Best Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day, so here's a recipe I posted years ago to celebrate. I'm posting May 14 so you'll have time to chill the dough for Best Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you love thick, bakery-style chocolate chip cookies with chewy centers and rich brown sugar flavor, these are hard to beat. Adapted from the old Allrecipes favorite that inspired countless copycats, these cookies are dense, soft and loaded with chocolate chips.

Cookie Texture

What makes them different from classic Toll House-style cookies is the texture. They start with melted butter and bake up thick and substantial rather than thin and crispy, with extra brown sugar for chewiness and an extra egg yolk for a softer center. The butter-to-flour ratio is just right, giving the cookies richness without making them greasy or cakey. I've found that using Plugra or European style butter makes them even better, but any good butter will work.

Why Add Cornstarch to Chocolate Chip Cookies?

The first time I remember seeing cornstarch used in chocolate chip cookies was in a recipe from Canadian chef Anna Olson years ago. Since then, it's become a fairly common bakery-style cookie addition. Cornstarch softens the protein structure of the flour slightly, which helps create a more tender texture without making the cookies cakey. A similar result can be obtained by using a mixture of bread and cake flour or even all-purpose and cake. But cornstarch is more convenient. If you leave it out, you'll still have great cookies.

Vanilla Bean Paste in Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I first started making these, I thought the cookies were good but overrated. I just couldn't get the flavor where I wanted. Over the years I've experimented with different vanilla brands in this recipe, including Mexican vanilla and homemade vanilla extract. I now make them with vanilla bean paste. Vanilla bean paste tends to hold onto its flavor better during baking because it contains actual vanilla bean particles in a thicker syrupy base. Plain extract is more volatile and some of its aroma cooks off more quickly in the oven. If using extract, you may want to bump up to 1 tablespoon.

Dark and Light Brown Sugar

A few other ingredient changes help give these cookies their signature texture and flavor include a mix of dark and light brown sugar. The brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness. Since light brown sugar seems to have gotten lighter through the years, I use a mixture of dark and light brown. I sometimes use up to a cup of brown sugar and reduce the granulated to ¼ cup. You can play change proportions of sugar, but the total amount should be 260 grams.

Melted Cooled Butter

I do not usually brown the butter for these cookies. While browned butter works beautifully in so many cookies, this recipe gets much of its texture from the moisture in the butter itself. Browning it changes the spread and makes the cookies less soft and dense. I do like to use Plugra or European style butter when available.

Nailing the Bake Time

Another trick is not overbaking. The cookies should still look slightly underdone in the center when you pull them from the oven. They'll continue setting as they cool. Baking them with a convection oven is also a good method. Pull a little early and move the parchment paper immediately to the counter so the cookies can cool on the counter and their undersides stay soft. For even softer cookies, you can try baking on an insulated sheet pan.

Tips for Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Weigh the flour if possible. You can experiment with different kinds as long as you use about 270 to 280 grams. I've been making them with German flour that my husband brought home from Berlin. Just about any flour works, especially when you add the cornstarch. The beauty of this recipe is it's so easy to change things.

The History Behind These Cookies

This recipe is adapted from the old Allrecipes recipe called "Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies," one of the original internet-famous bakery-style chocolate chip cookie recipes. Versions of it have circulated online for years because the texture is consistently good thick, chewy and reliable. We've seen a lot of thicker, fatter, cookies since that one came out, so I wouldn't exactly call these fat!

Tips for the Best Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Melt the butter gently so that the dairy solids don't separate. You can melt it halfway and let the rest of the butter melt into it. If you have some European style butter such as Plugra, give it a try.
• Measure the flour by weight for accuracy. If you don't have a scale, stir it well and spoon it into the cup. I use 275 grams.
• The amount of baking soda is different (¾ teaspoon) from the original (½ teaspoon) in Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, for a bit more browning and spread.
• Underbake slightly for softer centers if you prefer. Baking on an an insulated cookie sheet or baking sheet stacked on a rimmed sheet helps with that.
• Immediately transfer parchment paper onto the counter and let the cookies cool on the parchment for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack.
• For thicker and more flavorful cookies, chill the dough for at least 24 hours. I always bake a couple right away, then chilled the scoop dough overnight.

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Recipe

Best Big Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Vanilla Bean Paste

Anna

Thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies made with vanilla bean paste.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Cooling Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

 

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, great with Plugra if you have some cut into chunks
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons AP flour (275 grams)
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch, optional (6 grams)
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar (100 grams)
• ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (60 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 2 cups chocolate chips, semisweet or your favorite

Instructions

 

• Melt half of the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the remaining cut up butter to the hot melted butter and stir until completely melted. Let cool. Alternatively, you can melt the butter all at once and let it cool, but melting half of it and adding the remaining butter helps it cool faster.
• Mix together the flour, cornstarch (if using) baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk just until blended.
• Add the flour mixture and stir to make a soft dough. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Using a heaping tablespoon or a medium size cookie scoop, scoop up about 24 balls of dough and arrange them on two plates or one tray lined with wax, foil or parchment paper. Cover loosely and chill for several hours or until the dough balls are firm. When firm, you can bake as directed or put them in a freezer bag and freeze your individual balls of dough.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Arrange about half of the balls on one foil or parchment lined baking sheet spacing about 2 ½ inches apart. Set on the middle rack and bake for about 15 minutes (check as early as 10) or until cookies appear set and start to crack. If using a convection oven, check the cookies at 10. This will really vary from oven to oven.
• Let cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Keyword Best Chewy Chocolate Cookies, Melted Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vanilla Bean Paste

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