These spectacular bakery-style chocolate chunk cookies are my favorite chocolate chip cookies ever! Chewy, chunky, with crisp edges and spot-on flavor!
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! Well, at least that’s what they did for me!
They just may be the best chocolate chip cookies ever!
The Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This recipe makes 9 perfect, large cookies. It’s easy to double or even triple the recipe if you want a big batch!
I have to admit, I’ve always had a deep and abiding love for chocolate chip cookies. When I was pregnant with my first baby, one of the few foods I craved was freshly baked Toll House cookies. They’ve always been one of my fav’s! (I hadn’t tried this recipe yet, though!). I have to say they aren’t the best-looking chocolate chip cookie, but dang they’re good!
After you make and devour these, try my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, and my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies next!! You can never have too many delicious cookie recipes in my book!
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 bar of a high-quality semi-sweet chocolate bar like Guittard’s baking bar.
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Flour: It’s important that you measure the flour correctly to get the recipe’s intended results. Use the super-easy spoon-and-sweep explained here.
- Cornstarch: Improves texture.
- Baking Powder: Gives the cookies their rise.
- Leavening Agents: Baking soda is the main leavening agent in your scrumptious chocolate chunk cookies recipe, but the bread flour and the eggs help too.
- Salt: While you may be tempted to skip the salt in your cookie recipe, you shouldn’t! In the right amounts, salt actually enhances the flavor. It’ll coax out that rich sweet flavor you’re looking for.
- Butter: This recipe calls for unsalted butter. You’ll be adding salt later, making it easier to control the amount. Also, be sure your butter is softened but still cold enough to properly cream with your sugar. Butter will stretch and expand during the creaming process and its ability to do so tops out at a mere 68°F. 65°F is the ideal temperature for butter.
- Brown Sugar: Remember to firmly pack the brown sugar. This is one of the ingredients that contribute to the chewy texture. I prefer dark brown sugar but if you prefer you can use light brown sugar
- White Sugar: You’ll be using a combination of white granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. This combo gives you the most decadent confection that’s just slightly crispy on the outside.
- Eggs: They contribute moisture, add structure and even aid in rising. The extra egg yolk helps to create a chewy texture.
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate: Now we’re getting down to business!! You’ll need the semisweet chunks and the dark chocolate chunks to make this one work. – And trust me, it’s totally worth it.
- Flaky Sea Salt: To turn these into salted chocolate chunk cookies, I simply sprinkle the cookies when they come out of the oven with a bit of flaky sea salt.
What Is The Secret To A Chewy Cookie?
Well, it really comes down to a few things. Chewy cookies tend to contain more ingredients with a high moisture content which ultimately incorporated more moisture into the batter. In this recipe, brown sugar, and the extra egg yolk are ingredients that add moisture.
Resting the dough in the refrigerator also increases chewiness. Measuring the flour correctly is important so you don’t inadvertently add too much will dries out the batter.
How the cookies are formed, are they flattened out or left tall, also is a contributing factor. We leave our dough nice and tall to add to the chewy texture.
Tips + Tricks
- 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 the bowl. After you add the dry ingredients, a buttery ribbon can form streak through the dough, creating some weirdly shaped cookies.
Storing + Freezing Tips
- How To Store: These are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Allow them to cool completely before storing. I think the texture of these cookies is best within a day or 2 after baking. They will however keep for up to a week.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes, you can. You can freeze the raw cookie dough, or you can freeze the baked, cooled cookies. Baked cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 8 months when stored properly and they’ll be ready whenever the company drops by or that chocolatey sugar craving hits. Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 6 months. Here’s what I do: Form the cookie dough balls and put them on a baking pan (leave some room in between). After they harden, take them off the pan and toss them in a freezer bag until you’re ready to indulge.
- Make-Ahead Tips: The hardest thing about making this chocolate chunk cookies recipe ahead of time is not eating them all up! The raw cookie dough is phenomenal all by itself making it near impossible to resist!
- I like to whip up a double batch of these babies and put them in the freezer behind a batch of soup so they’re not staring me in the face every single time I open the door! Then I can have fresh baked cookies whenever the craving hits.
- These bad boys can go straight from the freezer to the oven making them incredibly convenient.
Serving Recommendations
There’s nothing better to serve with these that a tall, ice-cold glass of milk! Coffee and tea are also great!
How To Make Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, for 2 minutes at medium-high speed, until the mixture is fluffy.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the eggs and vanilla. 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.
- Remove bowl from the stand-up mixer and fold in 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chunks.
- Scoop the dough onto the food scale, and measure 4-ounce cookies.
- Shape the dough so it’s tall and round.
- Place it on your prepared cookie sheet. Refrigerate overnight.
- Bake until golden brown. Sprinkle with sea salt.
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes
- Cowboy Cookies
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Bisquick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Hershey Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Alton Brown Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
- Monster Cookies
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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
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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 🙂