough on the surface of the cookie as it

I read the hypothesis as relating the appearance of the cookie. That is the proportionate ratio of visible chocolate to dough on the surface of the cookie as it relates to the maximizing the visual appeal of the cookie on product packaging. So we are talking about "perceived" cookie quality based on visible surface area of chocolate. Now in this case, what I think is happening here is that we are observing a simple case of the golden ratio. Humans, consistently and subconsciously see distributions of ~38% to be harmonious (sometimes crudely approximated as the rule of thirds). Therefore it stands to reason that this "golden mean" ratio of visible chocolate creates the most visibly appealing image. With the cooperation of a chocolate chip packaging manufacturer or online retailer we could test this. Simply conduct some extensive A/B testing of chip packaging that varies only by ratio of visible chocolate. And see if the golden mean comes out best. However, I suspect this testing has already been done. As for the best tasting ratios of all ingredients (including chocolate) in a chocolate chip cookie, fortunately, significant research in this area has recently been published. You may have seen this link from the food lab: http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-...