There are two types of people in this world. Those who like a chewy chocolate chip cookie and those who prefer a crispy chocolate chip cookie.
I happen to be one that falls into the first category. I want th center to so so perfectly chewy, I might think they are still cookie dough. These Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are the ultimate homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies
For decades I’ve made nothing but the original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. You know, the one on the back of the bag? Why change something if it isn’t broken?
I still have nothing against this classic chocolate chip cookie recipe, I wanted to try something new and I had recently tried the famed Crumbl Bakery for the first time.
These cookies are HUGE! I’m taking wide and thick cookies. We ordered the 6 flavors available that day and only had one bite of each before hitting a wall. Delicious, but rich and totally decadent and did I mention, GIGANTIC!?
Amazing and inventive flavors like a cornbread cookie, key lime pie, oreo, reese’s peanut butter cup and pink velvet. Soft cookies with a chewy center to cure any sweet tooth.
But later that week I craved them again. So into the kitchen I went to cheat on my old cookie recipe and try my hand at the Crumbl version for a fraction of the price.
What is the Secret of Crumble Cookies?
I don’t know anyone that works there, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that the secret ingredient is none other than corn starch.
Cornstarch is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the environment. When cornstarch is added to cookie dough, it absorbs some of the moisture in the dough and helps keep the dough from drying out. This helps makes the cookies chewy instead of hard and crunchy.
Additionally, the cornstarch helps create a more tender crumb in this delicious cookie by absorbing some of the moisture and slowing down the rate at which the cookie bakes, allowing it to set before the whole cookie dries out and becomes hard.
What’s In Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies?
The ingredient list is pretty standard to other chocolate chip cookie recipes with the additional of cornstarch, which is common in bakery-style chocolate chip cookies. I highly recommend using quality ingredients to get the same results as the store.
- Unsalted butter– Using unsalted allows you to control the saltiness. If you do used salted, omit the additional fine sea salt. Make sure it is room temperature so it creams well.
- Sugars– A blend of white sugar and brown sugar provides sweetness with a hint of molasses, which is what stands chocolate chip cookies out from a standard sugar cookie (that and chocolate!). Use dark brown sugar for even more molasses flavor.
- Eggs – For body and structure.
- Whole milk- Don’t skimp on the milk. Full fat milk as the best body and flavor. That extra fat will add to the chewiness of the cookies.
- Vanilla– Use a pure vanilla extract, preferably a Madagascar, opposed to imitation vanilla. Vanilla bean paste can also be used.
- All-purpose flour- For structure and lift. Some folks have used cake flour for a more cake-like texture.
- Cornstarch- The star ingredient plays several roles in a cookie, read up and find out what they are.
- Baking powder– The leavener for these cookies.
- Fine sea salt– Balances the sweet but also brings out natural flavors in the molasses and chocolate.
- Large milk chocolate chunks– You can buy chunked chocolate, coarsely cut up a chocolate bar or even roughly cut Hershey kisses. Using a variety of chocolates and sizes can make your cookies more interesting. Giant cookies call for giant chocolate pieces. Don’t feel like you have to stick to milk chocolate, dark chocolate, semi sweet chocolate or even white chocolate are all good choices. Generic milk chocolate chips are also fine.
How Do You Make Crumble Chocolate Chip Cookies?
Making this Crumbl copycat recipe is pretty easy as long as you have to time chill. Do not skip this step!
- Cream Butter and Sugar. Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. This process takes a few minutes, be patient. This is the time you can incorporate air into the dough without drying it out. Using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer does a better job than a good old fashioned arm workout.
- Add Wet Ingredients. Add in the eggs, milk and vanilla, blending again until fully mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
- Sift Dry Ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients in two incorporations. Blend until just mixed, do not overmix.
- Add Chocolate. Fold in chocolate pieces by hand or with a few quick blends of an electric mixer so you don’t break up the large pieces.
- Chill Cookie Dough. For best results, cover the dough to prevent it from drying out and then refrigerate for 2-4 hours. It can be chilled for longer too. Chilling cookie dough is imperative for the dough and butters to be the right temperature when it hits the oven. It prevents it from spreading too much, leaving you with a fatter, thicker cookie.
- Prepare to Bake. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Cooking sprays can burn and burnt bottom cookies are no good!
- Form Cookies. Portion into ½ cup cookie dough balls (I told you these were BIG cookies!), each will be about the size of a baseball. Using your palms, flatten into a hockey puck shape, leaving it about ½-3/4 inch thick. Place them 1-2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Remember these are large cookies and you don’t want to crowd them on the cookie sheet.
- Bake. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until edges are starting to turn light brown. For a gooier cookie, remove at 14 minutes, for a more well baked cookie, remove at 16 minutes.
- Cool. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes then using a spatula, remove to a wire cooling rack. Or do what I do and eat them too soon when they are all nice and gooey- it is the best thing ever in my book.
How to Make Better Cookies
These quick and easy tips can be applied to any delicious cookie recipe!
- Measure your flour. Don’t pack it down and make sure you square off the top with the flat edge of a knife. Really measuring using a scale is the correct way to do it, but not many folks do. Too much flour can lead to a dry cookie.
- Sift your flour with leaveners. Sifting reduces lumps but also distributes leveaners evenly throughout the dry mixture. You won’t have to mix the batter too long if these are done before hand.
- Don’t over mix. Stand mixers are great, but it also makes it super easy to overmix while you are off doing other tasks. Mix until just combined unless the recipe specifies otherwise. You want the cookie dough to be light and fluffy, too much air will dry out the dough.
- Always preheat the oven and don’t add cookies until it has fully preheated for at least 5 minutes. Don’t leave the door open or check on them often either, this messes with the oven temperature and thus, cooking times.
- Use an insulated baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Insulated sheets allow hot air to circulate around the cookies and parchment prevents sticking without having to grease the cookie sheet.
- Don’t overbake. While this seems super obvious, it is probably the most overlooked. Typically cookies can be removed from the oven before they look fully cooked. The might still look a little wet with a glistening sheen. Don’t wait until they are a golden brown.
- Don’t allow cookies to cool completely transfering to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool enough to be transfered, but them move them to a wire rack. The heat from the baking sheet will continue to cook the underside.
Follow these easy steps and you’ll have the best chocolate chip cookies ever! All you’ll need is a tall glass of icy milk.
Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezing
Can I freeze chocolate chip cookies?
You sure can freeze chocolate chip cookies! Place them in an airtight plastic bag and try to get as much air as possible. They should be good for 3-4 months.
Can chocolate chip cookies go bad?
They can, like any baked good. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, if left in a cool dark place will start to develop mold since they don’t have the same preservatives and additives that processed cookies do. They also get dry and stale.
Can I Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
You sure can! Roll it into the 1/2 cup balls of dough for easier freezing and thawing. Thaw the dough fully and bake as instructed.
What is the Best Way to Store Chocolate Chip Cookies?
The best way to store chocolate chip cookies is to store them in an airtight container, preferably a resealable plastic container. This will help keep the cookies fresh and prevent them from going stale.
Additionally, it is important to store the cookies in a cool, dark place. This will help preserve their flavor and help them last longer.
More Cookies Questions
You can omit the brown sugar and substitute white sugar, but then you’ll just have chocolate chip sugar cookies.
Brown sugar is what gives them the light brown hue and slight molasses flavor.
You can, but they will lack flavor. If you just ran out of vanilla, I would recommend substituting another extract. Almond, butter, hazelnut, maple and coffee extracts are all excellent choices.
Chocolate chip cookies aren’t like sugar cookie cutouts, however you can bake them, allow to cool slightly and then use a cookie cutter to achieve the desired shape or mold them into a large, shaped baking dish for a cookie cake.
This particular recipe is perfect for this because the cookies are large, relatively flat and big.In American by chefs Ruth Graves Wakefield and Sue Brides in 1938. She invented the recipe during the period when she owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts. Toll House ended up being the name of the most trusted chocolate chips!
You can use shortening in the same amount instead of butter, however it will change the composition of the cookie. If you do, use a butter flavored shortening.
You sure can! I would suggest making sure all of your add-ins cumulatively add up to 2 cups, the same amount as the recipe calls for chocolate chips.
You can use white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, mint chocolate, dried cranberries or anything else you can think of!
Most Popular Cookies
- Applesauce Cookies
- Banana Cookies
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- Buckeye Brownie Cookies
- Cowboy Cookies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Copycat Crumbl Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Heat Resistant Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups large milk chocolate chunks
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until creamy, approximately 1 minute.
- Add the eggs, milk and vanilla, blending again until fully mixed.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients in 2-2 incorporations. Blend until just mixed, do not overmix.
- Fold in chocolate pieces by hand or with a few quick blends of an electric mixer.
- Cover and refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Portion dough into ½ cup balls, each will be about the size of a baseball. Using your palms, flatten into a hockey puck shape, leaving it about ½-3/4 inch thick. Place them 1-2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until edges are starting to turn light brown. For a gooier cookie, remove at 14 minutes, for a more well baked cookie, remove at 16 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes then using a spatula, remove to a wire cooling rack.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
They would make such great gifts! Saving this for later. Thank you.
Crazy to think that there are sooo many options when it comes to chocolate chips cookies! This one looks absolutely delicious – love yummy chewy cookies!
I love a chewy chocolate chip cookie! Going to have to make these over the weekend!
I love chewy chocolate chips, It’s one of my favorite indulgences. I don’t care if my waist would be screaming for mercy.. 🙂
Team Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies over here!!! And I love that you were analyzing how to bake the best cookies while on the elliptical machine! The life of a food blogger, right? 🙂