Chocolate Chunk Cookies — These chocolate chunk cookies are made with both chocolate chunks AND chips. These are hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!
Table of Contents
Best Ever Cookies … with Chocolate Chunks!
I’ve been on the quest to find the perfect end-all be-all chocolate chip cookie recipe. And this recipe is as close as I’ve come.
These chunky chocolate chip cookies are so soft, similar to Keebler Soft-Batch Cookies, minus the store-bought taste. And they bake up with the perfect height; not too thick or overly domed and not too thin like flat pancakes.
I stuffed these cookies to the max with both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. As the cookies bake, the chips retain their shape more than the chunks, which turn into oozing luxurious puddles.
What Makes These Chocolate Chunk Cookies “The Best?”
If you’re looking for an easy, straightforward, chocolate chunk cookie recipe that yields fantastic results, I encourage you to give this one a try. These cookies are as close to my definition of The Perfect Cookie as I’ve come and here are the highlights why I love the recipe:
- No two-day waiting period between making the dough and baking the cookies — and dough chilling is optional.
- No egg plus yolk situation to contend with so nothing is wasted.
- The overall batch size is manageable, about two dozen.
- Each cookie is decent-sized, but not ginormous.
- The cookies get softer, not harder or drier, the next day and continue to stay soft for up to a week.
- The holy grail of cookie qualities are present — thick, puffy, soft, and chewy.
And let’s not forget, there are two kinds of chocolate in every bite! The more the merrier.
Ingredients in Chocolate Chunk Cookies
To make this chocolate chunk cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Bread flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Bittersweet chocolate
How to Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
The double chocolate chunk cookies come together quickly, although you do have to chill the dough before baking it (no way around it, sorry!). Let’s review how the cookies loaded with chocolate chunks are prepared:
- Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla, then stir in the dry ingredients.
- Add the chocolate chunks and chips last, then scoop the dough into balls.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough balls for about 2 hours before baking them.
- Bake until barely golden brown around the edges, even if slightly undercooked in the center.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
How Long Should You Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I recommend baking 8 to 9 minutes, and not more than 10 minutes, period. I found given the size of my dough mounds, my oven, and my taste preferences, 9 minutes is the magic number for me. Even though the centers will seem underdone at 8 or 9 minutes, as the cookies cool out of the oven, they firm up.
If you wait to pull the cookies until they look done, as they cool they will set up far too firm and crumbly and won’t stay soft and chewy. Don’t overbake.
Cookie Baking FAQs
I used two types of flour in these chocolate chunk cookies, both bread and all-purpose flour. The original recipe just calls for all-purpose but because bread flour adds extra chewiness and since my dream cookie is one with a high degree of chewiness, I utilized a combination of bread flour and all-purpose.
If you don’t have bread flour, solely using all-purpose is fine. Your cookies may not be quite as chewy nor as thick, since bread flour also lends increased structure to baked goods, but they’ll still be plenty good.
Unbaked cookie dough may be refrigerated for up to 5 days prior to baking it, or frozen for up to 3 months
The chewiness comes from the bread flour in this particular recipe (see above for my answer to that FAQ).
To create a soft cookie, you need to use larger amounts of dough. I used about 2.25 ounces dough per cookie. I weighed each mound of dough, but if you don’t have a scale or don’t want to be bothered, that translates to two heaping tablespoons of dough, and with the chocolate pieces dangling off, possibly 3 tablespoons.
I learned when I made those cookies that a larger mass of dough allows the cookie center to remain soft and tender since it never gets the chance to dry out or overbake while the edges crisp up.
I chilled the cookie dough before baking it and always advocate doing so because as dough chills, the flavors marry and cold dough spreads less during baking, resulting in puffier and thicker cookies.
Brown sugar helps cookies stay softer and gives them a richer flavor profile since brown sugar has more depth of flavor than granulated sugar does. Ironically, cookies made with more brown than granulated sugar become softer over time as they absorb atmospheric moisture, rather than drying out.
Where this chocolate chunk cookie recipe veers way off the path compared to any other cookie recipe I’ve ever tried is that it uses cornstarch, and just two mere teaspoons, but enough to work its softening magic. Cornstarch is not only a softening agent, but it’s also a thickening agent. Just as it thickens gravy or soup, it helps to create thick and puffy cookies.
Nope! You may use one or the other, if desired. I was going to make the cookies exclusively using semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I enjoy having a variety of textures and flavors in my cookies, especially when those textures and flavors are of the chocolate variety. I opted to use both semi-sweet chocolate chips and bittersweet chocolate chunks, courtesy of a Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar.
Recipe Variations to Try
It’s easy to customize this recipe for chocolate chip chunk cookies! You may add up to 12 ounces (roughly 2 cups, but no more) of mix-ins, such as:
- Chopped nuts
- White chocolate chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Diced candy bar pieces
- Dried fruit
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Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed (I use light)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour*, See Notes
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
- 6 ounces 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 6 ounces bittersweet or dark baking chocolate, chopped into bite-sized chunks (I use Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus bar)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flours, corn starch, baking soda, salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the chocolate chips and chunks, and either fold in by hand or beat for a few seconds on low speed.
- Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop, form heaping mounds weighing 2 1/4-ounces each (weighed on a scale, which is approximately a scant 1/4-cup measure. Dough mounds will look large for their weight because there’s lots of chocolate pieces adding bulk).
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plasticwrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart; I bake 8 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges, even if slightly undercooked in the center, noting the tops will not be browned and will be pale. Do not cook longer than ten minutes as cookies will darken and firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for 8 minutes, rotated once midway through baking, and have chewy edges with soft pillowy centers).
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- *Edited to add May 2013 – I prefer these cookies using exclusively all-purpose flour and have stopped baking them with a combination of all-purpose and bread flour. I am leaving the recipe up as I wrote it back in 2012, but note that I prefer all-purpose because the cookies are softer, more tender, and more moist.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
You can check out all of my chocolate chip cookie recipes HERE.
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This recipe reminds me a lot of New York Time’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I tried just recently. I’ll try this recipe and compare. :) Also, do you know if I can use just brown sugar? I love the taste of brown sugar, plus it’ll be slightly healthier. I don’t see why not if you can use dark brown sugar in this recipe.
They are NOTHING like the NYT recipe. https://www.averiecooks.com/2012/11/new-york-times-chocolate-chips-cookies-from-jacques-torres.html
I personally think the NYT recipe is just not really..for me. They are too thin, crispy, and not soft enough over time. The first day they are good but after that, meh, not really for me.
These Choc Chip & Chunk Cookies though..I love them!
I have also made this version which just uses AP flour, not bread flour https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/05/soft-and-chewy-snickers-chocolate-chip-cookies.html (I actually prefer this dough base)
Either way, you will LOVE these cookies. I recommend just leaving the sugar as written b/c they are PERFECT. Experiment if you wish, of course, but I love them just the way they are.
mine weren’t chewy, just very very soft. what did i do wrong//
The cornstarch makes them very soft! They are more of a soft cookie than a chewy cookie in general. You could use all bread flour next time; scale back the cornstarch or omit it; or bake longer.
Any of the above will firm them up and give you more of a chewy rather than soft cookie.
I just made a tester batch of these for work – alas, making a second since these were devoured in entirety before they even cooled off! My new #1! Used a choc combo of 1/3 bittersweet chips, 1/3 semi sweet & 1/3 chopped milk choc (from one of those two pound two-dollar Easter bunnies from Walmart!) Unreal – you’re the new goddess of cookies!
Erin thanks for the glowing report! So glad they were a big hit and I love that you worked in the chopped chocolate bunny. God, those things can really linger. Great thinking! I will need to do that here in a week or so. Thanks for LMK they turned out so well, the test batch was devoured :)
This post is making me question my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. But to be honest, I’ve been kinda wanting to change it up. I’m a fan of using more brown sugar as well and for the same reasons. These look amazing and I think I’ll try them out next time I make cookies.
Cheat on your recipe, just once, with these. I think you’ll be sold :)
There’s also a very similar M & M’s version I made using this dough base https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2013/03/soft-and-chewy-mms-cookies.html
The timing on the cookies is off…they came out under cooked.
All ovens and preferences vary; cook another minute or two until done in your oven and to your liking.
These are delicious and currently my #1 chocolate chip cookie. I agree with you that it’s awesome that they still taste great a few days later. It’s a little dangerous, too.. ;)
Made the cookies for the first time tonight, and they were half successful…I rolled them into little balls and they didn’t flatten at all, for some reason. The second batch, I flattened them a bit, but they didn’t flatten further. Baking soda should be fresh, I think (wasn’t sure how to test it, just in case). They got a little overdone as I waited for them to flatten, so the texture was a little funky. Dough wasn’t chilled either, which should have helped with the spreading. Any tips for me? Loved the taste of the cookie! Also experimented by with using white and dark chocolate chips, which was delicious :)
Are you in a dry climate? Sometimes when things stay very domed/very structured, it means it’s dry. That happens to me in San Diego. Next time around, make flatter shapes, not as ball-like or as mounded OR just smoosh them down more into patties rather than balls. Easy fix :) Enjoy!
Nope, I don’t think so. I’m in Vancouver BC, which is probably one of the wettest places on earth. Would overmixing contribute to the problem? Also, what does cornstarch do to the cookies (out of curiosity)?
Oops, saw that you answered the question about cornstarch above already. Silly me. I am wondering though, whether it helps with the chewiness or just helps with the softness.
Overmixing will (over)develop the glutens and in bread flour, with a higher gluten content already, yes, you sort of made loaves of ‘cookie bread’ if you overmixed at all! That could be the culprit.
As far as cornstarch, I discussed in detail – about 3 paragraphs worth – in the post about it. Reread!
OMG. These are so good – they’re cooling on my counter right now. The only things I did differently were to make them 1.25 oz each (yep, I’m crazy with the food scale, too) and to sprinkle a bit of fleur de sel on each cookie right before baking. They’re out of CONTROL. Soft and chewy and chocolatey – using the TJ’s pound plus bar (I only had dark chocolate on hand) and the TJ’s semisweet chips makes such a huge difference, too – these cookies are worthy of the high-quality chocolate! Thanks for such a great recipe – I’ll blog about them soon and link back here to the recipe so everyone can see your gorgeous photos. Now I’m going to go pack them up for my friends – lucky friends. :)
Thanks for the glowing field report and spelling out exactly what you did. I love it when I know what people did, down to the size and chips/type used! You have very lucky friends :) And thanks for trying them and linking back if you end up blogging about them!
For the Chocoloate Chip and Chunk Cookies….can you use Cake Flour in place of bread flour? That’s what I have and I have everything else that goes in them…was just about to get ready to make them when I discovered that they call for bread flour not cake flour… Please let me know as soon as you possibly can…
Thank You!
I can’t wait to try these.. and if I’m able to use cake flour – I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Brenda :)
Cake and bread flour are on the two opposite ends of the spectrum, so no, not interchangeable, at all! If you only have all-purpose and cake flour, just simply use AP for all the flour in the recipe (2 cups of it) and omit any other kinds. Don’t, I repeat DO NOT, use cake flour in these cookies. They will turn out tasting like…cake. Ick! I don’t like cakey cookies and would never use flour making them taste cakey! Just stick with AP!
Hi Averie….I found you through Jackie at Marin Mama Cooks and made these delicious cookies last night. Soft, pillowy and yet still chewy – Yum! I’ve never used bread flour or cornstarch in my cookies but will from now on! My batter was on the dry side so I added a few tablespoons of water to get the right consistency. Before putting them in the oven I added Maldon sea salt to the tops, like Jackie does in one of her chocolate chip cookie recipes, and it added another level of amazingness! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thanks for finding me & for LMK you tried these and are so happy with the results! Yes, like all doughs sometimes small tweaks on the order of a tbsp or two of something are necessary and adapting as necessary based on how things look in the mixing bowl is key. Wish everyone did that :) Good call on the water! And so glad you’re happy with the cookies. Please LMK if you try other things!
Wow, I don’t even know what to say. I thought when I found the Ghirardelli recipe many years ago I was done experimenting with chocolate chip cookies. It didn’t seem like there was any room for improvement. But I was intrigued by the idea of using bread flour and cornstarch, and you explained the recipe so well (and made the cookies sound so good) that I had to try yours. I cannot even believe how amazing they are! They taste delicious, they have the perfect texture, and they just look so darned pretty. I am an instant fan; thank you so much for changing the way I think about chocolate chip cookies!
Laura the comment you left me here, as well as the other, are the reasons I blog! Seriously! Knowing that you can cook and put faith in the Ghirardelli recipe, but decided to cheat on it with my recipe, and are blown away…well, that’s high praise and I am thrilled you did! “They taste delicious, they have the perfect texture, and they just look so darned pretty.” — agreed! And unlike the NYTtimes recipe, my recipe isn’t fussy like that one. And those cookies turn out too thin for me anyway. Don’t be a stranger and write to LMK what else you try!