Cooks illustrated chocolate chip cookies thick and chewy

Submitted by jbmahl Updated: July 04, 2022

• Add to collection

• Add to menu

Ingredients

1. • 1 3/4 (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
   • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   • 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
   • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
   • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
   • 1 teaspoon table salt
   • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
   • 1 large egg
   • 1 large egg yolk
   • 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
   • 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

Preparation

1. 1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12 inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. 2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted. 3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain. 4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. 5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool completely.

Related Video

Menus & Tags

Leave a Review

Reviews

• 

  Excellent recipe. The formatting is a little wonky, but that doesn't impact the taste, of course. The recipe doesn't mention when to add the eggs. I lightly beat them together and added them before the final whisk step, and the cookies turned out amazing. Thanks!

  tvignon from Nashville, TN /

• 

  This recipe does not tell you when to add the eggs... As a result, I skipped adding them and wasted a lot of butter...

  profiterole from Illinois /

Need the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookies? Look no further! This recipe was the result of years of searching and I was so happy to find this thick, chewy, and delicious American classic recipe.

If you love classic dessert recipes as much as I do, you will also enjoy this apple upside down cake, these simple homemade sugar donuts, and this yummy strawberry rhubarb crisp.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

A good soft chocolate chip cookie recipe is something that should be guarded just like a family heirloom. It was years and years before I found a recipe that has become our family’s absolute favorite!

This soft chocolate chip cookie has all the qualities we like and want in the perfect cookie. It’s thick, chewy, and has the luscious smell of browned butter. Honestly, biting into these cookies is like reliving your best childhood memory. Add a cup of cold milk to it and you’ve got heaven. Right. There.

The Best Cookie Recipe

Over the years I kept trying different recipes and while they were not bad, in fact even good, they were not “it”. They were just not the best cookie recipe! Then, a couple of years ago while I was subscribed to America’s Test Kitchen magazine, I stumbled upon their Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.

Let me tell you, it was instant love! Ever since trying it for the first time, we all swore that it was the best cookie recipe ever! This is the only recipe I use.

Make Extra, You’ll Thank Me Later 😉 

Whenever I make this recipe, I double or triple it and freeze the shaped balls of dough, so that anytime we want a treat we just pop a couple of cookies in the oven and 10 minutes later you’re ready to savor each bite of the best cookie recipe ever!

How to Make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

For detailed recipe instructions see the recipe card bottom of the post.

Have I tempted you enough with these photos and all the descriptions about how incredible these chewy chocolate chip cookies are? If so, it’s time to make a batch (or two!) and enjoy them for yourselves. Trust me, these cookies are worth the effort!

Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• unsalted butter
• granulated sugar
• packed dark brown sugar
• kosher salt
• vanilla extract
• large egg
• large egg yolk
• semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
• chopped pecans/walnuts (optional) – I did not add nuts

How to make Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 375F degrees with the rack in the middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  Combine the flour and the baking soda and whisk to combine, set aside.
• Brown the butter in a skillet, then add it to the cold butter and whisk until melted.

• Whisk the sugars, salt, vanilla until smooth.  Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes, then whisk it again. Repeat 3 times (if you’re in a hurry, you can skip this step).

• Now add the egg and the egg yolk, one at a time, whisking or mixing after each addition until smooth batter forms.

• Add the flour all at once and mix with a spatula or whisk with mixer just until combined. Then add chocolate chips and nuts (if using) and mix again.

• Scoop up 16 balls, 8 per sheet, spacing them evenly between each other.

• Bake the cookies for about 10-14 minutes. You want the cookies to be golden brown with the edges set, but the middle still soft and puffy. Each oven is different so you will have to figure out for yourself how many minutes exactly (between 10-14) is the perfect chewiness texture for you. I bake mine for 11 minutes.

• Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool before serving.

To freeze: If you plan to freeze the dough, just scoop the balls of dough onto a baking sheet and freeze. Then transfer to a ziplock bag and keep frozen for up to 2 months.

To bake frozen cookies: put frozen cookies on a tray, about 8 per sheet (18×12) and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe with precise ingredient amounts.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

This Thick Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie with be your new favorite cookie recipe! A soft cookie with chocolate chips, the best homemade chocolate chip cookies.

• 1 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour (1 3/4 cups = 8 3/4 oz)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 14 Tbsp unsalted butter (divided into 10+4 Tbsp) (14 tbsp = 1 3/4 sticks)
• 1/2 Cups granulated sugar (1/2 cup = 3 1/2 oz)
• 3/4 Cups packed dark brown sugar (3/4 cups = 5 1/4 oz)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts optional - I did not add nuts

1. Preheat oven to 375°F degrees with the rack in the middle. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. First, combine 1¾ cup flour and ½ tsp baking soda and whisk to combine, set aside.

3. In a skillet, melt and then brown for about 2-3 minutes 10 tablespoons of butter. You want a slight golden color, not dark amber color. The butter will start to smell like toffee. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk until the butter is melted.

4. Add 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tsps vanilla extract and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes, then whisk it again. Repeat 3 times (if you're in a hurry, you can skip this step).

5. Next, add 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, one at a time, whisking or mixing after each addition until smooth batter forms.

6. Now add the flour mixture all at once and mix with a spatula or whisk with mixer just until combined. Then add chocolate chips and nuts (if using) and mix again.

7. Using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop up some dough and place 8 balls on a baking sheet, spacing them evenly between each other.

8. Bake the cookies for about 10-14 minutes. You want the cookies to be golden brown with the edges set, but the middle still soft and puffy. Each oven is different so you will have to figure out for yourself how many minutes exactly (between 10-14) is the perfect chewiness texture for you. I bake mine for 11 minutes.

9. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool before serving.

To freeze:
If you plan to freeze the dough, just scoop the balls of dough onto a baking sheet and freeze. Then transfer to a ziplock bag and keep frozen for up to 2 months.
!To bake frozen cookies:
put frozen cookies on a tray, about 8 per sheet (18x12) and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

Amount Per Serving

Calories 329 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 10g63%

Cholesterol 50mg17%

Sodium 195mg8%

Potassium 139mg4%

Carbohydrates 35g12%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 349IU7%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 31mg3%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

What is the secret to a chewy cookie?

How do I get my cookies to be thicker?

What adds a chewy texture to cookies?

How do you make cookies chewy instead of cakey?