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Thick bakery-style chocolate chip cookies with gooey melted chocolate chunks and flaky sea salt on a light ceramic plate against a bright neutral background.
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🍪 Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

These bakery-style chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy, buttery, deeply caramelized, and packed with melted chocolate. They have crisp golden edges, gooey centers, rippled tops, rich vanilla flavor, and the perfect balance of sweet and salty. Long chilling develops incredible flavor and creates cookies that stay soft for days.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword bakery cookies, bakery style chocolate chip cookies, bakery style dessert, best chocolate chip cookies, brown sugar cookies, chewy chocolate chip cookies, chewy cookies, classic chocolate chip cookies, easy cookie recipe, gooey chocolate chip cookies, gourmet cookies, homemade chocolate chip cookies, homemade cookies, soft chocolate chip cookies, thick chocolate chip cookies
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chill time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 37 minutes
Servings 16 large cookies
Calories 390kcal
Cost $12 for entire recipe

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • Rubber spatula
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Kitchen scale (recommended)
  • Cookie scoop or large spoon
  • Baking Sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Cooling rack
  • Small saucepan (if browning butter)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 227g unsalted butter, melted and cooled until lukewarm
  • 1 1/4 cups 250g packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup 70g granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups 335g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder optional
  • 1 cup 170g semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup 130g chopped dark chocolate
  • Flaky sea salt for finishing

Instructions

Step 1: Mix Wet Ingredients

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy.
  • Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until fully combined.

Step 2: Add Dry Ingredients

  • Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and milk powder if using.
  • Fold gently with a rubber spatula until almost combined.
  • Add the chocolate chips and chopped dark chocolate. Fold until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.

Step 3: Chill the Dough

  • Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  • For the best flavor and texture, chill the dough for 12–24 hours.
  • If the dough becomes too firm, let it sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before scooping.

Step 4: Bake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie and shape into tall rough mounds.
  • Place cookies several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake for 12–14 minutes until the edges are deep golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft.
  • Around minute 10, gently tap the baking sheet once against the oven rack for rippled bakery-style tops.

Step 5: Cool

  • Sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt immediately after baking.
  • Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Notes

Chill the Dough

For the best bakery-style texture, chill the cookie dough overnight whenever possible. The longer chill time deepens the caramel flavor and helps create thicker cookies with gooey centers.

Measure Flour Properly

Proper flour measurement is extremely important for this recipe. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife instead of scooping directly from the bag, which can add too much flour and create dry cookies.

Butter Temperature Matters

The melted butter should be warm but not hot before mixing with the sugars. Hot butter can cause the cookies to spread too much during baking.

Use High-Quality Chocolate

Using a combination of semisweet chocolate chips and chopped dark chocolate creates the perfect balance of structure and melted chocolate pools throughout the cookies.

Slightly Underbake the Cookies

Slightly underbaking the cookies is intentional. The centers will continue setting as the cookies cool on the baking sheet, creating soft and chewy bakery-style centers.

Brown Butter Upgrade

For even deeper flavor, brown the butter before making the dough. Brown butter adds rich caramelized and nutty notes that make the cookies taste even more gourmet.

Let Chilled Dough Warm Slightly

If your dough becomes very firm after chilling overnight, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10–15 minutes before scooping.

Bakery-Style Presentation

For picture-perfect bakery-style cookies, press a few extra chocolate chunks into the tops of the dough balls before baking.

Finish with Flaky Sea Salt

A light sprinkle of flaky sea salt after baking helps balance the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor beautifully.