Thick Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - The title says it all. A simple recipe that doesn’t require chilling the dough or a combination of different flours. Just make and bake. Crispy edges surround a thick, gooey, chewy center that will knock your socks off.
I love chocolate chip cookies. Thin ones, fat ones, ones that have a crunch. Thick ones, flat ones, can’t have one without a bunch. But when I stumbled on these (by accident, or by fate), I have to say I was taken aback with the flavor and the chewy texture. These cookies will not disappoint.
I was craving chocolate chip cookies but was limited with the ingredients I had on hand. I had dark brown sugar, one egg, and no vanilla. I specifically wanted thick chewy chocolate chip cookies, and I had every intention of making them.
So what makes this chocolate chip cookie recipe different?
Substituting and changing the proportion of the ingredients. The ingredient/proportion breakdown:
Using one egg gave enough of a rise and kept everything together. I realized that there was never really a need for two.
You only need 12 tablespoons of butter which allowed the cookie to spread but not so much that it turned flat. Another thing that’s great about this recipe? You don’t have to chill the dough. Just make and bake.
The trick to making these cookies super delicious is to beat the butter and sugar until the sugar melts into the butter. This takes about 5 minutes of beating on medium high. Then you add the bourbon or vanilla and the egg and beat it until it’s pale. I use that time to gather my other ingredients and line your baking sheets with parchment.
The extra molasses in the dark brown sugar contributes to the cookie’s chewiness and texture. Of course it gives a nice flavor as well.
Since it costs a mortgage for a bottle of vanilla these days, I went with bourbon which is a cheaper option. If you want to use vanilla, go ahead.
A touch of water adds just enough moisture to the dough to puff them without spreading. You may think it’s nonsense to add a little water, but the original Toll House Cookie recipe added a teaspoon of water. I add a tablespoon to give the cookies a little more steam so they puff when baking.
Scoop, don’t roll!
I scoop using a scoop which holds 3 tablespoons of dough. I know that seems large but I like the size. That size gives me 21 good size cookies depending on how much dough you eat along the way. You can use a smaller scoop if you like. You’ll get a few more cookies just remember to adjust the baking time which I would cut down to about 9 minutes, depending on what you use.
Look at these! These are so good you really don’t need to add anything else. If you want to sprinkle sea salt on the cookies before baking, go ahead. I guess that’s the “in” thing these days.
Try some of my other cookies and bars:
- Anisette toasts
- Thick chewy chocolate chip cookies
- The best oatmeal raisin cookies
- Strawberry jam bars
- Gooey chewy s'mores bars
- Peanut butter and jelly bars
- Congo bars
Life is too short for mediocre food.
Have you seen these?
Thick Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE SAVE RECIPEIngredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar* packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons bourbon or vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high for 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, water, and bourbon or vanilla and continue to beat on medium-high until the mixture is lightened in color. You need to beat for another 5 - 7 minutes. Mixing for this long gives a nice merengue-like topping to the cookies and it melts the sugars into the butter.
- In the meantime, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the dry mixture to the sugar mixture and mix until it's just combined. Add in the chocolate chips and mix just until they're incorporated.
- Scoop using a scoop (3 tablespoons), spacing them apart on the prepared baking sheets. I can fit 10 - 11 cookies per baking sheet which should use up all the dough. You should get 20 -21 cookies depending on how much dough you eat along the way. Come on, we all do it. If you don’t have a scoop, just measure out 3 tablespoons of dough then rough up the surface with a fork. Sprinkle each mound with a sprinkle of sea salt, if you like.
- Bake for 11 minutes, until golden on the outside but still a little soft in the middle. It's better to slightly undercook if you want chewy gooey cookies. If you cook them too long, they will be hard and crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring onto a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutritional Information
I don't post the nutritional value because I don't trust the accuracy of the nutritional apps. I’m not a nutritionist and don't want to post misinformation.
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R. Realta
I made these for a theater party and thank you SO MUCH! They turned out perfect! Chewy but crispy, everyone liked them. BIG hit, will be coming back for more.
Natalie
Thank you so much for commenting. I love it! 🙂
Lori
I have light brown sugar. Could I add a Tablespoon or 2 of molasses to compensate for dark brown sugar?
Natalie
You could add a tablespoon but you will also be fine with light brown sugar. 🙂
Kennedi
These are my staple cookies everyone asks me to make them! Would I be able to make these ahead of time and freeze them?
Natalie
If you mean to freeze the baked cookies, then yes. These don't typically last long enough in my house to freeze but I did freeze a few just to make sure. If you are planning on freezing the dough, just scoop it into balls and freeze. I place them into a zip-top bag in one flat layer, remove the air, and freeze. They are there when you have a craving. You may need to increase the baking time by a minute or two. 🙂
Rene
I just made these today. They are awesome! Did add I bit of cinnamon
Natalie
That's great! Thank you for visiting and commenting!
Malini
These didn't turn out great for me. They were sort of hard and tasteless. They looked beautiful. The beating the butter for extra time trick worked so well to make a meringue-like exterior, but they ended up being too crispy on the edges. Even though the middles were chewy, they overall effect was a hard cookie. I baked them for 9 minutes instead of 11, and they were underdone at that point, but still turned out hard. The taste was really lacking, even though I added extra vanilla. And the amount of chocolate chips overpowered the cookie. If I were to make these again, I would use 1 cup instead of 1 and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I would maybe even quadruple the vanilla because somehow it just doesn't come through in these. I would also bake them for 8 minutes, or maybe try a lower oven temperature.
Natalie
Baffled as why these came out hard. I have made these twice in the last week using a different oven and they came out the same as always. Only thing I can think of is check the temp of your oven by getting an oven thermometer or stir your flour to fluff it up before measuring. I use bourbon when making these but even when I used vanilla, the flavor was there. They do harden the next day. You can soften them up by warming them in the microwave for a 10 - 20 seconds. They never last that long for that to be an issue for me. Thanks for commenting and visiting.
Margie
Just made these cookies, I used 1/2 semi sweet and 1/2 milk chocolate chips and they are the best cookies I have made , the sprinkle of flaked salt on top is perfect!!!!
Natalie
Thank you for commenting! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Tania Summers
I made these and they taste really good. They looked great in the oven until the very last minute. Looked raw in the center and spread really thin along the edges. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
Natalie
The only thing I can think of is the humidity in the kitchen that would have softened the dough. These always come out thick for me. I'm glad you enjoyed the flavor.
Laura Bevis
Any chance of adding the amounts in grams ? I’m always a bit mistrustful of the cups to grams conversions on the net... would rather it came from the source!
Natalie
Hello there. I will try to start adding amounts in grams. I too, rely on the grams conversions on net as I do not weigh the flour in this particular recipe. I can tell you that when I do scoop flour for measuring, I first loosen and fluff up the flour with a knife then scoop it up. When I weigh it, it almost consistently weighs 4.8 ounces which is 136 grams. I do sometimes get 4.6 ounces or 130 grams. Honestly, the only time I rely on weight is when I'm making bread dough. I will be making these again soon and will try to do it in weight and will update. Stay well and safe. 🙂
Ken Fricklas
great substitution on these is using 1/2 cup light brown sugar + 1/3 cup maple syrup...
Natalie
Hi Amanda,
I live at sea level if that's even a correct answer. It is true if you live higher up the leavenings need to be reduced, sugar and liquids need to be adjusted, and even temperature needs to be higher. I would suggest maybe decreasing the baking soda by 1/8 of a teaspoon and maybe taking out a tablespoon or so of the sugar. But, since I haven't tested this, I can't be absolute in my answer. A commenter had a similar situation with my single rise white bread and made modifications that turned out perfect loaves in high altitudes. The recipe for that is in the comments of the single rise bread recipe. I hope this helps. You will have to do some testing. You may also need to increase the water by a teaspoon. These are just suggestions. Let me know how it comes out. Best to you and stay safe!