The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies - My (New) Favorite

This is another one of those recipes that has been popping up everywhere on food blogs lately. It's from Baking Illustrated and I first saw it on Katie's blog, Good Things Catered. Like many, I've been on the quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Up until now, my favorite was the Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies. But now I have a new favorite - the Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie!


It's actually quite similar to the Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I previously posted. Here are the only differences in the ingredient list between the Baking Illustrated recipe and the "Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie":

- 2 more tablespoons of flour
- 1 less teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup less chocolate chips


Otherwise, the only other place where these recipes differ is in the method of getting the cookie dough to the baking sheet. Chelle from Brown Eyed Baker was the first person I saw to post about this unique cookie-shaping method. Instead of simply dropping the cookie dough onto baking sheets by the spoonful (or with a cookie scoop), this recipe includes a few extra steps to make it look more like an authentic 'store bought' or bakery cookie (see below). Unlike traditional recipes, these cookies are cooled on the baking sheet, instead of on a cooling rack. This allows the cookies to continue baking after they are removed from the oven and results in the most delicious cookies.


Chelle makes an excellent point in her post in that there can be a significant difference between measuring ingredients out using cups and spoons versus weighing them with a kitchen scale. Perhaps that's where this recipe comes out on top? (If you're looking for a kitchen scale, this is the one that we have. I highly recommend it.) If you decide to try this recipe, I encourage you to try weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them - it's actually much quicker, too, I've found.


I have nothing but good things to say about this cookie. It has a nice crisp edge around it, but it's soft and chewy in the middle... just perfect. They really do taste just like the ones you would purchase from a gourmet cookie shop. More importantly, they still taste just as good the next day! (Many chocolate chip cookies are wonderful fresh out of the oven, but just aren't the same the day after.) If you haven't tried this recipe yet, you have to try it now! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Baking Illustrated, as seen on Good Things Catered and Brown Eyed Baker

These oversized cookies are chewy and thick, like many of the chocolate chip cookies sold in gourmet shops and cookie stores. They rely on melted butter and an extra egg yolk to keep their texture soft. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheet. Oversized baking sheets allow you to get all the dough into the oven at one time. If you’re using smaller baking sheets, put fewer cookies on each sheet and bake them in batches.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour (I used bleached flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray. (I used my Pampered Chef baking stone - no parchment or spray needed)

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball.


Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves.


Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface.


Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.


Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. (It is essential that you do not let them brown too much in the oven because they will continue baking after you take them out.)

Cool the cookies on the sheets. (Make sure you follow this step - failure to do so will result in underbaked cookies.)

Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Yield: About 18 large cookies.