Step by step to the best chocolate chip cookies
The perfect chocolate chip cookie is packed with chocolate, crispy on the outside and still soft on the inside. How do you achieve that? With this ultimate guide, of course:
Chocolate
The name suggests that chocolate chips go into the dough, but wouldn’t it be better to chop up a chocolate bar yourself? Nope. You’ll end up with an uneven shape, and those very thin chocolate shavings will even melt into the dough. You don’t want that. It’s best to use chocolate chips, and even then you need to be careful. Use baking chocolate chips for the best result. You’ll find them at a good chocolatier, nut shop, baking store, or online.
We prefer dark chocolate. Not a fan? Me neither, but the cookie is sweet enough, so the chocolate tastes anything but bitter. The contrast between the sweet dough and the dark chocolate is exactly what makes it so delicious. If you really prefer milk or white chocolate, of course you can use that, but then you’ll be chewing on a sugar bomb. Whatever floats your boat!
Sugar
Crispy on the outside, but ooey gooey on the inside. The most important tip for this ultimate result is to use two types of sugar. Always use equal parts brown sugar and granulated sugar. The brown sugar creates that fudgy interior, while the granulated sugar takes care of the crispy exterior. Win-win!
Don’t overmix
Another important point for that soft texture is not to mix the dough for too long. Mix just until the ingredients are combined, then stop. The more you mix, the more the gluten develops and the chewier your cookie becomes. Don’t do it!
Chilling
For the best result, put the dough in the refrigerator for a while before baking. This makes the butter firm again and prevents the cookies from spreading too much. The sugar in the dough also absorbs moisture from the other ingredients, and the carbohydrates in the flour are converted into sugar. This creates extra flavorful and crispy cookies. When you’re craving cookies, naturally you want them as quickly as possible. It’s not a disaster if you skip this step, but it does make your cookies even better.
Temperature
Yes, your cookie dough is ready—how high should you set the oven? Crank it up, because the best cookies are baked at a high temperature. Whereas a cake is best baked for a long time at a low temperature so everything cooks evenly, with a cookie you want exactly the opposite. The outside should be crispy and the inside still soft, which means a high temperature and a short baking time.
Resting
Of course you want to eat them immediately when they come out of the oven. I get it, but just like a good piece of meat, cookies need to rest for a moment. A cookie straight from the oven will fall apart completely. It’s better to wait 10 to 15 minutes until the ingredients have firmed up a little. Another plus: less chance of burning your tongue.
Best cookies ever
The very best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever eaten? That was at Levain Bakery in New York. The cookie is enormous, really enormous. The inside is so soft that you almost worry the cookies aren’t baked through. It may not sound very appetizing, but just wait until you take a bite. Fortunately, you don’t have to travel all the way to New York to eat the cookies. My version of the recipe is right here.
How to make the ultimate chocolate chip cookies
1. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until light in color and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure the first egg is fully incorporated before adding the second. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, and mix until the ingredients are combined. Don’t mix for too long. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. Shape the dough into 8 balls and refrigerate them for about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 210 ºC. Arrange the cookies across 2 baking sheets. Really, only 4 fit on 1 baking sheet—they’re large and will get even bigger in the oven. Bake for 9–12 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Let them rest for 10–15 minutes before digging in.
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