Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Nothing brings unadulterated joy like a perfectly baked, warm, soft chocolate chip cookie. The whole process of making the cookies; the smell of the chocolate, licking the finished beaters, using the edges of my finger to scrape every last bit of dough from the bowl, the scent of the cookies right before they are done in the oven, and finally to breaking into the still warm cookies, chocolate oozing and quickly swooping in with the other hand in order to not lose a drop of deliciousness, they all take me back to my childhood on the ranch and to the days when we would get treated to a batch of homemade cookies from mom.
It took years of recipe tryouts to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. It wasn’t until we bought Bo Friberg’s Professional Pastry Chef cookbook that the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe ended. His chocolate chip cookie recipe was the best we’d ever had, and has yet to be trumped. Over the years I’ve tweaked this chocolate chip cookie recipe a little. I make them with cut up chunks of good quality dark chocolate, rather than chocolate chips. I’ve also found it makes a big difference to not skimp on two other key ingredients.
I will only use Plugra European style butter for these chocolate chip cookies. No other butter tastes as good unless you spend an impractical amount of money. At least for what we have available in our area. And the salt must be a good sea salt. It seems trivial being such a small fraction of the recipe, but the taste isn’t as good without that little detail. So don’t skimp on those three things, good dark chocolate, good unsalted butter, and good sea salt.
A few cookie cooking tips. Cookies may be a hugely common dessert, but they can actually be fairly finicky. A 30 second lapse in cooking time will affect the cookies texture a good deal. Under bake these chocolate chunk cookies slightly to help them stay soft and chewy.
Ingredients are best weighed for accuracy. If you are heavy handed with the sugar, they will cook runnier, leaving you with a flatter, crispier cookie. That’s not what I’m what I really like in a chocolate chip cookie, but if that’s what you like, enjoy. Too much flour and you’ll loose the chewiness that make these so tasty. If you make the cookies bigger, drop the temp. 25° and increase the baking times. This recipe is easily doubled, so make more dough than what you need and freeze the extra. There should always be some cookie dough ready to bake in the freezer.
For the uninitiated on cookie log rolling, here is a quick tip on how to roll your cookie dough into a log: Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Lay the roughly shaped log on the wrap and roll it up inside the plastic wrap. Smooth out the log, using your thumb and forefinger in an “ok” sign, and by rolling the log on the counter top or cutting board. When the log is even, unwrap the plastic wrap to remove all the wrinkles, then roll it up again, smooth as silk.
All of you twitter followers were delightfully tormented and teased by my precious Diane with pics of these chocolate chunk cookies presented in a tantalizing fashion. In order to not be out brattied by her, I won’t be sharing the secret sweetness with the rest of you. Not yet. Maybe tomorrow. However, today everyone will be getting the basic recipe for these delectable chocolate chunk cookies. So tune in tomorrow for Part 2 of Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and until then pull out the good butter and make your sweetie a batch of chocolate joy!
– Todd.
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups (370 g) all-purpose, unbleached Flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher or Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 cup (160 g) packed Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup (150 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted Butter, at room temp.
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 pound (350 g) Dark Chocolate (cut into 1/2" chunks or smaller)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375° F (350° for convection ovens)
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a mixer using the beater blade, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Stir the flour mixture into the batter until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Roll into 1 1/2" thick logs. If not using soon, freeze the logs for future use, otherwise cut the cookies into equal portions, about 3/4" thick.
- Pat the discs even and circular then place on a silpat or parchment paper lined sheet pan. Space the cookies so they won't bake into each other when they spread.
- Bake at 375° F for @ 10-12 minutes, making sure to take them out when they are still slightly underdone. They will be a light golden brown on the outside edges. After the cookies cool for a minute, transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool enough that the chocolate won't burn your mouth.
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You can use these making two subs as well: white chocolate for dark chocolate; macadamia nuts for walnuts.
I agree this is the best recipe I have found for these to date. In general, all Friberg’s cookie recipes trump Gisslen’s without the bat of an eyelash. I wonder if Ewald Notter had anything better.
Basic question which I feel a little silly asking: If I prep these ahead of time and freeze them, can they go straight from the freezer into the oven or do they need to defrost first? If they’re baked frozen, do I need to adjust the baking temp or time? Thank you!
Hi Kelly,
It is a very good question. We usually take them out of the freezer when we first turn on the oven. By the time the oven is at temperature (plus another 15 minutes or so to make sure it is settled in at that temp.), the cookies have defrosted the perfect amount to cook to the same time or at least within a minute or so of perfect. If you are baking straight from the freezer to the oven, the cookies will stay a little more ball-like, and you’ll probably need to cook them for a little bit longer.
Enjoy!
Thank you for so many wonderful recipes and this one is definitely one of my favorites, it has now been my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe and everyone LOVES them. I just did a little twist on it by browning the butter (and letting it resolidify) and toasting the flour, it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! a little denser and had a nutty flavor. I discovered the hard way that the flour needs to be sifted after toasting.
Thank you ! =)
Ciao!
We fall in love with this cookies & the pizookie… from the first time I baked for my family ( a couple of years I think…!).
Our big boy is going to have his six birthday party,and ask me for this cookies but with M & M’S insted of the chocolate chunk, do you think this will work? do I have to change something?
Thank you & saluti ! ^_^
Hi Candela. You can directly substitute the M&M’s for the chocolate chunks in the recipe. Have a great birthday party!
T
I made these last night to satisfy a craving and they were delicious! Not only did they taste great, they looked perfect, too. I did use half bread flour and half AP because I had it on hand, though I’m not sure if it really made a difference or not.
Awesome. These are one of the few that we always keep the dough on hand in the freezer. So glad you loved them too. The bread flour probably didn’t make much difference at all, especially since you only used half. I’ve done that a few times too and couldn’t really tell it apart from a regular batch.
Lately, I’ve been using around 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat and 1 3/4 all-purpose. I’ve also made them with all all-purpose flour and haven’t really noticed much of a difference (I only use the whole wheat flour by request). Since I first tried this recipe, I’ve been making a batch every week! Rolling the dough in logs makes it a lot easier to store and to handle. Thanks again for the recipe!
These sound (and look) perfect. Thanks for adding all the helpful tips too! I’m on a quest for the best CCC recipes and I hope you’ll add this post to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge link-up. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/NOm7mT
Making these this afternoon for my husband… can’t wait to try the log method, and to be more careful with the oven time! That always gets me…
after making these the normal way a few times, i tried making them with chopped up heath bars. highly recommend!
Hi! Inexperienced baker here.
I made these cookies tonight (both the regular and deep dish versions) and while they look absolutely perfect I found them to be somewhat dry. Granted i did not use all 350 grams of chocolate, but they still almost demand the vanilla ice cream or a big glass of milk accompaniment. I’m not sure if it’s something i did or if it’s just a differing of taste-buds. Thanks for the recipe though! Loved the logging technique too.
Hi Alexis.
Cookies with all butter as the fat agent can be a bit sensitive. If you over bake them by as much as a minute they will be tough and dry. Usually aim for underbaking. You can also substitute a bit of lard or vegetable shortening for the butter to make it easier to have a softer texture, but the flavor won’t be quite as good in our experience. Good luck.
Todd
I am such an inexperienced baker but want to try these AMAZING looking cookies, do you have chocolate brand suggestions for these cookies? I love your site, it is so inspiring especially to total novices like myself…. 🙂
I have been on a CCC making bender this month and as of this moment my favorite is the Cooks Illustrated (with melted butter) and using ghiradelli 60% dark chocolate chips. I would love to try these, can I just form into balls and flatten instead of rolling into logs?
Hi Katie,
Yep. We just roll them into logs to make it easier to freeze and roll into cookies later. If you want to make them into balls, I wouldn’t bother flattening them, as they’ll spread and relax when baking. The dough still benefits from chilling so it doesn’t flatten too much when baking, but that is our personal preference for thicker cookies. I’d chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour before balling and baking. Good luck!
Hi, I recently subscribed to your blog (I found a link to your blog on David Lebovitz’s blog) and stumbled upon this entry. I was wondering if you ever did post the Part 2 of the Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Thanks.
Hi Flo,
David has such a great site, doesn’t he.
We did post Part 2. It was about Pizookies – fresh baked cookies with ice cream. You can find the post here. Be careful, they are highly addicting, especially when using one of David’s ice cream recipes!
I am a huge chocolate chip cookie fan…but am very picky about taste…so in constant search of a perfect recipe. I like the Plugra butter as well and think it makes a big difference. When you say dark chocolate…is there a certain brand that you favor? Thanks for sharing your recipe!! Can’t wait to try it….and your photography…amazing!
Unfortunately, we don’t know the exact brand. We buy our chocolate in bulk chunks cut from a larger block at a local store. Occasionally we’ll also use the Trader Joes Dark Chocolate 1 lb bars, but most of our chocolate supply is from this mystery chocolatier. The flavor and texture is great and the price is good.
Yuu use “dark chocolate ” in your recipe—you don’t specify what percentage——how bitter? how sweet? semi-sweet?
Thanks
It is totally up to you. The darker the chocolate, the richer however more bitter taste it will have. Personal preference.
You know what’s so great about this recipe? Well, it definitely tastes great – everyone loved them – but what I think is fantastic is that you can freeze the dough so that you don’t end-up baking several dozen cookies in one go – and you can take them out and bake them 4 at a time if you really want. :))))
Hey you twos. Would you please translate the measurements into cups for me? Thank you so much!
hey todd–
ns’s current fave are the Times cookies. i have a great pix but don’t know how to post in comments. will put it on my blog. when i make your. maybe this evening. will let you know, but also… if you get back to me in time, would love to know what kind of chocolate you are using.
carolynn – We’ve still to try the NY Times recipe. I, too dislike having to use 2 diff. flours so I’ve dragged my feet about it. Plus these are so damn good. I’ve never tried resting the dough in the fridge for that long of a period, but I also never cook the dough directly after mixing. It nearly always gets rolled and frozen, or at least chilled for a couple hours. Looks like it is time for cookie lab work. I’d love to hear Nancy’s take on the cookies, although I’m sure she has her own favorite that she has crafted herself. That woman’s desserts are incredible. Thanks for sharing. Todd.
hi–have you tried what may be the Toll House of the Foodie Generation–the now legendary New York Times recipe–? i get annoyed that it calls for two different flours, neither of which you can get at grocery stores (i get them at Surfas), but they ARE delicious and they have a great chewy rise-and-fall texture. they call for letting the dough rest in the fridge for at least 36 hours–and it does make a difference. i’ve tested that out with impatience. (i wonder if yours could be even better using that tip?) my friend queen of baking herself Nancy Silverton, and i made the times cookies at her house in Italy last summer (we brought over the ingreds). i’m going to try yours and bring some to her! will let you know how it goes….
carolynn
in case you don’t know, this is a chocolate chipper!
http://carolynncarreno.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/ladies-and-gentlemen-this-is-a-chocolate-chipper/
Sophie – Thanks and you’re welcome!
RecipeGirl – We’ll start putting up more baking stuff in the future. I always love desserts, we just haven’t posted them that much yet. Weighing, besides accuracy, also makes it easier to dirty less bowls. Love that.
jen – Thanks, sweetheart. Ahh those banh xeo are so tasty. We don’t have a recipe posted yet. We’ve been wanting to do a video for it and haven’t made the time to put everything together. I’ll email it to you for your dining pleasure. xxoo.
Lori – My mom taught me well!
Susan – Often flat cookies are the result of a little too much sugar. Could be the recipe or sometimes inaccurate measuring (that’s why we scale.) I love the cookies fluffy & chewy!
yvonne – Not sure the brand. Local store sells cut bulk chunks labeled as French Vanilla Dark Chocolate. Have yet to see the whole name on the pieces. It’s tasty, though.
Manggy – Extra chunks for you!
Lily – I have to minimize the amount baked or else I’d be super chunky. I eat them all, munching every time I go past their storage spot. Like the espresso powder touch. Excellent idea.
Thanks for visiting and sharing everyone. Todd.
Great images (as always) and wonderful recipe. I always keep frozen choc chip dough in the freezer for those “just in case” moments, but after reading this, it is time to make up a new batch… I sometimes add a few tbsps of espresso powder into the dough and it gives the cookie a nice subtle mocha flavor that compliments the chocolate. I think that is why I keep the dough frozen… much more difficult to get at and eat the entire thing in a single sitting!!!
I think the number one secret to a really good cookie is the chocolate chunks, above everything else 🙂 (or maybe that’s what I tell myself because I can’t find/afford Plugra) Those look perfect indeed. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
what kind of chocolate bar did you use? looks amazing!
I’m with you on using good butter. It really does make a difference! The cookies look perfect! I hate when they flatten out like pancakes!
I love those nice big chunks of DARK chocolate! 🙂
Fabooooo cookies! I’m not surprised to see a baking recipe on here – you two do EVERYTHING. You know, I dreamt of your Vietnamese crepes last night (while fasting before my c-scopy this morning – ugh). Is that recipe on here? I must find it. It means a lot when I’m dreaming of YOUR food 🙂 xxoo
Fun to see baked goods on your site… not the usual for you guys! You know, I bake A LOT and I have never really even thought about how much things change if you actually weight the ingredients. And the butter too… I’m definitely going to try using a high quality butter sometime to see how much different that is. Thanks for the tips!
Hélène – Hope you love them as much as we do.
Kathy – Thanks. Rolling them into a log makes it fairly easy to have them nice and consistent. The only problem is with the chunks of chocolate sometimes being in the line of the cut. But I’ll just patch up the shortened piece with a little extra dough.
sharon – Thanks. They were tasty. We try to always have a log or two frozen to slice of in time of need.
Thanks for visiting everyone. Todd.
MMMMMM…your cookies look FABULOUS!!
Thanks for the tips too!!!
These cookies look perfectly delectable. I’m certainly going to have to try the log technique.
I can’t believe I never tried rolling chocolate chip cookie dough into a log before but it makes so much sense – your cookies came out so perfectly even and consistent. Thanks for the great tip – they look incredible!
I love CCC, fresh from the oven. I can’t resist them. I have to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing those wonderful pictures.
Lisa – That’s what I keep trying to tell her! JK. I’m the lucky one with the “hot asian chic!”
Victoria – Sometimes using “fancy” ingredients doesn’t really matter much, but other times…. You just can’t go back to the old way!
Julia – You know how much I respect Mr. Friberg. I don’t know why I haven’t done the snappers. I love ginger snaps. That’s going to be made soon. Great tip, too. I forgot to mention that. After beating the butter and a short twirl to get most of the flour incorporated, I’ll finish the mixing by hand to mix it as little as possible.
matt – I’ll make you some hot out of the oven when you come over on Sunday!
ThePurpleFoodie – Enjoy! Warm, sweet, chocolate oozing goodness!
Jamie – Let us know if you like them. Remember to watch them like a hawk in the oven.
Heather – I think so too. Chocolate chunk cookies are so good.
Jeff – You could always lick the cutting board after cutting the chocolate!
Rachael – You gotta make some cookies for your dad. What dad wouldn’t love that. I’m sure the memories of him making them for you will come flooding back to him and fill him with love and happiness.
Phoo-D – I’m just a bit of a tease! Especially if sweets are involved.
Jules – Enjoy! Double batch time!
nicole – Thanks. Tasty too!
Thanks for taking the time to comment everyone. I’m going to take the time to sharing for of my baking and sweets. Hope you all enjoy. Thanks again. Todd-WORC
These look fabulous!
Oh my! Those look delicious… I’ve been on a chocolate craving these last few days and I think this is the fix… off to the kitchen I go!! Thanks for sharing.
These look SO yummy! My dad used to make chocolate chip cookies for my sister and me. I definitely miss that about home… I will have to try this recipe out when we are back in the states! Maybe I will make cookies for my dad this time. Thanks for the great post! Love the photos too!
These look wonderful. I recently gave the NY Times recipe a whirl and while the result was wonderful the cookies were huge, it took forever to make them with ingredients I don’t always have on hand, and the calories, well I’m trying still not to think about those. Your recipe looks like it keeps the best elements of the Times recipe while simplifying everything else – perfect!
Phoo-D
P.S. (I saw that picture on Twitter and then got all excited to see the recipe here. Todd you are a BIG tease!) =)
Good ingredients make the best of anything.
Love the way these cookies look and sound. I would just end up in a corner gnawing on the chocolate though.
I have tried so many recipes looking for the perfect one. Yours do look absolutely perfect and luscious! Just printed out the recipe to try!
Cookies look so good. Now I feel l like baking some as soon as I reach home!
those look utterly and completely amazing! i want that huge hunk of chocolate! i love the tips, too. i’m definitely going to try them – i’m always looking to make my chocolate chip cookies better. they might be simple, but they’re still one of the world’s greatest delicacies 🙂
I could smell them from Long Beach. I didn’t want to impose though….
🙂
I haven’t tried that recipe yet, but the ginger snaps from that book are also fantastic. I’ll have to try these.
Also another cookie baking tip — the more you mix the batter the more they spread.
These look FABULOUS!
I recently made Dorie Greenspans’s World Peace Cookies (aka Korova Cookies), which is a chocolate sable studded with chunks of chocolate. I did just what you did – chunked the chocolate myself. I used good butter and fleur de sel. I didn’t have regular light brown sugar in the house, and as I was in the country instead of the city, it wasn’t just a hop, skip, and a jump to get some, so I used turbinado sugar, which worked like a charm. It may even have added to the texture. The chunks of chocolate, good butter, and great sea salt added up to one delicious (I can’t believe I made it myself) cookie.
So now I’m anxious to try yours. Thanks.
Just when I thought I couldn’t love you more……a man who makes great chocolate chip cookies. Diane – you are one lucky chick.