Thick Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
• •Kitchen scale
• •Large mixing bowls
• •Half-sheet baking pans
• •Parchment paper
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Oven thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare dry ingredients

   Whisk together the bread flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. Bread flour contains more protein than all-purpose, which builds the structure needed for cookies this thick. Don't substitute.

   A kitchen scale transforms your baking. Flour measured by volume can vary by 30% depending on how you scoop. Weigh it.
2. 2

   Cream butter and sugars

   In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes. The mixture should become noticeably lighter in color and fluffy in texture. Stop and scrape the bowl halfway through. This aeration creates the cookie's tender interior.

   Cool room temperature means 65°F, not warm. The butter should give slightly when pressed but hold its shape. Warm butter creates flat cookies.
3. 3

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. The mixture may look slightly curdled. This is normal. Add the vanilla extract and beat until just combined. Scrape the bowl again.

4. 4

   Incorporate flour mixture

   Add the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed just until the last streak of flour disappears. The moment you can no longer see dry flour, stop the mixer. Overmixing develops gluten and makes cookies tough rather than tender.

5. 5

   Fold in chocolate

   Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add both chocolates and fold by hand using a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon. Distribute the chocolate evenly throughout the dough. The variety of sizes from rough chopping creates pockets of melted chocolate alongside distinct chunks.

   Chopping chocolate yourself beats chips every time. Chips contain stabilizers that prevent melting. Hand-chopped chocolate creates those glossy pools you see in bakery cookies.
6. 6

   Rest the dough

   Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours, up to 72 hours. This rest is not optional. The flour fully hydrates, flavors develop and deepen, and the dough firms up enough to hold its shape in the oven. Patience makes the cookie.

   The 24-hour rest improves flavor dramatically. At 48 hours, the cookies taste even more complex. Beyond 72 hours, the leavening begins to weaken.
7. 7

   Shape the cookies

   Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a scale, portion the dough into 12 pieces of approximately 85 grams each. Roll each portion into a tall ball between your palms. Do not flatten. Place 6 balls on each sheet, spaced 3 inches apart. These cookies spread.

8. 8

   Chill shaped cookies

   Return the shaped dough balls to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes while you preheat your oven. Cold dough spreads slowly, which builds height. Warm dough melts flat before the edges can set.

9. 9

   Preheat oven

   Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 375°F. Use an oven thermometer to verify. Most home ovens run 25 degrees off in either direction, which matters enormously for cookies.

10. 10

    Bake

    Bake one sheet at a time for 14 to 16 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges look golden and set but the centers still appear pale, puffy, and slightly underdone. They will seem too soft. Trust the process. Residual heat finishes the bake as they cool.

    Rotate the pan 180 degrees at the 10-minute mark for even browning. Most ovens have hot spots.
11. 11

    Finish and cool

    Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky sea salt. The salt adheres to the warm surface and provides bursts of salinity that balance the sweetness. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. The centers firm as they rest.

Chef Tips

• •Invest in a kitchen scale. It costs twenty dollars and transforms your baking overnight. Consistent measurements mean consistent results.
• •Chopping chocolate by hand takes three minutes and makes a visible difference. The irregular shapes create texture: some pieces melt into pools, others hold their shape. Uniform chips cannot replicate this.
• •Brown butter variation: Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it smells nutty and develops brown flecks on the bottom. Cool completely before using. This adds caramel depth but requires adding 2 tablespoons of milk to replace the lost water content.
• •For extra-gooey centers, press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the top of each dough ball before baking. They melt into glossy pools.
• •Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. A slice of bread in the container keeps them soft.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough must rest refrigerated for 24 to 72 hours. Plan accordingly. This is not a same-day cookie.
• •Shaped dough balls freeze beautifully. Arrange on a parchment-lined sheet, freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time. They keep frozen for up to 3 months.
• •For warm cookies on demand, keep a batch of shaped dough balls in the freezer. Guests arrive, cookies appear from the oven 18 minutes later.
• •Unbaked dough can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days, portioned and baked as needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)