The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies (Bakery Style)

• servings: 16 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 ¾ cups (250g) all-purpose flour

¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt (or ¾ tsp salt if using unsalted butter)

10 tbsp (140g) salted butter, (at room temperature)

¾ cup (165g) packed dark brown sugar

⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp (80g) granulated sugar

1 tsp (5ml) pure vanilla extract

1 tsp (5ml) honey or corn syrup

1 large egg, (at room temperature)

7 oz (200g) dark chocolate, (55-70% cocoa),

flaky sea salt

Directions

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.

Combine softened butter with both sugars and vanilla extract in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix by hand using the "creaming method" with a wide rubber spatula to smear the butter and sugar together and mix vigorously until smooth, slightly fluffed . You can also use a handheld mixer. If you use a stand mixer, secure the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes. It should look more like a paste or damp sand rather than a very pale aerated mixture. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times during mixing.

Mix in honey. Add the egg and mix until well incorporated.

Add flour mixture to the butter mixture all at once and stir until most of the flour is absorbed. Before all of the flour is combined, add chocolate chunks and continue folding them in so they are evenly distributed. You should end up with a soft, moderately moist dough.

Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the surface of the dough in the bowl and refrigerate for 8-24 hours for best results. Waiting this long will improve the flavor and texture of your cookies. If you simply just can't wait, then you can bake them after 4 hours of chilling, but 8 hours is best.

When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use a 1 ½-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and roll into smooth balls. If the dough is too hard after chilling, let the dough stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to soften so it is easier to scoop. If you don't have a scoop, then divide the dough into 16 balls. Place them onto your prepared baking sheets spacing them 2 inches apart. Do not flatten.

NOTE: if you prefer slightly smaller cookies, divide the dough into 18 balls and bake for 1-2 minutes less.

Press a few extra chunks of chocolate on top of each dough ball and bake 6 cookies per baking sheet for 9-11 minutes until puffed, golden around the edges but still soft in the middle. Do not over-bake as they will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet. If you make smaller cookies, they will only need 8-10 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack and let cookies cool on the trays for 2 minutes before carefully transferring individually to a wire rack to finish cooling. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top while still warm if desired.

Notes

Your search for the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ends here because THIS IS IT. My perfected recipe for bakery-style Chocolate Chip Cookies yields cookies that are golden caramelized around the edges with crispy edges, super chewy and a bit gooey chewy insides. They are exactly what you’d expect at a high-end bakery and they are HEAVEN. This recipe is designed with science to make cookies that stay chewy for days and aren't just good the day you make them. It comes from my cookbook called "Scientifically Sweet Chocolate". You can order it on Amazon and it features SO MANY other incredible chocolate cookie and bar recipes, as well as cakes, pies, tarts and delicious desserts. Be sure to read down below in the post to learn about cookie science and see my expert baking tips for achieving the best chocolate chip cookies. If you love this recipe, then I think you will also enjoy my Bakery Style Double Chocolate Cookies as well!

WHAT MAKES THESE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?

Rich butterscotch flavor - these cookies have a deep rich buttery brown sugar flavor that is not overly sweet with underlying notes of natural vanilla.

Crisp edges and soft gooey middles - just like the cookies from a great bakery, these have crisp golden caramelized edges, and they are soft in the middle.

Super chewy chocolate chip cookies - if you like chewy cookies, these are certainly for you! They stay chewy for days thanks to my secret ingredient that you can read about below.

Big cookies - each cookie is a nice large size to give you that contrast of textures.

Deeply golden - say goodbye to pale cookies. These bake up with a bakery-worthy golden brown surface which is a testament to their rich caramelized flavor.

Dark chocolate chunks - puddles of melted dark chocolate chunks instead of chips takes these to a whole other level!

Easy method - the recipe is simple and I actually find the best results come from when you mix it by hand with a wide spatula.

COOKIE SCIENCE: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

You can certainly expect some secret tips from me since I am a Food Scientist after all. The secret to the best chocolate chip cookies comes down to chemistry. Firstly it is about ingredient ratios. The amount of butter, sugar, flour and egg is very important.

Ratio of Butter: Butter should be the main flavor in these bakery-style chocolate chip cookies. Getting the right amount of butter to egg ratio is very important to achieve the crisp edges, deeply golden color and even spread for a cookie that's not too thin and not too thick (ie. the perfect bakery-style size and shape). Too much egg in this particular recipe will dominate the taste and also make the texture more cakey rather than chewy.

Sugar ratio: Chocolate chip cookies should have a high ratio of brown sugar:granulated sugar as this is what differentiates it from a regular sugar cookie. I always recommend dark brown sugar as it has twice as much molasses compared to light brown sugar. Molasses will give these cookies their characteristic butterscotch taste as well as contribute to the soft and chewy texture.

Egg ratio: The liquid in egg serves to help dissolve sugar in the dough but too much will prevent the edges from becoming crisp and also delay browning. That means you will need to bake the cookies longer to develop the color, and they will often become dried out before that point.

Amount of Flour: It is so important to either weigh your ingredients using a scale, or measure your flour correctly without packing it into your measuring cup. Too much flour will lead to thick cookies, but they will be more doughy and less gooey. Too little flour will make a very soft dough that will spread too much and lead to greasy cookies.

Baking soda: Not only is baking soda important to help the cookies spread, but it also gives them color. Baking soda is an alkaline ingredient (the opposite of an acid), and the Maillard Browning reaction is encouraged in an alkaline environment. Too much baking soda means the cookies will spread too much and may burn too quickly, while not enough means the cookies will not spread much at all and will be pale in color.

No baking powder: I say it in my cookbooks all the time, but I don't trust a chocolate chip cookie recipe with baking powder (haha). Baking powder will lead to a paler color, less flavor development and sometimes cakier cookies. You only need baking soda to raise and spread a good chocolate chip cookie dough because the acid from the brown sugar is enough to react with it while leaving just enough residual unreacted soda to encourage Maillard Browning (see below).

A bit of honey or corn syrup: This is my secret ingredient. It serves two purposes. Firstly, honey and corn syrup are humectants which means that they are water-binding ingredients. They will lock in the moisture and keep these cookies chewy. Secondly, honey in particular is a source of fructose which is a reducing sugar (a type of sugar with a specific chemical composition) and it will react with proteins more readily in the delicious browning reaction called "Maillard Browning". Use a light-tasting and light-colored honey (not amber honey) so that it doesn't overpower the flavor.

Chill the cookie dough: Cookie dough that is not chilled will spread more, have less browning and have a coarser texture. Time in the fridge allows the flour to hydrate and absorb this moisture while also letting the baking soda to evenly absorb for more pronounced Maillard Reactions that will develop richer flavor in the cookie dough. A chilled cookie dough also guards against over-spreading which leads to thicker cookies.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAKING POWDER AND BAKING SODA?

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which is an alkaline (basic — high pH) compound that will react with acids when when dissolved in liquid to react rapidly and create carbon dioxide gas bubbles. In generally creates a more coarse, open texture.

Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and powdered acids so it does not need additional acid ingredients to react. Once it comes into contact with a liquid, the powdered acid and base dissolve and react with each other to create carbon dioxide bubbles. Most retail baking powder products are double acting, which means that they contain two different powdered acids that react at different speeds and with different stimulants. One reacts immediately upon mixing with water while another only reacts after exposure to heat during baking. Baking powder generally creates a finer, more crumbly texture.

WHAT IS MAILLARD BROWNING?

Maillard Browning or the "Maillard Reaction" is a delicious chemical reaction between the amino acids in proteins and certain sugars (called reducing sugars) that creates the beautiful brown color and flavor of chocolate chip cookies. When the proteins from egg and flour react with these sugars, they form brown compounds that taste like caramel, toffee, roasted nuts and toasty bread. YUM! This is the same reaction that happens when you sear a steak or bake bread.

READER REVIEW

"These cookies are a game changer with the addition of honey in the recipe. Trust me, you need to try these cookies ASAP! Run, don't walk to your kitchen and start baking!"

- @bakelikebecca

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Butter - there is no substitute for butter in chocolate chip cookies in my opinion! It is the foundation of the rich butterscotch flavor after all. In this recipe, you can use salted or unsalted butter, but if you choose unsalted then I recommend doubling the added salt to ½ teaspoon. I like to use salted butter because it adds another level of richness.

Granulated sugar - this recipe uses a combination of simple white granulated sugar and brown sugar. White sugar helps create the crunchy caramelized edges. I wouldn't recommend reducing the sugar because it will compromise the chewy texture.

Brown sugar - I highly recommend dark brown sugar for this recipe as it has twice as much molasses as light brown sugar and will make a big difference to the flavor. It will also make the dough more acidic which means it will react more thoroughly with the baking soda so that you won't be left with a soapy taste (a defect I find common in many chocolate chip cookie recipes)

Egg - you'll need one whole egg for this recipe. It's the perfect amount of moisture to make these cookies chewy and not cakey.

Pure vanilla extract - good vanilla is absolutely essential to making delicious chocolate chip cookies. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.

Salt - don't leave out the salt! It really elevates the rich buttery, caramel flavors! It also enhances the chocolate taste and balances the sweetness. I also love to top these cookies with flaky sea salt after they're baked and while the chocolate is still warm.

All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour makes the best chewy chocolate chip cookies in my opinion.

Dark chocolate chunks - this is important! I highly recommend chopping chocolate from a bar instead of using chips. Why? That's because chocolate that is made into bars, also known as "tablets", has a higher cocoa butter content so that it can be poured into molds at the factory and it typically melts smoother than chocolate chips to give you puddles of chocolate in the cookies. I love this effect! Chocolate chips will hold their shape and spread less.

Honey or corn syrup - it's the secret ingredient! Honey is a moisture trap so it will keep the cookies soft and chewy for days. You need any type of liquid/runny honey. Use a light-tasting and light-colored honey (not amber honey) so that it doesn't overpower the flavor.

WHY BAKING SODA IS BEST FOR CHEWY COOKIES

My preferred chocolate chip cookies are golden, chewy and slightly gooey inside with crisp edges. The reactions that make all of this happen are accelerated in alkaline conditions which are created by the addition of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). There is enough acidity from the molasses in brown sugar to react with it and the residual bicarbonate will help keep the dough slightly alkaline so that delicious Maillard Browning reactions are encouraged. Baking soda produces cookies that are more deeply brown with a denser texture. One of the most important ways to control your cookie shape and texture is by changing the quantity of baking soda (see the FAQ section below to learn how to make thicker cookies with less baking soda).

Chocolate chip cookie recipes with baking powder typically take longer to brown and don't spread which often leads to over-baking in order to achieve a darker color so that the resulting cookie is dry. Baking powder generally produces puffier, cakier cookies that rise higher during baking, producing a more crumbly texture from the fine air bubbles. They also have smoother, shinier tops and a muted flavor so the cookies tend to be more bland.

EXPERT TIPS FOR BAKERY-STYLE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Measure the secret ingredient precisely! You only need a level teaspoon (that's 5ml) of honey or corn syrup in this recipe is the key to making them stay chewy for days. Honey is a humectant which means it is an ingredient that binds water tightly and prevents them from drying out. It is also acidic so it will react with the baking soda to help the cookies spread just the right amount. You can use corn syrup, but do not use maple syrup as it wouldn't have the same effect.

Use light-tasting honey. Use a light-tasting and light-colored honey (not amber honey) so that it doesn't overpower the flavor. Functionally, though, any type will work.

Don't skip the salt. The right amount of salt is so important. I use salted butter because there's something about salted butter that provides an underlying richness that can't be quite copied by adding salt separately. You can use unsalted butter if that is all you have on hand, and in that case increase the total salt in the recipe to ¾ teaspoon. BUT, if you have salted butter then you will not regret it!

Use regular large size eggs. Large eggs weigh 57g. Using an extra large egg will add up to 2 teaspoons more liquid to the cookie dough which can throw off the moisture balance and make the cookies spread too much.

Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 4 hours. Refrigerating cookie dough serves several purposes: 1) Flour hydration - time in the fridge allows the flour to fully hydrate from the moisture of the egg and the water in the butter. If the flour is evenly hydrated, the cookies will be thicker and they will bake more evenly; 2) Flavor development -as the baking soda becomes more evenly incorporated with the flour hydration, the cookies will brown more evenly which will help them develop flavor more quickly; 3) Chills the butter - butter in the cookie dough will also firm up in the fridge so that the cookies wont be so greasy after they've baked. Chilled fat will also spread less readily during the initial stages of baking so the cookies won't spread uncontrollably; and 4) Increases shelf life - chilled cookie dough makes cookies that stay chewy longer and slows staling.

Use couverture chocolate. Couverture chocolate is chocolate that is designed for enrobing, coating and dipping. It is the chocolate used by professional chocolatiers because it has a high cocoa butter content to make it more fluid. This extra cocoa butter gives chocolate excellent meltability so it will melt into the cookie dough during baking which helps it to spread and creates these glistening puddles of chocolate at the surface. It also creates a laminated effect of layers of chocolate between cookie dough as opposed to chocolate chips which have less cocoa butter and remain unchanged, holding their “drop” shape in the cookie dough. These couverture chocolate discs are incredible, or you can also chop chocolate from a couverture block.

Use a kitchen scale. For best results, weigh your ingredients according to the measurements in the recipe card below using a kitchen scale.

Use a cookie scoop to portion dough evenly so each cookie bakes at the same rate.

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES WITH CHEWY TEXTURE:

Do not overdo the creaming step. Mix the butter with sugar only until smooth and like a damp sand, but not until pale. Over-mixing will make cookies that are crisp, but not as chewy.

Use baking soda only - not baking powder. Baking soda is alkaline and promotes browning through Maillard reactions (delicious flavor reactions) to produce a nice rich flavor. Baking powder is more acidic and creates a cakier texture as well as a more pale color.

Measure flour accurately. Too much flour will leave you with dry and more crumbly cookies that will taste more doughy than butterscotch-y and caramel-like.

Do not over-bake. Cookies will continue to cook on the hot baking tray, so don't wait for them to get completely golden all over in the oven. Once they are golden brown around the edges and puffed on top with cracks, the are ready. They should still be soft in the middle and will deflate as they cool.