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Some desserts I have to be in the mood to eat. When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, however, I could always have one (or two).
The kind of chocolate chip cookie I’m in the mood for can vary, though. Crispy, chewy, gooey, nutty – there are so many different kinds. One of my favorites will always be the crisp and chewy yet melty and gooey kind that are best still warm with a glass of milk.
Cookie dough is great, but my greatest weakness has to be cookies just out of the oven. I mean, is there any aroma more intoxicating? My last meal on earth would have to include these giant chocolate chip cookies (maybe also some brownies) because they are that over-the-top good.
This recipe was partially inspired by Levain Bakery. I had the opportunity to visit recently and while the cookies were absolutely gorgeous, I found them to be too much.
Which is something I never thought I’d say. But you could only have a few bites before you felt such a heaviness sitting in your stomach. I think it’s because the center of those cookies is so underdone and gooey. I actually enjoyed their cookies much more the next day, strangely enough.
So this is my dream version of a huge, big, giant chocolate chip cookie that’s over the top but still edible and enjoyable to the last bite, both while they’re still warm and gooey, and for days later!
Check out the pink box below for my recipe tips and answers to common questions!
How to Make PERFECT Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use COLD Butter for These Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- I know, this seems to go against everything you’ve learned about the temperature butter should be when creaming.
- If you’ve read Tip #1 in my 3 Reasons Your Cookies Flop article, then you’ll know the calamity warm butter can cause your cookies.
- Overly warm butter all but ensures your cookies will spread out too thin and sad.
- This recipe was developed to use cold butter to ensure that the cookies stay ultra thick and tall and don’t flatten. Because of this, it’s best to use a stand mixer and not a hand mixer for this recipe.
Chocolate Chips + Chocolate Chunks = Maximum Gooeyness!
- I use both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks in this recipe to get the most gooey delicousness possible.
- If using chocolate chunks, be sure to chop up the chocolate yourself. Pre-made chocolate chunks won’t get as gooey.
- You can also use baking wafers, discs, or feves such as these in place of the chunks.
Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder in Cookies
This recipe for Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies uses both baking powder and baking soda for the best of both worlds.
- Baking powder and baking soda are both chemical leaveners that work to create light textures in baked goods.
- Although baking powder actually contains baking soda, the two leaveners are very different.
- Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable – just take a look at the impact the type of leavener used had on each of the cookies below!
- Find out more about the shocking differences between these two leaveners in my Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder article.
How to Shape Giant Cookie Dough Balls
- I used my biggest cookie scoop with a kitchen scale to get accurate portions of this dough.
- Each ball of dough is a whopping quarter pound!
- Top each cookie dough ball with a few extra chocolate chunks for picture-perfect cookies.
Sea Salt: The Secret to Extra Tasty Cookies!
This is optional, but you can add a sprinkling of flaky finishing sea salt to the cookies right after pulling them out of the oven really brings out that butterscotch flavor. I love fleur de sel for this. Not to mention it makes the cookies that much more mouthwatering visually!
How to Make These Cookies Ahead of Time
- These cookies are particularly best the day they’re baked, in my opinion.
- For this reason, I prefer to freeze the balls of cookie dough.
- If baking from frozen, reduce the heat to 340°F and add a few minutes to the baking time.
- Get my full instructions on how to freeze cookie dough here.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
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3
cups
(380 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1
teaspoon
fine sea salt
-
1
teaspoon
baking powder
-
1/4
teaspoon
baking soda
-
2
sticks (227 grams) cold unsalted butter,
cubed
-
3/4
cup
(150 grams) granulated sugar
-
1 1/4
cups
(250 grams) packed light brown sugar
-
2
large eggs
-
2
teaspoons
vanilla extract
-
1 1/2
cups
(255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
-
1
cup
semisweet chocolate chunks or wafers
-
Flaky sea salt
-
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
-
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until well combined and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add in the vanilla and beat until combined. Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed until combined. Beat in the chocolate chips and half the chunks.
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Weigh out 1/4 cup (4 ounces or 113 gram) portions of dough and roll into an even ball. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing far apart. Bake 6 cookies per pan. Press chocolate chunks into the top of each ball of dough.
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Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cookies are slightly browned at the edges and puffy. Bake longer for crispier, chewier cookies, bake less for ooey gooey cookies. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.
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Cookies will deflate slightly as they cool. They are best the day they are baked but may be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.
This post was originally published in 2012 and updated recently with recipe improvements, baking tips, and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
May 2020 Baking Challenge
This recipe was the selection for the May 2020 baking challenge! See the entries below and check out the current monthly challenge here!
Delicious cookies! The best chocolate chip recipe I’ve used before
Should the oven be on convection or normal?
Hi Tom! This recipe’s listed temperature is for normal conventional baking, but if you wish to bake using your oven’s convection setting, check out Tessa’s article on ovens for tips on that here!
I ordered the cookbook. I hope it’s in this week. I’m so excited! My only question is I bought pre-cut chunks of chocolate now I want to go out and buy the bar and chop it myself because you said it’s better that way. But chocolate has so many different, variations. Can you tell me the exact kind of chocolate you used in this recipe that you chopped up into chunks thank you so much.!!!!
Hi Deborah! Feel free to use the chocolate chunks you have on hand – they just won’t get quite as gooey as if you were to chop baking chocolate bars yourself. Tessa loves Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars. Feel free to use a mix of chocolate chips, chunks and chopped bars, too! Happy baking 🙂
Hi!
I was thinking of making these cookies but they would have to “survive” 2 days before being eaten (I would like to send them to my boyfriend by mail – the shipping takes two days from cookies being taken out the oven to him eating them). Is this a bad idea? Will they go bad? I might add that when I use a different recipe for normal-sized cookies, he says they are delicious when he gets them.
Hi Zofia! These cookies are definitely best on the day they’re baked, but they should still be good after a 2-day trip in the mail – just not as amazing as when fresh. We hope your boyfriend loves them! 🙂
Hi, was thinking of using your cookie recipe for a large heart shaped tin (8”). What would you suggest would be my bake time and how would I take it out without cracking the cookie? Thank you!
Hi Ruchi! I actually recommend trying Tessa’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe instead for this – it’s designed to be a larger 9-inch cookie cake, so the bake time should be similar (you’ll need to add a few minutes for an 8-inch pan because it will be slightly thicker). To avoid cracking when removing from the tin, line the tin with parchment paper or foil, allowing some extra overlap on the outer edges, so you can easily pick the cookie cake up and out of the tin. Wait until the cookie cake it completely at room temperature before attempting removal. You can also try placing the cookie cake in the freezer until slightly more solid, to further prevent cracking. Good luck and happy baking 🙂
Hi! I’m going to be making these for a school bake sale, so I need to make several batches. I’d like to make the dough a couple days ahead. I know Tessa often recommends letting the dough chill for up to 72 hours, but since that isn’t mentioned here, I wondered if that might be a bad idea?
I made these during the baking challenge, and they were delicious! I found them to be just a little too big, so I used about half and reduced the bake time by a few minutes. They still tasted great!
Hi Kate! We are so glad to hear that you enjoy these cookies so much! Yes, you can absolutely make this dough ahead and refrigerate up to 72 hours – we just don’t mention it because it isn’t totally necessary here, because of the chilled butter, but there’s no reason why you can’t! Happy baking 🙂
Thank you so much for the quick reply! The cookies came out perfectly!! They were so popular at the bake sale, the kids came back for more!!
Yay! That’s SO wonderful to hear, Kate! 🙂
These are absolutely the best cookies! I work for a chocolatier and brought in a batch. Every person told me they were, hands down, the best chocolate chip cookies they had ever had. They love them so much they want me to bake for the shop them featuring their chocolates. I made another batch for us to sample featuring their milk chocolate peanut butter meltaways (you can use peanut butter cups) and a turtle (3/4 c each of pecans and caramels). I highly recommended both versions on top of the original. Truly the best of both worlds cookie, crispy yet chewy, loaded with chocolate but surprisingly not overwhelming. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
That’s so amazing to hear, Michelle! So glad these cookies were such a hit for you! Those flavor variations sound incredible 🙂
Made with only abt 100g sugar and 150g brown sugar and it still tastes great and have a nice spread.
Love, love, love these chocolate chip cookies!! They are always best while still a little warm but still gooey and delicious when they are completely cooled too. I like to make these and follow the instructions for freezing the dough. Once they are frozen it’s very easy to have warm gooey goodness on cold days. Or, if it has been a rough day my husband finds it easy to make me a cookie. I put all the baking instructions on the freezer bag (tip for the ladies out there to get their husbands to bake up a cookie!!)
Thank you for sharing the recipe Tessa!
Hi, I love you website. I am the type of man who has trouble making coffee. But….., your directions and layout for each cookie makes it a whole lot easier to create the cookies without my whole family saying “no thanks, trying to lose weight”. So my first attempt will be the crispy cookies.
I do have a couple questions about other baking type problems. The first question is that when I try to ice a cake, it tears up the top of the cake. I do fear that the answer is that I am using the lazy mans way of baking…..Pre-made cake mixes and pre-made icing. I use Betty Crocker super moist cake mix and Pillsbury chocolate fudge frosting. Even if I warm the icing, it will still tear the skin of the cake off. Maybe I should make it from scratch.
By the way, I am an older man, a widower who doesn’t know how to cook except for burgers, dogs, and steak, of which I have only mastered one – steak. Do you step out of the bakery field and create master burgers? How can I keep from making my siblings prefer Macdonalds over my burgers?
The last question I have is about bar cookies. Do you have any particular layered bar cookies that you would recommend, as well as tips for our taking?
I hope you actually get to red this in lieu of an assistance(s). You have a very warm and endearing personality, and of course, very pretty with a contagious smile.
Sorry for the length, have a great day and remember that just one smile can change a persons life.
Hi David! Thanks so much for your comment! I will definitely pass your compliments along to Tessa! To answer your questions:
– When icing a cake, always make sure that your cake layers are 100% cooled. I actually prefer to make my cakes a day ahead, wrap each layer well in plastic wrap, and place in the freezer overnight. Frosting frozen cakes is a breeze, because they’re a lot sturdier this way! Also, it sounds like your pre-packaged frosting might be too firm. Place it in a bowl and beat it on low for a few minutes. This will loosen it up without warming it up (warm frosting can get soupy fast), and the low speed will prevent it from aerating too much (which is also not preferable). Of course, if you feel you’re ready to venture into scratch-made frostings, Tessa has countless on the website that are delicious. Be sure to check out the pink tip box above each recipe for her fantastic tips and so much great info!
– Unfortunately, we are bakers and I can’t give you too much assistance when it comes to burgers! I’m sure a good search online will provide you with more info there!
– Finally, you can find all Tessa’s cookie bars here!
Have a wonderful day and happy baking!!
Hey guys, I’m back again with another successful finished product!
I was so happy with the brown butter chocolate chip cookies, that I also wanted to try other cookies on your website.
While the former came out soft and chewy, crisp slightly, these came out with a loud crisper with an even softer texture and gooey center. So one is chewy and the other isn’t for a nice variety!
I put a little bit of hershey’s symphony toffee and Rolo for “decoration” and a bit of variety.
My mom loved these and she normally doesn’t like to eat cookies! Great recipe once again guys and gals!
Here it is 🙂
https://imgur.com/a/k7Fg9VR
I have been trying to find the perfect giant chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I’m pretty sure I finally found it. I did the recipe by grams, made the 4 Oz balls, and added some with and without walnuts. They taste amazing! To bad I can’t add pictures so you guys can see what they look like. I would definitely recommend this recipie as is.
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed these cookies so much, Brandy!