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A gorgeous chewy chocolate cookie with crisp edges, that beautiful crackle, deep toffee flavor, generous blobs of chocolate wafers throughout, and the perfect sprinkle of Maldon sea salt: My new all time favorite chocolate chip cookie!
I know, I said I had a different all time favorite in 2014… and yet another different one in 2017. But I guess my cookie tastes grow and change with me. Who knows what 2024 will bring! Also, I still make the Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread all the time (SO GOOD have you tried it yet??). There is always a stash in the freezer ready to save me and Ben when we have that specific craving, which happens more often than is good for us. But that shortbread and these drop cookies are two totally different categories to me, so I don’t feel like I’m giving those cookies the shaft by sharing these.
I got this recipe from one of the youth at church, and was kind of skeptical at first. I mean, Tasty recipes were fun to watch, but would this cookie actually taste good?
Yes. It did.
Alvin Zhou, the recipe author, made a fun video comparing three favorite cookie recipes: The 2-minute vs. 2-hour vs. 2-day cookie. I actually tried making the 2-day cookie, toffee and all, and even though those are “the ultimate” chocolate chip cookie, I have to be honest: I like this one (which happens to be the 2-hour one) even better! Seriously, these cookies are amazing. They’re everything you want from a nice bakery chocolate chip cookie: chewy with a toffee taste, nearly the size of your face, cracks running across the top with big oodly pools of chocolate looking you deep in the eyes… and that hint of salt splashed across the top. They have earned a permanent residence in our freezer drawer, so when I have a deep craving for one (like… right now), I can pop one in the toaster oven any time.
They’re easy to make and the video on the Tasty website gives you a good idea of the consistency you should have at each step. You don’t even need a mixer, so if you’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies, you definitely need to give these a try!
Notes about ingredients:
I’ve been miffed by comments online like, “This recipe was the worst! I substituted A for B and cut the sugar in half, and the whole thing was hard as a rock! Horrible! Don’t try this recipe!” But c’mon now, that’s not the recipe’s fault! Some substitutions work well, but many can change the final texture or taste significantly. So I wanted to make some notes about ingredients to help you get the best results!
- Dark brown sugar is the secret to the chewiest and most toffee-like cookie flavor. For years, I ignored the “dark” part of the “dark brown sugar” ingredient in a list, and just used whatever brown sugar I had on hand (that is, whatever Costco had in stock). I think this is a huge part of why super chewy cookies eluded me for so long, but now I know better. Try this recipe at least once with actual dark brown sugar and taste the difference! Also, I know some people like to cut the sugar to make it less sweet or more healthy, but it will probably change the texture of the cookie significantly if you do that.
- Use some good quality chocolate wafers. These Guittard wafers are my current favorite (though I’ve got my eye on these Valrhona feves to try someday)! I use half chocolate chips and half wafers. Saves some $ but you still get those yummy pools of chocolate in your cookie!
- Don’t add your butter if it’s hot. I read some of the comments on the Tasty website, and decided that it was worth mentioning my specific butter melting method. Because I’m looking at the cookie photos people have posted, and while everybody seems happy with their cookies (yay!), some of these cookies look like they came from a totally different recipe. So maybe details on a good butter method will help:
You want your butter to be liquid, but not too hot. I’ve made these cookies with totally melted, hot butter, and it seemed to dissolve my sugar in the first step more than make a paste with it. The final result wasn’t as chewy. This time, I melted 3/4 of the butter in the microwave partway. I took it out when it was still a little chunky, and stirred until it was all melted (so, it was never SUPER hot). Then I added the last fourth of the solid butter in, in small pieces, and stirred until everything was liquid, but still relatively cool. So the butter was melted, but not hot… and definitely on the thicker side. I know this is finicky, so I’m not saying you have to, but maybe it will help increase the chewiness? I want you to succeed! 😀 - Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt afterward! Not Kosher salt, and definitely not table salt. Maldon sea salt is the flaky salt that comes in squares and adds a delectable little crunch and the perfect touch of salt to balance the sweetness.
More tips for success:
- Let the dough rest overnight before baking them to allow a more complex, toffee-like flavor to develop.
- Make sure the cookies are all the same size before baking, otherwise some will be too crisp or others not quite cooked enough. I use a scale to measure out 3 oz chunks, but if cookies the size of your toddler’s face are too much, just use an ice cream scoop for uniformity. I think the bigger cookie also lends itself to a more craggly surface when it cools, which I like.
Bakery Style Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Tasty’s Recipe
Makes 16-18 huge cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 dark cups brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (see Tip #4 above)
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 oz milk or semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
- 8 oz dark chocolate wafers (like Guittard’s)
- Maldon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whish together the sugars, salt, and butter until a paste forms with no lumps.
- Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, beating until light ribbons fall off the whisk and remain for a short while before falling back into the mixture.
- Sift in the flour and baking soda, then fold the mixture with a spatula (Be careful not to overmix, which would cause the gluten in the flour to toughen resulting in cakier cookies).
- Fold in the chocolate, then chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. For a more intense toffee-like flavor and deeper color, chill the dough overnight. The longer the dough rests, the more complex its flavor will be.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- The normal instructions say to use a cookie scoop to scoop even rounds of cookie onto the parchment and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges have started to barely brown. This is a safe thing to do, and I feel like it’s what I’m supposed to write as the instructions so you have no regrets.
Alternative instructions JoEllen actually uses to make giant, darker cookies:
If you have a food scale, weigh out 3 oz. of dough. Make a round ball, then flatten it slightly and push a round chocolate wafer down onto the top (this will make your cookie look as good as it tastes!). Place onto parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 4 inches of space between cookies and 2 inches of space from the edges of the pan so that the cookies can spread evenly. I fit 6 big cookies onto a large baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes (it was 18 minutes for me), or until most of the cookie has browned. - After taking it out of the oven, let it rest for a few minutes to firm and crisp up before enjoying!
(Selecting the perfect cookie to eat is a serious affair in our household :D).
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