I Crave Chewy Cookies! Quick, Tell Me How!
Dear ErinCooks: I have a chocolate chip cookie conundrum: try as I might I can’t get my cookies to the consistency I like. I am a fan of chewy chocolate chip cookies, not cakey or crunchy, just chewy. I think it must be a butter issue. Should I try margarine or shortening? Maybe it’s too much mixing? Or maybe timing? — Julia
Dear Julia: This is your lucky day! While I can’t honestly speak coherently to the science behind chewy, over cakey, over crispy chocolate chip cookies I do have a fabulous recipe to share with you. According to the recipe’s author, this particular cookie dough contains less butter than the standard recipe, which prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. So you’re right on track about butter having something to do with a cookie’s texture.
Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. It’s one of my favorites and right up there with the artichoke dip in the category of "super top secret." I honestly can’t believe I’m telling you guys how to make all of my best recipes! On a side note The Got Milk? Cookie Book has excellent cookie recipes. The Peanut Butter cookies from that cookbook are some of my favorites too, and if you’re into crisp and crunchy, or thin and chewy, rather than thick and chewy, there’s a recipe inside for you.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Originally published in the Got Milk? Cookie Book by Peggy Cullen)
Makes 15 large cookies
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons white sugar
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup nuts (Note: optional. I never add nuts, but it’s totally personal preference).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the egg. Scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat for a few more seconds.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed just until absorbed. Combine the chocolate chunks and nuts into a small bowl and stir into the dough.
Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and drop them about 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets (Note: I use a silpat. I don’t have a lot of faith in leaving my baked goods ability to be removed from a pan up to chance). For perfectly uniform cookies, scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 inch diameter ice-cream scoop, leveling the dough off across the top before dropping onto the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely (Note: I never bake my batches for more than 12 minutes. If you over bake the cookies they obviously wont be chewy).
Doubling: I should warn you all that I’ve never had very good luck when I double this recipe. Sometimes they come out really flat, sometimes they come out thin and chewy, and sometimes they’re just a big mess. Once in a while they come out like they’re supposed to, but not often. You’re better off making two complete batches of the smaller original recipe.
Need some advice? You can always Ask Erin Cooks.
22 Comments Leave a Comment
Erin
April 8, 2008
I don’t know if it’s true or not, but my mother always said that if you let the butter get runny or melted instead of just softened, your cookies will thin out and get crunchy. I might have to experiment!
Cze-Johnson Carrie
April 8, 2008
two words.. YUM-O!!! I’ll definitely have to try these out.
in terms of the butter.. this website was pretty comprehensive. I have similar notes in an old betty crocker cookbook, but this is a good page to have on hand when tweaking cookie recipes.
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Perfect-Cookies/Detail.aspx
Laura
April 8, 2008
I’ve heard that chilling the batter and adding a little more flour helps make them more chewy. Also, a dollop of sour cream (but I have never tried that).
Lys
April 8, 2008
Hmmmm… I wonder if I could use this recipe for my Captain Morgan CC Cookies
I’ll give it a try and keep you posted.
grace
April 8, 2008
i’m extremely attracted to the cookie with the bite removed. the half-melted chocolate is downright beautiful.
Erin
April 8, 2008
Erin - When I was a kid I was very impatient — sort of like now, but more so. Anyway, I would always melt the butter in the microwave instead of waiting for it to soften and I spent most of my adolescent baking years turning out tray after tray of flat, crispy cookies (that I hated). So I think in this case your mother definitely knows best.
Carrie - Thanks for the link! I’m sticking to my recipe though
I’m a creature of habit.
Laura - I’ve never tried sour cream either. That’s an interesting thought. Chilling the dough will definitely help them to stay thicker — sometimes in my experience that makes them more cake like though, especially if you add extra flour. But I’d rather have a cakey cookie over a crispy cookie any day!
Lys - So what is involved in these Captain Morgan cookies? A cup of Rum?
Grace - Thanks! You too can have half eaten cookies all over your kitchen if you go home and make a batch for yourself.
Hänni
April 8, 2008
I have a friend who swears by HAND MIXING her batter. She also takes them out at like 10 minutes. They are still doughy in the middle so they need to cool completely or they fall apart.
I can totally vouch for these cookies (having eaten them on several occasions.) Julia you will love these cookies!
Erin
April 8, 2008
They look great! I’m also a chewy cookie fan. I’ve always relied on the old standby, the recipe off the back of the yellow bag of chocolate chips — but I may have to venture out and try this one. (The recipes are actually pretty similar - yes, I have it memorized!)
geeky
April 8, 2008
Alton Brown did a whole show on chocolate chip cookies a while ago, and according to him, it’s sugar that makes the difference. If you want chewy cookies, you can’t skimp on the sugar. Or so he says.
Nix
April 8, 2008
I myself love crunchy ones. I may have to play with the butter advice.
Elle
April 8, 2008
Torture! It’s 9:19 pm and I want a snack. No. I want THAT snack! They look so good!
robin
April 8, 2008
I find that beating the wet ingredients for longer than I would normally think to—until they are pretty fluffy—usually makes my cookies the perfect denseness. Anyone else do that?
farida
April 8, 2008
Erin, why do you make me print out all the recipes from your blog? I am making Allen’s paneer cheese now and now these cookies scream “bake me”. what am I supposed to do?
they look great! i love chewy cookies!
shelly
April 9, 2008
Yum! I like mine somewhere in between crispy and chewy. *is tempted to lick her screen*
Allen
April 9, 2008
Thin, fat, crisp, chewy, even crumbly … it’s all good! This recipe looks like it makes a nice batch of cookies
NIKI
April 9, 2008
I am a fan of the chewy cookies. Erin these are the best cookies ever!
wummy
April 10, 2008
YOU CAN MAKE THESE COOKIES ANYTIME.
THEY ARE THE BEST!!
EVEN BETTER THEN MY FAMOUS CC COOKIES
L
April 14, 2008
I made these this weekend. They were a big hit!
Herve
April 14, 2008
May I say 3 words? Wow, Hmmmm and Gorgeous!! Thank you, I’m feeling happy now!! My grand-mother always said “eat with your eyes first!” and I must say that your cookies look very very good!
Erin
April 16, 2008
Made these tonight, Erin, they were a hit! Had to use a lot of self restraint to not eat the whole bowl of dough, though. Marc and Mason both downed them.
Debora
April 18, 2008
I am a witness to the “deliciousness” of these cookies - the best chewy cookies I have ever tried! Thanks for sharing, Erin!
Erin
July 28, 2008
i tried out this recipe tonight - it turned out well! the only thing I altered was throwing in a handful of oats to give it an oatmeal-y feel.
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