our favorite chocolate chip cookies
I suppose there comes a point in every food blogger’s so-called “career” when she posts her favorite chocolate cookie recipe, but I’ve avoided this point for a long time because, does the internet actually need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? 130,000 times no. But, the thing is, I do have a favorite. And sometimes, sometimes when you’re making a heavy meal full of classics that I’ll get to one by one this week, you want to end on a simple–but not too subtle–note. See, this cookie has what we affectionately call “a lot of chocolate to very little dough,” in fact, when you’re folding all of the ingredients together, it seems impossible that so many chocolate and pecan chunks will fit in so little batter, and the best part is that they barely do.
Who is the crazed, handsome genius who brings us this masterpiece? No, not Alex, though he did bake the cookies while I washed dishes on Sunday (see how we switched it up there? cr-azy!). It is, and really just has to be, the famed David Lebovitz, from his Great Book of Chocolate. And yeah, I was like the last person on earth to buy this but I’ve made up for it by making these cookies more than twice. More than twice. You have no idea how few recipes get even one repeat performance in the smitten kitchen, twice means that you need to print (yup, it’s working again) this post and go make these right now. In 30 minutes, you’re going to be all “Schmoll House who?” and you’ll never look back.
Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies*
The Great Book of Chocolate
So, here’s my chocolate chip cookie thing. The nuts are always well-toasted and they’re always finely chopped–as in, some will be the size of petite peas but many will be more like powder. What this gets you is a cookie filled with all of the awesome flavor of nuts, as well as the extra crunch, without the nuts actually interrupting your chocolate chip experience. Nobody wants their chocolate experience interrupted. Half the people who try them will have no idea there are nuts at all in there–thus hushing the nut haters–but they will know that there is something undeniably better.
Makes 20 cookies, or more if you use one of these tiny cookie scoops.
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (Deb option)
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.
Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
* Hey, Deb, Didn’t These Cookies Used to Go By Another Name? Why, yes, they did! As was explained in the original post, in his book, David Lebovitz names these cookies after a now-shuttered cookie shop in Ghiradelli Square, who bequeathed the recipe to them. However, the name of that cookie shop is now trademarked by an apparently unrelated cookie company who sent this site a Nastygram for the “unauthorized” use of their brand name which caused confusion among their customers who might wrongly believe that the recipe belonged to them and accusing this site of “intentionally capitalizing on their goodwill of their trademark.” Thus, the title has been updated.
[P.S. to Food Companies: This could be a case study in How Not To Get Bloggers to Warm to Your Brand.]
All of these comments had to be copied over during the server move. Sorry to the original commenters!
1#shana January 14, 2008
what is it with the chocolate chip cookies recently? these look lovely, i love how small they are. although inevitably that means i will eat. them. all. without even knowing it!
2# Pedro January 14, 2008
Partial feed. Grr. How can we encourage the end of the audition?
3# deb January 14, 2008
@#$! I had changed it back after Friday, wtf? Let me see what is going on.
4# David January 14, 2008
First you tell me Alex does dishes.
Then you tell me he bakes cookies?
Dear lord, I need to cool down.
(Too bad there’s no Murray’s in Paris…)
5# deb January 14, 2008
Oh, crikey. So, here is what is happened. Wordpress 2.3.2, the latest version (upgraded on Friday) only has two RSS options: partial and full. However, the “full†cuts off where you put the entry break in (I do mine about halfway through entries, so the front page doesn’t get too cluttered) and there is *no* way to undo this. I will see if there are any plugin solutions to this problem that my Wordpress Guru can install. In the meanwhile, this is Wordpress’s fault, and not mine, not that it is any consolation. Sorry for the inconvenience, people. (Though I do think we’re worth the click.)
6# radish January 14, 2008
Sorry about web troubles!! Am I missing something? I think I can see it all? Or am I not an attentive reader?? Question though – how do you cream chilled butter – i always bring mine to room temperature to cream bc it’s hard otherwise?
7# deb January 14, 2008
Actually, I was a little confused by that step, too, and always soften the butter a bit so it is mixable (though not as much as if I were making a cake). Perhaps we can get David to clarify?
8# Hilary January 14, 2008
[redacted, see note]??????? We used to go there all the time in San Diego. I must try this recipe!
9# Sharon January 14, 2008
Ooh these cookies looks so good! i like a high chocolate to dough ratio. btw, i have a new blog and i have linked you on there, if you don’t mind! been reading from day 1 :D
10# Jocelyn January 14, 2008
Yum. Cookies are my second favorite weakness in life. My first is well done french fries with melted cheese & gravy on the side (Disco Fries, you know I coined the term in 1992 and now every calls them that!) I think you should let me guest blog again someday and I will make Disco Fries at home for all of your favorite hungover readers!
11# Joy January 14, 2008
MMM…you’re making me drool. It’s not even the middle of January and my dieting sensibilities have escaped me!
12# Kathryn January 14, 2008
Oh how exciting! I remember [redacted, see note] from growing up, and I’d always get one of their white chocolate chip macadamia nut ones. I can’t wait to make these.
13# katy January 14, 2008
gorgeous. and I was about to ask why they are called [redacted, see note], but of course, you’re one step ahead of me! :-)
14# 13desserts January 14, 2008
oooh! I am a huge fan of your blog and reading it really encouraged me to set up my own. I am totally reassured that a seasoned pro such as you also posted a choc chip cookie recipe ;-), in my opinion, there can NEVER be too many of those!
15# applebranch January 14, 2008
hurray! thanks for this — again, a fortuitous connection between what you post and what I’ve been craving. Last night, i was thinking of a way to use up the leftover pecans from the holidays and was wondering how they’d work in chocolate chip cookies…and voila!
16# spoiledonlychild January 14, 2008
Deb, I fail to understand how one person, with a full-time job at the NYT no less!, can bake as much as you do. It blows the mind. Do you sleep? Do you ever leave the house? Do you do anything during your non-work hours other than cook and bake? And everything comes out so scrumptios and perfect looking. I think I’m onto you. You’re a robot, aren’t you?
17# deb January 14, 2008
I’m super-flattered that you think that I work at the Times (!)–heh, not yet anyway–but can assure you I’m not a robot. But we did do a lot of cooking this weekend because we were having about 7 people and one staggering drunk of a toddler over on Sunday. I’ll get a couple this week.
18# Judy January 14, 2008
Deb,
Just made the caramel cake and the glaze is really thin…I cooked it until 212 temp, should I have cooked it longer??
Thanks for any help,
Judy
19# Veronica January 14, 2008
I tried this recipe off of David’s site but ended up starting over with a new one recommending softened butter after a butter creaming fiasco. Chunks of butter flew around my kitchen. I have a hand mixer, not a stand mixer so maybe that’s the difference? If you or David could clarify, I would try these cookies again. I so wanted to bake the best ones ever. Thanks!
20# Chuck January 14, 2008
I’m one of those “nut hatersâ€, hate maybe a little strong, but I don’t like nuts interfering with my chocolate deserts. However, I could deal with finely chopped nuts. The extra crunch sounds great!
Regarding your full feed issue, check out this plugin, which should solve your problem.
21# Warda January 14, 2008
That is so funny! David’s chocolate chip cookies are my favorite in the whole wide world too. I made them last month about three times just to make sure that they are indeed my favorite. And they are! (My hips will testify of that!) And the butter does cream pretty easily with the help of the sugar. I’m guessing the brown sugar has something to do with it.
22# moe January 14, 2008
These look great! Out of curiosity, what kind of chocolate chips do you use?
23# mike January 14, 2008
Sounds delicious and I agree about the nuts. Small/finely chunks or none at all in my cookies!
24# Anali January 14, 2008
I just printed it! Yum!
25# Helios January 14, 2008
I’ll have to try this recipe. My current favorite is Dorie Greenspan’s “Best†Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe in her Baking: from My Home to Yours. But your rave review makes me want to try these ones just to be sure! :) Nut free though. I’m a chocolate chip cookie purist that way.
26# deb January 14, 2008
Judy — I learned last night that my thermometer is a total piece of ahem, its temperature could be as far as 50 degrees off, likely explaining why my caramel topping was so thick. The original recipe’s picture shows a thin caramel that soaks in more, and many other commenters experienced this, thus your outcome was correct. If you want it thicker next time, like mine, go ahead and cook it quite a bit hotter. In the meanwhile, I’ll be investing in a thermometer that costs more than $2.99 but more on that later this week.
Moe — I’ve been using Ghiradelli because they’re the best-quality readily available ones in the stores I go to. I love their flavor, but their size is a little mega making them dominate the smaller-sized cookies I prefer to make. Nobody complains, but it’s just something I notice.
27# Mer January 14, 2008
“’Schmoll House who?’â€
I love your writing style. You make me laugh.
28# Alice January 14, 2008
I’ve made these cookies before and they are SO good. The chocolate and nut and nut content compared to the dough is higher and I think that’s why they taste better the, what did you call it, Schmoll House cookies dough? haha.
29# JEP January 14, 2008
Yes, I do need this choc chip cookie recipe & my tummy thanks you for it:)
30# Jane M January 14, 2008
I love cookies! I just don’t like the way each batch I bake come out differently. I know, sometimes my butter isn’t at room temp, sometimes it’s humid out, sometimes I’m not careful in measuring…but all in all I REALLY REALLY ENJOY BAKING. I just have to tell you, last week I made the goulash…IT WAS OUTTA-THIS-WORLD YUMMY! I’ve got probably 13 pounds of biscotti dough in my fridge waiting to bake them off for a Trade Show starting on Thursday. My customers LOVE my baking and many have asked me if I’m baking again for this show! They won’t be disappointed –I HOPE!
31# Kristin January 14, 2008
Oh my…my son just made me buy chocolate chips at TJ’s and I hadn’t yet found a recipe…what luck I found in this post tonight! Yay!
32# Amy January 14, 2008
While we’re on the subject of feeds and entry breaks and such, can I mention that I preferred when you used to have the break always happen between the writing and the recipe? Sometimes I don’t click through to the recipe, but I always read all of the writing. These days I never know whether there will be more writing if I click or not!
Fantastic idea to chop the nuts finely, by the way — I myself am a “nut haterâ€, but I don’t actually hate nuts (in fact I rather like them!) what I really hate is the interruption, just as you describe.
33# StickyGooeyCreamyChewy January 14, 2008
Lol, I must be working too hard. I was halfway through your post before I realized that they were “[redacted, see note]†and NOT “Blue Chocolate Chip Cookiesâ€! Sigh….I need a vacation.
Whatever they’re called, they look awesome. Of course, most of David’s recipes are.
34# Katie January 14, 2008
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, too. Glad to see that others appreciate them!
35# meg January 14, 2008
Oh, no! I had gotten so excited about your pickled carrots – SO excited – that I made a bold statement that I’d planned to make them, in anticipation that they would be so delicious and snackable that I could finally resist chocolate for, like, a week.
And before I can even say “vinegar,†you’re trying to get me to make chocolate chip cookies, instead! And I have to say – you’ve done such a good job selling these cookies that I just don’t know how strong my vegetable-willpower will be!!!
But THANKS for them both – I can’t wait to dig in!
36# Val January 14, 2008
Deb, I also made the caramel cake, and the glaze came out thin as well. Yours looked so thick and perfect. I cooked it to 212, as stated in the recipe. Any thoughts?
37# TaratheFoodie January 14, 2008
I never thought to toast the nuts before adding them to the cookie batter and I’m not sure why. That’s a great idea and I’m sure it really adds to the flavor. These sound SO good and if I wasn’t watching what I eat right now, I would make these in a heartbeat. I’ll be sure to make them maybe on Valentine’s Day (when it’s acceptable to eat something bad for you always).
38# alison chino January 14, 2008
we made these tonight at our house and they were a huge hit! thanks for such a great recipe!! sooooo good!
39# caitlyn January 14, 2008
My current favorite chocolate chip recipe is from “The Good Cookie†by Tish Boyle, but your cookies look amazing. I’ll have to give them a try — thanks for sharing!
40# kathryn January 15, 2008
I’m going to make these without telling the (anti-nut) husband about the nuts. Wish me luck!
41# lobstersquad January 15, 2008
Deb, bless you for giving it in grams too. It´s very similar to my favourite recipe. I always think there´s no way all those chips will fit, but somehow they do. Next batch, I´ll try them with toasted nuts, too, following your sage advice.
3 days? Do you seriously think these cookies (either 20 or many more using the tiny scoop) would actually last 3 days in this house?
Not a chance. :-) Yum!!
The pictures alone are clogging my arteries. Yummy!
Hi–I made these cookies last night, but they turned out horribly! They were so greasy, they just melted into little pools in the oven and were so big and flat and meh, definitely not like your photos. I can’t really see what I could have done wrong, I followed the directions to a T. Does the recipe maybe just have too much butter? Anyone else have problems with this? Usually, your recipes turn out so well when I try them…
I made these this weekend as well, and while I wasn’t crazy about them (no matter what, I can’t warm up to walnuts in cookies), they actually came out beautifully and all the walnut lovers loved them. I’m looking forward to trying them again with just chocolate chips (sorry!). Clee, did you soften the butter? These have the unlikely direction to keep the butter cold. I wonder if that is why yours came out so greasy?
I tried these, coincidentally with the Ghirardelli’s chips and no walnuts (lots of allergic people in my life) and the chips were large enough to really hold the cookie together on their own. I am definitely more a fan of chewy, but my boyfriend prefers crunchy and I caught him standing in my kitchen in his underwear eating these for breakfast. Keeping the butter cold definitely made a difference given the amount of sugar in the recipe.
I whipped up a batch of these babies for a dinner party I held the other night. Unfortunately I didn’t have any nuts to throw in them, but they were still great!
Deb – these cookies were absolutely fabulous. I can’t thank you enough for sharing the recipe. I doubled the recipe, and was ever-so pleased. I wrote it up on my own blog too – giving you and David L all the credit.
http://tastingspoons.blogspot.com
Thanks!
I tired these today and they were huge (not like in your picture at all). They also spread and were flat and thin. I followed the directions exakctly. What did I do wrong? They still taste good, not great and just don’t look lihe pic
So, I made these today. Delicious. I’m not sure, however, that I like them better than “Schmoll House.” I really think that the beauty of Toll House is the slightly salty dough contrasted with the sweet chocolate chips. The dough here was a little, well, nondescript. Maybe I just like a little more dough to the chocolate chip ratio. Maybe I’ve just eaten so many thousands of Toll House that I’m desensitized to new chocolate cookie recipe adventures. Whatever . . . these are good, just not my favorite.
Im trying these tomorrow and i can’t wait! I’m sure they’ll come out purrrrfect! The best thing for an elementary school girl’s reunion! And my analogy for testing the best ever chocolate chip cookies entirely depends on how much milk you manage to consume with only ONE cookie.. hihihi and if Deb’s pics are any indication… i think one of these [redacted, see note] will definately require 2-3 glasses of cold milk!
I too had the problem of flat and thin cookies, though everyone in the house gobbled them up in record time anyway. The second time, even though I yes, used very cold butter, I also refrigerated the finished dough for an hour before scooping them into balls and baking – made all the difference. Still not as high as in these photos and they did spead a little, but the coldness did make a BIG difference. Just thought I’d share.
I made these last night and am currently brushing yet more crumbs off my skirt after an illicit sample. (Or two.) (They’re supposed to be dessert for a dinner party tonight. We’ll see how many make it.) Absolutely delicious, so thank you. I’m always on the hunt for good cookie recipes. I made a few mistakes I won’t make next time (butter not cold enough, nuts not toasty enough), but these cookies absorb mistakes like George W. Bush.
I’m apparently punchy because comparing something so wholesome and delicious to P. Bush feels like heresy.
Smitten, I made these last night and brought them to work this morning for an office valentines celebration. And now I have to swat my co-workers’ greedy hands away! Thanks so much for sharing. They came out great.
I couldn’t find this in your recipe index and felt momentarily flustered and upset.
Oddly, they were the biggest hit with my “I don’t like too much chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies” boyfriend so I just HAD to make them again.
(That is, b/c then I’d have someone else to absorb the guilt and help me eat them all.)
Anyway, I don’t know if it was my impatience, but just a heads up that it might not be in the index?
I had the same problem as Jeannie and Angie — my cookes spread out a lot in the oven, were super-thin, crispy, and looked nothing like your photos. I will try refrigerating the dough longer, but I wonder if they could use a little more flour (or if maybe the baking soda should have been added with the dry ingredients instead of the wet? I am just making things up here, now). So sad, because your pictures look great and that is what I have been craving all weekend!
awesome site and recipes just bookedmarked your site.. i love choc chip cookiess my sites dedicated to these devilish things lol
go to my cookie recipes and check it out. keep up the cool work
happy bakin
ben
i was a little confused at first about the chilled butter–i didn’t get that creamy consistency that i normally do. i even had ridiculous thoughts of adding a little melted butter just to soften it up a bit. thank god i didn’t–i kept to the recipe, and the cookies turned out great. these are amazing, and before this experience, i WAS a toll house lover (as well as a no-nuts, low chocolate to cookie ratio kind of girl). i’ve been converted. thanks for the recipe :)
I made these cookies about a month or two ago, and I’ve made them a few times since then! These are, in my opinion, the BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER. Thanks for sharing this recipe!! :)
I actually used to work and bake at two [redacted, see note] franchises, I will try the recipe and let you know how it measures up!
I was looking through the ‘prints’ photos for sale and wanted to know what the recipe is called for the first image in the cooking section. It appears to be a rolled dough that forms a bit of a spiral. It looks like it could be some kind of pastry or bread-like thing.
thanks!
It might either be the chocolate babka or the rugelach pinwheels. Either are astoundingly delicious, if I do say so myself.
My biggest beef with the Schmoll house recipe is that it’s always “Sea of dough….lump….sea of dough…..lump” – the lumps being the chocolate chips. This recipe is the exact opposite – PERFECT consistency & chocolate nirvana. I just made the recipe & will be making a triple batch for an upcoming wedding cookie table.
I’ve just made these (well, I mixed up the batter, it’s going in the fridge until Saturday morning!), and I could NOT stop eating the dough! OMG! Last time I made these I realized they were the best chocolate chips cookies I have ever made OR eaten!
The only thing that worries me is I forgot to used chilled butter this time. I forgot and brought it to room temperature first. Luckily it wasn’t super soft, but I hope they turn out as good as the last batch!
I just wanted to THANK YOU for sharing this amazing recipe with the rest of the world!
Oh. My. I just made these. They’ve got to be the best ones I’ve ever made/had. I had a craving for chocolate & they hit the spot. I couldn’t even wait for them to completely cool. I *almost* didn’t have to go back for another. :) I used dk brown sugar since that’s what I had on hand. My cookies also spread out but who cares? I am normally no-nuts-in-my-cookies! but these barely registered with me. They were perfectly chewy with a slight crunchy edge. My fiance loves his mother’s cookies dearly; he took his first bite & asked me if they were really from scratch!? Yea, I told him, don’t you worry.
I have tried so many of your recipes & have more on my list “to do.” Thanks Deb for these, gorgeous photography & fun reads!
I made these! Don’t look as delicious as yours, but still delicious!
Just made them! They’re tall and soft and slightly underbaked. Delicious!
This is in response to all the flat cookies. Well my first two batches came out flat before I remembered a tip I read somewhere on the internet that said to keep the cookie dough cold between batches. Well guess what…perfect beautiful cookies. I put the dough in the freezer and like magic the rest of my cookies honestly looked just like the picture. Good luck!
I just made these cookies, and indeed—ummmazing—-they were a perfect blend of crunchewiness ( it looks like I made up a new word). My only problem with the recipe as written, was the timing (or could the recipe temperature be a typo?). My oven is over the top accurate, and at 300º, the cookies only began to become pale golden at 25 minutes, versus 18 minutes as per the recipe. Probably a few more minutes in the oven would still not have hurt. The bottom line, once again, is that these cookies are absolutely “makeagainable”—(my second created word in this post!). The suggestion to finely chop the nuts, and use the accumulated nut “powder” as well—Brilliant!!! We LOVED these cookies.
Cheers all,
Jeff
I made these cookies last night…HEAVEN…tastes almost like my grandma use to make!!!
It’s going to take at least 20 of those cookies to fill me up.
These cookies are absolutely delish!!!! They’re my favorite thing to eat!
ummmm these are insanely amazing.
I love these cookies and was looking them up when I came to the infamous other site named above. I am glad to know that they are not the real deal, as the cookies on their site didn’t look as god as the ones above.
hehe, I mean good, although they are nearly worshipful.
they sure do sound tasty
They’re in the oven now … I toasted the pecans with a bit of melted butter …
This has become a rare repeat in my kitchen as well. I love trying out new recipes, but there are so many wonderful qualities in these. I LOVE toasted pecans; I think they totally make a great chocolate chip cookie. I even love the smaller batch size. I’m bringing them to dinner with the extended family tonight, and I know I’ll be proud to share them.
These cookies are the best cookies of its kind. I switched it up a little this time using 2 cups of white chocolate chunks and half a cup of chocolate chips, which will more than likely have perfected this chocolate chip cookie recipe
had the problem that others had where even with cold butter, the cookies spread flat and looks nothing like your photo.
you should probably add something like ‘put dough in fridge if dough is not firm after mixing’ somewhere in your directions.
baked these while watching the super bowl.
mine spread a bit thin, but i did have them in the fridge to firm up. they are quite tasty. and, i ate too many.
These cookies have become a instant favorite in my house. They are so simple yet so good. I made them without nuts and they were perfect. Thank you so much
halp!
i’ve tried this recipe twice. and it came out…. funky. they spread A LOT, were very flat and were textured really weird. i chalked it up to my mistakes (i forgot to add the brown sugar at first and ended up adding it in with the flour and i had no vanilla extract so i just left that out, i used parchment paper). The second time around i followed the recipe to the letter. measured correctly, baking soda was fresh, had the vanilla… and got the SAME results. (only difference is i used wax paper… but i used it waxy side down) they taste OK but they don’t look like yours and i imagine the texture of yours isn’t much more on the crunchy side than the chewy side. any suggestions??
The proportions of ingredients in this recipe (key ingredients anyway: egg/ flour/sugar/butter) are like the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips packet. I make that recipe all the time, but use exactly half the butter required. I find the grease content of many cookie recipes just way too high — for my own tastes. I think cutting back the butter to 1/2 a stick in this recipe, and even taking the chocolate chips down to just 1 cup would solve the problem of folks who find their cookies too crisp and crunchy.
this cookies were wonderful! very easy to put together and an instant family favorite! we made our cookies really big and cooked them a little longer, but of course the flavor was all there! thanks for the recipe! i’ll tell all my folks! they were most definately not a pool of grease!!!
just thought i should own up to making these cookies pretty much every other week…usually either dark dark chocolate chip or white chocolate chip. yum yum yummy yum! my thanks to you for this most pleasing of recipes, my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie is now, i think, finally at an end!
These are in the oven right now and they smell so amazing. The toasted nuts, chocolate and salt are a heavenly combo. Will definitely keep this recipe in the rotation. Thanks!
I just made these here: http://www.laurasaur.com/2009/03/15/chocolate-almond-cookies/ and they are awesome.
Ok, since everything I have made from this site has been AWESOME, I’m off to go make these to give away! Alas, minus the nuts (though I Love them, I know the teenage boys won’t). Can’t wait to try one! BTW–the oatmeal raisin cookies from here were soo good. perfect.
i made these tonight and they were described as ‘pretty perfect’ by all who tried them. exactly the right amount of chocolate and exactly the right gewy/chewy/crunchyness. thank you! i also made the grasshopper brownies which were AMAZING. i am quickly becoming a smitten-kitchen addict :) thank you!
This is the 2nd time I made this recipe. We love it – perfect texture. We didn’t use walnuts, but only because we don’t have them on hand & I only make cookies when I’m having a craving…it doesn’t really warrant a trip to the store. Even w/o the nuts, they are delicious. And I LOVE that it’s a smaller recipe than most – less work, less cleanup, less ingredients…perfect for a small family.
At the end of a long night of studying, I found myself in desperate need of a warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie. Or, as it turns out, four. This recipe came to my rescue. Thank you.
I made these chocolate chip cookies and they were delicious. A couple of things that I did not like were my cookies did not come out like yours in the picture. Mine came out flat and the cookies became very crispy and hard after a day or so. Any suggestions on how to avoid these. I want to make them again but I thought maybe, I should bake them at 10 minutes instead of 18 minutes. What do you think? Thanks. I also made your Jacked up banana bread and it was great!!
I made these tonight and was also somewhat disappointed at the way they turned out. A bit flat and greasy for me too. And I followed the recipe to a tee.
I think the chewy oatmeal cookie recipe on this site- chocolate chips added- is far better. I’m wondering if it will work just as well sans oatmeal??
made these today and they came out lovely. Thank you
I made these today, and the results were not at all what I had hoped. The cookies were spongy, flat, not chewy or crispy at all. Do you have any idea what could have gone wrong?
I just made these cookies in fact the second batch is in the oven now….. THEY ARE FANTASTIC!!!!! I have been looking for a recipe that seemed easy and this is super easy and tastes great!!!!
while i really like david lebovitz and most of his recipes, i’m not feeling these cookies AT ALL. it’s not the proportion of dough to chocolate that might put some people off, it’s the proportion of butter to flour. i used toasted chopped walnuts, chopped chocolate from a ghiradelli bar, chilled the batter overnight and i found them to be flat. and greasy.
not my style for a ccc… i won’t be making these again.
OMG…..I remember this cookie recipe from WAY back! I was just a kid and watched the original cookie shop (which will remain nameless) owners make this recipe on a local SF talk show and. I made them all through high school and then kinda moved on to baking other things. As I type, I have a cookie sheet full of them in the oven. They are just as I remember them. Yum! So glad I ran across your blog! TY!
I’m a huge fan of your site, and so far you haven’t steered me wrong… I’ve made these cookies about ten times, and they turn out wonderfully! My little brother always tells me I’m the “best sister in the world” when he smells these baking in the oven. Keep up the good work, these are a hit with my family and friends!
and for those who had a problem with flat, greasy cookies, I used a couple of TBSP LESS butter than the recipe, and baked for thirteen minutes, not eighteen.
I’ve baked these twice and they are a revelation- it’s hard to decide if I prefer these or Jacques Torres’ chocolate chip cookies (adapted by David Leite). Both are amazing.
I just baked these up this morning, but instead of chocolate chips, I used chopped Scharffen Berger 62% chocolate. They are delicious and I can’t wait to share them with my coworkers. I cook and bake regularly and post results on facebook. A lot of my friends have asked me to start a blog, but I just tell them that since my recipes mostly come from you, they should just visit your site! Thanks for all the recipes and baking therapy!
I just pulled these out of the oven and they are really good! (I’ve already eaten two.) I added a bit of chopped caramel which surprisingly worked. Also, toasting the pecans makes them so much better so don’t skip that step.
I might these again, but have to say that my first attempt was disappointing. First sheet, the cookies were too pale, boring, didn’t have much flavor to them. They were not at all gooey (i.e., they were not underdone), but they just didn’t taste *baked*—as if the temp was not quite high enough for the flavors to develop. So I nudged the temp up from 300 to 315 for the subsequent sheets, and those cookies looked better—better color—but were way too dry and crumbly—almost dusty. We’re serious cookie eaters, but it was easy to not scarf these—we’ll likely throw most of them away.
I guess I should have read the comments because, I too, found these flat and greasy. I might try one of the other chocolate chip cookie recipes you have.
totally awesome cookies, seemed like gourmet cookies, the trick is using cold butter, and mixing butter and sugar long enough to get a smooth consistency. also be sure to use a ice cream scooper for dough when putting cookies on cookie sheet. but i use half of scoop. hubbie loved them too! jean =)
Flat and greasy?! Sounds like dough became too warm – in a warm winter house with the oven raging, best to stick the bowl in the fridge between scoopings. Also be sure to have a calibrated oven thermometer, this cheap tool has changed my baking life!
Many thanks for sharing this one Deb, the toasted pecans are the most delicious kind of genius! I used a mini-food processor with great results. Perfect.
Thanks for the recipe. It turned out grate.
Sadly, at the critical moment of adding choc chips to the dough, I discovered some life in the bag (luckily, the discovery was before the adding took place). So I unearthed some dark chocolate, grind it in the food processor, went over the edge and the chocolate partially turned into dust. Which frankly added some brown glow chocolaty crust to the cookie, and tasted fabulous. So at the end it is a success story.
I froze the unbaked balls and baked a small batch each time I felt we need some cookie after the dinner. And now they are waiting in the freezer for tonight’s New Year’s dinner along with their freezer neighbors Snickerdooddle balls. And the Icebox wafers log.
Happy New Year!
Deb, thank you SO MUCH for sharing your recipes and joy of cooking. I’ve had so much fun trying out your recipes. These turned out to be the best cookies that I’ve ever made, and I have you to thank. I love your anecdotes and your photos and recipes are awesome.
This recipe looks awesome but is there some way to reduce the sugar amt without compromising the cookie texture? My mom and I are diabetic and we’ve been on the search for the perfect choc chip cookie to no avail….(we live in the tropics and our cookie always turns out flat!)
I have a small question about the beating and the mixing. I’m from Holland and even though my English is good enough, I’m not sure what you actually do when beating and mixing: does one of them involve an electric mixer and the other a whisk? (I have the same problem with Dutch recipes, because we even use the same word for both methods.)
Thanks so much in advance!
Next time I will remember to read the comments before trying a recipe. Mine were also flat, crisp and greasy. Thankfully, half the dough went into the fridge because I ran out of time, so maybe those will be better.
Also, as I have one kid who doesn’t like chocolate, I made some with pistachio and apricot (cut small) rather than chocolate chips and pecans. The flavors work well.
Just made the batter! Its in the fridge chilling, I’ll bake em when im done with folding the laundry, I added semisweet,bittersweet and a bit of chopped up 70 percent organic chocolate bar so far the dough tastes awesome! Oh and instead of plain white sugar i used vanilla infused sugar :DD I dont know if that makes any difference but it smells great
DOUGH…Not batter, jeez im silly
Update: the dough that went in the fridge made even oilier, crisp cookies that bore no resemblance to the cookies in the picture. Not sure what didn’t work out there, but since I like a soft chocolate chip cookie, I think it’s back to the NYT cookbook recipe for me.
these are killer! I had no issues with the dough at all – popped them into the oven as soon as everything was mixed together. My husband and I are snowed in today outside of Philly and these are keeping us very good company! Thanks Deb and David – my 2 favorites :)
Baked these last night (although without nuts, since there were none in the house).
Sent off all 22 cookies to little sister’s class for Valentine’s Day.
Little sister came home with empty cookie tin.
Success. :)
I made these last night and they were flat and crispy. Then I added another half a cup of flour and voila! — perfect.
Haven’t made these as cookies but as a big cookie cake instead. I didn’t have any nuts on hand and I used chocolate bars and cut into chunks (much better than chips in my opinion). Wonderful!! I’m partial to a crispy, buttery outside with a soft inside. This is perfect! :D
Does using salted versus unsalted butter make a big difference in the flavour?
Best cookie. period.
Agree with Mariam. Can’t stop making this recipe; can’t stop eating these cookies. Thanks, Deb.
Karrah that sounds great I need a cookie cake recipe, any other tips for great cookie cakes?
these are obscenely good. thanks for sharing!
@Amanda — i would definitely forego the extra salt if using salted butter. yes, it makes a taste difference!
@Sarah – this recipe made a good 1/4″ cookie cake in a 10″ cake pan. (not too thick or thin in my book). i baked it at the same 300 degrees until it was just starting to get golden brown, any longer and it will get too dry (important!). then i just made some simple buttercream frosting in vanilla and chocolate and piped it on. any leftovers (hah!) just leave on the counter, mine didn’t last after 2 days. very good!
I made them and mind failed the aesthetics test terribly, but still taste pretty good. Any idea why they went completely flat for me?
Check out this tip post for some reasons that cookies spread.
I made these cookies this afternoon, sans nuts. Nuts have a place, just not in my chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, I made sure my butter was chilled, and after I made the dough (with 1 cup semisweet chips and 1/2 cup bittersweet), I refrigerated it for an hour. I still experienced more spread than I would have liked, but I think I can attribute some of that to my “organic” butter, the steaming hot climate (that may be a reach)…as well as the fact that I think I was over-ambitious in my beating of the sugar and butter. Still, the spreading was nothing horrific. Anyhow, with a one-inch cookie scoop I ended up with the obnoxious number of 23 cookies…which has mysteriously become fifteen in the last thirty minutes. These cookies are that good. These might just become my favorite chocolate chip cookies! Now, to box them all up before fifteen becomes zero!
I made these cookies for the first time a few weeks ago. They were so good, they disappeared in the first 24 hrs! (I have 4 kids and a chocoholic husband!).
I made them again a few days later and my kids called all of the neighborhood kids and again they disappeared in an instant!
I have baked homemade cookies almost every week/month for 15 years and this recipe definitely tops them all! I think the key is in the temperature of 300 and baking them longer. They are a perfect color every time!
Tried making these, followed the recipe to the ‘T’ and got some delicious dough, but when I baked they were flatter than the flattest pancakes! What could I be doing wrong? Am in the UK using a fan oven, could that be it? Thanks!
Apologies, just found the super handy tip post. Thanks Deb!
I just took these cookies out of the oven, and they are easily the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. I didn’t put nuts in because one of my friends is allergic, and these have the perfect amount of chocolate chips…I could go on and on about how delicious they are, but I’m sure you already know.
I made these the other day and this recipe is superb! I can’t find chocolate chips here, and I was lazy so I just chopped two dark chokolate plates quickly and, oh my, supersized chunks of chocolate in these cookies… highly recommended. I also used hazelnuts instead of walnuts, just roasted them and squeezed the thin inner shell off of them in a dry piece of cloth. Also recommended. I have now used three of your (cake/cookie) recipes and all turned out great, thank you for posting them :)
I just made these cookies but with a gluten-free flour mixture so my mom could eat them. they turned out pretty good, considering the other gluten-free cookies there are out there! i found once i put them in the oven, they did turn somewhat pancake-like as others above have stated but the overall product was delicious!
I just made these cookies a few hours ago and I love them. I left them in the refridgerator over night to test out the theory proved in the Consummate Cookie recipe. THey are delicious but I decided to leave half the batter in the fridge to fully test it out with 36 hours.
I have also made a few changes to them to make them a little more personal. I omitted the white sugar and used the equivalent amount in Splenda sweetener, though I did leave the brown sugar as it is. I also used only 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons in Greek yogurt. Finally, I used omitted 1/2 cup all purpose flour replacing it with buckwheat flour (Bob’s Red Mill, to be exact). Note that this DID NOT change the texture or taste of the cookie though it did make it darker- it just gave me a cleaner conscience when eating them.
Thank you, Deb!