Description
Perfect thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies made with melted butter, an extra egg yolk, and cornstarch for that signature soft texture. These bakery-style cookies stay soft for days and are incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients
Dry stuff:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (spoon it in, don’t pack it down)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch (this is why they work)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet stuff:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted then cooled 5 minutes
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter)
- ½ cup regular white sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 extra yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
The good stuff:
- 1¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I buy Ghirardelli when it’s on sale, Nestle when it’s not)
Instructions
Put flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Whisk it till everything’s mixed evenly. Don’t bother sifting – not worth the extra dishes. Just make sure you don’t have any cornstarch lumps.
Different bowl. Whisk melted butter with both sugars till it’s completely smooth and not grainy anymore. Takes about a minute of actual whisking, not just stirring around. Add the whole egg, extra yolk, and vanilla. Keep whisking till everything looks shiny and well mixed.
Dump the wet stuff into the dry stuff. Stir just enough to combine everything. Don’t go crazy with the mixing or you’ll make the cookies tough. Dough looks shaggy at first, then comes together. Fold in chocolate chips carefully.
The dough’s way softer than other recipes. That’s exactly how it should be.
Cover with plastic wrap – press it right against the dough so it doesn’t get a skin. Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Overnight’s even better. I usually make dough after lunch for evening cookies.
Cold dough holds its shape better when it bakes. Gives you thick cookies instead of flat ones.
Heat your oven to 325°F, not 350 like most recipes say. Lower temperature cooks them more evenly without burning the edges. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Don’t skip this – cleaning burnt cookie bits off pans is a nightmare.
If dough’s been in the fridge more than 2 hours, let it sit out 15 minutes so it’s not rock solid. Scoop into balls – I use about 3 tablespoons for big cookies, 2 for medium ones.
Here’s the important part – make them tall, not round. Like little towers or footballs standing up. This is what makes them thick instead of flat pancakes. Space them at least 3 inches apart because they spread.
13 to 14 minutes till the edges just barely start turning golden. Centers will look completely raw and underbaked. That’s right. They look totally wrong when you take them out but trust me on this.
Don’t overbake them or they’ll be crunchy instead of chewy.
Leave them on the hot cookie sheet for exactly 10 minutes. Don’t move them before that or they’ll fall apart. They’re still cooking from the heat of the pan. After 10 minutes, move them to cooling racks.
I press extra chocolate chips on top while they’re still warm because it looks fancy and the kids love it.
Notes
Forgot to take eggs out? Put them in warm water for 5 minutes. Brings them to room temperature fast.
Your cookies look underbaked when you pull them out – that’s good. They keep cooking on the hot pan after you take them out of the oven.
Get a kitchen scale if you don’t have one. Measuring by weight instead of cups makes cookies turn out exactly the same every single time.
Check your oven temperature: Most ovens run hot or cold. Get a cheap oven thermometer. Mine runs 15 degrees hot so I set it lower. Makes a huge difference.
Don’t peek: Opening the oven door lets all the heat out and makes cookies bake unevenly. Set your timer and leave it alone.
Burnt bottom fix: If your cookies always burn on the bottom, stack two cookie sheets together. The extra layer keeps the bottom from getting too hot.
Spacing trick: Trace circles on the back of your parchment paper as guides for where to put each cookie. Keeps them evenly spaced.
Chocolate chip hack: Toss chocolate chips with a little flour before mixing them in. Stops them from sinking to the bottom while cookies bake.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes + Chill Time: 2 hours
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American