Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: These cookies really have that caramelized butterscotch flavor which is due in part to the sugars, including corn syrup, thoroughly dissolving in the melted butter.
Texture: Just like the title says: thin and crispy!
Ease: Super easy, you don’t even have to wait for butter to come to room temperature or use your electric mixer.
Pros: Quick, easy, and satisfies that thin crispy craving.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Anytime I crave that crispy texture!
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If you’re a fan of Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies, this recipe is for you!
With my immense cookie knowledge (don’t laugh, that’s a real thing), I knew I could create a recipe for thin and crispy cookies.
I know some people who love this texture and I do crave it every once in a while.
If you’ve ever had Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, then this recipe creates results that are almost identical. The only difference? My Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies have that same crunch but also a slight hint of chewiness in the center, which I really enjoy.
They’re positively addictive!
Be sure to read through the pink tip box just below for some crucial tips and tricks to make these cookies thin, crispy and utterly delicious!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Key Ingredients for Crispy Cookies!
- Melted butter – To achieve thin and crisp cookies, I’ve discovered that melted butter is really crucial. Melted butter helps the cookies to spread out and become flatter with crisp edges.
- Sugar – Another key trick is using more granulated sugar than brown sugar, which will also help produce flat, chewy, crunchy cookies. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
- Corn syrup – A touch of corn syrup in this dough aids in browning and caramelization, giving the cookies great flavor and browned crunchy bottoms.
- Milk – A splash of milk added to the dough also helps to create flatter cookies by adding more moisture to the dough, so it spreads faster in the oven.
- Baking soda – Make sure your baking soda is FRESH for this recipe. It’s critical to the spread and browning of these cookies which gives them their crispy thin texture. Learn more about baking soda and baking powder here.
- Salt – Not a key ingredient for crispiness but since these crispy cookies contain three kinds of sugar for maximum spread, we want to be sure to balance the sweetness with the salt. I prefer fine sea salt but you can also use table salt. Just don’t use kosher salt because it won’t dissolve and mix in as evenly. Learn about the different types of salt here.
Do I Have to Use Corn Syrup?
If you can’t find corn syrup, you can use golden syrup instead. If you can’t find or don’t want to use either, you can technically leave it out of this recipe. You’ll still have a delicious cookie, but the texture won’t quite be as thin and crispy.
The Most Important Part of This Recipe: Measure Your Flour Correctly!
Anytime someone tells me they made this Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe and the cookies didn’t come out thin and crispy, I can all but guarantee it was because the flour wasn’t properly measured. It’s all too easy to accidentally over-measure your flour by compacting too much into the measuring cup. Here are some flour tips:
- If you’re not already measuring your flour with a digital kitchen scale, or at the very least using the spoon & level method, I highly highly recommend you read my post on How to Measure Flour ASAP.
- Also, make sure you’re using the RIGHT kind of flour. For best results in this recipe, don’t use a high-protein flour like King Arthur.
- This recipe was tested successfully with Gold Medal Bleached All Purpose Flour (blue label).
- Just take a look at what a difference measuring your flour correctly can make:
Tips for Baking Crispy Cookies:
- Don’t overmix the cookie dough. We really want to avoid activating webs of gluten in this recipe. That’s why you should avoid a high-protein flour. But you should also avoid over-mixing the dough (which is really more like a thick batter in consistency). Stir in the dry ingredients until JUST combined.
- Use the correct baking pans. If possible, avoid baking these cookies on nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Use unlined light-colored metal baking pans lined with parchment paper. The dark nonstick finish of some pans can enhance browning and even cause cookies to burn on the bottom, especially in this particular recipe. Nonstick cooking spray can increase spreading while cookies bake in the oven, which we don’t want in this particular recipe since the dough will spread enough on its own.
- Make sure your oven temperature is accurate. An oven thermometer is the best way to do this. If you’re unsure, at the very least preheat your oven for an extra 10 minutes before baking anything. If your oven isn’t properly preheated or if it tends to run cold, you won’t get crispy cookies. Learn more about ovens here.
- Bake time: I’ve had success with baking these Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies in my oven for about 12 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through for ultra-crispy cookie edges.
How to Shape Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
A spring-loaded cookie scoop makes quick and easy work of portioning out the cookie dough – especially because this dough is more wet and sticky than others. Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon or medium-sized cookie scoop. Spray the inside of the scoop with nonstick cooking spray if you find your dough is sticking.
How to Store Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are definitely best served soon after baking, as that’s when they’ll be the crispiest. They will soften slightly the longer they’re stored. That’s why I recommend freezing this dough, so you can have perfectly thin, crispy cookies at a moment’s notice! You can also re-crisp by reheating the baked cookies in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough Instructions
I love to scoop out and freeze balls of cookie dough to bake whenever I crave cookies! Check out this post on how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen. To ensure that distinct texture, allow the dough to defrost in the fridge overnight before baking as instructed in the recipe below.
Check out ALL of my cookie recipes here!
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Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups (169 grams) all purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup or golden syrup
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk (any kind)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, vigorously beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup with a spatula until very well combined. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and beat vigorously until very well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and stir until just combined, being careful not to over-mix. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be very loose, sticky, and more like batter in consistency.
- Using a medium (1 1/2-tablespoon size) spring-loaded scoop, drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing at least 2 1/2 inches apart. Don't worry if the dough isn't perfectly round. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown and flat, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Bake one sheet at a time for even cooking. When you remove the baking sheet from the oven, tap it against the counter.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before using a thin spatula to remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. If desired, reheat the cookies in a 350°F oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until warmed through.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and has been updated with new photos and article improvements. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I want to make my own “cookie bark” like Tate’s and RAN to this recipe! They always turn out perfect when I’m in the mood for crispy cookies. For cookie bark purposes, do you think I could bake the dough as entire half-sheet(s), or is that too crazy?
We haven’t tried that, but let us know how it goes!
Can sourdough discard be incorporated into this recipe?
Made first batch and it did not brown at all! I even left it in for 2 minutes longer. Used the remaining batter and turned up the heat to 375 for 13 to 14 minutes. They turned out much better, golden with browned edges, but not quite right in the taste may have been too much flour.
Does this confirm what I’ve suspected, that my thermador oven isn’t accurate? I also used an Italian butter from Costco, maybe it’s that as well and I didn’t use corn syrup.
I’m definitely going to give it another try using the corn syrup and challenge butter.
I love tates- so hope it turns out better next time. Thanks for the recipe
Used brown butter instead and added mini M&ms and Caramilk choc chips, most delicious cookies I’ve ever made ty sm for coming up with this recipe 🥰
Your add-ins sounds amazing, great idea!
Can these be made gluten free?
Hi Gary! We don’t test gluten-free substitutes for our recipes, so I can’t say for sure! Feel free to experiment and let us know how it goes 🙂
Even better reheated! They are so delicious. I used dark corn syrup because I didn’t have light. They are perfect.
These cookies turned out fantastically. Thanks for all of the great tips. This one is going in my arsenal permanently.
These taste great, but didn’t completely work out for me. My cookies spread out a lot. Even with the 2.5in spacing, some of the cookies had melded into each other. Plus after cooling, only some were crispy while the others that had spread too much were kind of floppy.
I followed most of the instructions and measured the ingredients in grams. Only thing I deviated from was baking two trays of cookies at a time and baking for a minute longer. Not sure where I went wrong.
Hi Jenica! I’m sorry to hear that these cookies didn’t turn out quite as they should for you. Here are a couple ideas of what may have gone wrong here:
– We do always recommend only baking one tray at a time. The other baking pan(s) can block the heat from moving around freely within the oven, and change the way the cookies are baked and browned.
– Your oven might be running a little cool. If your oven isn’t at the temperature it says it is, this can cause overspreading. Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips. If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much. This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites.
– If your oven does indeed run cool (or was not preheated long enough initially), this could also be why your cookies weren’t all crisp once baked, despite giving them a minute longer. They may have, for those reasons, needed another minute or so to full bake and crisp up in the oven.
I hope something here helps, and I hope you’ll give these cookies another try – they really are delicious! Happy baking!
Mine came out very thinned out to the point it all covered the whole pan and had tiny holes in it.. very chewy, no crunch.. i measured the flour, sugar and butter, used corn syrup but barely had any brown sugar so used more granulated sugar instead.. and the baking soda couldve been a bit old but maybe i over mixed? Maybe the butter wasnt melted enough? Maybe the sugar matters?
Hi Crystal! I’m sorry to hear that these cookies didn’t turn out as they should. The most likely culprit here is your baking soda. Learn more about leavening agents and how to test for freshness here. The sugar alteration can also have contributed to the spread here. Brown sugar is hygroscopic, which means that it attracts and absorbs the liquid in the dough more than granulated sugar, so granulated sugar can cause more spread. Also, if you’re at a high elevation, this could be part of the issue, and the leavening agent and/or flour ratios could need adjusting. I hope something here helps, and I hope you’ll give these cookies another try – they really are terrific! Happy baking!
i see, have a feeling it could’ve been the sugar and baking soda then, how curious you mention high elevation.. didn’t think this could also affect baking.. gonna go the store after i get off and get some more brown sugar and other things i needed and try again cause woud love for this to work.. kindly thankyou for the reply 🙂
They have literal baking blogs just for high elevation baking. High altitude greatly affects baking. You will need to make many changes due to a higher altitude. You should Google high altitude baking blogs and read up on how it affects baking. Good luck 🙂
Deliciousssssss, tastes exactly like tastes cookies only better because I can make it and it’s free basically 🤣
Just baked the first batch and i think I’ll keep making em till i run out of ingredients
Can walnuts be added?
Hi Bill! Sure! Just be sure to keep the add-ins about the same as the recipe states; so 1 cup total mix-ins. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂