If you’ve been following Smitten Kitchen outside this url recently, you might have noticed that a terrible, dangerous thing has happened: I revisited the epic, consummate even, chocolate chip cookies from David Leite via The New York Times, mostly because I was tired of looking at the unpalatably blueberry-ish photo of them atop the 2008 post, and eight years later, in basically the rom-com of cookie sagas, realized the thing I wanted most in a chocolate chip cookie was was there the whole time.
What, I wasn’t in love with them already? I mean, they did not go to waste. We are not monsters. They just felt too over-the-top to me to actually make a regular part of my life. They used expensive chocolate, demanded planning ahead and were in every way the very opposite of this salted chocolate chunk cookie, which I have since considered my go-to. For weekdays and such.
But now I see it. Sometimes life requires a 5-inch chocolate chip cookie because there are things that only a 5-inch chocolate chip cookie can do. Only a 5-inch chocolate chip cookie can have three distinct textures in one face-sized disc: deep, undeniably excellent crunchy edges, chewy and/or gooey everywhere else. Only 5-inch chocolate chip cookies are the mic drop of the category: you bring them out and everything else stops to take in this magnificence on a plate.
Or, as my father-in-law said, “It was very good of you to include some dough to hold this chocolate together.”
One year ago: Picnic Pink Lemonade and Crispy Frizzled Artichokes
Two years ago: Nancy’s Chopped Salad
Three years ago: Rhubarb Cream Cheese Hand Pies
Four years ago: Asparagus with Almonds and Yogurt Dressing
Five years ago: Fudge Popsicles
Six years ago: Shaved Asparagus Pizza
Seven years ago: Strawberry Shortcakes
Eight years ago: Molly’s Dry-Rubbed Ribs
Nine years ago: Zucchini Carpaccio Salad
And for the other side of the world:
Six Months Ago: Pull-Apart Rugelach
1.5 Years Ago: Twice-Baked Potatoes with Kale
2.5 Years Ago: Sweet Potato Cake with Marshmallow Frosting
3.5 Years Ago: Cauliflower Feta Fritters with Pomegranate
4.5 Years Ago: Caesar Salad Deviled Eggs
The Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie, Revisited
Source: Adapted, just a little, from David Leite via The New York Times
Note: You can watch an Instagram Story demo of me making these here.
- 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces, 280 grams or 2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (240 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (225 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt
- 3 1/2 cups plus 2 teaspoons (yes, really) (445 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 pounds (565 grams) bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60%
- Sea salt
With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light, fluffy and then some, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix to combine. Add vanilla, mix, then scrape down bowl. Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder and salt over dough and mix it until fully combined. Add flour all at once and mix it in short bursts until it almost completely disappears, but no longer. You don’t want to overmix it. Add chocolate pieces in and try to incorporate them without breaking them. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours, although I have totally had it in there up to 5 days are we’re all just fine.
Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a couple large baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Form dough into 3 1/2-ounce (100 gram) balls, which will seem completely absurd (they’re larger than golf balls, closer to skeeballs) but don’t fight it. If any chocolate pieces are right across the tops or sides of the balls of dough, try to bury them back in it. I find pockets of chocolate superior to exposed puddles of them. Arrange balls of dough very far apart on sheets (these cookies will be up to 5 inches wide once baked) and sprinkle the tops of each with a few flecks of sea salt.
Bake cookies for 12 to 17 minutes, until golden all over. This is a large range because I find that they range in how much they spread thus checking in at the early on on your first batch is safest.
Cool cookies on trays for 10 minutes, then transfer them to racks.
A bunch of notes: Revisiting this cookie required that I address a few issues I had with them the first time.
- The weight of the bread flour [8.5 ounces for 1 2/3 cups, or 145 grams per cup] in the original recipe is incorrect. Bread flour fairly reliably clocks in at 120 to 125 grams per cup, so this should be 200 to 210 grams or 7 to 7.4 ounces. I don’t think a lot of people cared because most people used the cup measurement but it likely would have led to a thicker and more dry cookie. This and other corrected weights below work just fine but I really believe this recipe was imagined for cups and spoons foremost.
- The other big item many people questioned in the original recipe was the logic of enlisting a low-gluten (cake) and high-gluten (bread) flour, almost 1:1, instead of replacing them both with a medium-gluten flour (all-purpose). David Leite says that “The combination creates a higher protein level than all-purpose flour, giving it a bit more tooth.” But I found the texture from all-purpose flour to be perfect, and will only use this from now on.
- Being me, i.e. lazy and hating washing dishes, I got rid of that pesky two-bowl and sifting thing.
- The biggest headache of this recipe is its particular insistence that you use Valrhona fèves, large, oval .125-ounce bittersweet chocolate discs of exquisite quality and extravagant price point, to make these cookies. As I make these rarely and they’re almost always to spoil guests, I splurge on them. [This bag will cover you for 1 1/2 batches + a handful of luxurious snacking and is the best price I’ve found] However, other chocolate baking discs (larger and flatter than chips) work here too; a favorite of mine for baking are Guittard’s chocolate wafers [however, I used to get them for $10 to $11 per pound, and they’re now the same price as the Valrhona link above so…]
- Finally, please keep in mind that this a cookie for chocolate fiends. Great pools of melted chocolate fill every bite; the dough, as my FIL joked, is little more than glue holding these puddles together. These Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies are smaller and also riddled with chocolate, but less excessively so. These Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are much closer to the Toll House original (but better in flavor, we think).
om nom nom!!! I will *definitely* have to try these out!!!
How can this possibly be better than your crispy chewy chocolate chip cookies?
Oh, seems to be the perfect cookies!
o_0 What an inappropriately short glass of milk that cookie is being dipped into……
I love these cookies and also love seeing how different people tweak the original recipe. When I make them (which is more often than I should probably admit), I usually use the bread and cake flours, but stick to good-quality chocolate chips, which I actually prefer to the feves. My best tip for these cookies and many others is to shape the dough and then freeze it, unbaked. This allows me to have exactly the right number of freshly baked cookies whenever the urge strikes.
Do you freeze the dough as “balls” or do you flatten them prior to freezing?
I don’t know about Lindsay, but I freeze them as balls. An hour or so before I’m ready to bake, I pull the number i need out to thaw.
I’ve worked in a number of bakeries and this is how they always do it.
These are amazing! I do go a bit smaller on the size – just my preference. I had made another similar recipe that required the 2 flours – it was supposed to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe but I really didn’t like it – found the texture tough – barely edible. I actually didn’t eat any of them after trying them on 2 different days. My kids ate some but most actually got tossed (a first for chocolate chip cookies in my house). But these are delicious!
Anyone made these gluten free? What type/brand of flour(s) did you use?
I flatten my dough balls just slightly before freezing, then bake straight from the freezer.
Having recently made the 2008 version several times recently, I really appreciate the update! Also, I use weights in grams (heyyyyyy Canada!) so I love this inclusion too. Makes such a difference in baking to have tested and accurate recipes. Going after feves this afternoon!
Hey Sarah! How did they turn out?
Your FIL’s comment cracked me up. I’m usually into chocolate-chip cookies for the cookie — I, uh, sometimes just leave out the chocolate chips, which I’m pretty sure ifssome form of heresy — but for a chocolate craving! Oh my.
I too prefer more “cookie” in my cookies. I like to use a blend of milk and semi sweet chips and then I take a chunk of bittersweet chocolate and grate a couple of tablespoons into the dough. Yum
Chocolate chip-less cookies are a favorite with me, my husband and daughter! But some people do find it ridiculous – my mom always says “what’s the POINT of them?” :)
I am so confused! Made the recipe as stated and they are dry and not flat and actually gross. I did not get the greasy, yes I wanted that, FLAT cookie. I used all purpuse flour, the 3.5 cuos plus the little extra and I see why…when you pulse that is about how much comes out of the blender…please helo me I want the cokkies in the picture
IMHO, you (or anyone) shouldn’t be making this (or most other) recipe without Weighing Flour. This is supposed to be 445g , if I remember correctly.
I am a complete devotee of Deb but I had the same problem, my dough was crumbly and dry! I added more butter until they came together. I think it is what others are saying that the weighted measurements are accurate but not by cup, it was at least a 1/2 cup too much for mine.
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what’s happening. I actually make these all the time so it’s probably been tested 10x more than the usual recipe here. I usually use cups. I do fluff-then-scoop, which is also how my cups end up at 130 grams (and not, like 140 or 145 grams). I wonder if it’s the butter? I usually use basic grocery store stuff, American-level butterfat.
I’ve had this recipe in my arsenal for a long time, too. Once, I stupidly decided to downsize these into ‘petit four’ cookies for an event. That was the oxymoron of cookiedom.
Oh, my goodness gracious, Deb, your photos are becoming more and more outrageously tempting. I thought last month’s roasted carrot and avocado dish was the tastiest looking thing ever but no – this is it! Where the heck is the start-up youngster company inventing edible screens?? I want nothing more than to BITE into those chocolate chip cookie photos right this very second, I can’t wait for a batch to come out of my oven.
This is, without a doubt, the best cookie I’ve ever had. My in-laws ask me to make these every time I visit, and they think I’m some sort of wizard for it. Deb, you are improving marriages and expanding hearts and waistlines with this recipe. Thank you!
I just made these this last weekend–I don’t mind the two flours but I didn’t sift or use faahncy chocolate (just Ghirardelli 60% as you suggested) and I do, shame on me) make them much smaller, an overflowing regular cookie-sized scoop. The waiting 24 hours is the part that prevents me from making them more often but I’ll be honest, I’ve baked off a few after 2-3 hours in the fridge and they were just fine by me.
Lana,
I too make mine smaller (this way I can have more, right?)
The best cookie I’ve ever made and requested most often by my family and friends. Interesting to read your notes on the flour…its been so perfect using the two different kinds that I’ve never attempted to make them with just all purpose. Excited to skip the sifting and thanks for the link to the Valrhona feves…I can’t believe they’ve been on Amazon all this time!
I love this recipe. Aging the dough for a couple of days definitely improves it, though it leads to higher losses (just a bite…..oh, only a spoonful). I am unafraid of raw eggs.
The sprinkle of a couple of grains of salt also adds some umami.
I had this filed away, but now that you’ve brought it up, I can see this itch isn’t going to go away until I scratch it.
Love your FIL’s comment. I don’t spring for expensive chocolate due to financial constraints. Wondering if a giant bar of Trader Joe’s 72% dark choc. would work, though chopping it would be such a headache.
For the cost conscious, I used the Trader Joe’s pound plus 72% and I thought it worked wonderfully well! Chopping wasn’t too bad, either :)
Ive made these as originally written a few times and found the butter amount unnecessarily excessive, to the point that they seemed a little greasy. I’ll try your revised version because they look so good, though I’m not sure I’ll find much difference. Then again, it’s probably just me because I don’t recall commenters complaining before.
Just use 6 tbsp of coconut oil instead, as she suggested in the recipe – that way they are not greasy at all! I’ve tried this.
Thanks Deb!
I found my cookies got dry very quickly so it must have been because I weighed the bread flour and used too much. I will make the adjustment next time. Thanks for sourcing the chocolate too. You are still my favorite cook.
My family’s been making these cookies since they were first published. I do love chocolate, but the amount in the original recipe I find too overwhelming, so I only use half.
One day, if I ever make a batch just for myself, I’d love to make a batch without any chocolate. Like an earlier commenter, I really love chocolate chip cookies for the cookie and these have the best complex flavor ever.
Thank you for the adjusted weights! I’ve made the original recipe using the listed weights and always felt a bit “meh” about the cookies. I’ll have to give them a try with the adjusted weight. Thanks!
Would it be terribly wrong to use average-sized chocolate chunks instead of large ones? I understand that it wouldn’t yield the large puddles of chocolate, but I have all the ingredients at home except the large chocolate.
If I were to bake these without the testing time in the fridge, would they be a complete disaster? I was just about to bake some regular chocolate chip cookies for a cookout we are attending tonight when I saw this recipe and now I HAVE TO HAVE these cookies!!
*resting time, not testing. Sorry.
I’m another one who’s in it for the cookie part of the cookie, using far less chocolate. So good. As others have said, forming the blobs of dough then freezing them for later baking is the way to go. Let them thaw completely before baking.
The larger size of the cookies makes them reheat in the microwave very nicely, however, so if you must bake the whole batch, rest assured that warm cookies are just moments away whenever you please.
Chilling the dough — Do not skip this. This isn’t the recipe to do it. Cookies that do not chill for at least 24 hours will spread too much, and these cookies already spread a lot. There are recipes where you can better fudge steps but I encourage everyone on this one, where you’re already investing steeply in 1 1/4 pounds of chocolate and over half a pound of butter, to make good on your investment by getting the cookie the recipe intends out of it.
Using other types of chocolate — I haven’t made this with regular sized chips but it sounds like many people have with success. You’re not going to get the great puddles and layers of chocolate you see here, but if you’re not into it for the puddles and thin layers within, you’ll be fine.
If you’re looking for a chocolate bar to chop, I was thinking a thin one is best. (I often buy those Ghiradelli or other 4-ounce bars when I need a pinch of chocolate for a recipe.) Then, chopped into big chunks, they’ll still be thin like the feves and will be bury-able.
Julie — Just a different beast altogether. That’s a cookie. This is… a centerpiece. It has a lot more going on.
Regarding skipping the rest period: Last time I made these they were the best cookies of my life. I meant to make these to give to my super great doctor at an appointment this afternoon, but totally forgot to start them the day before. In a last minute panic, I tried putting the dough balls in the freezer for a couple minutes before popping them in the oven. They baked out normally, didn’t spread too much. The flavor (though still DELICIOUS), isn’t quite what it is if the dough rests overnight first.
Okay, Deb, I love your recipes. I also love your writing style – because you are able to convey your speaking voice and personality through the written word. Truly a talent!
But, I LOVE very crisp cookies – particularly of the chocolate chip variety. In fact, I actually like them burned a bit as it provides an amazing contrast with the bitter “burned” chocolate and the rest of the cookie. But, I know what most people like soft cookies. (Even I admit that if they are soft because they are still warm right out of the oven, I like them then.)
Any suggestions? Besides literally burning them? I know the batter could be modified but I’m not sure how. Or would it help to just put them in an oven that’s too hot so that they spread? (My local Whole Foods, for example, occasionally has crispy cookies and theirs look just like they were put in an oven that’s too hot because they have spread out on the sheet.)
At any rate, I love your recipes – particularly the ones of late where you are talking about the “cooler” recipes of summer and those wonderful salads (my fave type of meal).
Thanks!
P.S. I’m totally okay with giant blobs of chocolate and if I could have a crispy one with all that chocolate, so much the better!
Jill — These are actually crisp, or it’s hard to explain (and that’s like my job) but there’s a sturdiness to them. The edges have crunch. The undersides are firm. The tops are a little chewy and/or puddly. And thank you.
I took the bait, again…!!!! Really, this is a subject worthy of each and every one of your revisitings.
Confused — you keep referring to two flours, and I see only one flour in the recipe . . . . ?
I have adapted these as my go to with my biggest mod being that I use a mix of semi sweet and milk chocolate chips and I grate some bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate into the batter. Oh, and I only use AP. This recipe is fantastic. Since making these I rest all my cookie batter at least 24 hours , it makes such a difference.
These look fabulous! I am a bit confused about the flour. The recipe says all-purpose but the notes reference bread flour. What are you recommending to get the perfect cookies you describe with the crispy edges and gooey centers? Can’t wait to make these. Just need a bit more clarity. Thanks
@Sallye – the note re: bread flour refers to the 2008 version of this recipe.
In this revisited version, she uses AP flour.
A five inch chocolate chip cookie can solve lots of problems, especially when they look as yummy as these! Thanks for the recipe!
Ive recently made CC cookies with chunks instead of actual chocolate chips and I think there’s no going back. The pools of chocolate are irresistible. I must try this recipes and maybe even attempt a coconut oil version.
I recently made your *our favorite chocolate chip cookies* twice – once BEFORE the heat wave, once DURING the heat wave. Completely different results – so runny, spread-y while I was sweaty, cranky baking during the wave. Still delicious – but I prefer the former, and am in no hurry to bake in 90+ degree weather again (don’t tell anybody, but I don’t have air conditioning because I hate air conditioning). Listen up, folks – Deb’s directive to CHILL THE DOUGH ain’t whistlin’ Dixie. ps I dusted up my toasted pecans so well that nobody knew they were in there. http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/01/chocolate-chip-cookies/
These look so insanely delicious!
I love chocolate chip cookies with a variety of chocolate sizes. You could stretch your feves by using half feves (to get some great puddle layers) and half chips. I also like scharffen berger baking chunks which are a bit bigger than normal chocolate chips.
No way! I just broke down and made one of your chocolate chip cookie recipes last night! I thought they would still be around this morning, but no, my husband and I ATE THEM ALL!
I make the dough with chopped chocolate bars (70%), and roll them in to freezer logs. While undeniably chocolate-heavy, i find the dough itself the best ever and the crucial wait can be difficult. This way, there’s always a roll ready for last-minute company.
(I must admit I opened the old post after your teaser the other day and wondered a good minute about the blueberry muffins. Glad I wasn’t alone!)
Confusion about two flours — The first note IS confusing. It truly doesn’t matter at this point that the bread flour weight was off in the first recipe if we’re not using it. It was just a big A-HA THAT WAS IT for me when I realized it and I wondered why it hadn’t been fixed. So, in short, we’re only using one kind of flour this time (all-purpose) and it works just as well.
i think i’m in love. as soon as i can get my grubby little mits on the chocolate – these will be mine.
Ahhh I wish I hadn’t seen these after the chocolate factory store closed! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen pretty reasonably priced dark chocolate discs there. Alas I shall have to “settle” for the salted chocolate chunk recipe for my bday tomorrow but I can’t wait to make these! I’ve always been too lazy to make the other one since it didn’t have weights (washing measuring cups is just not on my agenda) and I’d think about doing the conversions and then shrug and make something else so I super appreciate this update!
Having just made Ina’s chocolate cake and splurging on Valrhona cocoa powder (daughter’s first bday – gotta make it special), I can say that I can vouch for the value in occasionally parting with a fair sum of money to get a truly superior product. Ordering the feves now!
Deb, I’m thinking of making a batch of these to freeze in the dough state for my new-mom SIL, so she can just pop them in the oven when she needs a treat. What instructions should I provide? Bake straight from freezer or allow to thaw first? And if the former, what do you think baking time would be?
Leah — Re, freezing, I’m actually about to do this so I will have to report back. My guess is that you can bake from frozen but it will certainly take longer; I often find that frozen balls of dough spread less in the oven, too. [And oh god, Valrhona ruined me too. I still keep Droste around for some things, but where cocoa is central, it’s unparalleled in quality. Best bet is to buy quantity or beg a friend to bring you back 3 1kg bags from G.Detou in Paris. And happy birthday to your babe!]
This has been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe ever since I tried it last year. Perfection every time!
Licking the screen has no calories but it doesn’t work very well.
THANK YOU FOR THE FLOUR MEASUREMENT ADJUSTMENT. I made the original twice–once with cake and bread flours at stated weight and once with APF because, as you said, law of averages–and they were sooooo…bulky? boring? mountainous? all of the above? I was like WHERE IS THE PERFECTION. I suspected 16-17 oz. of flour was a lot, but couldn’t really see my way out of it. So excited to try this!
(In a pinch, Ghirardelli bittersweet chips are a bit bigger and flatter than most, if looking at the Valrhona disks makes your bank account cry.)
These cookies look PERFECT! But I do have a slight problem. When I baked these cookies, there wasn’t much spread. And I feel the cookies turned out a bit scone-like. Sorry for the amateur question but is it better to melt the butter completely?
I experienced this too!
Looking Delicious and Perfect Cookies, I will Definitely try this one on my Son’s Birthday because he loves cookies to have…Before that proceeding I have one question what is the difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder.. by the way thanks for sharing your recipe with us..
I made the original recipe and plan to try yours since I have leftover chocolate but any suggestions on scooping the very cold dough?
Oh yeah girl. I am ALWAYS on the look out for bitchin’ choc chip cookie. Will definitely give this a whirl.
What a lovely post Deb! That photo of the kids pulling their Dad’s nose made my day.
Not to mention the thought of these giant ‘mic-drop’ category cookies! Loverrrrly….
Supposing I quick tempered the right weight in affordable but decent chocolate (eg Wegmans bulk Swiss dark at $9/lb), spread it thin on a Silpat and shoved it in the fridge while I assembled the ingredients and made the dough – when I broke up that sheet I would have the same layering and thin puddles, right?
Salt is listed in ingredients, but how much? A shake? Teaspoon? 1/2t?
I’m an occasional baker so I don’t trot off the main recipe as I do with savory cooking.
If you make these fairly often (which, ugh, we do!) you may want to check out Chocosphere’s website. They carry a huge line of Vahlrona’s chocolate. I buy the big bag as it stores really well and then I have the spheres when the mood strikes. http://www.chocosphere.com
My mother made the BEST chocolate chip cookies using schmaltz, but I have no idea how much or how to convert a recipe. Any thoughts? Ever tried schmaltz for cookies? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yes !! We are chocolate fiends and these sound to “die” for — or NOT!! :-) I love your sense of humor, BTW.Never a boring minute on your posts.Can’t wait to try these out.
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! If I don’t use fevres I used chopped chocolate and many of my recipients also make that comment about the chocolate to cookie ratio!
Interesting about the weights – I use the original weights and always measure out 17 oz of flour and love how they turn out! Maybe I’ll experiment with a oz less next time. Thanks so much!
I made the other “ultimate” cookies last week and took them to work to treat people who don’t get homemade cookies. Didn’t bring any home, they were gone by 11!
On request of one heathen who wanted oatmeal chocolate chip, I just replaced a cup of flour with a cup of oatmeal, seemed to work out fine.
As for the $11 dollar chocolate chips, I used a mix of Ghirardelli and cut up bars, worked fine.
My sentiments exactly! I’m all into broadening my baking horizons, and these 5″ crunchy-chewy-chocolaty cookies look amazingly delicious, so I will be making them…maybe incorporating a tiny bit of Valrhona white chocolate and who knows what else.
oh yes oh yes!!!
Hi Deb,
These look so delicious! I think they may be a bit over the top for my daughter-in-law who is expecting their first child (a Boy) end of June. Can you suggest a recipe that I can prepare and freeze for her when she gets a craving? I was thinking somethin she could just slice and bake????? Many thanks for all you do and share
With us. L
Hi Deb…. We love chocolate, but would like to use a bit less of the Valrhona. Would using only a pound instead of 1-1/4 pounds be too sacrilegious or throw off the rest of the recipe requirements? Thanks!
Chocosphere.com better price than Amazon for the Valrhona. If you use chips, it is simply a different cookie. I always have these in the freezer– first scoop dough into cookies right after making dough and refrigerate dough balls for 2 days. Then pop dough balls into freezer zip lock bags. Bake as needed straight from freezer. The best.
Anybody tried these with Earth Balance? My son can’t have dairy and that is a lot of butter substitute and chocolate to invest without knowing how they’ll turn out. I don’t want to have them in the house if he can’t have them but Oh my god I want to try them!!!
I made the cookies but they puffed up instead of spreading out. Mine didn’t look anything like your cookies. What went wrong?
For those on the west coast, I made these with See’s chocolate chips and they turned out well. The chips are bigger and flatter than normal and about $6-7 for a pound bag.
Four words: you are my hero!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Can’t wait to try these… We’ve got a 9 year olds birthday coming up and we might just have to make cookies rather than cake!!!
I’ll leave a review once I’m able to bake these incredible-sounding cookies (I’m on a new “regime,” and so sadly, it may be a while), but in the meantime wanted to point out a small typo:
2 1/2 sticks sticks) unsalted butter
They look so soft, and moist and delicious, amazing!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
I’ve been experimenting with using read flour & cake flour instead of all purpose flour for decade
My post somehow cut off most of what I wrote!
My cookie dough experients by now are focused not only on packing in the chocolate but on the flavor and texture of the cookie itself. Face, the new as well as old cookies have a bland and boring flavor that takes second place to the chocolate.
IT DOESNT HAVE TO!
Try this, using the standard Toll House type recipe as a guide:
(1) unchanged: 2 sticks butter or healthy tasty margarine, 2 t. Vanilla, 1 t. Salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 eggs, any good quality or high cocoa chocolate chips you like.
(2) ADD 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain yoghurt or nondairy yoghurt together with the eggs.
(3) for the flour, use 1 cup bread flour, 1/3 cup whole barley flour, 1/3 cup whole oat flour, and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. ADD 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ and 1/4 cup wheat bran.
(4) after mixing the chips in, let the batter sit at room temp. for about 2 hours, then spoon out rounded tablespoons onto parchment covered cookie pans & bake at 350F until the cookies are lightly browned at the edges or light golden in color on top.
Try this!
So sorry – the sugars must be 1 cup packed DARK brown sugar & 1/2 cup white granulated sugar instead of the standard.
Flour?
I have been making this recipe since 2008, when I needed a chocolate chip recipe that would withstand being shipped from Miami to Boston to a homesick college freshman. I’m still making these as that freshman is about to get his Ph.D. I mold the dough into three logs that I wrap in wax paper prior to the refrigeration phase. I then merely slice them into 3.5 oz. prior to baking. I use chocolate chips sold in bulk at Costco and they come out fabulous.
Patty! I also had this problem. They puffed up. They are yummy but not what I imagined or was described. I still have a third of the batter in the fridge, I might try again but bake them closer to room temperature, see if softer butter does the trick.
I’ve adored these cookies since you first posted them.
Earth Balance works fine instead of butter. When a cookie does not spread out as much as you want and instead puffs up, it is possible that you have a bit too much flour. If the cookie spreads too thinly, you may want a bit more flour in the batter. Next time, to get a more spread out cookie, take your measured amount of flour and remove about 2 Tablespoons and set it aside. Then bake ONE test cookie to see how it turns out. If it spreads too much, add 1 spoonful of flour to the batter and stir it in well and bake another test cookie, etc.
Glue holding chocolate puddles together can only be a great thing. Such an epic cookie!
I didn’t think there could be a recipe better than Toll House and here it is. I chocolate chip cookie is my favorite food of all time and probably the recipe I’ve made most in my 33 years. Deb, I’ve made almost every one of your recipes and you never cease to amaze me with your perfect recipes and super fun writing style. You’re the best EVER! I love your site!
I will definitely try these because 1)they look delicious and 2)the measurements are also in grams. Thank you. The Lazy Baker x
I have been making these for years. They freeze beautifully – put them out at room temp for 10 min before baking or add a few minutes in the oven. My only critique from making these soooo many times is I don’t think the chocolate measurement is correct. I find that 1 lb is more than enough – when I have tried to incorporate 1.25 lbs I end up with discs that aren’t mixed in and some cookies with not enough chocolate to dough ratio. These are truly the best and I will try with all purpose next time!
I’m with those who like the cookie with not so much chocolate. I use the Guittard “super cookie chips” in the brighter yellow bag. Their regular ones come in a gold bag. They are larger and flatter though not quite as large as the valrhona feves. They are also semi sweet rather than so dark which I prefer. One bag is perfect for me but buy two if you want the full amount in your cookies. Thanks for the flour tweak my dough with all purpose flour is chilling and I can’t wait to try baking them soon!
I am super tempted to revisit these. I made Leite’s and something was wrong with them. I possibly got the wrong cocoa level chocolate or I just got a bad bag of chocolate but while the cookie portion was marvelous, some bites of the chocolate were crazy bitter–I almost threw out the batch (but I powered through, because I am so sad I will even eat bitter cookies.) Thanks for the push, Deb. You’re like the personal trainer of eating ;)
I remember making the original version a few years ago, and felt as though the two types of flour weren’t worth it. But I tried the updated version this past weekend, and it’s love! It should be emphasized that looking for golden all over is key, rather than just having the edges being golden. I didn’t do that with my first batch, hoping for a chewier cookie…but even with the 10 minutes cooling on the cookie sheet, the chocolate was so heavy and the cookie wasn’t set enough, so the center of the cookie actually collapsed through the wire rack! Definitely don’t want to go for slightly underbaked here.
That’s great news about the A/P flour! I’ve made these before with wonderful results, but have stopped making them because I usually don’t have cake flour around.
Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous in San Francisco makes the best chocolate cookies around here, and they use chocolate disks. The disks create layers of chocolate within the cookie. (M&MM also make inventive and delicious ice cream and peanut brittle.)
Would a 3tbs scoop work, do you think? I have 1tbs, 2tbs, & 3tbs cookie scoops. Or are these bigger than that even??
Thanks! I can’t wait to try, I’m guessing these will be a huge hit :)
Deb- All this chocolate madness…… yum. You are a menace to society. And my waistline. Keep it up.
Hi Deb – I found the Guittard discs at Sahadi’s in Brooklyn for $6 a pound. You’re welcome! Plus…hummus.
It is just delicious!
Am I commiting blasphemy if I use a combo of dark and milk chocolate?
Not sure I will ever get around to making cookies with expensive chocolate but “a handful of luxurious snacking” sounds pretty good right now.
You know, your comment about flour protein levels just sparked a realization. I generally use AP King Arthur flour, which has a higher protein content than standard AP flour, and it gives cookies a great bite/chew.
…My laziness has likely been resulting in a similar slightly-elevated protein level as the original high/low gluten flour combo.
Several flavours of Valrhona fèves are almost always in stock at a bulk store at one of the markets here in Montréal (still at their pretty price of $4/100 grams, however!) so I am one of the lucky ones who knows they can make these whenever they want! Like you, I’ve never bought into the cake flour/bread flour combo though. AP is totally fine!
I love this dough but I bake them differently because fundamentally we enjoy a cookie that is as soft as possible. I never refrigerate the dough, which I actually feel kindof ruins the texture–instead I bake right away, in normal-sized balls, watching them very carefully, for maybe around 8 minutes. I think that both AP flour or the combo listed here works fine, as do normal chocolate chips. The salt on top adds a nice touch, and they are always a big hit.
I can’t get over how big these cookies are! I feel like I’m baking for a giant. They are absolutely delicious by the way. I threw some heath toffee chips in because I’m just like that. I can’t ever seem to follow anything to the letter.
Here in the Pacific NW, we have a grocery chain with a huge bulk section – Winco. They sell a 64% chocolate disc, which I am 99% certain is guittard (they also sell other guittard in bulk chunks). I bought a bag today at the price of $4.64/lb. I do apologize to those who don’t have a Winco available. :-)
Hi Deb, apart from chocolate, of course, would you say the butter to be somewhat the guarantor of success for these cookies? I often (if not always) am “obligated” (!) (ex-butter fan) to cook with the lactose free margarine much to my dismay (my spouse is intolerant to lactose). After reading the post, and the 24-76 hr chilling, I hesitate. (this said ALL of your recipes I made have been successes…) Thanks!
Caroline — I’d say butter is a big thing here; it may not be everything but I find it contributes a lot to the crisp corners and texture.
Hi Deb, do i need to thaw, or leave it till room temperature to bake it when take the fought our from the fridge? I found my cookies didn’t flatten as your pictures showed. Though they still taste good but the center is cakey but i was expected them to be more chewy. Thank you!
CHLOE — I bake them right from the fridge, well, sometimes softened a little so they’re easy to scoop. If yours are staying too tall, perhaps let them sit out a little bit longer and see if it helps.
Deb, these look divine!! i was wondering if you would mind sharing what chocolate you used. one of my favorite cupcakes to make is a chocolate ganache cupcake with a peanut butter swiss meringue. each time i make it i try to use a different cocoa and chocolate combination and you are right, in one of your earlier posts above, valrhona cocao is magic!! so… that being said, the type of chocolate used for these cookies, i would say would be paramount!!! i hope you can share
have a wonderful afternoon! i look forward to your next post :)
kelly — I use the Valrhona feves. More about this and other options in the fourth note below the recipe. And thank you!
oops! of course after i sent the above post i found the answer — so sorry!
Thank you for revising Leite’s recipe. I was never a fan of his cookie. While I found Leite’s cookie dry, heavy, and lacking in caramel undertones, my friends were put off by the chocolate. Indeed, no one liked the Valrhona chocolate. I realized as a nation of Chocolate Chip Cookie eaters, the American palate is accustomed to the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip.
After a dozen experiments with my own recipe, I found people in my circle prefer Callebaut and Ghirardelli chocolate in their chocolate chip cookies. Interesting given we all reside in foodie towns throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Napa Valley.
I’m going to try your revised recipe this weekend.
These are perfect!! As least for me :). I’ve made so many chocolate chip cookies, both at home and professionally, and these are right up my alley. I used Valrhona’s Satilia Feves 62%, which was created for enrobing, but I use it for lots of other things. I think that Manjari would be awesome too. I also added nuts, because I need nuts in my CC cookies and brownies. I’ll be freezing the scooped dough for when I need a chocolate hit at home :).
Hi Deb, I was planning to bake these today after chilling the dough for 24 hours, but it is so hard, that it’s impossible to scoop! What do I do? Thanks!
Binnie — Give it a little time to warm up and soften a little. Not too much; you don’t want to work with soft dough.
Never have I seen a more beautiful cookie! Pinned and baking this weekend for sure!
Hi Deb! Just when I thought I was out….they pull me back in!!! I can’t resist a new chocolate chip cookie recipe! Have you ever experimented with parchment v sprayed foil? My son turned me on to the differences. Parchment has a much more evenly browned bottom, but greased foil cookies have a slightly browner, crispier edge even when still gooey in the middle!!
Hi Deb! These were amazing!!
Been reading your blog for many years now and made so many of your recipes.
I am Jewish, and my Hungarian-born grandmother always used to make the most decadent chocolate-chocolate mousse cake called ‘Rigo Jansci’. I’d love to see your take on it! As a co-chocoholic I can guarantee that it’s the most amazing chocolate cake ever.
xx
Oh my these are looking so great that I want to eat it right now. Can I use any other chocolate than the chips you used? I’m a white chocolate lover to tell the truth so I want to try white chocolate version.
I love love love this recipe and make it whenever I have time (maybe once a year). My addition: a helping of candied bacon.
Binnie (#104), I avoid the rock-solid dough problem by scooping it all right away after I mix it up. That way, when the dough has chilled and I’m ready to bake, I don’t have to wait for it to soften or attempt to chisel it out of the bowl.
Look at all of that chocolate! Making this recipe, stat.
So convinced was I that you’d settled on a chocolate chip cookie recipe, that I when I needed to make chocolate chip cookies as a present this week, I went straight to the salted chunk link, and bypassed the other parts of the site completely. Mistake! I just came to say that I can’t make sense of the spreading issue with the other recipe either. I used some enormous and semi-flat chunks of chocolate and it seemed to hold the cookies together more rather than less. I hope that didn’t confuse the system too much, posting information about one cookie under the recipe of another.
This is serendipitous.
Your old recipe had long been both my gold standard for CCC and the only reason I buy cake and bread flour. I promised the kids CCC this weekend and decided I was going to just skip the two flours and make a batch with just AP.
I pulled up the recipe and – low and behold – just a couple weeks ago you blessed the world with this AP flour version. HEAVEN!
The batter so far tastes just as good. (I had to try some. For science…) Cant wait to taste the finished product tomorrow night!
These are fab, always disappear when I make them, BUT… I want to do a double chocolate version. Can I substitute some flour with cocoa and if so, how much would you recommend? Otherwise, any other suggested recipes please??
I’ve seen a lot of cookie recipes that 100% need to chill the dough overnight. Why is it so? Anyway these look to good to be true. Your blog is an inspiration for me as a food blogger just starting out! Keep up the amazing work :)
Caroline — We generally find that giving the flour more time to absorb the ingredients creates a better final texture. If you’re in a rush, however, we love these and they don’t need resting time.
Without a doubt, these are the best cookies i have ever made or eaten!!! But patience is a virtue for sure. Ordered Valrhona Caraibe Feves… Waited for the delivery! Made the cookie dough and put it in the fridge for the 24-72 hour wait period before baking. they almost made it 24 hours but between my husband and children, if i didn’t bake them last night, they wouldn’t have made. That cookie dough was disappearing fast!
thank you, Deb! looking forward to trying another recipe!! This was my first recipe to try and i’m absolutely positive it won’t be my last!
I tried making these but the cookies turned out to be thicker, more like scones…I used half the amount of chocolate feves because it looked like the proportions of chocolate to dough were too much. Can anyway help suggest what I might have done wrong? I measured out everything to a T. Thanks!
I made these with a combo of chopped good quality milk and bittersweet chocolate. They were outstanding! All my neighbors were begging for more!
How do these hold up once baked? I’m bringing them as dessert to a dinner party on a weeknight, and due to time constraints it would be more convenient to bake them the evening before. But I wonder – will something be lost if they sit around already baked for a day? (The flavour I guess not, but the texture maybe?)
On another note, I LOVE that this dough has to rest so long – how amazing is it to be able to do all the prepping and mixing on the weekend and then stun people with an awesome dessert on a weeknight? ;)
Ivana — I have never had them last long enough! However, in general if I want to bake a chocolate chip cookie a day early, I make sure it’s just a tad, barely underbaked and then even if it gets more crisp, it stays nicer.
That cookie dough was disappearing fast!
thank you, Deb! looking forward to trying another recipe!! This was my first recipe to try and i’m absolutely positive it won’t be my last!
We made the full batch of these & frozen them into logs…. deadly mistake! Now we have cookies @ our disposal at all times.
My only comment was that using Guittard chips made these a touch too bitter, even for us dark chocolate lovers… but sprinkling a little sugar over the dough just before sliding them into the oven helped tip the balance!
These came out perfectly and I followed the recipe to the T. I used Guittard disks, organic butter, AP and the sea salt. The first batch I baked after the 24-hour fridge time, I did find the dough rather hard to work with but not impossible. The second batch I did a day later only this time, i let the dough warm up for about 30 minutes. I also rotated the cookie tray after 1/2 of the required baking time. They look great and my husband gave them a 9 out of 10. Thank you for the updated recipe! :-P
Is the recipe for 1 1/2 cups of butter or 1 1/4 cups? It says 1 1/4, but 3 sticks, so I’m a bit confused. Thanks!
Avital — It’s 1 1/4 cups, which is 2 1/2 (1/2-cup) sticks.
Joanne Chang’s recipe in boston uses a mix of bread flour and AP. These look amazing. Thanks for the word on what those chocolate discs are called! I couldn’t figure that out, they are in my shopping cart now.
Looks very delicious, will have to try it. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Wow those cookies look amazing!!! I love your father in laws comment, I’m still giggling to myself, but by the photos he is very correct :)
Hi Deb,
First of all, I’m a big, longtime fan of your site (I’ve been reading it since 2009) so I have to first state that I love it and yours has been a huge inspiration for me, both in cooking and making my own site.
I was wondering how you went about forming the cookies- did you scoop them first and then chill, or vice versa? I tried this recipe back when it was originally published in NYT, and when I took the dough out the next day I found it super difficult to scoop out, despite the fact that I had wrapped it in plastic exactly as instructed. I tried everything I could think of: letting it stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, rolling pieces in my hand to warm them up, but nothing helped. Do you have any tips for working with the chilled dough, or how to store it so that it doesn’t harden as much?
Thank you!
PS I actually wrote a comment once before- obviously I don’t expect you to remember, but it was in the Fresh Tomato Sauce recipe about being in Uganda and making it for my host family in our very limited kitchen- it’s still one of my favorite memories!
I also like this chocolate recipes, its so delicious and yum.
Hi Deb,
I tried making these cookies but they seem to burn at the bottom. I made them at 350F for twelve minutes as you suggested then dialed it down to eleven minutes for the second batch when the bottoms burnt on the first one but I’m having the same problem. What do you recommend? (They taste great btw except for the burnt bottom).
Thank you!
best,
Krupa
Krupa – I find that parchment paper helps!
I have made this recipe (the prior version) multiple times and it’s always a hit. But my cookies are always much taller than the ones in your photo. (I use the Guittard discs.) I wish I could achieve that completely flat cookie in your picture. What do you think I’m doing wrong??
It might be over-measuring flour. A little extra, they don’t spread enough. A little less, they spread too flat. Drop cookies are always a bit of a balancing act.
I measured my flour and everything else in grams and accidentally added too much brown sugar due to reading error :)
My cookies were tall, almost like biscuits. Until I smashed the dough with a glass, but still didn’t get as flat as the pictures. I did use regular shaped chocolate chips.
I think I may have overworked the dough.
I measured in grams and my cookies still came out tall – but I banged the pan on the counter a few times when I first pulled them out and that helped. Still not as flat as Deb’s, but closer!
Glad recipe shared! and i have made this for my colleagues over the weekend. I did waited almost 24 hours (baked at 22 hours approx), but still come out and tasted amazing! thanks!
I notice I just really have to be careful on not over baked them, else the entire biscuit becomes like a rock.
But wonder, am i really shouldn’t make this into a smaller size cookie? fancy turning this into a cookie ice cream sandwich… and 2.5-3 inch cookie would be perfect though…
Not this cookie, not smaller. It’s really optimized for that large size; smaller you’ll either have to compromise on the soft middle or crisped brown edges. You might like this (although on the tall, chunky side) or this recipe instead.
BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE! hands down! Thank you! I used one bag of the Ghirardelli 60% chips (small disks) and they were perfect! Mine took 17-18 minutes to cook.
I followed the recipe To a T and they did not melt while baking. :(
I love, love, love these cookies. Even in their gigantic and completely over-the-top size. I made the original NYT cookie a few times but never loved it as must as some people do. I weighed out my flour though, so I’m sure that was the issue! I’ve made this recipe numerous times since you shared it and have another batch in the oven right now. The only change I’ve made is to use chocolate chips rather than the disks. I’m sure the disks are worth it, but I never have them on hand when the mood for chocolate chip cookies strikes.
I just made these and they turned out just like your pictures. I often make the original NYT cookies, trying to tweak them to be less “puffy/meaty”. I think you hit the nail on the head: it’s because I was adding too much flour. I was weighing out 482 g of combined bread and cake flour. That’s 37g more than what your recipe calls for! Your recipe is my new go-to! I made them regular-sized with a size 40 scoop and baked at 375 for 10 mins. Perfection! Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks!!
Quick question, if I wanted to hand these out in a gift bag, do you think I would bake the cookies first, and then freeze? I was trying to avoid making them the night before our party.
Do you mean packed brown sugar or just straight up scooped&leveled brown sugar? (I can’t go by weight because I don’t have a food scale and I already started the recipe!)
Packed. Soft brown sugar (U.S. baking kind) is always measured in packed cups.
Hi Deb, I made these cookies last week and you didn’t lead me astray. They were REALLY fantastic. There are just two of us, so I used a food saver to put some in the freezer. After freezing, they seemed to have lost something. Would you recommend freezing the dough instead?
Wow, we actually love the dough baked from frozen. To me, it tastes even more aged and nuanced. But wait, did you not freeze the dough? I froze mine off in portioned balls so we can bake them off as we wish.
Perfect, will do that next time! I froze the already baked cookies. Probably a rookie mistake, derp!
Hi Deb-this is my all time favorite, go to, chocolate cookie recipe. I get RAVE reviews every time I make them. I did as you suggested here and froze some in portioned balls and now want to bake them up! Do I need to let them defrost first or bake from frozen? If baking from frozen, what is the bake time? Thanks much!
I have this question too! Match a batch, baked a half dozen off beautifully and froze the rest of the dough balls. I’ve baked a few frozen ones twice now and they’re not the same. Should I be thawing them completely? I was baking them frozen as you suggested with your salted peanut butter cookies as those turn out beautifully. What do you do?
*Uh, MADE a batch
What’s happening that they’re not the same? I’ve taken them right from the freezer and I’ve also also left them out for 30 minutes while I heated the oven and then got distracted; both ways, I loved them and thought they were even better and more aged and butterscotch-y than from the fridge! Curious how it’s different for you.
It seems like they don’t cook all the way thru. Nice and golden on the outside but not spreading properly, like there’s a golf ball stuffed inside. By the time the frozen core spreads, the outside is a bit too far beyond golden and they’re crunchy rather than chewy/crunchy. Obvs they still taste amazing but the texture wasn’t quite like when they were baked from raw.
So when you’ve baked from frozen are you adjusting temp or just adding time?
Usually they need a couple extra minutes but I tend to monitor these a little because for the expense and fuss, I want them exactly right. Try defrosting them for 20 or 30 minutes at room temperature while they oven heats up next time, maybe? I just made another massive batch of these this weekend and they’re portioned out in the freezer, might have more tips in a few days. :)
Does defrosting on the counter for 30ish minutes work for most people? I’ll be freezing some dough this weekend, and want to make sure they turn out well. (BTW — I LOVE this recipe. It’s become my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thanks!)
Totally after the fact response, but I bake these after freezing the dough all the time. While they still taste awesome baked right straight out of the freezer, I find the texture to be not the same as when cooked from fresh. I find that when cooked longer to compensate for being frozen, the texture trends just a little more toward the extremes – almost too soft in the very middle, and a little crispier around the edges, with less of or without the chewy inner ring, which is my favorite part! They just don’t spread as much as they should. I find letting the dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes makes a huge difference and tastes as good if not better than the original. If I’m in serious need of a cookie pronto, I’ll take them out just as the oven starts preheating, and when it’s done preheating rI tear the ball in half with my fingers and gently shmoosh it back together with the cold center facing out. Jagged cookie top and more even cooking – win-win.
I made these with 54% Callebaut mini discs as a way of using up the 5lbs of said chocolate gifted to us over Christmas. Wow, what a yummy cookie. I imagine there’s less of a bittersweet taste contrast than using higher percentage chocolate, but no complaints. Even though the discs are smaller, they do melt together into a joined mass, so they look similar to Deb’s. I refrigerated for 48 hours before baking. There is less spreading the colder the dough is when you bake, but maybe a longer bake solves that? Also I creamed butter and sugar by hand as part of my kitchen workout, and it’s fine. Thanks for letting me geek out on your platform…
I made these last night and had a couple issues – any explanations appreciated! First, I confess to 3 ingredient changes:
(i) regular semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of disks (didn’t have the latter)
(ii) reduced sugar (and still they are very sweet)
(iii) more baking powder to replace baking soda, at ratio of 4:1 (didn’t have the latter)
And here are the issues:
1) The balls of dough did not melt down into thin, flat cookies. They melted a bit but were still quite thick. In later batches I squished the dough down manually before baking but that didn’t help.
2) Freshly baked, they were heaven (what cookie fresh out of the oven isn’t?), but certainly not chewy. The next day, they were even less so, turning slightly hard instead.
I suspect issue #1 is contributing to issue #2.
I would blame the reduced sugar and possibly the non-flat discs, which create layers and encourage flattened. Sugar add moisture; less moisture, cookie may remain taller.
Is there a significant difference if I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar?
Thank you
It’s fine if you use either. Dark has a bit more flavor.
Yummy And Tasfull
This was my problem as well! Nothing like Deb’s photo at all! I made the dough the day before and browned the butter as well. Using 3 1/2 cups +2 teaspoons of flour is way too much, in my opinion. I will stick with 2 1/2 cups if I try this recipe again.
Browning the butter will reduce the moisture it contributes to the dough; you may need to use more butter to compensate? Or reduce the flour as you mentioned.
I made these and they were incredible. Admittedly, I used regular sized chocolate chips, which I know kinda defeats the purpose, but I made sure to use 70+% dark chocolate. I also used about a 1/4 less chocolate than called for (which for me still looked like a TON), but they were perfect. Everyone raved and told me how amazing they were. They’re now my “show-off” cookie.
Best cookie recipe EVER! The first time I made these with regular chocolate chips and they turned out thicker. This time I made them with the disks you recommended and they came our superb and flatter. Waiting 2 days does really make a difference. I made 2 batches for a cookie party and only waited 24 hours for thre first round and 48 for the second and noticed a difference. These are super easy to make and I get compliments all the time! Love it!! Oh and one tip, I used plastic wrap to surround the mixer to contain the flour from flying everywhere. Lesson learned after the first time.
Wow these look incredible! Will the recipe work with gluten free flour?
I was able to use Bob’s red Mill 1-for-1 and it was amaaaaazing!
Hi Deb! Would this recipe work for a skillet cookie?
I haven’t tried it and tbh, have only mixed results with skillet cookies in general (get too dark underneath before they’re baked enough) but this works well when large so it might be worth trying.
Hi Deb! These cookies are baking right now, and even though I’ve only chilled them for 3 hours (because an overnight chilling always leaves me with really thick cookies and I wanted these to be thin likes your are), they are still pretty tall and puffy, not at all like I was hoping they would be. I’m sure they’ll taste great but I measured my flour correctly (cups and weight) so I can’t figure out what’s gone wrong?
Give them more time to rest and see if you get closer to the flatness you’re looking for. I’d expect them to be more flat the longer they rest, to a point. They won’t ever fully pancake.
I found pressing them down lightly just before baking helped though my favourites were the slightly puffy ones :) it’s a great recipe, thank you so much! Best homemade cookies I’ve eaten :)
Wow–never going back to the house of Toll.
Hey Deb! First time caller, long time listener. I am so excited to make these tonight in my little Brooklyn kitchen. Any idea where I can find comparable chocolate chips like these discs in the city? I have some on order from Amazon, but sadly, they won’t arrive until after I’d like to have these cookies made. Thanks so much for your help!!
Whole Foods often sells the feves. The NY Cake supply shop on 22nd sells flat baking discs like Guittard (try to look for the ones that are from a known brand, not candy melts) by the pound. Not sure if Brooklyn Kitchen sells either, but they might…
Deb, laughed so hard at your FIL s comment! Just something mine would say!
My cookies never get as thin as yours and that’s okay!! I’d rather have a puffy cookie than waiting for another 30 min out of the fridge. Might wait a little bit more when they are frozen though. I must say, I used an 80% chocolate bar, chopped it up and it works!
Also, when I bake them at 190-200 (Celsius) they spread less than when I bake them at 170-180. Other than that, I’m taking a bite out of my cookie right now! Will never make another choc-chip cookie again; this is my ultimate! Thanks Deb.
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I actually managed to make these with Bob’s Red Mill one for one gluten free flour blend and they came out SPECTACULAR. I’m not gluten free, but my wife is, and even I loved them.
I used bittersweet chocolate rounds from the bulk section at WinCo, so the choclate only ran me about $4.
Mauve you ever tried this recipe with brown butter? I’m assuming you’d have to chill the butter after growing and before mixing, but I’m worried that the delicious factor would be through the roof and I will experience death by cookie overload.
So after seeing your post pop up when i was pressing the surprise me! option I thought, dammit, I’m gonna give these monsters a whirl.
I’ve made them twice now, and they are phenomenal.
Changes that I’ve made: Just using self raising flour, since i’ve never had an issue with substituting that in american recipes that call for plain flour and raising agents
It was fine!
I used half dark brown, half light brown sugar in the first batch, in the second i’m trying 3/4s light, 1/4 dark. The next one I’m going to ss try all dark.
And for the chocolate, in the first batch I used cadbury dark choc melts, since they are disk shaped. For this second batch I’ve mixed chopped 70% cadbury dark chocolate from a block and milk choc melts.
and the first time I didn’t have any sea salt flakes, so i ground pink himalayan salt on top and it was great but maybe a little sutble? So this second batch I’ve got that good good maldon sea salt flake action on.
Annyway, apologies for the extra long comment, but I just wanted to thank you for making this very popular recipe so much more approachable and understandable.
These are insanely delicious cookies!! Easily the best I’ve ever made. A few points:
– I only had salted butter so I left out half a teaspoon of salt and they came out perfectly, not too salty.
– I made one batch after 12 hours (my husband couldn’t wait!) and another after 36 hours and they were equally good. No discernible taste or size difference (both batches were about half an inch thick).
– I had some excess dough at the bottom of the bowl that I wasn’t aware of until the end (because the dough was so cold) so next time I’d be extra sure to evenly incorporate the chocolate discs before refrigerating.
Another incredible SK recipe. Thanks, Deb!
FYI, for those in NYC — I found the Guittard chocolate wafers at Sahadi’s in Brooklyn for only $6.50 a pound!
That’s a great tip, thank you! I used to find them for $8 and $9 and it’s been years. They’re like $12 or more online, bleh.
I just made these and they are excellent!
I made the dough, using about a pkg. and a half (total approx. 16 oz.) of Nestle chocolate chips. I made them immediately, no refrigerating or freezing. I baked them at 350 degrees, which was perfect for my oven. I did try some at 400 degrees, however, they didn’t spread quite as much.
I made some large and some small to accommodate everyone’s preference.
Very good!
FYI, a reader noted that King Arthur currently has the feves on sale for $9.95 a pound. This is a very good price. I’ll be restocking too!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/valrhona-dark-chocolate
I made thes today, but mine puffed up and did not come out flat and crispy. What did I do wrong? They are still delicious.
Might just have had a little extra flour in. Try pressing them a little flatter before you bake next time, it might give them a head start.
Oh my word, we baked off a couple of these beauties from the freezer the other day and made a giant ice cream sandwich. We split it but i’m pretty sure if I tried real hard I could eat a whole one by myself. Too good!
Thank you Deb. Can’t wait for your cookbook.
I will be making them again.
I finally made these. They were worth the time and money. Really great cookie!
Can you freeze this dough?
Yes – it freezes really nicely. I baked mine about 19 minutes directly from freezer.
Absolutely, have some in the freezer at almost all times. I “ball” it off into cookie portions and bake them cold. I let them warm up at room temperature while the oven is heating and maybe 15 minutes more.
I just made these cookies, exactly per recipe. They turned out very great, but I was surprised the dough came out a little dry and crumbly. It baked up tender and crisp at the edges, so not an issue. Just wondering if that was the way it should be or if I over mixed or over creamed the butter and sugar??
Probably not over-creaming but they might work better if baked 2 minutes less next time.
THIS IS THE BEST COOKIE RECIOE EVER!!! Seriously, I feel rich when I have these in my freezer. I use the dark chocolate bars from Aldi.
I just have to say. I have been known for my chocolate chip cookies, but this recipe far surpasses anything I have ever done. I measure everything and follow directions exactly. Marvelous. Ok, one caveat, I do use Ghiradelli bittersweet chip for the majority of chocolate with a dabble of milk chocolate and semi-sweet. Changing family tastebuds takes time. Thank you for posting/creating this wonderful recipe.
I just tried these last night and have been baking them a dozen at the time and spreading mid-week cheer to everyone around! I plan on keeping a constant supply of these ready for the oven at a moment’s notice!
I just made a batch of these (for at least the 8th time since I discovered this recipe) and truly it produces the best, homemade chocolate chip cookie. If I were to run into you on the street I would hug you for this recipe.
PS. Used a mix of Scharffen Berger 70% and Lindt 70%. (I also use about 100g less than called for). Perfection.
I made a few adjustments because I can’t plan ahead, I don’t live in Brooklyn, and I have a lot of mouths to satisfy…
60% Ghirardelli chips, 1 hour in freezer to set and more time throughout bake, 60 gram balls of dough instead of 100…
I baked for 13 minutes at 350 with golden brown edge results, could have gone longer but storing overnight before serving and don’t want them to get hard.
They spread nicely and taste amazing. Don’t be deterred by the 24 hr rest, the fancy chocolate discs, or the large size of the cookies. I know they would have been better if I had listened to Deb to a T, but I didn’t and they are still the best cookies I’ve ever made.
A quote from Oscar, my five year old son: “I remember when we did those biscuits in London. They were wide and they were big and when you bit into them they were leaking of chocolate.” I think that sums it up nicely. Thank you.
Why do you leave the chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge overnight or longer.
It’s impossible to scoop and I have to let the dough come back to room temperature. Is there a secret to scooping these cookies when they are cold?
They are the most decadent chocolate chip cookies
Thank you
The aged cookie dough tastes better and bakes up even more rich. It’s hard to scoop; you can let it warm up slightly or just put some muscle into it. Also, a measured cookie scoop might “cut” into the dough more easily.
Scoop them before you chill them! It makes everything so much easier!!!
I adore your choice of words!
I used to own a chocolate shop, and noticed that most of the boutique chocolate makers used Guittard chocolate (unless they got fancy and used imported Belgian chocolate — NOT the Belgian chocolate from Canada). Winco Foods does carry Guittard wafers in the bulk section. Just check to make sure it’s the kind with real cocoa butter and not some weird hydrogenated oil. Great chocolate has nothing in it but Cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar and an emulsifier (lecithin).
A great chocolate to buy from a Guitard dealer for couverture grade chocolate (not usually available in retail stores, but only from a wholesale company, usually in a 50 lb box) is Guitard Swiss Milk (very caramelly) or for dark, Guittard Vanilla 65%. They also provide single origin chocolates for the discerning culinary professional. https://www.guittard.com/
I made these and my dough is very very dry. It almost looks like sand. I followed the recipe exactly and i cant figure out where i went wrong.
Deb, a question–I have a batch of dough sitting in the fridge to bake tomorrow but couldn’t resist baking a single “test” cookie tonight after 24 hours of chilling! I baked for 16 minutes and left the cookie on the sheet for another 10 after but the center was still super, super gooey, almost underbaked. Is this an issue that I just need to let the cookies cool longer and firm up (I couldn’t wait! Too tempting! No regrets!) or maybe add an additional minute of cook time? The edges were already perfectly crunchy!
I will follow up and say, ~18.5 minutes worked pretty well for me. My mom said it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies she’d ever had. My 17 year old cousin at 3 of these bad boys, as only a 17 year old really can. I also selfishly only brought 12 of the 18…the remaining dough is portioned and frozen in my freezer for the next bad day/week/year!
May I freeze for a few hours instead?
I seem to be revisiting all things from NYTimes from a decade plus ago (yesterday it was no knead bread — by next week I’ll be back to Amanda Hesser) and remembered your FIL’s comment so came to see your updates to the recipe. I remembered them as complicated – mainly because I couldn’t hold the measurements in my head, and so it required tracking down the recipe every time. I roll them into logs in wax paper then do a slice-and-bake method. I find the smaller cookie works well for the level of decadence, and I can keep a log in the freezer to bake up when guests come by. When I don’t have discs, I sliver down chocolate bars. There aren’t puddles, but the horizontal effect is still there.
This recipe made Cooks and NYT chocolate chip cookies taste average! Probably he best choc chip cookie I’ve made. Thank you!
I made these for Mardi Gras last year and they were life saving. After a days and nights of parading these extravagant cookies were well deserved and shared on the streets for Fat Tuesday. This year I am ahead of schedule so they can be enjoyed for the next 12 days!
I’m almost done with my NYT Cooking trial period, so I’ve been frantically searching for and printing recipes before I lose access. I saw David Leite’s OG recipe on there, remembered that you had a recipe for these, and decided that whatever you’d come up with was surely superior. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you’d recently revisited the recipe, and also extremely relieved to see that you used AP flour vs 19 different other flours (okay, two, but still…). I can’t wait to make your version of these! I’m considering skimping on the amount of chocolate, because I’m a monster who prefers more cookie and less chocolate.
Currently basking in the warm, dozy, melt-into-your-couch delight that is the aftermath of eating an ungodly number of these things (warm, of course). Deb, you make my Saturdays better.
I made these with TJ’s pound plus bittersweet w/ almonds and they turned out amazing. I left lots of big chunks of chocolate so definitely got the pools of melted chocolate effect. I actually prefer using the chopped up brick rather than chocolate chips or even discs, because I love the varied sizes of chocolate throughout the cookie. My confession: I couldn’t wait 24 hours to try these so I made a few right away- seriously the perfect cookies. Can’t wait to get home and bake more to compare how the fridge time affects these.
Do you round the cold cookies dough into balls and back cold?
Or warm up and roll and bake at room temp?
I ball them up cold — if it really gives me trouble, I’ll leave it out for a bit until it doesn’t. I usually bake them cold from the freezer, but it’s probably better practice to give them 30 minutes to warm up a little bit on the tray before you bake them.
I made these today for the 10+ time, but used a cup of bread flour. The chocolate spread much more similar to your picture, which was exciting. Made them for my work friends – they call me the cookie lady because of your delicious recipes! Thx!
I’m not sure if this is any great savings, but my local grocery store has started carrying Ghiradelli chocolate wafers (for candy making). I’ve never had the recipe before, but they are pretty tasty and look like the picture.
I just made this recipe but used chocolate chips instead of the discs. I made them more of a “normal” cookie size and baked for about 12 minutes. They may be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.
Holy wow. Wasn’t sure this would be worthwhile when I read the original post but finally put it in my “to bake” list when you revisited it. I made a half batch and tested the first 2 cookies half-sized (about 60g each). Phenomenal, but can’t wait to try the full-sized cookie! Even my spouse, who is not into sweets, was gobsmacked. Stuck the pre-scooped balls in wax paper and ziplock in the freezer and I’m thrilled to have a significant treat waiting when I need it.
I’ve made these a couple of times. They are great, but they puffed up, and didn’t spread like the picture. After reading the comments, it looks like I used too much flour. Also, I wonder if I should make some adjustment for the altitude (my kitchen is located at 5,200 ft.) Are there any other “high” bakers that could recommend some adjustments?
I can’t help with altitude since I live and bake at sea level, basically, but I know people like King Arthur’s tips a lot.
Hi DenverGal! I’m also at 5200 feet, in Albuquerque. I haven’t made this variation yet, but when I make the NY Times cookies, I make the following adjustments: I reduce both the baking powder and baking soda by 25%, and increase the oven temp to 360.
What is the science behind refrigerating them for a minimum of 24 hours?
The science can be explained I’m sure by others but in testing, here’s what Leite found (from the original NYT article) after different rest periods:
How many do you let the dough rest after taking it out of the fridge before scooping it into balls and baking? I wondered how chilled they needed to remain to spread to the right size. Thanks so much!
I’m sorry…I meant to say “How many minutes…”
I think it’s fine if they go into the oven cold — I don’t bring mine to room temperature or anything.
Just made these for the first time and they are phenomenal. And I’m so happy I don’t have to deal with different flours! I couldn’t afford the fancy chocolate discs so I used a combination of semi sweet and dark chocolate chips and random dark and milk chocolate candy bars chopped into large chunks that I had laying around. I measured each scoop to 100 gram perfection and then refrigerated them so I didn’t have to worry about scooping hard dough. I couldn’t wait and baked one test cookie after 6 hours and it was unreal. Mine didn’t get quite as flat, so I may try to flatten with a glass when I bake the rest. I can’t wait for my friends to try them! I’m known as the best cookie maker and now they’ll be really impressed!
These are the greatest chocolate chip cookie I have ever made or eaten. I like to shape the dough into balls, freeze and pull them or whenever I need a freshly baked cookie fix :)
I just made these and the flavor was off-the-charts good – but like many of you already noted, my cookies didn’t spread the way Deb’s did (and I followed the recipe to a T, down to the weighing). I think next time, I might reduce the flour a smidge to see if it helps.
I take on a new chocolate chip cookie recipe every winter and this year my search stops. This is by far the best and most perfect cookie I’ve baked. I followed the directions to the letter except I could not find (and did not go to the trouble of ordering online) the chocolate discs. I used bittersweet 60% cocoa chocolate chips. These cookies were amazing. Great recipe, Deb, as always!
FINALLY made this recipe…after eyeing it for…6 or so years? dough had been in the fridge for 60 hours and counting. I made 4 and had them in the oven for 19 minutes and they was absolutely delicious. I felt like I had brought a treat home from a bakery downtown. I may add orange zest next time as a variation just for fun, but the recipe really is just perfect as written. Thank you, Deb!
Love these cookies. I tried browning half the butter, the cookies were too brown after baking for me…taste excellent of course. However, I did try dark chocolate Dove promises in the middle, which was super!!!
I unwrapped and used an 8 oz package of promises, adding 60% chocolate chips to make up the rest of the chocolate in the recipe. It is like a chocolate lava cookie! In addition I weight out the cookies, form into balls, and freeze in 4 ball bags to pull out and bake in my counter top small convection oven….perfect.
I love that you froze this and it came out well! I was wondering that for the future. 18 HUGE cookies was more than I needed so I’d love to be able to preserve some for later.
This might be the best CCC recipe I have EVER had. They held up the next day too. Can’t go wrong with that! I just want to reiterate the importance of weighing when baking. For example, I weighed (while measuring) the flour and 3 cups weighed in at 445 grams. I’m guessing because you spooned your flour in (like you should!) versus me just scooping. Anyway, I couldn’t find discs but managed to find flat chocolate chips and used those instead. These were chocolate heavy so I’d cut back if you want more dough. But seriously, who does? Just a thought!
Just want to add, I totally missed the “let rest” part of the recipe and I baked them right away. They were maginificent, soft middle, crunchy edges. What would letting them rest do? They were so good right out of the gate!
The recipe is wonderful! What do you do for gluten-free friends? Have you adapted/written the recipe as The Gluten-free Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie?
😊 Thank You
I made for gluten free and they were really well received. I used Bob’s Red Mill for baking. That’s the only change I made and they turned out great!
A couple other people did too! Glad it’s working out so well GF:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/06/the-consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie-revisited/#comment-904422
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/06/the-consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie-revisited/#comment-904419
Oh thank you so much for having this recipe available. I usually make the original- and promised my son we would do that tonight but alas we were out of bread flour. But this tweaked version is pretty darn perfect – at least as far as our immediate test cookies came out and I am sure the 24-hour rested cookies tomorrow will be even better (we have to bake a few right off the bat, of course, we are only human).
I had never checked the conversion to weights- this may explain why sometimes my cookies came out better than other times. It was apparently Depending on which way I measured! THANK YOU for being thorough!
I just made these for our school Bake Sale and they were a huge hit! After I made the dough, I made 100 g balls and put those in ziplock bags. They stayed in the fridge for 2 days. I took them out and let them sit on the counter for an hour. And then I turned the oven on.
When I put them on the cookie sheet, I pressed each one down a bit with my palm, added the sea salt, and baked for about 15 minutes. Absolute perfection! Thank you, Deb!!
Am I missing something? There is no call for two types of flour in the recipe yet many of the comments including your notes reference it. Is one supposed to use two types of flour?
I used Guittard super cookie chips (https://www.guittard.com/our-chocolate/detail/super-cookie-chocolate-chips) because they are readily available at my Whole Foods, made 4inch cookies, and they came out great. No need to adjust the baking time. Yum!
I made these a few days ago, and while they taste amazing, they did not spread nearly as much as yours! They were refrigerated for 72 hours and I believe I followed all measurements exactly
Did you weigh your flour?
These are SO SO Good. Thanks, Deb! My normally health-conscious boyfriend ate most of a half batch in less than 24hrs (and I can’t decide whether I’m happy that he’s seeing the chocolate-light, or sad that there were fewer for me…). I made a half batch and reduced the white sugar by a bit. I didn’t have any fevres, so chopped up part of a block of Callebaut dark. The chocolate and butter melted together so perfectly that it created the most amazing ganache/ganache-y texture!
Can’t wait to make these again soon!!!
LOVED these cookies, but struggled to scoop the dough from the bowl after it sat refrigerated for 24+ hours. Any tips or tricks you can share?
Let it warm up for a bit at room temperature — it’s what I do.
I had the same issue. What I now do is roll the dough into balls and put them in a ziplock before refrigerating it. Then after 24 hours, I take out the balls and let them get a little soft before baking. Getting a little softer lets me press them down a bit.
Hi Deb, can I halve the ingredients precisely and get the same magnificent cookies, but just 9?
Yes.
Love these. I added more flour. And made them super mini size as little lovely morsels…one will do it. Perfect bite.
Hey Deb, quick question. I just made these as I had some extra time but I do not plan on serving them until next Sunday for the super bowl. I have the dough in the fridge now, but do you think I could freeze them? Will they turn out the same? If so, what is the best way to freeze the dough?
Thank you!
PS I made these a few weeks ago for my moms birthday and they were the biggest hit. My father, who swears by everything my mom cooks/bakes (as do the rest of us), said they were the best cookies of his life and told my mom so that she would start baking these instead of her current go-to recipe. It was pretty funny.
I freeze them all of the time (I have a bag in the freezer right now, and two baked ones from last night, awaiting an audience). I freeze them in measured balls for the cookies. You can bake them directly from frozen or you can let them warm up at a room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes first. Mine seem to spread fine from still frozen, but if yours do not, let them warm up.
What, exactly, is course salt? Is it kosher salt or sea salt? If kosher, which brand?
Thanks!
Coarse salt is usually sea salt. Kosher salt can be from a number of brands; I prefer Diamond. If you’re using another, use a little less.
I made these for the second time yesterday and they are amazing! The first time, they had too much chocolate for me (things I never thought I’d say), and I made them small, which I think messes with the texture. The second time, I used half the amount of chocolate (chopped dark and some chocolate chips) and it was just right for me. I also browned the butter, because, yum. My batter was very soft before refrigeration. I made the first batch the full 100 grams each cookies, and they were massive! They spread like crazy. I found that 50 grams was perfect – still very big. They were absolutely delicious. Next time, I’d like to try browning the butter, and then seeing if I can slightly solidify it before making the cookies so that they aren’t so flat. I’ll definitely be making these again – thank you!
Hi there! I’ve been using this recipe foreverrr and I love it so much! I don’t usually make large chewy cookies with this but small crunchy ones (they work out perfectly). I’m just wondering whether it would be possible to substitute all purpose for bread flour with a 1:1 ratio for a sturdier crunchy cookie.
Do let me know!
With love,
Syad from Singapore
Fantastic recipe! I’ve just made them today. Needless to say, they are the most delicious 10 mins after you take them out from the oven. My husband and parents in law loved these!
Incredible recipe! I made some modifications:
-browned the butter
-incorporated cinnamon and coffee to enhance chocolate flavour
-reduced amount of chocolate
-added bits of candied orange peel
-chocolate was chopped baker’s bars, the cocoa flakes and dust found its way into every nook and cranny of the cookie
I used to make the original recipe with regular chocolate chips and just used all purpose flour as well and everyone still raved over the cookie. Not sure what measurement of all purpose I used, but will need to give this one a try. As much as I wanted the chocolate discs they were hard to find and not in my budget.
These cookies turned out UNREAL!
Best chocolate chip cookies hands-down. Definitely make 100g pucks and get a giant cookie, it’s totally worth it.
HOWEVER…
Don’t make the same mistake I did and calculate the nutritional info for this recipe, really.. you don’t need the guilt.
You can also get baking discs from Jacques Torres. They are 60%, only 20.00 for 2 lbs and delicious!https://mrchocolate.com/collections/gifts/products/60-dark-chocolate-baking-discs-2-pounds
A friend who will remain nameless brought these for a memorial day cook out and baked just a couple for me as a reward for tending to a hot bbq all day — while I was super impressed, I am on the ketogenic diet so this right here is carby chocolate heaven that I cannot indulge in on the reg, however we are in a pandemic… So, the dough, since the end of May has sat in my fridge in a tupperware. I look at it from time to time. Quietly shut the refrigerator door. One day I say, “I’m making these damn cookies…” A long with a few other expletives as one would after being in the house for months on end. I let the dough come almost to room temp, load them into a 1/4 c measuring cup and mound them onto some parchment. After 2 months in the fridge (as it’s now almost August) they are still absolutely decadent. I’ve eaten 6 this week & there’s one delicious 4.5″ cookie left. Definitely now my go-to recipe, so, so, very good & well worth the $35 chocolate chips :) will certainly order a bag and make them again (only for, ahem, special occasions…) <3
I cannot find the link for the chocolate, can you provide?
Can I double the recipe OR is it better to make one batch at a time?
These are by far the best chocolate cookies I’ve ever made!
Thanks!
I couldn’t wait for 24 hours, so I baked a trial cookie after freezing a ball for ~10 min. The cookie had issues spreading and retained a large dome in the center (I typically have issues with my cookies coming out too puffy…I’m likely over mixing, and I used conventional chips instead of the discs). I had to take the test cookie out of the oven since the sides and top were browning too much. After letting it sit for 2-3 minutes, I broke the cookie in half and melty, gooey, uncooked cookie dough oozed out. It was the most glorious cookie experience I’ve ever had.
Flattening the dough balls and giving the tray a few sharp taps after coming out of the oven helped achieve the perfect crispy-chewy cookie texture for the rest of the batch…but I now know the pathway to cookie nirvana.
Is the oven temperature with fan of without fan?
Without. You can reduce it by 25 degrees if using fan.
Oh my god this cookie!! This is hands down the best cookie recipe I have ever made. I basically have to throw out all other recipes because after this I am going to be disappointed having anything else. The cookies are massive but the size allows for the three textures as you work your way from outside in. They are divine! I used large bittersweet Belcolade Belgium chocolate wafers from bulk barn but may splurge on the fancier chocolate next time.
I have a question, can I use bread flour and dark chocolate chips here. Have bags of both sitting in my kitchen for long! Thanks!!
I plan on making these cookies for my son to bring into school (‘country day’ at school..we live in the UK). This is my favorite cookie recipe ever – but I have never tried to make them smaller. Anyone had experience with making these as smaller cookies? Thanks!!!!!!
This is a classic by now but I thought I’d share that I made them today with half AP, half whole wheat flour today because I ran out of AP. The results were great!
Can you make these cookies smaller without compromising texture? Say 3-4 inch cookie size? Brining for a child’s party
Yes and no. You can make them smaller, I’d say about 3/4 of the size (75-gram balls) and it’s still very nice. But watch the baking time; they’ll need less.
Hello,
I love this cookie and have made it a few times. Just wondering if you have ever made a gluten free option?
I haven’t made these gluten-free, but here are two comments from people who have:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/06/the-consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie-revisited/#comment-904422
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/06/the-consummate-chocolate-chip-cookie-revisited/#comment-904419
Looks great, thanks for the recipe
Being a chocolate chip cookie lover, I cannot wait to try this out. Do I need to let the dough come to room temperature before scooping them into balls to cook? Thank you .
No, but you can for ease, or just wait to scoop them until it’s warmed up slightly.
Can you please share how you modified the recipe? Thx
The end of the recipe lists all of the changes.
Thank you – sorry I didn’t read all the way down.
Made these tonight with a couple of changes to kind of blend them with another of my favorite cookie recipes. Browned the butter and mixed with the sugars and then let sit until cooled before proceeding. Used a combination of Ghirardelli chocolate chips and chopped up Ghirardelli baking bars both semi sweet. Froze the cookies while oven was preheating and then cooked. Sprinkled with a tiny bit of sea salt when they came out of the oven. They were fantastic. I cooked a portion for the family and then scooped and froze the rest for another time.
Also did small scoops not large so I could enjoy in small quantities and still great. Definitely weigh the ingredients for better quality.
My dough is in the freezer right now and it is been more than 24 hours… But it’s too hard to scoop/shape into balls. Can I let it warm up at room temperature before I scoop and bake?
i meant fridge, not freezer!
Yes, absolutely.
OK great. Can you explain to me what the fridge does to it that then its OK to let the dough go back to room temp? (I was thinking it needed to be cold). Thank you!
Yes! The chill helps hydrate the flour and the cookies end up with such a better texture. I find that the cookies baked the first day are more puffy and cakey. Not bad or anything, but not as good as they get. As they “age” a little in the fridge, you get what you see here.
My subs were dark brown sugar, Canadian AP flour (which tends to be higher in protein than American), and only about 415g of wafers. Refrigerated for 3 days and flash frozen as well before making first batch. I made the balls about 90-95g because I didn’t have as many wafers. Mine spread to about 4″. Convection 325F. Next time, I made do normal 350F oven with my frozen ones.
I loved the gobs of chocolate from a fresh hot cookie, but this was too sweet for me. I usually cut sugar but I didn’t because I wanted this to spread as much as possible. The dough was thick and literally broke my 25 year old hand mixer (RIP). If I were to try it again, I’d brown the sugar and make smaller cookies. Still a good one. Thanks for sharing.
*brown butter
I’ve been making these cookies for a over a year now and they are my go to chocolate chip cookie. I’ve made them so many times as the recipe is written, letting the cookies sit for a lot longer on the counter to become more pliable/get to room temp before baking, baked for up to exactly 17 minutes. The cookies have never come out flat like the pictures, half an inch tall, and I have to bake them for 20-22 minutes because they are still pale in the middle (I bake for longer because the recipe says it should be brown all over). Cookies are exactly what I want but I’ve made them so many times, I wonder if the recipe needs to be revisited. Maybe the pan I’m using is conducting enough heat? It’s just a regular sheet pan…
These cookies are so good! I love the simplifications from the original recipe. I have made these a few times and typically freeze portioned dough so I can bake them up warm and fresh. I actually pulled out 5 this morning and baked them for our neighborhood 4th of July bakeoff. And guess what! I won 3rd place!
The recipe says “all purpose flour”??? When you read comments and notes, it’s states bread flour and cake flour?? I have the NY Tims recipe that calls for that? I used all purpose flour because that’s what this recipe called for. This is very confusing!
Apologies for the confusing. In the notes, I’m explaining that I’m ditching both for all-purpose flour. It’s one of the ways I reworked the recipe.
Dear Deb, these cookies are wonderful ! I have made a bunch, left some at home for my son and brought a lot to the office.
They all go crazy about them.
Very nice.
I have replaced the Valrhona fèves by Valrhona dark chocolate chips and this works very well. I will try with the fèves next time, in order to compare.
I have made a lot of your receipes, but this one required a thank you ;).
Merci et à bientôt, Tanja
I made the dough yesterday and am refrigerating it for the 72 hours. However, I just touched it (I wrapped it in plastic wrap), and it’s rock hard! Should that be?
Also, what can I do (or could have done) to ensure the cookies spread instead of rise? I really want that flat-looking cookie!
I hadn’t made these in a few years and came back to them this week. Instead of hunting down the fancy chocolate I used Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (they are flatter and broader than a normal chip but not exactly wafers) and they worked just fine! There’s something about receiving such a giant homemade cookie that’s just very exciting, it makes it feel more special and indulgent. I took a batch to a holiday party and they were inhaled at an alarming rate.
These have become my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie and they are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I truly believe that the method of putting the baking powder and baking soda into the recipe before you add the flour makes the difference. They are so much better than Toll House Cookies. This is most definitely my go to recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies.
I also placed mine on parchment paper like you purchase a toll house cookie and leave them in the refrigerator and then just pull them apart and roll them into balls. It’s a lot easier than taking them out of a cold refrigerator that the dough was left in the bowl, to put into balls.
Just made these for the first time. I think I’ve gained 20 pounds!!! They are amazing.
I did use the weighted measures and found that the balls didn’t spread as flat as your pretty pictures. The dough was a bit dry after being in the fridge. I might make the balls and then refrigerate for 24 hours?
Even still…no one was complaint and there are non left ♥️
We absolutely loved these cookies, cannot get enough! I’ve now adjusted the recipe slightly to make a peanut butter fiend cookie! Can’t wait!
I’ve made these maybe 4 times over the years, and after a recent party where multiple separate people told me that they were the best cookies they’d ever eaten, I felt the need to comment. These are *unbelievably* good. Whenever I go to add the chocolate to the dough, I think, this much chocolate cannot physically fit… but I am always wrong. It does fit, and you must not skimp!
Greetings SK!
So… I’ve been following this recipe for several years now. Indeed, the cookies come out So. Tasty. Probably the best I’ve ever baked at home… I’m perplexed by something however. Mine are not coming out flattened like in your pics. Instead, they are airy and bell shaped, even by the end of the baking time. Granted, once they’re out and cooled, for a minute(or even less), I grab my small silicone spatula and literally physically flatten them. But again, they are not “nice and flat” as shown. What’s going on? I want to think it’s too much BS but I follow the amounts to a “t”. Please… I’d love to hear your thoughts. thank you!
Can I cook these in a frying pan?
Can you substitute Maldons sea salt flakes
What about banging the baking tray on the stove/bench top 5 minutes before they’re cooked to deflate the rise and give a crinkly finish or don’t these cookies rise? Otherwise I’d say they were perfection 😻
the recipe calls for all purpose flour, however in the notes, you mention bread flour. Which is correct?
I mention that the original recipe used bread flour; this updated one does not.
Is there any harm in only letting them cool for 19 hours instead of 24?
No, it will be fine. Longer is nice but I don’t think the last 5 hours will make or break it.
This recipe is so good!! It’s a great cookie for chocolate lovers and I have had great results with this recipe. I have a couple of suggestions that might make things easier for people who are not getting the result that they want. Prepare this recipe using weights, and make sure you calibrate your scale so that it weighs correctly. Once I mix the dough I find it easier to put on gloves and mix in the chocolate pieces by hand. I use a combination of half dark chocolate, half milk chocolate because that’s my personal preference. I also portion my dough into 100 gram balls BEFORE I rest them in the refrigerator because I find the refrigerated dough too stiff to work with comfortably.