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These spectacular bakery-style chocolate chunk cookies are my favorite chocolate chip cookies ever! They have crisp edges, chunky chocolate, chewy centers, and spot-on flavor. The recipe makes 9 perfect, large cookies. If you want a bigger batch, you can easily double or even triple the recipe!
If you love homemade chocolate chip cookies, be sure to browse my Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes collection, then try my Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, Toll House Cookies, and Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, too — each one offers a different take on the classic chocolate chip cookie, from thick and bakery-style to thin and nostalgic to perfectly soft and chewy.
If you already have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, get ready for it to move down to second place! These babies will knock your socks off with their fabulous texture and perfect taste. They just may be the best chocolate chip cookies ever!
📌 Why This Recipe Works
Bakery-style size. These giant 4-ounce cookies bake up thick and impressive with crisp golden edges and soft, chewy centers.
An overnight chill makes a difference. Chilling the dough develops flavor, firms the butter, and helps create a thicker cookie with a better texture.
Chocolate chunks create melty pockets. Unlike chocolate chips, chopped chocolate and chocolate chunks melt into irresistible pools throughout the cookies.
Dark brown sugar keeps them chewy. The higher moisture content in dark brown sugar helps create that rich flavor and bakery-style chew.
An extra egg yolk adds richness. The additional yolk helps create a softer, chewier cookie with a more luxurious texture.
✨ Before You Begin
✨ Plan ahead. This dough needs to chill overnight in the refrigerator. Don’t skip this step — it’s one of the secrets to the thick, bakery-style texture.
✨ Use room-temperature eggs. They blend more easily into the butter and sugar mixture, helping create a smoother dough.
✨ Measure flour carefully. Too much flour can make cookies dry and dense. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag.
✨ Keep the dough tall. Shape each cookie dough ball into a tall mound rather than flattening it. This helps the cookies bake up thick with chewy centers.
✨ Use good chocolate. Chocolate chunks are the star of this recipe. For the best flavor, use high-quality chocolate bars or premium chocolate chunks.
What Are The Best Chocolate Chunks For Cookies?
You can buy a bag of chocolate chunks in the baking aisle at your local supermarket, and they’ll make really good cookies. But to take your cookies to the next level, try chopping a high-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar like Guittard’s baking bar or Ghirardelli chocolate bar. The chopped chocolate doesn’t need to be perfectly the same size as chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chunk Cookies Ingredients + Key Notes
This is just a quick glance at what you’ll need. For exact measurements and the full ingredient list, head down to the recipe card below.
All-Purpose Flour: Measure carefully using the spoon-and-level method. Too much flour can make these cookies dry, dense, and less chewy.
Cornstarch: Helps soften the texture and gives the cookies a more tender, bakery-style bite.
Baking Powder + Baking Soda: This small combination gives the cookies lift while helping the edges spread just enough to turn golden and crisp.
Salt: Don’t skip it! Salt balances the sweetness and brings out the deep chocolate flavor.
Unsalted Butter: Use softened butter that is still slightly cool to the touch. If the butter is too warm or greasy, the cookies can spread too much.
Dark Brown Sugar: This is key for rich flavor and chewy centers. Light brown sugar will work, but dark brown sugar gives the best bakery-style texture.
Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the edges bake up lightly crisp.
Egg + Egg Yolk: The whole egg adds structure, while the extra yolk adds richness and helps keep the centers soft and chewy.
Vanilla Extract: Adds warmth and rounds out the flavor of the dough.
Chocolate Chunks: You can use store-bought chocolate chunks, but chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate bars create the best melty pockets. The pieces don’t need to be perfectly even — the mix of large chunks and tiny shards makes the cookies even better.
Flaky Sea Salt: Sprinkle it over the warm cookies right after baking for that sweet-salty bakery finish.
🥣 How to Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Here’s a quick look at how to assemble these bakery-style Chocolate Chunk Cookies (full instructions in the recipe card below).
Start by whisking together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Fold in most of the chocolate chunks, reserving some to press into the tops of the cookies.
Portion the dough into large 4-ounce cookies, shape each one into a tall mound, and press the remaining chocolate chunks into the tops. Chill the dough balls overnight, then bake until the edges are golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while warm and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before moving them.
🔬 Cooking Science: What Makes Chocolate Chunk Cookies Chewy?
Several factors work together to create the thick, chewy texture that makes these bakery-style chocolate chunk cookies so irresistible.
Dark brown sugar adds moisture. Brown sugar contains molasses, which helps keep cookies soft and chewy while adding deeper caramel flavor.
An extra egg yolk creates richness. Egg yolks contain fat and emulsifiers that help produce a softer, more tender texture than whole eggs alone.
The overnight chill improves texture. Chilling the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and gives the butter time to firm up. This helps the cookies bake thicker with chewier centers and better flavor.
Careful flour measurement prevents dryness. Too much flour can dry out the dough and make cookies dense instead of chewy, so spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off instead of scooping from the bag.
Large, tall dough balls slow spreading. Shaping the dough into tall mounds instead of flattening it encourages the cookies to bake upward before spreading outward, creating that classic bakery-style thickness.
Slight underbaking keeps the centers soft. The cookies will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet. Pulling them from the oven when the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone helps create the perfect chewy texture.
⭐ Pro Tips
⭐ Don’t skip the overnight chill. This is one of the biggest secrets to the thick, bakery-style texture. The dough needs time to firm up so the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
⭐ Use a stand mixer if you have one. This is a thick cookie dough, and the butter and sugars need to be properly creamed. A hand mixer can work, but it may take a little longer.
⭐ Scrape the bowl well. Butter and sugar can cling to the sides of the bowl, which can create streaks in the dough and uneven cookies. Scrape the bowl after creaming and again after adding the eggs.
⭐ Keep the dough balls tall. Don’t flatten the dough before baking. Tall dough mounds help the cookies bake up thick with chewy centers.
⭐ Let them cool on the baking sheet. The centers will continue to set as the cookies cool. Move them too soon and they may fall apart; wait until they’re firm enough to transfer to a wire rack.
Storing + Reheating + Freezing + Make-Ahead Tips
Storing: Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. They’re best during the first 1–2 days, when the edges are still slightly crisp and the centers are perfectly chewy.
Reheating: If your cookies firm up after a day, warm one in the microwave for 8–10 seconds to bring back that fresh-baked chew. For a whole batch, pop them on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven for 2–3 minutes.
Freezing: Yes — you can freeze baked cookies or cookie dough. Freeze baked cookies in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months for the best flavor and texture.
Freezing Cookie Dough: Scoop the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet, making sure they aren’t touching. Freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can push longer, but 3 months keeps them tasting bakery-fresh.
Bake From Frozen: Bake the frozen dough balls straight from the freezer, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time. Pull them when the centers still look slightly underbaked so they stay soft and chewy.
Serving Recommendations
There’s nothing better to serve with these than a tall, ice-cold glass of milk, but coffee and tea are also great!
Frequently Asked Questions
◆ What is the difference between chocolate chunk cookies and chocolate chip cookies?
Chocolate chunk cookies use larger pieces of chocolate, often chopped from chocolate bars, instead of traditional chocolate chips. The larger pieces create pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cookies, giving them a more bakery-style appearance and texture.
◆ Can I use chocolate chips instead of chocolate chunks?
Yes! The cookies will still be delicious. However, chocolate chunks melt more dramatically and create those gooey chocolate pools that make bakery-style cookies so special.
◆ Why do these cookies need to chill overnight?
The overnight chill allows the flour to fully hydrate and gives the butter time to firm up. This helps the cookies bake thicker, develop better flavor, and maintain their chewy texture.
◆ Why are my chocolate chunk cookies flat?
Flat cookies are usually caused by butter that was too warm, skipping the overnight chill, or using too little flour. Be sure to measure the flour carefully and chill the dough as directed.
◆ Can I freeze chocolate chunk cookie dough?
Absolutely! Shape the dough into balls, freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag. The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months and baked directly from frozen.
Still have questions? Drop them in the comments — I love helping you bake with confidence! 💗
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Try
Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookies — A classic chocolate chip cookie recipe with crisp edges, chewy centers, and rich chocolate flavor.
Crisco Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, tender cookies with an old-fashioned bakery-style texture that stays fresh for days.
Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies — A simple, no-fuss recipe that delivers homemade chocolate chip cookie flavor with minimal effort.
Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies — Thick, ultra-soft cookies made with pudding mix for extra chew and incredible texture.
Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies — Loaded with chocolate chips and crunchy Oreo pieces for a fun cookies-and-cream twist on a classic favorite.
Tried This Recipe?
I’d love to hear how your Chocolate Chunk Cookies turned out! Please leave a comment and a star rating below to let me know what you think.
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Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today — happy baking, friends! ❤️ Kathleen
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chunks, divided
- flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Remember these will need to chill overnight in the fridge!!
- Whisk together flour (2 1/4 cups), cornstarch (1 teaspoon), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), baking soda (1/4 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon) in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter (1 cup), brown sugar (3/4 cup), and granulated sugar (1/4 cup), for 2 minutes at medium-high speed, until mixture is fluffy.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the eggs (1 egg + 1 egg yolk) and vanilla (2 teaspoons). Continue to beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides, and gradually add the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until combined, just until almost combined, but Do No Overmix.
- Remove bowl from the stand-up mixer and fold in 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chunks.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place a piece of wax paper over a food scale.
- Use a large cookie scoop dough (over-filled, not leveled) or large ice-cream scoop to scoop the dough onto the food scale, and measure 4-ounce cookies, which should be around 1/2 cup of dough. Shape the dough so it's tall and round, and place it on your prepared cookie sheet. Press the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks into the top of your dough. Place cookies side by side, and into the fridge overnight to harden the butter completely.
- Place the formed dough balls in the refrigerator on the cookie sheet overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chilled cookies on each baking sheet, making sure to space them out as much as possible. Bake in preheated oven for 13-16 minutes (mine were perfectly baked at 15 minutes). You'll know the cookies are done once the edges are golden brown.
- Enjoy. Sprinkle warm cookies with flaky sea salt, and allow them to cool on the baking sheet until they've firmed enough to transfer before moving them to a wire rack. Enjoy!
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Chill Time: Remember these will need to chill overnight in the fridge!!
- Mixing: I use my stand-up mixer for this recipe. You can use a handheld electric mixer, but be prepared to mix for a while!
- Eggs: It's very important to ensure the success of this recipe to have the eggs at room temperature. Here's a great trick if you forget to leave them out to come to room temp.
- Scraping the Bowl: It really makes a difference when you do this! It will ensure you produce uniform dough. If you don't scrape the bowl, a dense film of butter and sugar will form on the sides of bowl. After you add the dry ingredients, a buttery ribbon can form streak through the dough, creating some weirdly shaped cookies
Nutrition
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I love the big chunks of chocolate! Definitely a level up from chocolate chips.
I totally agree with you, Joana! Enjoy 🙂