Baking Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy cookies rely on a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar and pulling them from the oven while the centers still look slightly underbaked. Melted butter creates a dense, fudgy crumb, while resting the dough for at least an hour allows the flour to hydrate, resulting in a deeper, more uniform bake.
Temperature dictates texture.
Using melted butter instead of creamed butter removes the air pockets that cause cakey edges, keeping the cookie heavy and moist.
- large mixing bowl
- silicone spatula
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- wire cooling rack
What goes in.
- 2 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tspbaking soda
- 1/2 tspfine sea salt
- 1 cupunsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cuppacked dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cupgranulated sugar
- 1large egg plus 1 yolk, room temperature
- 1 tbspvanilla extract
- 2 cupssemisweet chocolate chips
Stop the heat early
Remove the tray when the edges are golden and set, but the center of the cookie looks soft and barely finished. The residual heat on the pan will finish the cooking process without drying out the middle.
The method.
Mix dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Ensure no clumps of soda remain.
Emulsify fats and sugars
In a separate bowl, stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar vigorously for two minutes. The mixture should look like thick, glossy caramel.
Incorporate liquids
Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla to the sugar mixture. Stir until the dough is smooth and the egg streaks have disappeared.
Combine
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just a few streaks of flour remain, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Rest
Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. Cold dough spreads less and browns more evenly.
Bake
Scoop rounded tablespoons onto parchment-lined sheets. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm.
Other turns to take.
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt
Replace semisweet chips with 70% cacao chunks and sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt on the dough immediately after pulling them from the oven.
Brown Butter
Cook the butter in a pan until the milk solids turn amber and smell like toasted hazelnuts before melting the sugars into it.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Use dark brown sugar for a higher molasses content, which contributes to the chew.
Avoid over-mixing once the flour is added, or the cookies will turn tough.
If the cookies spread too much, your butter was likely too hot when you mixed in the eggs.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I bake these immediately?
You can, but the texture will be thinner and more spread out. Resting the dough is the only way to guarantee a thick, chewy center.
Why did my cookies come out cakey?
Usually, this happens if you measure the flour by scooping the cup directly into the bag, which packs it down. Use a spoon to fluff the flour into the measuring cup first.
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