Tessa Arias, Chef and Cookbook Author
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In this post I’m going to share with you how various ingredients and techniques can affect the taste, texture, and appearance of your chocolate chip cookies. This will hopefully help you understand how a Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe works so you can make the PERFECT batch every time, whatever you consider to be perfect. This information will allow you to alter or create your own chocolate chip recipe that produces cookies just the way YOU like them. You’ll be an expert on the anatomy of the chocolate chip cookie.
I used the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as my control and made little changes and variations in techniques and ingredients to show you how they affect the cookie.
I halved and adapted the original Tollhouse recipe. I kept everything the same through each recipe test, changing just one key thing to see its effect and photographing the results for you.
Cookie Tools and Ingredients Used:
Tools and Ingredients Used (when applicable):
-Spring-Loaded Cookie Scoop (Medium or 1 1/2-Tablespoon size)
–Chicago Metallic sheet pans
–Escali Digital Food Scale
–KitchenAid 5-quart Stand Mixer
–Oven thermometer
–Unbleached parchment paper
-Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour
-Fine sea salt
-Light brown sugar
-Large eggs
-Unsalted butter at a cool room temperature
Control Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (142 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup (170 grams) semi sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, beating well to combine. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and place onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Here is the control, an adapted version of the Nestle Tollhouse recipe. The full recipe I used to base all of the tweaks on is at the bottom of this post.
Baking Powder:
Removed baking soda from recipe and used 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. This produced results that were more cakey and puffed while baking.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda:
Used 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. This produced results that were crisp at the edges, soft in the middle, with a good amount of spread. The combination of the two leaveners produced the best results in my opinion.
MORE Flour:
Increased the flour to 2 cups (250 grams) which created a more crumbly dough and very little spread. The cookies were small yet thick and relatively undercooked (ooey and gooey) in the middle.
MELTED Butter:
I replaced the room temperature butter with melted and cooled butter. Instead of creaming the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, I simply stirred the butter and sugars together then let sit for 5 minutes, until the sugar was better absorbed by the butter. This produced flatter cookies that had a shiny, crackled top reminiscent of brownies. They were also more crisp at the edges.
All Granulated Sugar:
I used 3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams) in this recipe which produced flat, white, chewy, and slightly crunchy cookies but with little flavor. Since baking soda (called for in the control recipe) requires an acid (such as brown sugar) to react, these cookies fell very flat as you can see by the way the chocolate chips protrude.
All Brown Sugar:
I used 3/4 cup (150 grams) packed light brown sugar in this recipe which produced thick, brown, and soft cookies with an intense butterscotch flavor. The original control recipe uses an even ratio of granulated and brown sugars. If you prefer your cookies to be flatter, chewier, or crisper, use more granulated sugar. If you prefer your cookies to be softer and thicker and have a pronounced butterscotch flavor, use more brown sugar.
24-hour CHILLED Dough:
I used the control recipe but chilled it in the fridge for about 24 hours before shaping and baking. This produced cookies that were slightly thicker, chewier, darker, and with a better depth of butterscotch flavor. If you have time, try chilling your next cookie dough for at least 24 hours, or up to 48 hours.
Final Comparison:
Hello,
The cookies look delicious. I have decided to try and EAT them all.
5/5 baby!
Bye!!!
This is the chocolate chip cookie guide I’ve always needed! Lately I’ve been noticing the cookies I make have been thin and spreading too much. After reading this, I tried increasing the flour just a little and refrigerating the dough and it has definitely helped! Thank you for doing all of this testing, so helpful to have a visual guide.
So glad this was helpful, Samantha!!
Hello HtH!
Have you heard of adding a ‘Malt’t to the dough/batter? I do prefer a thicker cookie, and times I like a crispy cookie, it just depends on my mood at that time. 🙂
Do you use malt or recommend it, if so, how much would you add, and are there any other ingredients to add with it?
Thank you,
Peggy B
Hi Peggy! Tessa actually has a recipe for Malted Toffee Choc Chip Cookie Bars in her Ultimate Cookie Handbook! Malt is a funny ingredient because it can be a little drying, so there is no real easy answer to your question, unfortunately. I would recommend experimenting with adding some malt slowly, and removing the same quantity of flour, and see how that goes. This is the type of experimentation we do frequently inside the Handle the Heat Baking School – and it just so happens that doors open TODAY for enrollment for the next semester (about all things COOKIE)! Come check it out with us 😉
I really appreciate your sharing all the info in comparing different brands, different ingredients and showing side by side, the results of each. Also explaining the different textural and flavor differences regarding each substitution! Baking is truly a science and I am thoroughly excited to have found your page!! Thank you!
Hi Tessa. I want to make the “BOTH” cookies. I’m confused as what they means. Does it mean, use both granulated & brown sugar and both baking power & soda?
Thank you.
Hi Patti! The “both” cookie includes baking soda and baking powder. You would use 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Hope that helps!
Hi Tessa. I’ve been following you a long time and have been trying to download/print you cookie customization guide because it answers all the questions I’ve had when baking cookies that turn out ‘off’. I’d love to have a copy but the link won’t work and I tried my Print Friendly app and it only shows the very top of your article. I appreciate all you do and your scientific approach to baking (I’m the person who asks the ‘why’ and ‘how’, etc.). I’ve also tried a lot of your recipes with wonderful results. Could you please send me a working link for the guide? Much appreciated, and as always, looking forward to your posts! Thanks!
Hi Teri! Can you please email me at [email protected]? I’d be happy to send you a link for the guide. It appears that you’ve requested the guide in the past, and it can only be sent once to the same email address. Thanks!
I made a big batch chocolate chip cookies (150) cookies I doubled my recipe *5 each recipe call for 2 large egg so I add 10 eggs is that correct.
Hi Nouf! To be sure I understood you correctly, you multiplied the recipe you use by 5? And the original recipe called for 2 eggs? If so, that would be correct. I’m assuming you have a professional stand mixer, but if not, you’ll definitely want to separate making your cookies into smaller batches! How did your cookies turn out?
I usually scoop my cookie dough onto my baking pans, cover then refrigerate for 48 hours. Do you think scooping them first vs., chilling in a bowl then scooping makes a difference?
Hi Dee! I actually talk about that in this article here: https://handletheheat.com/the-1-reason-why-you-should-chill-your-cookie-dough/
I have heard/read, that you should bake immediately, because of the leavening agents not lasting long. Is this true?
Hi Peggy! It depends on the dough/batter, but yes, baking soda can lose its oomph if rested too long, as its chemical reaction happens immediately, when it meets the acid in your bake. Baking powder, on the other hand, is typically double-acting, which means that some of its activation occurs when it meets the liquid in your recipe, and the remainder of its action occurs when it meets the heat of the oven! This is why not all cookie recipes are improved by long refrigerated rests, but most are – and why cakes and some other batters need to be baked right away! I hope this helps! Happy baking 🙂
what are the guidelines to chocolate chip cookies
Hi Tessa, I want to try your recipe tonight but the amount of sugar seems so little compared to the usual ccc recipes.
I want to make sure it’s only 1/4 cup +2 tbsp for each kind of sugar? Thanks for your help!
Hi Tessa,
You are the first person to give an explanation for different ingredients in cookie making.
I presented, and thank you very much!!!!
Will doubling this recipe work? I have a BIG family.
Yes, that should work!