At their core, all chocolate chip cookie recipes are more or less the same. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and some salt and leavening.
The devil, as they say, is in the details. The balance of those ingredients can leave you with a cookie that is dry, greasy, cakey, crumbly, thick, thin, or chewy. Taking bits and pieces from different recipes that I have liked, I have developed what I believe to be the perfect thick chocolate chip cookie that stays soft even after it cools, and has the perfect amount of caramelized crispness on the outside. A few notes about this recipe:
- I prefer to only use 8 oz of chocolate chips (or whatever mix-in you like). Most bags of chocolate chips are 11.5-12 oz and while it’s easy to just open the bag and dump the whole thing in, I find that the full 12 oz throws off the balance of cookie-to-chocolate. You can use the full bag if that’s your preference.
- I no longer use parchment paper or silpats for my cookies. Instead, I use a stainless steel sheet pan sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray. You will get better caramelization (and thus, flavor!) on the bottom of your cookie when it can be in direct contact with the pan.
- This cookie spreads a bit and puffs up in the oven but will settle down as it cools down. I find that one half sheet pan comfortably cooks 9 one-ounce cookies without them running into each other.
- For a thicker cookie, portion dough on cookie sheet and then put entire cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes immediately prior to baking.
- Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 11-13 minutes. Makes 30 one-ounce cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter lightly salted
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 8-12 oz chocolate chips or your favorite mix-in
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
- Cream butter and both sugars together for about 2 minutes, until mixture looks shaggy.
- Add vanilla extract and eggs to butter-sugar mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture and blend just until it is incorporated. This is a thick dough.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- FOR BEST RESULTS, portion dough into 1-ounce scoops and refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes. Your cookies will brown better, spread less, and be more flavorful. If you skip this step, they will still be good; just not as good as they could be.
- Drop with a heaping tablespoon or 1-ounce portion s coop onto a lightly greased sheet pan.
- Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown and brown is developing on top.
- Remove from oven and let rest on sheet pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
Recipe Cost
Using my CakeBoss Software, I calculated the cost of this recipe at $6.05, with the big ticket ingredients being butter and chocolate chips. Consider buying these ingredients in bulk to cut costs!
