Friday, July 24, 2015

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. Ever.

I know, everybody says that, but I really mean it. These are, these have to be, the best chocolate chip cookies, ever. Crispy around the edges, chewy and chocolaty in the middle, and thin, oh so thin.

The only way someone doesn’t love these, is if they prefer thick cookies instead, which, in that case, makes their opinion invalid, since they’re obviously crazy. Besides, you know you can just press two thin cookies together to get a thick one. Right?

My “secret” formula has been adapted from Alton Brown’s famous, “The Thin” recipe, and is fairly foolproof. The only real variable is the baking time, since we all scoop slightly different amounts. Mine took about 12 minutes, but if you make yours a little bigger, or smaller, that time will change.

And yes, of course you can add nuts to yours! I’m a walnut guy from way back, but decided to go sans nuts for this video. Speaking of nuts, you’re nuts if you don’t try this very simple, and amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 32 Chocolate Chip Cookies (depending on size):
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (or 3/4 teaspoon of fine table salt)
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) very soft unsalted *butter (be sure the butter is room temp, and very, very soft!)
*I used a high-quality European-style butter, and recommend you do the same. Cheaper butters will have more water content, which can affect the fat ratio, and thickness of your cookie.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
1 large egg
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Bake at 375 F. for about 12 minutes

122 comments:

Unknown said...

hello chief, im used to have gramme and not cup for the ingredients, how much is 1cup of butter or ouf flour? i would love to do those cookies !

Yoda said...

Any suggestions on how to adjust for high altitude?

Chef John said...

Sorry, but I've never cooked at altitude. If you google, you will see conversions though.

in_jin_jo said...

I have always wanted a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that turn out like this. When I use the "famous" recipe that comes on the bag, they are always too puffy. I always suspected it was the either the baking powder or the mixer. Baking soda may be the trick. I will give these a test run before our annual Christmas cookie party. P.S. I don't like white chocolate either. :)

Jasen said...

Now i want cookies. Those are exactly how i like to make mine nice and thin. Will give this recipe a shot next time i bake as i like the idea of mixing by hand

Blue Arc said...

Yes! I love chewy crispy! I hate fat cakey cookies. I'm thinking with the use of mathematics with the dry, wet and leavening agent this could could work with other cookies recipes...like peanut butter or oatmeal. 2 other cookies I like thin, crispy and chewy. Thanks Chef! Gonna make these this weekend!

Anonymous said...

I am such a chocolate chip cookie fan. I'm always looking for a better recipe. Would soy work? I don't have the unsweetened one. I wonder if the vanilla one would make it too sweet or too much vanilla flavor.

Food Wisher said...

Hello Chef John,
Could you please let us know what the measurements are (in your recipes) in grams?

david said...

any reason to use parchment and not a silpat?

Chef John said...

The parchment seems to give crispier edges!

david said...

thanks! that's kind of what i figured.

Chef John said...

I don't do metric, but to convert you can use this...
https://www.google.com/search?q=metric+conversion&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

cookinmom said...

Ok...I know down deep you really want to use your mixer!!

Stephanie said...

I felt betrayed when you posted this new cookie recipe. The Summer of Amena will also be the best chocolate chip recipe! (Well.. that is until I try this one)

PJ said...

I am going to make these cookies even though I have my doubts...why? Because I trust John's judgment and because anything with that many chocolate chips must be YUMMY!

Stephanie said...

Hey Chef, if I only want to bake a couple of cookies, how long can I leave the dough in the fridge for? Or should I freeze the dough? And is there a certain period of time in which the dough will keep? Thanks

Unknown said...

I <3 your recipes Chef John. You make me feel like a kitchen queen. I feel confident that I can create all things delicious through you :). Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with the world and keeping me smiling and laughing while I cook and bake with you.

Unknown said...

2 cups chocolate chips are 350 grams. Crazy ;)

I usually use 100-150 grams for the same amount of dough.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John, do you think reducing the white sugar by half will affect the texture? I like mine not too sweet. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef, I substitute half of regular flour with almond flour. The cookies turned out less "flat out" than yours but still very delicious! more store bought cookie appearance :)

Unknown said...

@Murwin
How did you convert cups into grams?

1 cup flour equals 120-130 grams according to the different sources in the Interwebs.

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John! Thank you for your vids! The temp recommended for the cookies was 375. I use a gas oven, and the cookies are coming out a bit burnt. What temp would you recommend adjusting or less baking time?
Please, let me know.
Thanks!

Unknown said...

My cookies were not thin. They were good, just not thin, which was disappointing. Did I not let my butter sit out long enough? It was a bit harder than I thought it would be when I first started missing, but the resulting mix looked a lot like yours.

Nisha Lewis said...

Hey Chef John. I know you don't use metric, but could you please tell me how you measure your flour ? Scoop & level, spoon & level etc. By volume, flour can weigh anywhere between 120-150 g depending on the type of flour, humidity & measuring method. The comment above that calculated 2 1/4 cups of apf as 200g seems off.

Chef John said...

Yes, the metric conversations the dude did were wrong, and deleted. A cup of flour is about 125 grams. It's 240 ml by volume. I usually measure by spoon and level. We've done a how to measure flour video if anyone is interested!

Chef John said...

ishtar Cerezo, it's not the temperature! If your cookies are burning, they are baking too long of a time. 12 minutes is just a guess, and can be less or more like I said in the post. It's okay to peek! Just bake until they are perfect!

Chef John said...

Scott, no idea what happened, unless I watched you put it together. Most likely incorrect measurements, as this recipe has been tested countless times, and is, like I said, perfect! Are you sure you used baking soda not powder?

Nisha Lewis said...

Thanks Chef. Checked your video. Lightly spoon, do not pack, gently level off. Got it :). Gonna try this recipe out soon.

Unknown said...

Wait, so (renfrencing your above comment to Scott) if I use baking powder instead of soda I could get rhis cookie but thicker?? I may have to give that a try. I've never really been able to understand the difference between the soda and he powder.

Potato said...

My cookies weren't thin either ... Still good!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Sorry Chef John
Tried this but it didn't work.
The cookies just sat there in the oven as lumps and didn't melt down.
I used gluten free flour but I cant see what difference this would make as it works with everything else, (LOTS OF STUFF!!) that I make.
Any suggestions would be great as my wife REALLY wants to try these cookies.
Many thanks for lots of great recipes/techniques!!
Cheers!! 8-))

Unknown said...

Pleeease Chef John, pardon me! Because of guilt factors, I reduced the amount of sugar to 1 and a quarter cup, put half butter and half canola oil, used only whole wheat flour, added 1 egg more than what your recipe called for and put only half a cup of chocolate chips! Guess what? These were horrible! Just joking!!! The texture is crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, although still sweet but not overly sweet... For those doing the same recipe as you, these are probably cookies from heaven! For me, heaven can wait a bit because I really do enjoy this healthier version. Oh! I must confess to omitting the milk as well... That prooves that this recipe is foolproof! Thank you sooo much again! You change lives. I hope you know by now!

Chef John said...

Mark, if someone changes the flour and it doesn't work, I blame the flour! All I can say, is it works as shown in the video, and I have the pictures from fans to proves it. ;)

Kai, if I was making once a week, I may tweak it like you did, but for a once or twice a year thing, I'll take the full experience. I'm glad it still cam out well though!

Unknown said...

OK Chef John usually Im really happy when done cooking your recipes..... however this time...
mine did not turn out like yours they look just like regular Choc Chip t***house cookies

It made me think too much flour or too little butter / sugar (I thought that the flour butter ratio would be more one to one from your video)
However I went over the steps / ingredient list and I have it right ... any ideas?
Yours look fantastic but mine ... Taste ok nobody at work will complain but I taste the baking soda not something I care for
I look forward to trying your next reciepe
Chef Travler

Unknown said...

Mine came out as big blobs also.. Not flat and crispy at all. Not bad, just not good...
I was really looking forward to this recipe, especially since baking is my forte. I tried the raw cookie dough and it was amazing, but the cooked cookies not so much.... I made several batches with your time and temp, but to no avail. I also made some other batches with different times and temps, but still had the same result. Now really craving light and crispy cookies............ :-(
Chef John thank you for your recipes either way!

Unknown said...

Chef, I havent tried this yet, but plan to later this week. I've had my own "perfect" thinker CC cookie recipe for years. I have noticed it comes out different depending on a few small details. First, you are using a higher quality butter for sure. Second, it may be that the color is darker on the video, but I feel like you may have used dark brown sugar, not light brown. This will also affect how they turn out.
It's funny how I'm reminded of my Sicilian mother in law who would give me her recipes but always leave out a little thing that would ensure her finished product would always be better. (:
In closing- I love your work!!!!
Ever think about doing a podcast?

Chef John said...

I'm mystified why some of you aren't getting flat cookies. The most likely cause of this would be too much flour, so make sure you are scooping the flour, but spooning gently and leveling. Other than that I have no idea, since like I said, I've never had them not be flat, and also received many messages that they worked great!

Chef John said...

One other thing... the butter may also affect the thickness, so I've added a note about using high-quality (low moisture) European-style butter.

Chef John said...

One other thing... the butter may also affect the thickness, so I've added a note about using high-quality (low moisture) European-style butter.

Crafty said...

Is there any way you could post the directions to this recipe? Pretty please.

Liza C said...

I live this reduce mine turned our thin and crispy ... My new bestest cookie recipe .. Thanks CJ . Im in little ole smoky London Town , UK and if anyone wants to convert cups to grams or oz use this comprehensive conversion tables for everything ...I mean everything.

http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/us_cups_to_weight.htm

I find if you don't use proper European butter and the right type of sugars your cookies will NOT turn out crisp a and chewy , it's all about the alchemy of the sugar melting at high temp and creating that spread of dough with lattice type effect so don't scrimp on sugar or butter guys

Susan said...

Ok, I've just made the dough, and it is chilling in the fridge. Here's the thing - I absolutely believe you, but the ingredients list says light brown sugar, and in the video recipe it sure looks darker to me. I'm wondering if maybe it was a muscovado instead of standard light brown sugar? I wish I had gotten out my India Tree for this recipe, as I'm thinking it would make a difference. I'm sure they will still be tasty but I'm curious. Do you mind telling us what the brand of brown sugar was Chef John? P.S. - I make that Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake recipe of yours all the time, even into cupcakes, and it's the tastiest, easiest thing in the world and everyone thinks I am a genius, so thank you. :) -Susan

Unknown said...

Dear Chef John... cookies were delicious (crunchy around, chewy in the center) but not thin. I figured, is a sorbet scoop smaller than an ice cream scoop? I used an oce cream scoop. Thanks for your no nonsense recipes! I'm relatively new to cooking and baking your recipes are easy to follow, affordable and delicious. Hubby loved the buttermilk fried chicken thighs which was paired it with your perfect mashed potatoes. Winning combo!

Mannaggia said...

My dough separated even though I incorporated slowly as instructed. Maybe milk too cold. No matter, I continued stirring a bit longer. Baked up perfectly. Good recipe. Thanks. Trying the Cavatelli with corn cream next.

Roobs said...

Hi Chef John,
For starters, we LOVE your blog! Thank you for the videos and making cooking/baking enjoyable (laughs included).

I followed your recipe instructions, yet my cookies have the traditional fluffy cookie look. I was really looking forward to the non-traditional flat crispy lookin' cookie.

Any thoughts on why my cookie fell short...I mean flat?? ; )

Unknown said...

I tried out the recipe and like many others, my cookies turned out jot flat at all. They were think and cake like. They tasted alright, but it was missing the crunch factor.

Unknown said...

Fantastic recipe (as always).
For some reason, my mixture split anyway despite follow your instructions in mixing in partially before combining it all together. What could've gone wrong? Is it because my egg was too big?
Anyhow, they came out puffy and... the texture is difficult to describe. IT is for sure neither chewy nor crispy, but in fact a bit crumbly. It's not exactly soft either.
Dang, why? Was it all because of my egg?
I swear I used baking soda!!

Dewi Listiyani said...

Chef John, I have tried the recipe twice. The second time, I weighted the AP flour and used European style butter. Both times, cookies came out just like a regular cookie, not as thin as yours. Could I increase the baking soda to 1.5-2tsp to make it spread even more?

Qin said...

Hi Chef, do you know exactly how many tbsp of WATER your sorbet scoop measures? I really want to know the exact size. Thank you!

Unknown said...

i made mine just like the recipe, my first batch was thick just like everyone else :(

so i help the second batch along by squashing them very thin rather than placing them in as balls, as our resident chef would say "That's just called cooking".

The next batch cooked more evenly, and had a brighter color when they were done, the chocolate pieces were evenly spread over the top of the cookie giving it that classic "choc chip" cookie look

all in all thanks for taking us 90% of the way there chef.
the last 10% is always on us :)

B said...

Fantastic recipe (as always). delicious chocolate recipes
For some reason, my mixture split anyway despite follow your instructions in mixing in partially before combining it all together. What could've gone wrong? Is it because my egg was too big?
Anyhow, they came out puffy and... the texture is difficult to describe. IT is for sure neither chewy nor crispy, but in fact a bit crumbly. It's not exactly soft either.
Dang, why? Was it all because of my egg?
I swear I used baking soda!!

Unknown said...

I found they also cook differently if you using aluminum foil instead of parchment paper. I kinda prefer the former though since I tweaked it and added cranberries.

Unknown said...

Chef John i tried the recipe, but the cookies turns out to be crisp on the outside and still wet in the middle. When i pull the cookie from the parchment paper it leaves oil splashes on the bottom. Note: i didnt specifically choose an expensive butter though, just the first unsalted butter in the aisle of the supermarket
Love your recipes though :D

Dewi Listiyani said...

A tip for everyone whose cookies turn thicker than expected: flattened frozen/chilled cookie dough before baking to a very thin disk, but it would need cutting the baking time to... maybe 8 minutes, depending on your oven.

Also, I left the cookie dough on top of the oven while preheating, it seems to help spreading the cookie even more. Glad that I can now eat a very thin cookie :)

Thanks chef John for the recipe!

Gripper99 said...

Wow. And I'll say it again. Wow. I've had biscuits that looked like this before and have always been disappointed. Always. I made this dough before a dinner party yesterday. I did use 1 cup of chopped white chocolate (try Callebaut white chocolate, Chef, you might change your mind!) and 1 cup of chopped dark chocolate. I used Land 'O Lakes European style butter (in the black box LOL!) I chilled the dough during dinner. Then we all scooped and baked and ate up every single one of these most delicious cookies! The first pans were eaten whilst still quite warm. And they disappeared instantly. The next pans were able to cool, a bit, before they disappeared as well. Six guys, four pans. You do the math! And one of my guests I guess Bogarted two cookies for breakfast this morning and reported them just as splendid held over night. Really an amazing cookie! But I do still prefer that exquisite rosemary butter biscuit of yours. For someone who doesn't fancy cookies you certainly do have a taste for them. Thank you Chef John.

hangook_sonya said...

Chef! I've tried this recipe a total of 3 different times and I find that they don't flatten out no matter how much, to a t, I follow it.
The first time, I do admit, I used kerrygold butter and sort of eye balled the tbsp and tsp and put them in for 12 mins which was too long for my cookies. The second I use european style butter but not pasteurized for 10 mins hoping that the specified "european"ness of if was the answer, unfortunately not. The third time I went back to unsalted kerrygold butter and used exact measurements and even borrowed my friend's oven just incase my calibration was wrong, however, these came out the worst. They all came out as thick, 2 inch-round cookies. The taste is alright but what I'm really looking for is the awesome texture promised in the video.

Please help me Chef!

Rina said...

I am happy to report that I just made these with run of the mill grocery store butter, following the recipe exactly, and they turned out pretty much perfect - thin, crispy yet chewy, totally delicious. I'm not even a big chocolate chip cookie fan but I love them and so does my family! So, not sure what the problem is for some other people, but it definitely can be done with regular butter. Thanks for the great recipe Chef John!

Unknown said...

I baked these twice and used organic churned butter and both times the cookies came out thick! I made sure to measure everything perfectly but they didn't come out thin at all! However they still tasted absolutely amazing and this is now my favourite recipe! :)

hangook_sonya said...

So I'm back with good news, I've finally made these cookies flat!
I had to make a couple tweaks to the recipe but they came out flat and chew!!

First I bought $12 european butter (I think I went a little crazy... I believe any ole european butter will do I just REALLY wanted these to come out well)
Second I reduced the about of flour down to 2 cups
Third I sifted the dry mixture in because of those pesky baking soda chunks
And lastly I did not refrigerate the dough

They were delicious and chewy, so much so I got an 'order' for more! I'm super ecstatic and hope my tweaks can help whoever else is having the troubles I had :)

kHaN said...

I am from Germany... I also had to convert all your ingredients to metric... I did it the first time ever... And guess what ;) they came out perfect! Thank you very much :)

Unknown said...

Hi Chef John, I have tried this recipe yesterday and it's exactly like you said: simple and delicious. I haven't tasted all the chocolate chip cookies available (stopped eating them after I had some bad ones), so I can't say if they are the best ever. But watching the video, it seemed like such fun baking them. I ate some immediately, but now next day at 8.30am (!) I have had three, and they are so good! I used half of the batter and saved the rest in the freezer. Also, I used high quality chocolate chips from Callebaut (Belgian chocolate). Thank you for uploading this recipe. I am planning on trying one of your recipes every week. Last week was the butternut squash soup. It was yummy!

Unknown said...

I don't understand why my cookies didn't spread. i left them in the freezer for over night, and the next day pulled them out to loosen up, put them in the oven, and yeah, they didn't spread. still tastes good though.

Unknown said...

Hey chef I have to start by saying I absolutely love all your recipes and every time I follow your instructions I end up loving the outcome makes me feel like I was right there with you when you actually tasted the final dish :) ... Anyways I made my cookies and they were perfect I noticed that after i left the dough in the freezer over night they were stillcrunchy on the edges and chewy in the middle they taste amazing either way ..my dream is to become a pastry chef and hopefully I can come up with such ideas for dishes as such.......

Unknown said...

I read most or all comments to not asking the same question, but hope I didn't miss anything , only question is can I use dark brown sugar vs ligth? Sorry for asking

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John.

Thank you for all your videos on youtube and blog, I have used several of them with some success.
I have tried to make these cookies twice, but don't know why, when they come out from the oven, they never stay so flat as yours.

Do you might know the reason?

Many thanks for your help

Estoy_Listo said...

I've made dozens of Chef John's recipes. (Thanks, Chef.) And these cookies are the closest I've come to matching the quality in the video. They looked identical, which is to say perfect. Exactly right--cripsy/chewy, they even had the translucent thing going. Perfect.

I used that Irish butter that's in the stores and I took care to measure the flour properly, as mentioned in the comments.

Unknown said...

So I had out of the fridge cold butter....Had a brilliant idea to put it into a oven safe glass container just to warm it up a tad as the oven was pre-heating. Got sidetracked forgot about it...Was walking around smelling this delicious warm nutty scent trying to figure out where it was coming from....Oh right! Butter in the oven....now browned butter (not burned mind you it actually browned perfectly) So I made the cookies with a slight alteration "browned butter super thin awesome cookies". Seriously browned butter added a note to these that was just incredible..Try it Chef John!

Unknown said...

I cant seem to get mine to come out that thin.
I have even tried kinda smooshing them down into disk shapes instead of a ball you would get from a scoop.

I have tried several batches using silicone, parchment, oiled foil. Please help! I don't think my waistline can take much more of this!

Unknown said...

I think I finally figured out the problem here - At least in my case.

I first made these in July (in Texas) after the recipe was first posted. I took a picture but can't post it here, however it came out the way a lot of the commenters are describing; thick but still tasty.

I figured I'd try them again today, with a couple of differences:

- I used a better quality butter (Kerrygold Unsalted)
- I spooned the flour into the scoop instead of scooping it directly

The result was mostly great - I say "mostly" because I also found something else that difference. Three of the batches I made were baked on Farberware nonstick pans, and a fourth was done on an un-coated aluminum pan similar to the one used in the video. The cookies baked on the nonstick pans were definitely thinner and closer to what I was expecting, but the batch done on the aluminum pan were absolutely perfect and exactly the way they are in the video.

It's also about 40 degrees cooler outside this time, so I'm not sure if that made any difference.

I hope this helps those of you that are still trying - Thin or not, the cookies still taste awesome and are worth the effort.

Unknown said...

since I was likely using a cheap butter..I added a touch more butter, and the results were basically just like the pictures!! Finally a flatter, browner...and more succulent cookie than ever before! THese are the cookies I've been trying to make for quite a while now...and thanks to this recipe, I finally made them :)

andrew said...

1st time cookie baker here. This is my favorite type of cookie. I followed the recipe to the micron. I was so excited and they tasted great for 5 seconds....people really eat that much sugar? Honestly I think you're a crazy nutjob with this recipe. I might as well have just eaten 2 spoonfulls of straight sugar and a thimble full of milk with salt flour and soda stirred in as a chaser. Nice vid tho

Raideen said...

For those getting cakey and/or burnt cookies, I've made these three times with varying results. I finally got something very close to the pictures. They weren't quite as thin at the edges, but they were both crispy and chewy. I've used Plugrá and Kerrrygold butter and they produced the same results as far as flat vs. cakey. The biggest impact was weighing the flour (270 g), brown sugar (90 g), and granulated sugar (200 g). Also, in my gas oven, I had to reduce the temperature from 375 ºF to 350 ºF and also reduced the baking time. I was getting slightly burnt, hard cookies at 375 ºF even with reduced baking times. At 350 ºF, I tried baking times between 10 and 11 minutes. In my oven, 10 minutes produced soft, though still acceptably crunchy, cookies with only light browning on top. 10.5 produced better color and texture. 11 minutes was obviously a bit crunchier but still nice, depending on your personal preference.

Homer said...

These are awesome. No need to change anything for altitude, I live in Denver and it took three try's but I finally perfected these. First time I used just regular organic butter and the were too puffy. Next I tried the European grass fed butter and that was better but still kind of puffy. I finally found out the trick. You must add the flour to the wet ingredients and not the other way around. Last time I made these they turned out just like the video, perfectly thin and draped around the chocolate chips. You could see the light right through them. Another trick is to substitute a dark chocolate and sea salt candy bar for some of the chocolate chips. Ridiculously good.

Unknown said...

Sorry but these cookies to not flatten out thin and crisp, and I followed the recipe and procedure with precision, down to the use of quality European butter. I have silpats on sheet pans and a very accurate convection oven. They stay rounded in shape. And yes, I didn't use baking powder (which rises cookies), I used baking soda. Dispappointing. As far as taste, they are okay, but nothing extraordinary.

Unknown said...

Tried these today. Used regular butter and it came out normal sized, not lacy but flattish. But I don't really mind how it looked like. Imo it's way too sweet but otherwise, tasted great.

Made smaller sizes and pulled it out at 8-10mins. Will try it again with less sugar. Yes I know it'll change the consistency. Guess will have to experiment

Eka. said...

Hey Chef John! Question: Can I substitute the Vanilla Extract with Vanilla paste? Would it work? I've made these cookies before and they're god damn delicious. But I was wondering if I could sub the extract with paste. Thanks!

caitmk said...

Mine, too, came out thick. And I swear I did exactly as you did. I even fluffed up the flour by stirring with a knife before I scooped into measuring cup. Like Beonna Hunt and someone else, I have to double check with you on the brown sugar...light or dark?
I really want them to come out thin and transparent!
-Mystified Snookie

CrystalSChilders said...

I am such a chocolate chip cookie fan. I'm always looking for a better recipe and your chocolate chip cookie recipe is very nice and helpful.

Anonymous said...

I cant seem to get mine to come out that thin.
I have even tried kinda smooching them down into disk shapes instead of a ball you would get from a scoop.

Unknown said...

Wowww... It is so nice .. Thanks for sharing.

Best Delicious Cookies shop in Rajnagar

Unknown said...

I did everything right other than baking soda and milk with the exact measurements and my dough just sits in the oven doing nothing

Natalia said...

Amazing cookies chef John! Thin and crispy as you described. I followed your same exact recipe, except I did flatten them with my hands based on the complaints. I also baked mine for 10 minutes. Thank you for your recipe.

Natalia said...

I followed same exact recipe, except I did flatten the cookies with my hands and baked them for 10 minutes. Cookies were crispy and thin like described. Thank you chef John!

Unknown said...

Very Strange, mine came out like normal cookies not flat and crispy... hmmm

CandyCoated said...

Hello,

these were awesome, but I want the rest of my allergic-to-egg family members to enjoy them too! Have you 1. tried them without egg? 2. Tried them with flax seed or doubled up on another ingredient to make up for loss of egg?

please advice.

thanks
Chef John!

B said...

I pretty much always make them without egg, because egg is expensive here (about $0.06 each) so I bake them without egg. It works well.

Unknown said...

Over the years I had developped my BEST CHOCO CHIPS COOKIES recipe from few recipes...and today I wanted a more crispy cookie...and search and searh...to finally find this recipe...and now I have to change the title of my old recipe ! :D

THis always happens when I want to find a recipe and finally I come back to You <3 ;)

Nitsa said...

Omg chef John I worship you but my cookies are just not working I don’t know why and it’s making me want to cry, this is my third time making them and have followed the recipe to the T, I did use brown sugar instead of light brown don’t know if that matters? Please help! I’m getting fat cakey cookies and I just want to throw them at people under my balcony. Please help! I feel like it was to much flour because my dough was very tough but I measured precisely

Eric said...

I would love my cookies to be as thin as yours, Chef John, but alas they are thick. Crispy on the edges? Yes. Chewy in the middle? Yes. Tasty? Oh yes. But thick. I suspected I might have used self-rising flour by accident, but no. I did use American butter the first try, but the next three tries I used different expensive European butters. None made a difference. I'm wondering if I need to up the butter quantity a little?

Eric said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jonatelo said...

I’ve tried it his recipe 5 times and I follow the instructions word for word including chef johns suggestions in the comments....thick every time. I’ve triple checked my ingredients/process and I can’t get them thin like his.

Sally said...

Sorry Chef, but *I* have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! I use a cup of butter AND a cup of oil and they turn out crispy, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth cookies every time. Are they thin like yours? No, but who cares when they are this good! I can give you the recipe if you want. Also, our new favorite cookie these days are your gingersnap cookies. I've probably made them a dozen times and we just can't stop eating them, they're that good! Thank you so much for that recipe.

jonatelo said...

Could it be possible, chef John, that using unbleached flour would cut cause the cookies to be thicker?

jonatelo said...

Hey everyone, Chef John said he adapted this from Alton Browns "The Thin" recipe. I tried doing Alton Browns recipe with bleached allpurpose flour and used a cuisanart mixer and they came out nice and thin!

Unknown said...

Hi Chef! Can I make this into butter raisin cookie by replace chocolate chip with raisin instead? Pls advise. TQ!

JCinDE said...

I know this is an old recipe. And I don't know if anyone will read this... I followed this exactly but my cookies didn't get flat and thin like Chef John's. They were delicious, but regular cookie shape, not flat.

Unknown said...

I have a silpat and it works great! Ten minutes at 375 with the lower-middle rack works for me.

Unknown said...

Just made the dough yesterday and baked up a batch now! Mine also didn't get as thin as yours were :( but they're still incredibly tasty, and crispy on the edges while tender in the middle, as promised. I was going to ask if the milk could have been to blame for the thickness, since my milk had spoiled and I used 2 tbsp of water instead, but after reading the comments I think it must be the flour. Even when I bake bread, I tend to get a little overzealous with the flour! I also used regular American butter because of $, but I'd love to try this recipe out again to see if I can get them thin!

By the way — a few weeks ago I made the "famous" recipe from the famous brand and I was pretty disappointed. They didn't taste very good until they'd had time to mature. These cookies are by far superior! I'm glad I only made a small batch or else I'd have some explaining to do to the scale!

Alan said...

I followed instructions to the letter, used parchment instead of a silpat just to be safe. I also only had light brown sugar vs brown sugar and it still came out perfectly thin crispy and chewy.

Points2Ponder said...

Ok! That is it....

Chef John on Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Thank You sir for your service to our country!

Unknown said...

Everyone, remember when he said he used almond milk? The water content in it makes the cookie flat, I believe. I tried it with almond milk while following the rest in the instructions and it looked exactly like his.

Unknown said...

I believe if you’re having a problem with them not being thin and crispy as many have said, then it’s the type of butter you’re using. He said he’s using European butter. If you’re not using European butter and are using regular American butter, then you need to bump the amount of butter to 2 1/2 sticks because American butter has more water content. My first attempt I used American butter and stayed with 2 sticks, mine came out thick and chewy. I tried again still with American butter, but I then used 2 1/2 sticks and they came out much better!!

jonatelo said...

Just to put an end to that notion, I only use expensive European butter. That is definitely not the main reason why they are not coming out thin. I was raised by a world class Baker who not only taught me the basics of baking but you also personally baked birthday cakes for multiple presidents of the United States. If anything I would attribute many of the failures people experience while trying to make this recipe to the process they are using, not the ingredients. I’ve only successfully made cookies such as chef John’s when I used Alton Brown’s then cookie recipe.

jaggededge said...

You can get great chocolate chip cookies without using high-priced "European" butter. I found a "small batch" recipe on line that makes incredible CC cookies, but I'm afraid to "double" it for fear I'll mess up the recipe. It makes about 8-10 cookies, so for me that's great. I don't want to freeze a mountain of cookie dough, I need room for better food in my freezer.

jaggededge said...

@Unknown: That is a ton of butter for one batch of cookies. My arteries are seizing up just thinking about it. There are so many recipes for amazing CC cookies on the internet and you don't need Euro butter to have a great result. If this one doesn't work for people, just move on and try something else. Don't waste good money on "artisan butter" for freaking cookies. Check out the NYT recipes, and there are others. I ise a "small batch" recipe from some now-recalled cooking blog and it's the only recipe I use now, although it only makes 8-10 cookies. :) But I gave raves on them.

Unknown said...

I absolutely love listening to your videos....entertaining and informative!!

Unknown said...

Result was perfect. Thin crispy and chewy!

Lauren said...

Love the cookies Chef John. Turned out perfectly. I only use European bitter in all of my cookies and it makes an enormous difference. People rave about my cookies and the difference is the kind of butter I use.

Valerie said...

Hi chef,

How come my cookies weren’t flat? They were more fluffier than I would like them ..

Eric said...

After repeated failures, I left this recipe alone for a year. I just tried it again. Disaster. My cookies are 3/4-inch thick and they taste like stale bread. In the trash they go. Again. The Toll House recipe comes out thinner. WAAAAAAAAAA!

Doug said...

Chef John,

Do you think duck fat would work? It's high quality fat compared to butter, but I don't know about the moisture level? Thanks.

Doug said...

I made these with half Euro butter and half duck fat, and the cookies were great, but not thin and crispy.

Doug said...

I tried these with duck fat. They were absolutely delicious, but not the thin and crispy one's you're looking for.

Schuyler F,B said...

I have tried this recipe twice and I can never get the thin crispy cookies. They don't spread and remain raised, and I don't know what is going on, maybe I need to use an even more high quality butter, as I am using Kerry Unsalted butter.

compupix@gmail.com said...

These are really good!
How would I alter the recipe to make them double-chocolate? I want to add cocoa powder!

Unknown said...

@Schuyler try weighing out the ingredients for

SusiAngelArtist said...

I have a lot of confectioners sugar to use up. Would that work in this?

antipfa said...

I tried these cookies last night and got tall, cakey results. I tested lower oven temps, warmer dough, and pre-flattening the cookies, none of which helped. After doing some reading, it seems this could likely be in my flour measuring technique! As Chef John says, one should fluff the flour in the container, then spoon it into the cup, and then level. I was guilty of using the measuring cup to scoop! I did a weigh test today and was shocked: 1 cup of flour spoon + level = 120 grams, 1 cup using scoop + level = 145 grams. With 2.25 cups of flour, that's over 50 gram error, or over a third of a cup! I will be remaking these with the fluffiest scooped flour I can manage to see if this clears it up! This is why weights in baking recipes should be mandatory.

FHStowe said...

I love this site and have found many wonderful recipes and tips. Chef John has a gift for presentation and also for simplifying a recipe without losing its character. There is a well-known NYT recipe for chocolate chip cookies that insists on 24 hours of refrigeration time (I think it is actually 24 to 48) and testing convinced me that the extra time for hydration of the flour made a difference in their recipe. This one is very close to theirs with only about two hours in the fridge.

As for measuring, weighing just simplifies things, especially when there are a number of dry ingredients. Time measuring and cleaning up is shorter. It makes no difference whether the units are metric or English, and there are exact conversions from one system to the other. Published conversions from volume to weight vary a lot, as people above have noted, and different ideas of fluffing make a noticeable difference in results.

Hman said...

mine didn't come out thin either, but pretty sure due to my flour measurements, too packed! Oh well I made two batches too lol, still taste good!!

Hman said...

I should have checked the comments before making this! I also didn't measure the flour right, too packed...thicc cookies but still really nice and crispy.

Unknown said...

I tried these out and got tall cakey cookies, like many people. I saw someone else's comment that they weighed out 270g of flour. I tried that, and it ended up being less than 2 cups of flour (using the measuring cup to scoop out the flour). They came out much more spread and flattened like Chef John's cookies. Still not quite as beautiful as the Chef's, but a whole lot closer.