Yes, you read that right: Chocolate Chip Cookies. And no, this is not a goofy shot recipe. (As an aside, are any of you old bartenders like me who remember when every shot was some sort of attempt to replicate the flavor of a dessert item? The Girl Scout Cookie Shot, the German Chocolate Cake Shot, the Snickerdoodle Shot, etc etc)
Anyway, here’s the deal. You all probably know me as someone who makes cocktails. Which is a sore subject right now because I haven’t been a guy who makes cocktails for like six weeks now, thanks to the Coronavirus. But my close friends couldn’t care less about my drinks, they know me as the chocolate chip cookie guy.
I’ve been making these for the past decade. I bring them to parties, I bring them to work, I bring them to events. They’re my favorite style of chocolate chip cookie: thin, crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. Kind of like me, except for the thin part.
For years I had only shared this recipe with a couple of close friends. But today is my 24th anniversary of tending bar. Yes, my first night behind the bar was April 25th, 1996. I’m 48 years old now, so that means I’ve officially been tending bar for half my life. God, that’s crazy to think about.
Anyway. Cocktails are awesome but we certainly can’t drink cocktails every damn day. We’re all locked up in the house and many of us are doing a bunch of cooking and baking, so why not take a little break from drinks and throw together a tray of delicious warm cookies?
One quick note: please please please get yourself a kitchen scale if you don’t have one. I use my almost every single day. I use it for coffee, I use it for cookies and other baking projects, and I use it when I make simple and compound syrups for cocktails. This one is inexpensive and and it lasts forever. I’ve had mine for well over ten years, in Pumpkin Orange because that is obviously the best color. Anyway, rant over.
I hope you enjoy them.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Print Me
- 1 stick butter (½ cup or 113 grams), room temperature
- 75 g light brown sugar
- 125 g white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp/5 ml vanilla extract
- 175 g flour
- ½ tsp/2.5 ml salt
- ½ tsp/2.5 ml baking soda
- 160 g (roughly 1 cup) chocolate chips
- 80 g (roughly ½ cup) chopped nuts of your choice (optional - I use pecans)
- With a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until everything is smooth and incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda until they're all incorporated, too. Then start slowly folding that mixture into the wet ingredients.
- Add the chocolate chips and nuts after that dough is done.
- I like to wrap them up in plastic wrap and then let the dough rest in the fridge overnight, but you don't have to. Either way, you want to make sure the dough is at room temperature before you pop them in the oven.
- I use a one-ounce scoop to measure out twelve perfect little dough balls on a sheet pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 degrees Celsius for ten minutes on the middle rack of your oven.
- I like to finish mine with some flaky sea salt.
- Makes about 20 cookies total.
Recipe printed courtesy of jeffreymorgenthaler.com
These are absolutely the best c.c. cookies on earth. I do think an overnight stay in the fridge is a crucial step, but then again, I’m not the magician who somehow, against the odds, perfected chocolate chip cookies, so what do I know? Don’t change anything and absolutely top with Maldon salt.
These look yummy! I love the addition of chocolate chips in a cookie. Definitely want to try this recipe and I’m sure the kids will love them.
I’ve halved this recipe and doubled it. I’ve fiddled with the proportions a bit – a little less white sugar, a little more brown; a little heavier on the pecans – and I’ve done stupid things like using butter that’s either too hard or nearly melted. I’ve frozen the dough, frozen the cookies, refrigerated the cookies. Every single time these are still, hands down, the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.
So happy to hear that you love them so much, Rebecca!
I like the cookies, put some dry sea lettuce and insect flour inside. The recept is really good. Thx
😂😂😂
Made these cookies at the apex of quarantining/social distancing and they are the best. Headed for Covid shot #2 tomorrow so “nervous baking” today. These will definitely bring me comfort. Many thanks!
PS Featured several of your libations in our Eat, Drink & be Artsy IG Live @the_art_trust too. Keep all the great tastes coming!
That makes me so happy to hear!
Newbie baker here and by “newbie”, I mean baking for the first time ever because your recipe is the first one that made me want to bake. Lol.
Would like to share with my neighbors so I’m thinking to make a triple batch (at least) — do I just triple everything including the baking soda?
Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Astrid! Yes, when tripling the batch simply triple everything. However, since you’re baking for the first time ever I would strongly recommend running a single batch as a test. And if everything works out with that, then you can simply do a double batch for the full total. Good luck!!
A dozen of your cookies went into every teacher and staff box at a small charter school in my rural area this year. My friend is a teacher and due to crushing student debt and a rural teacher salary, he can’t afford to give gifts. I gave the gift of the supplies, kitchen and half of the labor, I got the gift of time with my friend (we both quarantined/tested, single person homes), and 37 dozen cookies were made! We burned a few batches and got a little weird at the end with mixins, but we did it.
The most profound part of it was being able to give to my friend when he was sensitive about receiving, and he was also then able to be generous at a time when he had little to give. We had quality time together, which is even more rare.
Thanks for giving these recipes to us at a time like this.
This makes me really happy and brings a tear to my eye. Thank you.
First of all: thank you, Jeffrey!
For all your work and the amazing way you share it. I discovered this website just this summer, your book was on my wishlist for a while and as soon as I got it I devoured it in a few days: really, really amazing.
That aside, not to brag but among my friends and family I too am known for my chocolate chip cookies (so I have the confess it boast up my ego a bit to see this post); I live in Italy and when we were lockdown in March I’d used to make a weekly batch, now we’re locked up again and so I’m very glad I finally get to try your recipe.
But there’s more: the other day I picked up some Muscovado sugar at the grocery store and I was thinking of what recipe I could use it in, on the other hand, my little sister is demanding a chocolate chip cookie bash; so here’s my question: do you think I can just replace the brown sugar with Muscovado without altering the ratios?
Also, should I try the original recipe first before experimenting?
Sorry for my very long comment.
Best wishes from Italy and keep up the good work!
Muscovado is a different animal but worth a try if you feel like experimenting.
Thank you for sharing your chocolate chip cookie recipe. We have enjoyed them many times these past few months. They’re delightful!
So happy to hear that, Colleen!!
PERFECTION! THE ONLY COOKIE RECIPE I USE!
🤗🤗🤗
Ok so your mixed metric and standard measurements seriously mess with my OCD but I managed to get a batch together. My wife is allergic to nuts so we replaced them with (mini) chocolate chips in the same amount. Then added some bourbon vanilla ice cream between two warm cookies for the best ice cream sandwich ever. I bet a PX sherry mudslide flavored ice cream would be amazing too.
Did not suck. Pic here:
https://twitter.com/dav3d/status/1299907357518905345
I notice you only have metric measurements for some of your ingredients. Did you lift this recipe from Difford’s and forget to convert or something? 😉
75 g light brown sugar
125 g white sugar
175 g flour
Imma try this out soon. Your recipes generally Do Not Suck (Love me a Kingston Club) so I am hopeful the cookies won’t make the kids vomit.
Haha it was very intentional. Those measurements are not by volume for a very specific reason: measuring them by weight is much more accurate. Sure, I could have included US weights as well as metric, but your kitchen scale will do both, so why bother typing it twice?
Hi Jeffrey. In my much smaller circle of influence I too am the cookie / cocktail guy, so I love this post! I figured I’d share a few of my own hot tips that crossover:
1. Try amplifying your vanilla with a 50/50 vanilla+angostura mix! It’s been my secret ingredient for a while now as just a touch really sets off good chocolate with a bit of additional complexity. It also give it a hint of that adult flavor without being perceivably identifiable; nobody has guessed it yet. Same overall flavoring volume, just 50/50.
2. We have similar ingredient levels (mine have more flour and sugar for additional edge structure) but I’d suggest being careful about egg size. USDA large eggs have 50g per dozen *on average* but individual eggs can vary +/-20% which can really throw off a batch. I actually built my recipe to use multiples / ratios from the egg itself – which is basically how I build cocktails too.
3. If you or others want to try yet another fine-tuned, long-honed recipe mine is here: http://devansdesign.com/personal/#/cookies/
Love it!
That’s a cool tip and a great blog post, there, Dave! Thanks for sharing!
These cookies are SO delicious! Both I – a chocolate chip cookie maker of many (koff) decades experience – and my teenage son loved them! The texture is really good, and I find that to be one of the biggest issues with chocolate chip cookies, and the flavor is fantastic. Plus they were also a breeze to make. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I’d love to eat 12 fresh baked cookies but I’m not that far down the quarantine rabbit hole yet. Since I’m solo at home, can the dough be frozen and still come out the same? Should I bring the frozen dough to room temp? Thanks for sharing your recipe! Homemade CCC are my fave dessert.
Kaci – Yes, I freeze the dough all the time. Just let it thaw completely before baking it. You can also bake the cookies ahead of time and then put them in the freezer. They’re so chewy they’re even really good frozen!
Learned about this recipe the other day when watching David Lebovitz and you on his IG Live. I just made these today and they are exactly what I like–chewy in the center but crispy on the edges. This my new go-to choc chip cookie recipe now and I just threw out the other two I’ve been using. Thanks for sharing this!
I’m so happy to hear this, Janet!
Jeff, do you put the flaked salt on the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven so that it sticks to the cookie?
I do! I even press the flakes (very lightly) with my hand so they stick into the warm cookie before they cool!
I have been cutting out sugar for the last several batches and couldn’t understand why it was pale and didn’t spread. Tried this recipe as is and it’s fan -freaking -tastic! Thank youu!!
Haha yeah these are pretty high in sugar but it’s a very necessary component. I combat the high sugar intake by devouring one when they come out of the oven and then putting the rest in the freezer (out of sight, out of mind) after they’ve cooled. 🙂
These are UTTERLY delicious! And so is your Amaretto Sour recipe – so glad David Lebovitz led me to discover you! Can’t wait to try your cocktails in person someday when it’s safe.
I’m grateful to him as well! Glad you’re enjoying the cookies… and the Amaretto Sour!
Thank you! Everyone who bit into one of these said, “These are the perfect texture!”
I got 28 reasonably sized cookies from this recipe. Can’t imagine how large only 12 would be!
That’s what I love to hear! Glad everyone enjoyed them!
Hi! I’ve been reading your website for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Austin Tx! Just wanted to say keep up the fantastic work!
I’m late to the party, but finally baked these today and they are AMAZING. To be honest, I was skeptical about the oven temp, thought it would be too high; but like any good homecook, I was dedicated to following the recipe faithfully the first time. They turned out gloriously chewy. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that, Marie! Really glad you enjoyed them!
Ask me what happens when you read the recipe wrong and use 1 Cup of butter instead of 1 cube……chocolate chip florentines. I’m not mad. But I will try again 🙂
Oh, I’m gonna whip up a batch right now. Today really needs some cookies and I have been searching for a great choc chip recipe. I love that you adapted it from The Joy of Cooking. I’m always asking ppl what their go to Joy of Cooking recipe is 😂 Thank you!
Seems like a great day for some chocolate chip cookies.
THESE ARE GREAT. Made them for the second time just now, this time adding walnuts and taking down the chocolate chips a bit, by a 1/4 cup. And of course doubling the vanilla extract, because I always do that. And of course finishing with Maldon salt. Having pandemic-purchased a stand mixer, I’d been looking for a chocolate cookie recipe and was weirdly uninspired by all I came across. Until I saw David Lebovitz talking these up on his site. So I took the plunge. And I gotta say again: THESE ARE GREAT.
So thank you so much for disseminating your secret….
Now wondering what’s your favorite Campari cocktail to make. (Assuming you have one!)
P.S. appreciating the typeface you chose for your site!
Hey Gina! So glad you’re enjoying the cookies, and I think a stand mixer is an excellent pandemic purchase. As for my favorite Campari cocktail, I’d say that right now (since it’s almost summer) it would have to be the Blended Negroni. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
These are the perfect cc cookies. I like the thin, crisp type and this recipe is the winner!!
ps Many thanks for the extra pounds!
Hahaha my pleasure!!
This is a fantastic recipe. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you! And it’s my absolute pleasure.
Any tips on how to keep my partner out of the dough overnight?
I find a heavy chain and padlock work pretty well!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made this last night and can’t stop eating these cookies! I actually used 1.5 teaspoon of crushed dried lavender flowers (in lieu of the vanilla extract) and really enjoy the floral flavor it lends the cookies. Thanks again and can’t wait to make another batch of these cookies
So glad you’re enjoying them, Kayleigh!
I made these over the weekend and gave some to a discerning chocolate chip cookie fanatic and she loved them and asked for the recipe. I used a mix of bittersweet and milk chocolate chips. Perfection.
I’m so happy to hear that!
Jeffrey, thank you! The second I tasted the dough I was nearly in tears because it very distinctly took me back to the cookies I’d make with my mom and the always full jar of them my grandma kept. The taste memory was exact and strong. Thank you! You’ve given not only a delicious recipe but conjured very beloved memories for me.
Hello! I made these over the weekend and found them delicious — a more sophisticated version of the classic (but not TOO sophisticated). Thank you!
I’ll take that as high praise! Thank you so much and I’m glad you liked them.
I’m a newbie baker so I just want to add that these should prob NOT be baked on the bottom rack, I ate all the ones that didn’t burn in one sitting because they are that good and tossed the rest… it’s not like I needed to have 12+ chocolate chip cookies in the house anyways 🤣 Maybe specify the middle rack? And I only had a 3tbsp scoop and managed to get 14 cookies and the timing was perfect (except for the burnt bottoms lol) Dangerously delicious, thank you Sir!
Oh no! Sorry that happened to you, yes I’ll be sure to specify middle rack.
Always late to the party, I just found your recipe on Instagram this morning and made it immediately. Now I want to bless you and curse you for this recipe. These cookies are so, so good — and so easy! I no longer feel cookie-challenged. And a fellow Portlander! You are my new hero.
Awww I’m so happy to hear that you liked them. And, you know, very sorry about that. 😂
I guess this lockdown was a blessing in disguise. I didn’t end up going back to California to visit my family over Easter and a wedding. And normally I schlepp back all sorts of foodstuffs back to Germany, like Toll House chocolate chip cookies (because I ran out months ago!), brown sugar, vanilla extract, etc. And because I don’t have a package of the Toll House choc chips anymore, I’ve been open to new recipes of chocolate chip cookies. I am so glad I came across yours! It beats all the others I’ve tried. And definitely no going back to the back of the package recipe. Thank you! The whole family loves it and agrees it’s the best by far. Liebe Grüße from southern Germany!
That’s great! And herzliche grüße back at you!!
I’ve tried many cc cookie recipes .. these are truly special. Thank-you for sharing! I also sprinkled with sea salt when they came out the oven. Perfection!!
So happy to hear that Beth!!
April 25th:
This date you started working at the bar, the date of this article and my birthdate. So 3’s a charm… definitely making this recipe.
I’m now following you on IG thanks to David Lebovitz.
Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like fate! 🙂
These sounds like my kind of cookies. I don’t like those doughy pillowy ones. Thank you for sharing and bonus that I can use my scale for them. So so much easier. Hello to PDX from LA.
Insanely good! Made about 20 here too.
Thanks for all you do to keep me overweight and inebriated!
Hahaha my pleasure! So glad you liked the cookies! They’ve been keeping me relatively sane.
Made these yesterday and assumed there would be a few leftover for today. Wrong! Great recipe and thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy they worked out and that you enjoyed them!
Oh my gosh, these cookies–so good.
Thank you, Jeffrey!
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed them.
Also finished with some Jacobsen coffee salt flakes which used Stumptown coffee. Makes me miss Portland.
Thanks for this! I didn’t read the comments about the yield being ~20, so I made 12 large cookies and the family is happy. Cheers, and hope to see you again at the re-formed Clyde Common or Pepe le Moko after this mess settles down.
Really glad you enjoyed them, Kevin.
Thanks for sharing. Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I use whatever I have on hand. If I’m using unsalted, I add a pinch more salt. If I’m using salted, I use a pinch less.
Do you leave them to cool on the pan or transfer them to a cooling rack?
Honestly I feel like either one is fine. My sheet pan is aluminum and I have a Silpat, so they don’t cook much more after I take them out of the oven if I forget and just leave them on the sheet. But putting them on a rack once they’ve cooled a little is great too. So glad you’re making these, Caroline!!
How much/what is
1 stick butter?
Thanks.
A stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 113 grams.
Thanks for sharing! I’m sure they will be just as amazing as any cocktail recipe you’ve shared. #keeptruckin #yourock
My pleasure! I hope you enjoy them.
Sounds amazing – thanks so much for sharing! Echoing an earlier comment- love that this makes 12!
Well, it makes 12 per sheet pan. I think it makes about 20 total cookies.
Wow, such a gracious gestures. Thank you.
It’s my pleasure, Susan.
I’ve been “therapy baking” for weeks now, specifically trying out chocolate chip cookie recipes. I will add this one to my list entitled: Lockdown Bakes. Thanks for being real!
Lara
Be sure to let us know what you think of them!
I love that this recipe makes 12! Although I never usually have trouble giving out the extras!
These sound wonderful. Thanks for the recipe!
It’s my pleasure!