Description

This recipe delivers the best bakery-style chocolate chip cookies with a perfectly balanced texture—crispy edges and a soft, chewy center. Made with high-quality dark chocolate chunks and a mix of sugars, these cookies benefit from an extended chilling time to develop deep flavors and ideal consistency. Simple to prepare yet irresistibly delicious, they are a classic treat for any occasion.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Dry Ingredients

1 3/4 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (or 3/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter)

Wet Ingredients

10 tablespoons (140g) salted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (165g) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (80g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (5ml) honey or corn syrup
1 large egg, at room temperature

Chocolate

7 oz (200g) dark chocolate (55-70% cocoa), roughly chopped into chunks, plus extra for topping

Optional

Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the softened butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula or a handheld mixer, vigorously mix by the creaming method until the mixture is smooth and slightly fluffy, resembling damp sand. Then, mix in the honey or corn syrup.
Add Egg: Beat in the room temperature egg until fully incorporated.
Combine with Dry Ingredients and Add Chocolate: Add all the flour mixture at once to the butter mixture and stir until most of the flour is absorbed. Before all flour is mixed, fold in the chopped dark chocolate chunks, ensuring even distribution throughout the dough resulting in a soft and moderately moist consistency.
Chill the Dough: Cover the dough with plastic wrap directly on its surface and refrigerate for 8-24 hours to develop flavor and texture. You can bake after 4 hours, but 8 hours is best.
Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Form Cookie Balls: Using a 1 ½-oz cookie scoop or your hands, scoop and roll dough into smooth balls. If too hard, let dough soften at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared sheets; do not flatten.
Add Chocolate Topping: Press a few extra chunks of chocolate on top of each dough ball for an appealing finish.
Bake: Bake six cookies per sheet for 9-11 minutes until edges are golden and cookies are puffed but centers remain soft. For smaller cookies (18 balls total), bake 8-10 minutes.
Cool and Finish: Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cookies cool for 2 minutes on trays. Then move each cookie to wire racks to cool completely. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over warm cookies if desired.

Notes

For thicker cookies, reduce the baking soda slightly as mentioned in the FAQ.
Using a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients improves accuracy and results.
Honey or corn syrup adds chewiness and moisture—do not omit.
If the dough is too stiff after chilling, allow it to rest at room temperature before scooping.
Using high-quality dark chocolate (55-70% cocoa) or couverture chocolate discs enhances flavor and texture.
The longer chilling period (up to 24 hours) improves dough flavor and cookie texture significantly.
Don’t overbake—cookies will continue cooking slightly after removal from oven.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cookie
Calories: 200 kcal
Sugar: 15 g
Sodium: 110 mg
Fat: 11 g
Saturated Fat: 6.5 g
Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g
Cholesterol: 35 mg