Copycat Pret A Manger Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've had this recipe, originally from Pret A Manger, for a while now. It was given out by the company back when everyone was sharing copycat recipes. Recently, my daughter went to London and took a picture of the actual Pret A Manger chocolate chip cookies. Here's what they look like in real life.

So the copycat is pretty close, but not quite the same and definitely not if you are using American self-rising flour. In fact, having made these multiple times with different brands of self-rising flour it's pretty clear that results vary based on the self-rising flour. So far that's been my experience. Here's a picture of my latest batch 3/8/2025. These were made with White Lily.

And here's an older picture of one.

Self-Rising Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

A lot of UK recipes call for self-rising flour or as they call it, self-raising. The English version does not have salt, whereas self-rising flour here in the USA does. Some brands have more than others. White Lily seems to have the most.

Self Rising Flour Brand Differences

Different brands of self-rising flour can have varying amounts of salt and baking powder. The ratios aren’t standardized, so some brands may make slightly saltier or more leavened baked goods than others.

• White Lily Self-Rising Flour has 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt per cup.
• King Arthur Self-Rising Flour has 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt per cup—less salty than White Lily.
• Pillsbury & Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour tend to be closer to White Lily in salt content.

Using Pret's recipe and White Lily self-rising flour, my cookies have been coming out a little over a quarter inch thick, about 4 ½ inches wide, crispy on the outside and really chewy. They have a great chewy texture, but unfortunately you can really taste the baking powder and salt. I don't remember having that issue in the past with other brands of self-rising, so at this point I wouldn't recommend White Lily self rising.

Well Browned Bakery Style Cookies

Another drawback to the self-rising flour is that without baking soda, the cookies don't brown as easily and you have to use convection or a higher heat or the top rack to get them brown.

Recipe in The Independent

For the original recipe, check The Independent or follow Pret on Instagram or Facebook 

There's an adapted version below with approximate volume measurements, but the original measurements were in grams so use the gram measurements if you have a scale.

The recipe calls for a lot of chocolate, so that is key. If you have some Valrhona disks or chocolate féves, this would be a great way to use them because you need a chocolate that melts and spreads into the dough.  Guittard Super Chocolate Chips work really well too.

A Similar Cookie Without Self-Rising Flour

For a similar chewy texture, my recipe for  Big Flat Chocolate Chunk cookies gives you the sweet and chewy texture without the baking powder flavor, but they are a little flatter than Pret's.

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• Self-Rising Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe