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Thick chocolate chip cookies mean real height, chewy centers, crisp edges, and layers of melted chocolate. This easy 35-minute method is built for consistency, so your cookies come out right every time!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Jump to RecipePrep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes
Freezer Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 33 minutes
Servings
25 cookies
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
297 kcal per serving
Technique
Mix dough, roll immediately, chill or freeze, then bake until golden and matte.
Flavor Profile
Rich, buttery cookies with deep molasses notes and melty semisweet chocolate.
* Based on nutrition panel
I finally got thick cookies that stayed thick after baking! Rolling the dough right away and freezing it made all the difference. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lauren
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- Cold, pliable butter controls spread. You get structure without sacrificing tenderness.
- Dark brown sugar adds moisture. That molasses keeps the centers chewy even when fully baked.
- Proper mixing prevents gluten overload. This keeps the texture soft instead of cakey.
- Freezing locks in shape. Baking from cold dough gives you that bakery-style height similar to my bakery style chocolate chip cookies!
Thick Chocolate Chip Cookie Video
Table of Contents
- Why You Will Love this Recipe
- Thick Chocolate Chip Cookie Video
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- Variations for Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Professional Tips
- How to Make Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Recommended Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipes
- Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- Before You Go
I’ve made thousands of cookies professionally, including at les filles bakery cafe, and these are the ones I come back to over and over. They’re reliable, scalable to any batch size, and they don’t rely on tricks like underbaking to feel chewy.
If you love experimenting with cookie textures, you might also enjoy New York Times chocolate chip cookies or go even richer with double chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: Provides the right structure for thick cookies. Too little and they spread, too much and they get dry. Some bakers add cornstarch for softness, but this method builds chew through technique instead.
- Baking soda & baking powder: The baking soda reacts with the molasses in brown sugar for lift, while baking powder adds a bit of extra structure.
- Kosher salt: Balances sweetness and enhances chocolate flavor.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness and helps with crisp edges.
- Dark brown sugar: The key to chewiness and deep flavor. Light brown sugar works, but the flavor won’t be as rich. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can make my chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar!
- Unsalted butter: Use it cold but pliable. This is one of the most important steps.
- Eggs: Add structure, richness, and moisture.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances both the chocolate and molasses notes.
- Chocolate chips: Semisweet is ideal for balance, but you can experiment with chocolate chunks or blends.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations for Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Make a skillet version: Press the dough into a pan and bake, then top with vanilla bean ice cream and hot fudge sauce for a shareable dessert.
- Add richness: Try versions like cream cheese chocolate chip cookies or brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
- Switch up the mix-ins: Add candies, nuts, or swirls inspired by nutella cookies.
- Go peanut butter: Try a mashup with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies or serve alongside old fashioned peanut butter cookies.
- Build a cookie spread: Add variety with cowboy cookie recipe or a giant pizookie.
Professional Tips
- Keep butter cold but workable. If it’s too soft, your cookies will spread. The real secret to thick cookies is controlling butter temperature and dough temperature.
- Stop mixing as soon as ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing = tough cookies.
- Roll dough immediately after mixing. Waiting too long dries it out.
- Bake from frozen for the thickest cookies.
- Look for a matte top and golden edges to know they’re done.
How to Make Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use these instructions to make perfectly chewy chocolate chip cookies every time! Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined and lump-free. Set aside.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugars. Beat butter on medium-high until cold but pliable, about 1–2 minutes. Add both sugars and mix until a paste forms, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl well.
Step 3: Add eggs and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing fully between each addition (about 30 seconds each). Add vanilla with the second egg.
Step 4: Incorporate dry ingredients. Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in 4–5 additions. Mix just until incorporated, about 1–2 minutes total.
Step 5: Add chocolate chips. Mix in chocolate chips until evenly distributed, about 20–30 seconds.
Step 6: Roll cookie dough balls. Portion into 1½-inch balls (about 70g each). Roll immediately while the dough is still at room temperature. Chill or freeze for at least 1 hour. This refrigeration step is key for structure!
Step 7: Preheat the oven. Preheat to 350°F (or 325°F convection) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8: Bake cookies. Place dough 2 inches apart and bake 10–12 minutes until golden and matte on the outside with a soft center inside. Rotate halfway through baking.
Step 9: Cool completely. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
If baking from frozen, they may need an extra minute of baking time.
Recipe FAQs
To get chocolate chip cookies that stay thick, control three key factors: butter temperature, dough temperature, and flour ratio. Use butter that is soft but still cool to the touch so it creams without becoming airy. Mix just until combined to avoid excess spread, then chill or freeze the dough before baking. Baking cold dough at the right temperature allows the edges to set before the center spreads, creating tall, structured cookies.
Yes. Chilling or freezing is essential for achieving thick cookies that don’t spread.
They’re great with creme anglaise or ice cream for sandwiches.
Recommended Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipes
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups chocolate chips ⅔
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Cream butter until pliable, then add sugars and mix until a paste forms.
- Add eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla.
- Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Roll into 70g balls and chill or freeze for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the baking sheets.
- Bake 10–12 minutes until golden and matte.
- Cool for 5 minutes on a pan, then transfer to a rack.
Video
Notes
- Yield – 25 cookies
- Technique – Barely cream butter and sugar for best texture.
- Variations – Add nuts, candies, or chunks.
- Storage – Store 3 days at room temp or freeze up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this chewy, bakery-style cookie recipe. If you’re still in a chocolate desserts mood, try chocolate biscotti next!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I have been looking for a delicious THICK chocolate chip cookie recipe forever and my search is over!! I wish I could post pictures, I am so proud of how beautiful these cookies came out 🙂 Adding the flour slowly allowed everything to blend perfectly. I used a large ice cream scoop and covered balls with plastic wrap and stuck them in freezer for 45 minutes. It took 21 minutes for the first tray to bake and the cookies were VERY tall so I flattened the remaining balls slightly and they baked in 18 minutes. They were still very thick but slightly wider making the PERFECT cookie!!! Thank You Lindsey!
Your comment made my day, Micki! Making you feel proud of what you baked is the greatest compliment! ~Lindsey
Why is it so dry I can’t make cookies with this . Should I add a liquid ??
Hi Fawn! It sounds like the ratio of flour to butter might have been off, which can happen if the flour measuring is a little off. Also, it’s crucial to use cold yet pliable butter and gradually add the dry ingredients to prevent the dough from becoming too dry. If your dough is still too dry, you can try adding a small amount of milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, to help bring it together. This is what I do in my snickerdoodle recipe!
I’m so excited to try it, but can I let the cookie dough rest in plastic wrap and just form the balls when ima bake them? I don’t have the space rn to place them into separate balls. So I just wanna know if I can roll them into a long roll and just slice and bake them.
Hi Dayvi! Yes, you can refrigerate the dough as a log and slice it when you’re ready to bake. For that approach, I would recommend chilling the dough fully (about 3 hours or overnight) before slicing it so they hold their shape. Happy baking!
Yeah. !!!! Again !!!!
Hi Andy! Happy to hear it!
These were absolutely fire. I put them in the freezer for like 30 minutes after I mixed the dough, didn’t form them in balls or anything just stuck the bowl in the freezer and baked them for like 15 mins, amazing. They have a slight crunch on the outside but nice and soft and chewy on the inside. Actually the best cookie recipe I’ve tried where my cookies don’t turn out flat. Thank you <3
Hi Hanna! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I’m very pleased to hear everything was perfection–you deserve nothing less from your CCC’s!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, these are the best cookies. Love the little crunch on the outside and the soft chewy center. I know my oven pretty well so I baked them for 10 minutes @ 325 and the dough made 5 dozen plus 5 extra cookies. Only CCC recipe I will be using from this day forward and now I’m going to see what else you have that I can bake. Thanks again
Hi Cindy! Thank you so much — this truly made my day! I love that you trusted your oven and dialed it in. I’m honored this is your go-to CCC recipe now, and I can’t wait for you to explore what else you bake next. Happy baking!
Hi. I’m happy I stumbled upon your page.
I have not tried the chocolate chip recipe yet but wondering if the same concept of recipe would work for oatmeal cookies to make them soft and chewy opposed to cake like.. Or crispy. Just a nice combo of soft like yet chewy?
If you have one please lead me to it!😊Thank you ❣️
Hi Mariss! Welcome aboard! My Chewy Oatmeal Cookies are the way to go 🙂 Happy baking!
How long do you freeze the cookies for?
Hi Erica, I apologize that the instructions are unclear. Freeze just until frozen. This shouldn’t take more than an hour in a typical freezer. I will update the recipe as well. ~Lindsey
I followed the recipe to a T, yet the dough is like sand. 5 cups of flour seems to be too much! I will try to salvage it.
Hi Lisa! Sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out. The 5 cups is an approximation based on the recipe by weight, where the flour is 600g. Measuring cups as a tool and flour are not always best friends, so I always try to weigh my ingredients when I can.