Thick and Chewy Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Perfect Treat for Beginners
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (226g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed (100g)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 ½ cups)
- 4 to 8 ounces chocolate chunks (about 1 to 1 ½ cups)
- Optional: Maldon sea salt flakes for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). This ensures the oven is hot and ready to bake your cookies at the right temperature. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking mat to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan. This will also help your cookies bake evenly.
- Prepare the Dry Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Stir these dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the baking soda and salt throughout the flour. Set this bowl aside because we will add it to the wet ingredients in the next steps.
- Cream the Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until the butter and sugars are well combined and light in texture. The creaming process is crucial because it helps to aerate the dough, giving the cookies their soft texture.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: After the butter and sugar are creamed, add the two eggs, one at a time. Make sure to mix well after each addition so that the eggs are fully incorporated into the dough. Then, add the vanilla extract and beat again. The vanilla adds a rich, warm flavor that pairs beautifully with the chocolate.
- Add the Dry Ingredients to the Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the butter mixture. I recommend adding it in small batches to avoid flour flying everywhere! Use the mixer on low speed, or you can stir it in by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon. Mix until the dough just starts to come together, but be careful not to overmix. Overmixing can lead to dense, tough cookies.
- Add the Chocolate Chips and Chunks: Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. The chocolate should be evenly distributed throughout the dough. If you want, you can reserve a handful of chocolate chips and chunks to press into the tops of the cookies once they are on the baking sheet for a more polished look.
- Shape the Cookies: For perfectly sized cookies, use a cookie scoop or a spoon to portion out the dough. Aim for about ¼ cup of dough per cookie for a medium-sized cookie, or ½ cup for larger cookies. Roll the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. The cookies will spread a bit as they bake, so make sure they have plenty of room to expand.
- Bake the Cookies: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes for ¼ cup dough portions, or 15-20 minutes for ½ cup portions. You’ll know the cookies are ready when the edges are golden, but the center is still soft and slightly underbaked. This is what gives the cookies their chewy texture. The cookies will continue to cook slightly once you take them out of the oven, so don’t worry if they look a bit underdone in the center.
- Cool the Cookies: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This cooling time helps them set and finish cooking without becoming too fragile. Don’t try to move them too early or they may break apart.
Notes
- Softening the Butter: Make sure your butter is soft before you begin mixing. Cold butter won’t cream well with the sugars, which will affect the texture of your cookies. If you forget to take the butter out in advance, you can microwave it for a few seconds or leave it out for 20-30 minutes to soften.
- Measuring the Flour: For the most accurate results, use the spoon-and-level method to measure flour. Fluff the flour with a spoon, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. This prevents you from using too much flour, which can make the cookies dense.
- Chill the Dough: If you want extra thick cookies, you can chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour before baking. Chilled dough doesn’t spread as much in the oven, giving you thicker cookies with a more substantial bite.