Ultra Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
In my last post for Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies we covered how to make a soft, thick, and gooey chocolate chip cookie. In this post I will let y’all in on a little secret on how I make crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookies.
Crisp, golden-brown edges, pools of milk and semisweet chocolate, and a chewy center that just won’t quit, these chocolate chip cookies are what I like to call my ‘bakery style’ chocolate chip cookie. The use of melted butter and less flour result in a cookie with more spread giving the edges a much larger space to crisp up. The butter, flour, and sugar caramelizing into toasted golden-brown goodness while baking is called the Maillard reaction. It creates a bouquet of flavor and textures that hits all the flavor centers in our brain and is what keeps us coming back for more.
I also add an uncommon ingredient in these cookies, corn syrup. *Gasp* I know, sometimes corn syrup can get a bad rap (I still eat the hell out of pecan pie every holiday season though) but in this application it is what guarantees an ultra-chewy cookie that will not lose its chewy texture even days after baking. If you are avoiding corn syrup in your baking, I have listed a substitute in the ingredient section below.
I first became aware of corn syrup as a dough conditioner in cookies from the amazing Christina Tosi. I was reading about how she keeps her blueberry and cream cookies soft and have that nostalgic, chew cookie feel to it and she does this by including corn syrup in some of her cookie recipes. If you do not know who Christina Tosi is, please, please, please, look her up! Plus, she has a cookie cookbook dropping in November and you can preorder it now. I cannot wait! She is the reason I started baking again and is one of my baking hero’s. Can you tell I’m a big fan?
I tried adding corn syrup to chocolate chip cookies when I first started experimenting with stuffed cookies. Sadly, the corn syrup did not assist with my cookies achieving height or structure for the fillings I was trying to include, but what it did do was spread the cookie out, crackle the top a bit more, and produced a wonderful chewy texture that lasted for days. I mean, these cookies will stay chewy with crisp egdes for several days, it really is remarkable.
Why I Love This Cookie
-Texture-This cookie bakes up flatter than what I normally like in a cookie, but what it lacks in height it makes up for in texture. The crisp edges and chewy center paired with the melted chocolate inside the cookie is so yummy. And it’s easier to enjoy more of them. You know, when you bite into a thick cookie it can be quite the mouthful, they are wonderful don’t get me wrong, but this cookie is thinner and very easy to eat! You might even say, a little dangerous perhaps?
-Flavor- the crisp golden edges and bottom really give this cookie a wonderful, toasted butter flavor. I include two different types of chocolate chips, milk and semisweet, to accent the flavor of the dough. The milk chocolate is very sweet so if you aren’t a fan, you can just use semisweet. I do feel like the milk chocolate adds a wonderful creaminess to the toasted crisp edges of this cookie.
-Longevity-Thanks to the addition of corn syrup this cookie stays chewy for days. Corn syrup is a sweetener and can be used as a preservative which helps these cookies stay fresh for longer. I store mine on the counter in a closed container.
-Nostalgic-These cookies are very nostalgic for me. The chewy and crisp edges are reminiscent of a toll house cookie and the fact that they area very sweet treat remind me of bake sales and church potlucks I would go to as a kid. There is something about a crisp and chewy chocolate chip cookie that takes me back memory lane.
-Dunking-This cookie was made for dunking into cold milk. I am more of a coffee and sweets kind of gal, but it almost feels criminal if I don’t have cold glass of milk to dunk this cookie in. Such a classic combo!
-Simple- this recipe requires basic ingredients and comes together so quickly. I usually would suggest a variety of mix ins to include, but to be honest, I really don’t fuss much with this recipe. It’s just that good. Sometimes simple is best and it is the case for this cookie. This cookie is NOT a good candidate if you want a stuffed cookie. They spread quite a bit and lack the structure of a cookie that has more flour or cornstarch in it. If you would like to stuff chocolate chips cookies here is a list of recipes you can try:
–Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies
–Nutella Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
–Chocolate Chip Peep Stuffed Easter Cookies
Ingredients You Need
-Butter
-Brown & Granulated Sugar
-Egg- only one egg in this recipe, where I usually prefer to add two. This is because I don’t want the cookie to bake up tall, I want it to spread out and get crisp and using one egg gives it less stability so it spreads a bit more.
-Flour
-Corn Syrup- I use light corn syrup. You can also substitute with an equal amount of honey. It will give your cookie a lovely honey flavor, but it can bake up quite dark. Special attention to baking times, start with the lowest baking times and remove cookies from heat when they are golden brown.
-Flour
-Vanilla Extract
-Baking Soda & Powder
-Milk and Semisweet chocolate chips-if milk chocolate is too sweet for your taste you can use all semisweet chocolate too. Make sure to use a good quality chocolate, it will make a big difference in your chocolate chip cookies.
Let’s Cookie!
Either in a bowl or in a mixer add melted and cooled butter and sugars and mix well. Add in egg, vanilla extract, and corn syrup. I mix these on medium high until very well mixed. I want to see a little sheen to it before adding dry ingredients.
In a bowl I sift all the dry ingredients then add to the butter mixture on low speed until just incorporated. Using melted butter will result in a softer and looser dough.
Next, I add in my chocolate chips on low speed and mix until just mixed in. I remove the bowl from the stand and give the cookie dough a few turns to make sure the chocolate chips are mixed in evenly.
I prepare a baking sheet with parchment and grab my 3-ounce cookie scoop to portion out 18 balls of cookie dough. I let this dough set up in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight, the longer the better. This will help the dough to firm up before we bake and is a really important step. Because this dough is soft and has corn syrup, it will spread into a mess if you don’t let it rest in the fridge. I know it’s hard to wait but the results are so worth it!
You can also freeze this cookie dough to bake later. It freezes beautifully and bakes perfectly from the freezer, just add a few minutes to your bake time.
When ready to bake, I preheat my oven to 375*F and bake for 9-12 minutes. Ample space is necessary with these cookies, at least 2 inches of space between each one and do not overcrowd. Baking time will vary depending on your oven temperature and If you used honey instead of corn syrup. If using honey in your cookie dough start at 9 minutes and add 2 minutes if they are not quite done. Honey cookies will brown much faster.
I had some fun during baking and smashed two of the 3-ounce cookies together to make an extra-large 6-ounce cookie. I baked two on the baking sheet for roughly 15 minutes and they came out so great! A perfect bakery style cookie if you are looking to make something fun.
I allow the cookies at least 5-10 minutes to set up on the pan after baking then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. These are wonderful fresh out of the oven with a cold glass of milk though too, delicious.
These delicious cookies stay fresh for up to a week on the counter and can even be stored in a covered container in the fridge. Enjoy!
If you try this recipe and love it as much as I do, please tag, follow, and like @sunshinetxcookies on Instagram and Facebook. New posts every Tuesday and Thursday so be sure to follow me for more delicious cookie recipes. Happy Baking!
Ultra Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter unsalted, room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼` cup light corn syrup can use honey as substitute
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tspns vanilla extract
- ½ tspn baking powder
- ½ tspn baking soda
- 1½ tspn salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream melted butter and sugars until mixed.
- Add in egg, vanilla, and corn syrup and continue beating on medium high until fully incorporated. You want the mixture to look shiny and smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
- Add to mixer on low mixing until it just forms a dough.
- Add chocolate chips and continue to mix on low for a 10-20 seconds.
- Take out the bow from the mixer and with a spatula give the cookie dough a few turns to make sure all of the chocolate chips are evenly distributed.
- Using a 3 ounce cookies scoop, or 3 tablespoons of dough, portion out 18 balls of dough onto a parchment lined cookies sheet.
- Refrigerate dough for at least an hour and up to over night.
- Preheat oven to 375*F and place cookie dough evenly spaced apart on cookie sheet. Make sure not to crowd them, they will spread during baking. I bake 4-6 cookies per baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes or until the edges are a deep golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Enjoy!
