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If you are a fan of chocolate chip cookies, you generally fall into one of two camps: thin and crispy, or thick and chewy. This particular recipe is for the latter — thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies is what I grew up with and it remains my favorite cookie to this day. (Psssst…looking for thin and crispy cookies? Here you go.)
There were two major influences on this chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe: the Nestle Toll House back-of-the-package recipe (which I think we can all agree is pretty much The Standard as far as chocolate chip cookies go) and a recipe from Christina Tosi’s cookbook Milk Bar Life.
It’s thanks to Christina’s chocolate chip cookie recipe that I discovered the wonders of this one special ingredient that makes all the difference.
Milk Powder!
Video! How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Secret Ingredient for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Have you ever used powdered milk in chocolate chip cookies, or any cookies for that matter?
Before coming across Christina’s recipe, it had never occurred to me to use milk powder in anything except my California Emergency Earthquake Preparedness Kit. But as I learned from Christina’s recipe, milk powder gives cookies a distinct chewiness as well as a subtle caramel flavor that (for me) takes a cookie from good to amazing.
You don’t need much. Just two tablespoons will improve the texture, though I admit that I’ve gone as high as four tablespoons on occasion and been please with the results.
Milk powder, also called powdered milk, keeps forever in the pantry (which is why it’s so good in emergency kits). Even once the package is opened, milk powder will keep for several months if kept in an airtight container.
Adapting the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Aside from the milk powder, this is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe — though I daresay I’ve managed to make a few improvements on the classic.
- I prefer an equal mix of brown sugar and regular white sugar, just like the original Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I’ve found that I like ever-so-slightly more flour in my cookies. This gives the cookies a sturdier structure that is both satisfying to eat and also less likely to crumble when squished into a lunchbox or shipped to a friend.
- I also highly recommend giving the batter at least a 30-minute chill, or up to overnight, in the fridge before scooping the cookies and baking them. This lets the dough have time to hydrate and firm up. If you’re in a rush, it’s fine to bake them right away, but they will spread out more and have a thinner, more delicate structure.
- Bake these cookies only until you see that the tops are fully puffed and the edges are starting to look toasty, then let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack. As they cool, the puffy dome will collapse on top of the chocolate chips inside, giving the chocolate chip cookies their signature crinkled, craggy appearance.
Want Even Chewier Cookies?
When you use a mixer to beat the butter and sugar, you also mix in a lot of air, which makes the cookies fluffier. So here’s a hot tip: for extra-chewy cookies, mix your cookie dough by hand using a stiff wooden spoon or spatula. The result will be a slightly denser, more compact cookie.
Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Add-Ins
If you’re feeling wild, add up to 3/4 cup of any of the following:
- Chopped nuts
- Peanut butter chips
- Crumbled graham crackers
- Rice krispies or cornflakes
- Toffee chips or other small candy
Storing & Freezing Chocolate Chip Cookies
This chocolate chip cookie recipe makes cookies that are absolutely irresistible on the day they are made: the edges are buttery and crispy, the middles are soft and chewy, and the chocolate chips are perfectly semi-melty.
They lose some of their crispness overnight, becoming softer. But I promise they are no less delicious and no less capable of satisfying your cookie cravings.
- Store chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezer instructions: Freeze individual scoops of dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm. Transfer to a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer, adding an extra minute or two to the cooking time.
More Great Chocolate Chip Cookies to Try!
- Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brookies (Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies)
- Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Use 2 tablespoons milk powder for a subtle chewiness; use up to 4 tablespoons for a chewier texture and more distinct flavor.
For an even chewier texture, mix the cookie dough by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Adapted from Nestle Toll House.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 (350 g) cups all-purpose four
- 2-4 tablespoons nonfat milk powder (see Recipe Note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (161 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounce bag (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
Special equipment:
Method
1 Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, milk powder, salt, and baking soda and whisk to mix. Set aside.
2 Beat the sugars and the butter: With an electric mixer or in a stand mixer with a beater attachment, beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and softened butter on medium speed until combined, 30 to 60 seconds. Pick out any large pebbles of hard brown sugar that you see. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters.
3 Mix in the eggs and vanilla: Add the two eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture and beat at medium speed until no clumps or streaks remain, 10 to 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters.
4 Mix in the flour mixture: Add the flour mixture all at once. Beat on low speed just until no more dry streaks of flour are visible, 20 to 40 seconds. You may still see some flecks of milk powder -- this is fine.
5 Mix in the chocolate chips: Add all of the chocolate chips and beat on low speed for just a few seconds until the chips are evenly incorporated.
6 Chill the dough: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beater. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to three days. (Or freeze in individual scoops for up to 3 months.)
7 Heat the oven to 375F: Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheet with silicon baking mats or parchment.
I usually bake my cookies one sheet at a time to help them bake evenly. If you prefer, or are crunched for time, bake two sheets at a time with one sheet in the upper third of the oven and the other in the lower third of the oven.
8 Scoop the dough: Use a medium cookie scoop (or a well-mounded tablespoon measure) to scoop the dough out onto one of the baking sheet. Space the cookies about 2 inches apart.
9 Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes: While the first batch bakes, scoop the cookies for the next batch.
The cookies are done when they look slightly puffed in the middle and are starting to turn toasty at the edges.
10 Cool the cookies: Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, or until the puffed middles collapse and the cookies have firmed a little. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
11 Continue baking cookies in batches until all the cookie dough has been used.
12 Enjoy! These cookies are at their best on the day they are made. Store leftovers in an airtight container; they will soften a little overnight but are still very delicious. They keep for about a week before becoming crumbly (at which point, I recommend crumbling them over ice cream!).
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Emma Christensen is the Editor-in-Chief of Simply Recipes, and has over 10 years of experience creating food and content for web and print. She was formerly the recipe editor for The Kitchn and is the author of three books on home-brewing, True Brews, Brew Better Beer, and Modern Cider. Emma is a graduate of The Cambridge School for Culinary Arts and Bryn Mawr College. She lives in San Jose, California.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adding the milk powder made my cookies pale and puffy. They did not collapse as stated in the recipe and they did not taste chewy. I chilled the dough and used parchment paper on my cookie sheet. I will stick to the original tollhouse recipe.
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Hello, I was wondering why nonfat milk powder and not full cream milk powder? how is the result if I used full cream?, thanks
Hi Gab, it’s actually the milk solids (and not the fat) that create the chewy texture and caramel-like notes in this cookie recipe. That’s why it calls for nonfat dry milk powder: flavor and texture contributed by milk solids. We’ve not used full cream milk powder, so we can’t tell you exactly how it’ll turn out. If you try it, tell us how you like it!
Does it have to be a silicon mat? What would I need to do differently if I won’t use a silicon mat?
Hi Newbie, good question! You can bake these on parchment paper if you don’t have silicone baking mats. If you don’t have either, you can bake them on ungreased cookie sheets–they may just be a bit trickier to remove. If ungreased baking sheets make you nervous, then grease them very lightly. I’ve found that the baking surface does influence the shape of the baked cookies, but not so much that it’s a deal breaker.
I can’t believe all the good reviews. I followed the directions and they were totally flat and way overcooked at 8 minutes. I have a new oven that has been calibrated so it’s not that.
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We’re so sorry to hear that, Carl! It sounds like either you mismeasured the flour, or the dough needed to be chilled longer, or…we’re not sure why.
Were you using a convection oven? The recipe as written doesn’t specify, but I’m guessing the temperature and cook time here are meant to accompany a conventional oven which bakes cookies much slower. That’d be my first troubleshot.
Hi! Loved the taste (might add a pinch less sugar next time), but my cookies didn’t look so nice. They stayed puffed instead of flattening out, so the shape was not as you showed. What did I do wrong? I did refrigerate…can the flour be at fault?
Hi Madalina, I’m not sure what to say, except we’re sorry to hear your cookies were oddly puffy. I’ve made chocolate chip cookies with cake flour before and they were puffy–you did use AP flour, correct? What brand did you use? I checked with Emma to see if she has any ideas. She says if you beat the dough too much and whip air into the butter/sugar, it can result in puffier cookies with a more cake-like texture. Hope that helps!
Don’t be discouraged, Madalina (great name), but it could be lots of things. The humidity in your kitchen affects the moisture content of your dough and therefor one day following a recipe works, but another you actually needed less flour. Weighing your ingredients helps because the water in the air makes dry stuff heavier on the scale, but the best thing is just getting used to what it’s supposed to look and feel like then adding slowly and looking for those visual and tactile indicators. If you didn’t weigh your brown sugar, packing that ‘wet’ ingredient into your measuring cup is necessary for adequate cookie spread. Another variable could be fat content in your butter. If yours was European style (yum) and Emma wrote the recipe using American style, that difference would alter ratios enough to give you puffier cookies. Again, all these adjustments boil down to proportions of fat:sugar:flour. One last suggestion: invest about $10USD for an oven thermometer. Especially gas ovens often say they’re at your desired temperature when they’re really higher or lower. If you baked these at 400F, that could’ve altered their spread, too. Good luck; happy creating!
I had a friend that always made chocolate chip cookies that came out puffy. I took his recipe and made them exactly the same way because I loved those cookies, but they came out flat as usual. I wish I knew what you might have done differently!
Hi Karen, cake flour can make cookies on the puffy side, as can an extra egg. Not sure of that’s what your friend did, but I thought I’d share in case you’d like to try :)