Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

These thick chocolate chip cookies are tender and chewy and will become your new go-to. The step-by-step instructions will give you perfectly thick cookies every time.

Have you ever wanted to make the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie but noticed that all the recipes out there just have under baked cookies masquerading as chewy? Do not get me wrong. I LOVE an under baked cookie. Most of my adolescence and adulthood have been spent savoring a gooey cookie situation. But I have made it my mission to create a soft, chewy, and thick chocolate chip cookie when fully baked! 

These cookies are packed with chocolate chips and perfectly flavored with dark brown sugar! There’s a reason they’re at the top of the list of favorite cookies from the classic cookie tin we sell at Les Filles. If you’re thinking of adding a little extra zing to your cookies, try making my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, cream cheese chocolate chip cookies, or brown butter chocolate chip cookies, and become the go-to cookie master for all occasions!

Professional Bakery Tips for Making Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Don’t over cream your butter and sugar. The biggest secret to thick, chewy cookies is cold yet pliable butter! It should be softened to the point where you can press your finger into it, but it is still cold. Then, once you add your sugars, mix until it is just combined into a paste. 
• Add the dry ingredients gradually. For the thickest, chewiest chocolate chip cookies, gradually add the dry ingredients to prevent overdevelopment of the gluten and fully incorporate all the dry ingredients. I wait until my flour is just incorporated before adding a little more. 
• Roll your dough at room temperature. Once you have finished mixing your dough, I recommend dividing and rolling it immediately. You can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for up to 2 hours before rolling. If you leave the dough unwrapped or refrigerate it before dividing and rolling, it will become dry and stiff, making rolling it much harder.

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Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to make a soft and chewy bakery style cookie.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda reacts with an acid, the molasses in the dark brown sugar in this instance, to leaven the cookies. 
• Baking Powder
• Kosher Salt
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is here for sweetness, but if you add too much in proportion to the butter and flour, the cookies will spread rather than stay tall and chewy
• Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture, keeping the cookies softer while adding a rich molasses flavor. Yes, you can use light brown sugar, but the flavor will be slightly less robust.
• Unsalted Butter
• Eggs: The eggs add fat, moisture, and leavening. The fat from the egg yolk adds richness and helps keep the cookie chewy. 
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor to the cookie and enhances the molasses flavor from the dark brown sugar. 
• Chocolate Chips: Just as in the New York Times chocolate chip cookies, I suggest semisweet chocolate chips because they balance the sweetness of the cookie. I recently made these with Scharffen Berger 70% chocolate chunks and it, no joke, changed my life. The chocolate flavor was impeccable and the chunks made layers of melted chocolate that made everyone swoon.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Make it a skillet cookie! Press the room-temperature cookie dough into a skillet and bake until the edges are golden brown and the center is completely matte. To make your skillet cookie dreams come true, add my vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce, and maybe some sea salt on top! 
• Sub your favorite candy: Reese’s Pieces, M&Ms, or even some Snickers; the options are endless. Add some extra chocolate on top before baking, just for good measure. 
• Add some nuts. Some chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts (um, hello Nutella cookie recipe!) would be just delightful in these cookies. I would toast and cool the nuts before adding them to the batter. If you’re feeling extra nutty, my old fashioned peanut butter cookies would be great on a cookie platter with these!

How to Make Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use these instructions to make a perfectly thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine the ingredients to ensure the leavening agents are evenly distributed and lump-free. Set aside. 

Step 2: Start creaming the butter in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or with an electric mixer). Beat the butter on medium-high until it is still cold but pliable. Add the sugars and mix on medium-high until combined and a paste forms. This is especially important if your butter is actually room temperature. 

Step 3: Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture in between each addition. Scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Add the vanilla extract with the second egg. 

Step 4: Reduce the mixer to low and gradually add the mixed dry ingredients. I usually add the flour mixture in about 4-5 additions. To prevent overdevelopment of the gluten, I add the next bit of flour when the last one is almost fully incorporated. 

Step 5: Add the chocolate chips once the flour is fully incorporated. Mix until combined and fully distributed. 

Step 6: Roll the cookie dough 1 ½ inch balls, about 70g each. You can also use a 2 oz cookie scoop. Once rolled, refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Step 7: Preheat the oven to 350°F conventional or 325°F convection, and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Step 8: Place chilled or frozen cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and matte. At 325°F convection, mine baked for 13 minutes from the refrigerator, rotating after 8 minutes. They will take another minute or so from frozen.

Step 9: Cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our chocolate recipes, or try your hand at one of our 250+ cookie recipes, such as chocolate biscotti!