I had a little hankering for an exceptionally GOOD chocolate chip cookie. So, I decided to do a little research, gather up all the best tips and secrets for making a fabulous chocolate chip cookie from all the corners of the food blog world, and then implement ALL of them into one ULTIMATE Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.
I waited patiently with my forehead pressed against the oven window (like the mad scientist I am) while the first batch was baking to see what would happen. I loved how big, thick, and soft they turned out! Seriously folks, these are as big as the palm of my hand and half an inch thick. Lots of chocolate chips, a barely crisp edge, a slightly gooey (not cakey) center, and a rich buttery flavor. Heaven!
These are the tips and tricks I’ve learned for making the very best chocolate chips cookies:
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Secrets
- Browned butter – this gives the cookies a richer, nuttier, almost caramelized base flavor.
- Dark brown sugar – dark brown sugar has more molasses than light, and therefore a stronger flavor.
- Softened cream cheese – you won’t taste it, but it does give the cookies a softer texture.
- An extra egg yolk – helps keep the cookies moist and adds richness.
- Cornstarch – this makes the cookies more tender and keeps them softer even a couple days later.
- Chocolate chips – don’t skimp!
- Wet to Dry Ratio – the dough should have enough flour mixed into it so that it is fairly stiff, but not crumbly.
If you’ve never browned butter before, it only takes a few minutes, but you do have to watch closely so that you don’t burn it. Add a stick of butter to a heavy bottomed saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Swirl the pan around occasionally, and watch the butter melt, then foam, and finally turn brown. As soon as you see the color change and smell the nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat and pour the brown butter into your mixing bowl, leaving as much of the brown flecks behind as you can. Chill the butter until it returns to a soft solid state, and then cream the butter and sugars as the recipe below instructs.
Because of the higher ratio of dry to wet ingredients, this dough will not spread very much in the oven. Instead of shaping the dough into balls, they are shaped into disks like the picture above. I used about 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie (I know!!!) and they are definitely LARGE bakery style cookies. I’ve also included the baking time for smaller cookies in the recipe instructions if you are not feeling quite so adventurous.
There truly is nothing like a really good chocolate chip cookie!
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Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 large cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
How to make thick, soft, bakery style chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 egg, plus one egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (fluff before measuring)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- To brown the butter, heat 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan to help the butter melt evenly. After a few minutes, it will foam up, then turn light brown. When you smell a nutty aroma, immediately remove the butter from the heat and pour it into the mixing bowl, leaving as many of the brown flecks in the pan as possible. Place the mixing bowl in the fridge to cool down the butter.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the brown butter is chilled to a soft solid, cream it together with the brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and continue mixing until well incorporated.
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix again.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch together.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour and stop mixing when the dough forms and the flour is completely incorporated. The dough will be stiff, but should not be crumbly.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix.
- For extra large, bakery style chocolate chip cookies, scoop 1/4 cup of dough onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, six per sheet. Pat the dough into a disk shape, about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 11-13 minutes. For smaller cookies, roll 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball, flatten the top slightly, and bake 12 cookies per sheet for 8-10 minutes.
- Let the cookies set on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container when mostly cooled.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Large Cookie
- Calories: 256
- Sugar: 21g
- Sodium: 158mg
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated Fat: 7.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.4g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 3.2g
- Cholesterol: 37mg
Tiffany says
I simply love this recipe! This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Jessica Schumacher says
I’ve tried A LOT of chocolate chip cookie recipes and these were great! I love that they didn’t spread out to being too thin. I did refrigerate the dough for 30 min before making the cookies and baking.
Hannah:) says
I’ve tried these cookies twice (both the adventurous BIG ones and the smaller ones) and these are literally the BEST chocolate chip recipe I have ever found! I’ve searched for years, but always my cookies turned out flat and crispy NEVER heavy and soft like I always wanted. Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve gotten so many compliments on them, and many have even asked me to pass the recipe on. Lots of claps for you! 👏👏
Julie says
Thank you, Hannah! It’s so nice to hear that this recipe as worked so well for you. Hope they bring you joy for many years to come!
Debra Seilhan says
Wonderful tasting cookie? Do you think it would make a good cookie cake if I spread it in a larger pan?
Denise says
These were by far the best soft chocolate chip cookies ever! I doubled the batch, added a little cinnamon. Delicious and days later they are still great and soft! This is my new go to chocolate chip cookie recipe!!
Brigitte says
These chocolate chip cookies are delicious 😋 I followed your recipe exactly, although I opted to make the smaller cookie. My husband, who loved anything chocolate, before realizing that chocolate will sometimes trigger a headache ate 2 of these cookies. After he ate the first one I said to him, “You know those have chocolate in them.” He replied, “They’re really good! Can I have another?” 😆 They’re a hit with me and my family! I will definitely make these again. I plan on making the next batch of cookies for my brother-in-law who loves soft chocolate chip cookies. My go to chocolate chip recipe. Thank you!