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! They’re also very slightly chewy and crunchy.
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? Yes! Every once in a while, this is the texture I want.
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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 Cookie recipe has 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!
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 = Measuring 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. These cookies will bake up thin and crispy straight from the freezer! But to ensure that distinct texture, you may want to defrost the dough first.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- M&M Cookies
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Check out ALL of my cookie recipes and cookie baking science tips & tricks here!
If you like this recipe, find it and 50 others plus TONS of information on the science of baking in my cookbook – now available on Amazon US: The Ultimate Cookie Handbook!
Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups (169 grams) all purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine 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.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and updated with new photos and article improvements. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Baked these cookies today. I substituted maple syrup for corn syrup since I didn’t have any corn syrup. First batch came out a bit cakey and the batter didn’t flatten while baking to give them that thin and crispy cookie that I am looking for. I also like my cookies to be crunchy/crispy all the way through. Not into chewy, cakey or soft middles.
Decided to turn up my oven to 375 ( my oven is not real hot even on convection) and baked them for 13 minutes instead of 12. I also flattened the batter on the cookie sheet with a fork to make them thinner. Bingo! Much better, crispy and thin if a tad on the sweet side.
Will do them again with less sugar or omit the maple syrup maybe.
Can I substitute water for the milk? Can you provide weights for the sugars?
Thanks!
Perfect crispy thin with great flavor! Followed recipe exactly so not sure what went wrong with some of the other posters. Will make these again and again! Thank you for the recipe!
Worst recipe ever in all my life! The syrup is nasty and leaves awful taste and consistency, the cookies stuck to the paper so bad I threw out the whole mess! I should have known with milk and syrup there was something really wrong.
These cookies ROCK!!!!!
Perfectly crunchy! My 5 yr old thoroughly enjoyed them!
I just made these cookies and my family gave them a thumbs up. you do make a huge cookie and they are thin and crispy. I’m going to try and bake at a higher temp as I had to keep adding time. Definitely will make again.
Top 3 chocolate chip cookie recipes!! My family all loved it…and they are pretty picky!! They are truly the perfect crispy yet slightly chewy cookie. We did half semi sweet chocolate and half milk chocolate chips because that’s what we preferred. Happy to report it taste perfectly delicious the next day too. No ore having to wait for my dough to chill…we can enjoy these in about 30 minutes!! Thanks for sharing this new favorite!!
Yay!! So glad your family enjoyed the recipe 🙂
hi Tessa, im experimenting many recipes to get the thin and crisp and melt in mouth choc chip cookies. I come across your website and will do right after works. Will update soon… cross finger to get my dream cookies..
I enjoy your cookies recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Wish you greater success for your baking passion.
Have a blessed n joyous Christmas.
Jess Lee
Singapore
Made these exactly as stated and they were really good. Thanks for the recipe! Gonna make more this weekend for my sons lunchbox next week:)
Wonderful!! Your son is a lucky kid 😉
Hello~ I’m just curious, after reading your cookie guide, why does your thin & crisp chocolate chip cookie recipe include brown sugar? I read that if you want crisp to use just white sugar. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a choco chip cookie recipe w/ just white sugar. Is it because of flavor? Thanks!
I’ve just been having an impossible time of achieving a thin crisp cookie.
If the cookies didn’t have brown sugar, then they’d basically be sugar cookies. You’re right, the brown sugar is necessary in creating that richer more butterscotch sweet flavor 🙂