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Developing the recipe
As long as I can remember, chocolate chip cookies have been my favorite dessert. Considering how often I bake, and my near 20-year-long ordering dessert streak, that's high praise. Chocolate chip cookies are also the first thing I remember baking by myself. As a kid, my parents never did much baking. So when I saw a friend's mom make cookies for the first time, I realized not only how easy baking cookies is, but how much better homemade cookies are than the store-bought ones I ate during my childhood.
Throughout high school and college I baked cookies occasionally, always following the Tollhouse recipe on the bag of the chocolate chip bag. It wasn't until after college that I started branching out and experimenting, much to my boyfriend's enjoyment. The recipe below is the result of 2-3 years of testing and tinkering, trying to create an amazing chocolate chip cookie without overcomplicating the recipe. The final recipe combines the ingredients and techniques of a few other bakers' recipes to produce big, thin, chewy cookies with pools of chocolate.
Before I share the recipe, I want to call out my appreciation of the recipes that led me to mine:
This recipe was the first I made using roughly chopped chocolate. I recommend to use a chopped chocolate bar in my recipe to produce big pools of chocolate. His recipe also calls for browning the butter. I don't do this every time I make my recipe, but you can if you want to add extra depth.
The ingredients in this recipe are nearly identical to mine, aside from the chocolate and vegan butter. The proportions are just perfect! If you prefer a slightly puffier, wrinkly looking cookie, the ingredients and cooking method of this recipe are great.
Pan-banging (literally picking up and dropping your sheet pan) is an amazing way to get big, evenly spread cookies. I was introduced to pan-banging by following Sarah on Instagram and I've never looked back.
Lastly, my cooking temperature and length were taken from Antoni (the Queer Eye darling)'s chocolate chip cookie recipe. I find that the lower temperature and longer bake he recommends leads to better a spreading cookie with a perfect chewy texture.
The recipe, in-depth
You can skip to the recipe card to get started, or read the in-depth instructions outlined below for more guidance.
1. First, melt the butter.
I melt the butter in a small saucepan on the stove. Once melted, I let it sit off heat while I prepare the rest of the ingredients. I've found that getting the butter down to room temperature is key to getting the correct cookie texture. Cool to the touch is ideal, (lukewarm is okay if you're in a time crunch), so try to give yourself plenty of time to let it cool.
If you're opting to go dairy free, I recommend using Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks (not-sponsored, just my preference). If you're not dairy free, any unsalted butter will do! That said, I've made these cookies countless times, both dairy-free and not, and have found the cookies spread wider with the vegan butter.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Kosher salt is preferred, but you can swap for iodized if that's all you have. Just lower the amount of salt by about 1/2 tsp if so.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the white and brown sugars.
This will be the bowl you mix all other ingredients into, so make sure it's big enough!
4. Once the butter is completely cooled, whisk it into the sugar mixture.
5. Whisk one egg at a time into the mixture.
6. Whisk in the the vanilla extract.
7. Add your dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Use a sturdy rubber spatula or spoon to combine all ingredients and form a dough.
If using vegan butter, the dough might seem a bit wet. This is normal. Just make sure all the flour has been mixed in, and the dough will firm up in the fridge or freezer.
8. Add your chocolate chunks/chips and stir!
The type of chocolate you use, and how it melts, affects how well the cookie spreads. I personally use about 3/4 of a semi-sweet baking bar, and about 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chunks, but I recommend you experiment to find the chocolates you like best!
The recipe calls for a cup and a half of mixed chocolate, but you should measure chocolate with your heart. I often add more, and recommend you do the same if you think the dough doesn't look chocolatey enough.
9. Cover the dough and put it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
If you've opted to go dairy-free, the dough might still seem a bit wet. To make the dough easier to work with, you can chill it in the fridge a bit longer, or prepare the dough balls and put those in the freezer for a few minutes prior to baking.
10. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 325°F.
11. Separate the dough into roughly 20 balls with a spoon or ice cream scooper.
If you want really, really big cookies, make 18 balls. For more reasonable, but still big, cookies, make 20.
If you're preparing the dough ahead of time or have extra, place the balls (not touching) on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Freezing them on a baking sheet first ensures they don't stick together. Once they've solidified, you can transfer them to a bag and freeze until you're ready to use them.
12. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then place 6 dough balls. Press down with your palm on the ball to flatten them.
Flattening the dough will help the cookies spread. If you're baking from frozen, allow the cookies to thaw a bit before baking, just until you're able to press them down without too much effort.
13. Bake for 14 minutes, then pick up and drop the pan on the rack once or twice until the cookies flatten. Bake for another 2 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
You'll notice when you drop the pan that the middle of the cookie flattens. If you prefer a really flat cookie (like myself), you may need to bang the pan once more before taking them out of the oven to get the middle totally flat.
If the cookies aren't golden after 16 minutes, keep them in the oven but maintain a close eye on them. You shouldn't need to add more than a minute to the cook time. The color should look similar to the photo below.
14. Allow to cool on a wire rack and enjoy!
Leftover cookies can be stored in a sealed container or bag, and will remain chewy for up to 3 days. They taste great with all sorts of milk!
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