Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet without being cloying, slight butterscotch flavor, and plenty of chocolate chips.
Texture: Perfection. Crisp and chewy on the edges, ooey and gooey inside. These cookies warm out of the oven with a cold glass of milk may be one of my favorite things in life.
Ease: The actual dough isn’t very different from most chocolate chip cookie recipes, except this one uses cold butter. Then you roll gigantic balls of dough to bake, like seriously 4 times the size of most cookies!
Appearance: Mouthwatering.
Pros: These are the perfect warm-from-the-oven cookies and they are just sinful.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? I’ve already made these cookies many times!
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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:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- S’mores Cookies
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Bomb dot com! The cold butter is a must and sometimes (like this time) I add a lil cornstarch. Marinated these bbs overnight in the fridge and some balls in the freezer. Incredible! Adding walnuts will send you back to Levain and vanilla ice cream is a chefs kiss. Already thinking about my next batch.
Yay! So thrilled to hear that you enjoy these cookies so much, Heather!! 🙂
After making these delicious cookies for a second time, I do have a question. I am unable to find semi sweet chocolate chunks or wafers where I live. I’ve been looking for the Guittards or Vahlrona that Tessa has suggested and although I see them on Amazon, it’s not really an option in the summer as I live in Southern California and it’s too hot to receive them through the mail. I was able to find the Guittards blocks of baking chocolate that I chopped up to use. The only issue with it is that the cookies come out with those chunks that I put on top very melty after they are baked. Do the Baking wafers do the same thing?
Sweet Regards, Linda
Hi Linda! Yes, the wafers Tessa recommends do get a bit melty, but they will set up again once cooled – but your chopped chocolate should do the same? If you can’t find the wafers, you can try using Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars, or Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bars to chop up – or alternatively, just used the chopped chocolate in the cookie, and top only with chocolate chips, since they tend to keep their shape better! Good luck 🙂
Thanks for your reply. I do have easy access to Trader Joe’s and Guittards blocks of chocolate. I will use the chopped up chocolate only in the recipe and dot the balls with chocolate chips next time. Each time I made these they were the bomb.
Sweet Regards, Linda
Sounds like a great plan, Linda!! 🙂
I can’t wait to make this recipe along with all the cookies in The Ultimate Cookie Handbook (new goal).
I want to make and freeze the dough of 7 of the varieties of chocolate chip cookies from the book (including this one) for our group vacation. I will then bake one variety a day and ask everyone to tell me their favorites.
We love chopped walnuts in chocolate chip cookies. Could I add 1 cup of chopped walnuts to each of the recipes and keep everything else the same? Or will that change them too much. (I don’t want to take out any of the chocolate chips though…that just wouldn’t be right 🙂
Thanks much for your help in my new cookie journey 🙂
Hi Suzanne! We are so thrilled to hear about your excitement for Tessa’s incredible book! You can absolutely add walnuts to any chocolate chip cookie recipe (we recommend toasting them first!) but just be cautious of adding too much, without removing any of the chocolate chips. You still want there to be enough cookie dough to encapsulate all the delicious mix-ins! Adding too many mix-ins, and therefore overloading the dough, will have big repercussions on your outcome, and mess with the cookie’s ability to spread appropriately. I’d recommend experimenting with the right ratio for your preference! Let us know how it goes!!
OMG,I just got finished making and sampling these cookies. They are without a doubt a to die for chocolate chip cookie. They turned out perfectly and will for now, be the number one chocolate chip cookie I’ll be sharing with friends. I’ve made several of Tessa’s chocolate chip cookies and although they are all delicious, this one is a “grand slam”.
Sweet Regards, Linda
Yay!! So glad to hear you loved this cookie recipe so much, Linda!!!
Hi Kiersten,
Thanks for your reply. I gave these cookies to friends yesterday and they were amazed. They just absolutely loved them. I also gave them the bakery style cookies and asked them to tell me which one they liked the best. Of course they liked both but said if they had to choose, the Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie would be the one. Is there an adjustment I can make on the size of the cookie with this recipe. For example could I use the 3″ cookie scoop at 350? And if so what baking time would you recommend?
Sweet Regards, Linda
Hi Linda! I’m so happy these were such a hit with you and your friends! We haven’t tried these as regular-sized cookies, but I would recommend only reducing the bake time if you do try these a bit smaller. The slightly higher temp helps shock these, staying nice and thick, since they contain cold butter and that makes them differ a little from most cookie recipes using cool room temp butter. I hope that makes sense! Of course, feel free to experiment as you like, until you achieve your Perfect Cookie! Let us know how it goes! Happy baking 🙂
In order to get a 1/4 size ball of dough, do you suggest using a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out dough to roll into balls? I also noticed the recipe doesn’t call for refrigerating the dough. Is thetre any reason that you would refrigerate the dough?
Sweet Regards, Linda
Hi Linda! You can absolutely use a 1/4 cup to scoop this dough out, but I always find it difficult and annoying to get the dough out of the measuring up each time, so if you are able to, you could invest in one of these large 1/4 cup cookie scoops! This makes life a lot easier when scooping the dough out 😉 As for chilling the dough, it’s not as important with this dough as most cookie doughs because we start off with cold butter. That being said, there’s no reason you can’t chill it for 24-72 hours before baking, if you prefer to let the flavors marinate fully 🙂 Please let us know if you have any further questions – you know we’re always happy to help 🙂
hi there! if i do use melted butter, but chill/ freeze the dough long enough, does this ensure that the cookies will remain tall and thick?
Hi CC! That will definitely help, but there are even more tips and tricks you can try to ensure beautifully thick cookies! Tessa explains how in this article here! Happy baking 🙂
Excellent recipe. I’m doing it for the second time.
So happy you love this recipe!
What do you bake these on / for how long if baking from frozen?!
Hi Caroline! Check out the pink tip box above the recipe for details on how to bake from frozen 🙂 You’ll want to bake your cookies on two large baking sheets (our favorite is the half sheet pans from Nordic Ware). I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of these cookies when you give them a try 🙂
These look amazing! How could should the butter be, like right out of the fridge?
Yup!
So.. let me tell you about my experience. Ive made these cookies 3 times. The first time i misread the amount of butter and add 2 cups! They were a little late and the butter taste was way to obvious for my liking. I mean, its twice the butter it calls for so obvious it wasn’t great. The second time I did it right and they turned out good but the 3rd time I did 3 sticks of butter half melted half cold and wowie gee. I will keep coming back to this recipe. Id also like to add I make them smaller then the 1/4 cup, I just like regular size cookie and this recipe still works great
Oh no haha! So glad you were able to tweak the recipe based on your preferences and have it turn out perfectly! Glad you enjoy them!
Taste great but flat cookies even though measured carefully and m6 butter was cold.
Aftwr thw first tray baked i put the batter in fridge for 30 mins to.see if it would make a difference. It did not. They were still flat 🙁
Sorry to hear your cookies were flat! These cookies do deflate a bit as they cool, but they should stay pretty thick, especially when using cold butter. Did you notice them spreading in the oven? How do you measure your ingredients, by digital scale or cups?
Hi!
Do I put the salt when outside the oven after baking or before?
Also, how long can I keep it in the fridge?
Thank you!
Hi there! The flaky sea salt listed at the end of the ingredients is placed on top of the cookies after baking 🙂 We recommend that the cookies be stored in an airtight container for 2 days. If you’re looking to keep the cookie dough in the fridge prior to baking, we recommend 24-72 hours, as explained in this article HERE. I hope that helps!
Tried these and really liked them! I love nuts in my cookies. How would you recommend adjusting the recipe if walnuts or almonds were added?
Hi Gaurav! Glad you love this recipe! We haven’t tried adding nuts to these cookies, but you can typically add in 1/2 to 1 cup of nuts without having to tweak the recipe. Let us know how it goes!