Crisp and golden on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. These Thick Chocolate chip Cookies are giant and extra thick. If you’ve had a Levain Bakery Cookie in NYC, these are a close copycat!
What You’ll Need for this Recipe:
Cold Butter
Brown Sugar
White Granulated Sugar
Cake Flour
All-Purpose Flour
Cornstarch
Baking Soda
Salt
Chocolate Chips
Tips and FAQs!
What makes them so thick and like a bakery cookie?
Cold butter. Using cold butter helps create air pockets for the amazing texture. By using a mixer, the butter still is able to cream with the sugars, but there will be some little pieces of butter left behind. Similar to when you make a pie crust!
A mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour. Cake flour creates a more TENDER crumb on the cookie which creates an amazing texture.
Bake at high heat. A hot oven helps cook the outside quickly, while leaving the center soft. Crisp and golden on the outside, but still gooey on the inside.
Chilling the Dough. This is also crucial to helping keep the dough from spreading while baking. We want them to stay nice and thick instead of spreading out and getting thin.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch adds additional thickness without drying out the dough by adding additional flour.
Cold Baking Sheets. When baking them in batches, don’t put the dough on an already warm sheet. That contributes to additional spreading of the cookie.
Light Colored Baking Sheets. This is my number one tip for any cookie recipe! Try to avoid using dark, nonstick baking sheets. They burn the bottoms of cookies. I love the light, silver aluminum sheets for cookies.
Thick Disc Shape. I tested these by making huge balls, but found the center would be raw or the outside would get too dark by the time the center cooked. The solution? Shape the dough in to hockey puck shaped discs. Each disc will be 6 ounces or about 1/2 cup of dough – about 1.5-2 inches thick.
How long does the dough need to chill for?
It needs to chill for at least 30 minutes or until chilled through and the discs are firm. But the dough can be stored in the fridge chilling for up to 3 days, making this a great make-ahead cookie option.
Can the dough be frozen?
Yes! I recommend forming the dough into discs before freezing so it’s easier to bake them from frozen. If baking from frozen, you’ll need to add a couple of minutes on to the baking time. Be sure to keep an eye on your oven temp (an oven thermometer is so helpful!), because if your oven is too hot, that extra time in the oven could cause the cookies to get a little too brown on the bottoms.
Can I use something other than chocolate chips?
Yes! I love chocolate chunks as well. You could also lower the amount of chocolate and add some finely chopped nuts as well. Have fun with the mix-ins!
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Crisp and golden on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside. These cookies are giant and extra thick. If you’ve had a Levain Bakery Cookie in NYC, these are a close copycat!
Scale
Ingredients
1 cup Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 cupBrown Sugar, light or dark
1/2 cupWhite Granulated Sugar
2Eggs
1 teaspoonVanilla Extract
1 1/2 cupsCake Flour
1 1/2 cupsAll-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoonCornstarch
1 teaspoonBaking Soda
1 teaspoonKosher Salt
2 cupsChocolate Chips
Instructions
Cream the Butter and Sugar. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, cream together the cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream on medium for about 2-4 minutes until creamy and combined. You want just a few small pieces of butter to remain.
Add Eggs and Vanilla. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.
Add Remaining Ingredients. Add flours, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined and avoid over-mixing. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be slightly crumbly.
Form Discs of Dough. Form the dough into thick hockey puck-like discs. Using 6 ounces (about 1/2 cup) of dough for each. The discs should be about 1.5-2 inches thick. Avoid overworking the dough, just gently press into shape.
Chill Discs. Chill discs of dough in the fridge until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. I recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure an accurate and consistent temp. Line two light colored baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bake Cookies. Working in batches, place a few chilled discs on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 14-17 minutes (mine baked for 15 minutes exactly). The cookies are done when they are puffy, golden on the outside, and set. Allow to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooing rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Be sure to not place dough on a warm baking sheet – run hot sheet under cold water if needed to cool it down.
Enjoy! I like to give a light sprinkle of flaky salt before serving.
Notes
Freezing: Discs of dough can be frozen and baked from frozen. You’ll need to add a couple minutes of bake time
Leftovers: Leftover cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for 3-4 days.
