Alexis Stewart's chocolate chip cookies are among my favorites and have been for a long time. They are thin and crispy and give you the quintessential chocolate chip cookie experience in every bite. That is, if you get the recipe right. I've used this recipe for over a decade and love it, but it took more than one try. This recipe is a good example of why we should weigh flour.
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Why We Should Weigh Flour
When I first made these, I used my "normal" scoops of flour which weigh about 4.5 ounces or 125 grams. Most of the time I still get 125 grams of flour per cup, but depending on moisture levels and how the flour is packed in the bin or bag, I sometimes get 140 grams. That's a 15 gram/2 tablespoon difference for every cup of flour. So if a recipe is developed with 3 ½ (140 grams each/490 grams) cups of flour, someone who uses 3 ½ cups (125 grams each/437 grams), they will be 7 tablespoons/53 grams short -- that's almost a half cup short flour.
So I made the cookies again, but made a quarter batch (whish is still plenty of cookies) and used 140 grams per cup (165 total), chilled the dough and got thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies.
Baking Temperature and Crispy Cookies
The original recipe on Martha Stewart's site calls for 375, but 350 seems to work a little better for more even baking. For crispy chocolate chip cookies, you might want to lower the temperature even more. Try baking at 300 for 12 to 15 minutes rather than 350. Lowering the heat allows them to brown more slowly and gives the centers time to heat through. If that STILL doesn't work for you, try this recipe. It calls for slightly more granulated sugar and less brown sugar, thus giving you more chances at a crispy cookie.
Giant Flat Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I've always made these "normal" size using rounded tablespoons, but I recently used quarter cup measures, flattened the dough and baked at 300 for big, crispy chocolate chip cookies.
So here's my version of the recipe, which is a scaled down and slightly changed version of the original. For the OG cookies, check out Martha's page.
Recipe
More Thin & Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened but still cool (114 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (48 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (165 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips use more or less as desired
Instructions
- Don’t preheat the oven quite yet because there is a short chill time.
- Beat the cool butter until creamy using an electric mixer. Beat in both sugars, and vanilla. When creamy, beat in the egg. When egg is mixed in, beat in salt and baking soda – beat just enough so that the soda and salt are fully mixed in, but don’t overbeat.
- Add flour and stir until it is almost blended in. Add the chocolate chips and stir until all flour disappears.
- Using a rounded tablespoon, scoop the dough out onto a dinner plate lined with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.
- Preheat to 350 degrees F. The original recipe is baked at 375, but 350 is better for more even browning. You can still use 375 if you like really brown edges and underbaked centers.
- Bake one sheet at a time on center rack for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Anna says
Thank you for asking! This one, the Alexis Stewart recipe, is my favorite. What's funny is I was reading my old post talking about how much flour weighs. Back in Texas, where it's dry, it was always around 127 grams per cup. In Chicago it was often closer to 140 grams per cup. In NC it changes. But to answer the question, you could try it. Sorry but I always put chocolate chips in these.
I do have a different recipe that would probably work really well with the candied toffee. It's called Crinkly Butterscotch Pecan Cookies. The cookies almost always come out crunchy and are not super sweet and buttery like thin chocolate chip.
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2010/01/09/crinkly-butterscotch-pecan-cookies/
You could also try putting the candied nuts in cookie bark. This one would probably work. https://www.cookiemadness.net/2013/11/04/cinnamon-chip-cookie-bark/
Stephanie says
Anna, I know you have a few thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies. I was looking at this one and the one that is one bowl with cornstarch (from Wellesley). Do you prefer one over the other? Also... would you think omitting the chocolate and using candied nuts or toffee would work well in either for a different type of cookie? I'm wondering if that would seem to greasy.
Anna says
Hello Sameera,
Thanks so much for the nice comment! I'm really glad the recipe works well for you. I'll have to try them with whole wheat flour.
Sameera Shahin says
I dont remember how many batches i have made by now. Idont think i will be trying other any recipes. Me n my kids love these cookies. It doesnt last more than one day at our home. I make them with whole wheat flour. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Anna says
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the comment! I think people just have issues with cookies in general -- especially ones with a smaller amount of flour because there's a larger margin of error. Weighing ingredients is really the only way to get perfect results, but even then there can be variances. After living in a few different cities and trying different brands of ingredients, I've found that things like the protein content of the flour, formulation of different brands of butter and size of eggs all play into cookie results. The way ovens heat and the types of cookie sheets also influence the result. This recipe is pretty old, so I'm trying to make all my more recent ones really detailed by putting gram amounts and in some cases, brands.
Robert christopher says
These are amazing, can't understand why everyone is having problems. They are tin and difficult to take off of the pan when hot. I cooked them on a cookie sheet covered with non stick alluminum foil, just lifted the foil off put another sheet for the next round of cookies and let them cool a bit before taking them off the foil. I used one teaspoon size dough balls and they turned out perfect.
Wanda says
OMG...lost this recipe...kids were FREAKING! Thank goodness I found it again...phew... These cookies are AMAZING....we add some flaxseed and some wheatgerm instead of some of the flour and they LOVE them! Thanks!!!
Kathleen says
Followed the directions exactly and the cookies were great- my husband has been begging me to make him crunchy cookies instead of thick ones! Thank you so muh for posting. I have plans to smoosh vanilla bean frozen yogurt between 2 cookies and freeze for an extra delicious dessert! Thank you for sharing! Exactly what I hoped for!
Anna says
Hi Susan,
No, it won't work the same. I haven't yet made a good thin & crispy cookie with self-rising. Usually the cookies are thick and dense and/or slightly cakey.
Susan Tan says
Hi Anna,
Just wonder if I can use self-raising flour instead?
Anna says
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I really appreciate it. About brown sugar, it's one of those ingredients that should probably be weighed for consistent results. 1 cup unpacked weighs a lot less than 1 cup that's really been packed into the measuring cup. That being said, I still don't weigh it. I just try to pack it.
Jenny says
Amazing! Followed the recipe exactly and the cookies turned out wonderfully! Thank you for cutting the recipe down... still feeling a little guilty for eating most of the cookies though!! I'm glad i read these comments before i made the cookies, never knew brown sugar had to be packed. Thank your for putting the recipe up!!
Sarah says
I just made these cookies and I don't know why everyone seems to have a problem with it (previous comments). It was my first time making it and it turned out awesome. It was perfect, the perfect crisp cookie, perfect thinness, and lovely toffee-like taste. I didn't bother looking at Alexis Stewart's version because this is perfect. Just follow the measurements and instructions given, people!
Chris Barlow says
I have just made these wonderfull cookies and they turned out great !!!
and kids loved them loads.
I used a icecream scoop and thay where huge, a bit like a small plate lol.
thaks from Doncaster UK.
Mary Khederian says
I just made these cookies and omg, they are so good. Light, crispy, thin and chewy at the same time. This recipe is a keeper. My only mistake was that I used to big of a scoop and will use the smaller one the next time. I ended up with 24 med/lg instead of 48 small cookies. Believe me, they won't last long in my house. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Mary
roxy says
I just tried this cookie recipe and they came out perfect. Thin, crispy yet chewy in the middle. perfect recipe!
Jon says
Thought I would take it up a notch, Instead of chocolate chips, go butterscotch chips and add pecans. WOW Sensational !!!!
Sam says
I have been scouring the web for the perfect chocolate chip recipe. Although I live in NYC, i have yet to find a bakery that makes chocolate chip cookies I really like--alas even Bouchon and my love Thomas Keller fails me in this regard. This cookies are incredible. I actually made them a bit thicker by the way I put them on the cookie sheet and only cooking for 8 minutes, but they were incredible. I am going to be putting this up on my site and linking to your post--GREAT. I am also grateful you put grams--I always weigh my ingredients and won't cook anything w/o those units!
Anna says
Jon, based on what I've read around the Internet, this is a finicky recipe. I thought putting the gram amounts would help since a big issue seems to be the flour, but if you are using the gram amounts and the cookie is still not working, it might be time to try a different recipe. Maybe it does have something to do with the altitude. A few posts up, I listed some ideas for another commenter who had the same problem as you. So if you want to stick with this one, maybe try some of those thing (different cookie sheet, cool butter, etc.).
I still make this recipe all the time and it works as written, so it's one of those issues where we'd have to make the cookies together in the same oven, same kitchen, same brands to determine what's off.
Speaking of brands, if you're not using it already, I've been using Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour. Since different brands of flour have different protein levels, maybe you'd get better results with a different flour. I also like the idea of using a medium size egg.
Jon says
I cant get these cookies to work at all...they come out so flat and thin, they are pretty much see through (no joke). I live in Colorado, so I tried to do some altitude adjustments, but even with adding several tablespoons of extra flour...they still come out pretty bad looking - nothing like the picture. Any suggestions?
Anna says
One other thought. Did you really pack the brown sugar? Brown sugar is a lot like flour in that if you don't really pack it in or weigh it, your amount might vary from the amount used by whomever developed the recipe. I used 140 grams which interestingly, is the same amount in gram weight as the flour.
Anna says
BA, I just emailed you with some ideas. It's a great recipe if you get the amounts right and the sizes right. I've made the version listed above over and over and always get thin, crispy-edged cookies. But like I said in the email, I think making these with 2 1/2 tablespoons would results in a cookie with a raw center (like you said). So I'd love to hear how a rounded teaspoonful (or even smaller) measure works out for you and if you can, weigh the flour and make sure you add enough. Like I keep saying, I think the original recipe might have been developed by a 12 year old girl who scooped flour. That's just a GUESS and I have no idea, but the recipe above should work if followed.
BooAlexis says
These cookies were horrible!! The problem is the center of cookies never quite fully cooks so you're basically left with raw cookie dough centers. I actually watched Alexis make these and thought they would be good, but these turned out to be just as overrated as Martha Stewart is.
However; I think the overrall problem is the amount of cookie dough needed. Martha's recipe lists 2-2.5 tablespoons, while yours lists teaspoonfulls. I tried with the 2.5 tablespoons and 1 tablespoons and neither worked. Perhaps if I tried to this size I may have had better results.
Lear says
I really enjoy these cookies. I wish they were a little crispier -- I probably should have folded in a bit more flour or something -- but the caramelly, toffee-like cookie I did render was amazing. I can tell these cookies are going to go on heavy rotation for the season. Thank you!
Laurel says
This looks SO great!
Actually, I was searching for a recipe to duplicate the old Van De Kamp's maple pecan cookie. My aunt was a Van De Kamp's lady, and I knew I could always have my fill.
I would describe them exactly as you have yours, with the pecans settling towards the center.
Can you think of any way I can convert for maple cookies?
Thanks, Laurel
mary says
thanks for the recipe!! i've been looking for something like this for a while. my cookies have always come out too cakey, fat, and white (well not white but not very brown). these were perfect! they were so crispy without being hard and were about the right flatness. and delicious.
i didnt measure everything out to the gram. tried to pour out 1 cup of flour but got overflow in my cup so i took the overflow but left a little bit in the cup. i assume i had about a cup of flour in there. i wasn't sure what would be the right temp for the butter so i just took 1 stick from the refridgerator and then microwaved the butter for about 30 seconds. that got the butter soft enough for me to hand mix it. also i think i only had a medium egg in there.
i think what made the difference was less flour and the temperature of the butter. because the other ingredients are the same for all my other cookies.
Anna says
Hello Chapper,
I'm sorry to hear you had problems, but I think you can fix them. First off, why don't you start with the recipe above which I scaled down. That way if anything goes wrong, you will not have wasted too many ingredients. Here's what I would do if I were you.
1) Instead of using one cookie sheet, stack one on top of the other or use an Air-Bake. This might help a little.
2) You mentioned you'd already increased the flour, but it sounds like it wasn't quite enough. The recipe above is about 1/4 of the original and the flour amount has already been increased, so try the amount above.
3) Pack your brown sugar very, very tightly to make sure you're using enough.
4) Line your pan with parchment paper and before you lift the cookies off, let them sit for 5-8 minutes or until they seem sturdy enough to scrape up.
And the cookies are supposed to be thin. I've never talked to anyone who has followed the recipe and gotten a thick cookie. The cookies in the picture on MS.com appear much thicker.
I hope you can get the recipe to work. Let me know how it goes.
Oh, and one more thing. When you bake the cookies, bake a couple at a time. If the first batch comes out too thin, carefully fold some more flour into the remaining dough.
Chapper says
Help. I've been trying to make these cookies for awhile and everytime I try, they just get SUPER flat and stick to the pan. I found this site while looking for help, actually.
I have the full recipe that makes 50 (was planning on saving the batter and making them once a week until the batter was gone or so).
I tried adding more flour. didn't work. Tried chilling (as the original recipe didn't say anything about it). didn't work. i followed everything exactly (but mixed by hand because we don't bake much, thus don't have any fancy mixers).
But every time I try, it comes out too flat to lift from the pan. Our pan is all scratched up now from scraping the cookie off (luckily I've only been doing one at a time since the first batch failed).
What can I do?
Sandra says
The photos in Martha Stewart website are totally misleading.
If you watch Martha Stewart Cookies DVD, Martha shows how to make this recipe. She DID chill dough in refrigerator, and cookies are thinly spread like in the picture above. FYI.
Chelsea says
I need to get some sugar in this house. Those look awesome!! 😉
Charlotte says
I have made these before and put a scoop of vanilla between 2 cookies and then froze them. Everyone LOVED the ice cream sandwich cookies.
Anna says
Thanks Katy! It's 350 F. Someone also pointed out that I left off the chocolate chips. Duh.
Katy says
preheat oven to what temp?
Anna says
Heh, not a lot of thought. I just scaled down an already good recipe and weighed things. The key was getting the flour amt. right.
Jenn's Baking Chamber says
These sound like you put in a lot of thought and they turned out great! they look very sturdy and delicious for a thin and crispy cookie.
Carol A, says
Mmm, these look good! I'm also a "fat" CCC person in general, but I like the "toffee like" description. I can see these having their place in my heart, er, stomach. Like snookydoodle said, kind of caramelized. I like that a lot. I usually skip over the thin/crispy CCC recipes, but I think I'll give this one a try!
Thanks!
Anna says
Hi Jane!
Yes, they were perfect. I hate to sounds all fanatical about scales, but I think I got the gram amounts just right and the cookies were perfectly crisp.
Jane says
Those look perfect.
HeartofGlass says
I'm a soft cc woman, I must confess, but I am so glad you posted this because reading the comments section of the Martha Stewart website was hilarious! I thought some of the posters sounded like they would come to blows if these were the worst v. best cookies ever.
Also, there was a fight about calling them Alexis's Chocolate Chip Cookies on the site--I agree that it is incorrect grammar, but think Anna had the best idea just to call them Alexis Stewart's CCC.
Pearl says
i think my fam would like those!
clumbsycookie says
I really like when you give recipes with the weights! I'm more of a fat cookie girl, but they do look great!
snookydoodle says
delicious!!! these look like caramelised which is even better 🙂
Jennifer says
These would be perfect with some vanilla icecream 🙂
Katy says
You can post a review on her website.
whateverradio.com
She would love you. She bakes like a maniac.
Jacques Torres was on my flight from Vail to NY last weekend. It was the highlight of my trip. He was so charming, but I didn't have the nerve to take a photo while we were in flight!
Katrina says
Better than Wellesley? It can't be? You? jk
Louise says
I just looked at the recipe and photo on the Martha Stewart site. Their photo doesn't match the recipe. I think the dough was chilled before baking and that's what made their thick cc cookies. But, everyone raves about these cookies.