Thin & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Thin & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are thin yet still chewy and SO buttery, and they still have room for lots of chocolate. Just wait until you smell them in the oven! Thin, chewy, and buttery heaven!!
I have had several requests for chocolate chip cookie recipes, and my #1 request is for chewy. Therefore, I decided that come Fall, I was going to find the time to post, not one, but several chocolate chip cookie recipes. I’m starting today with Thin & Chewy, but I also plan to share Thin & Crispy, Soft & Cakelike, and Thick & Chewy. Along with sharing each recipe, I’m going to share with you, the tips for making the perfect texture for each one of these cookies. By the time you get finished looking at the pictures of these chewy buttery cookies, you’re gonna want to make them.
So are you ready to learn tips for making the perfect thin and chewy chocolate chip cookies?
Here we go…
- Don’t over mix the batter. Mix the butter and sugars until they are creamy and free of all sugar lumps, but once you add the flour, only mix long enough to incorporate the flour. Add 1/2 of the flour and incorporate it, then add the second 1/2 and barely, I mean barely mix it in. Add your chocolate chips and then finish incorporating the flour along with the chocolate chips. This only takes a few seconds. Why should you incorporate the flour and stop mixing, you ask? Here’s why. The eggs contain water and once you mix flour with eggs (water), it forms gluten. Activated gluten makes things chewy. Gluten can’t form in fat (butter).
- Use butter, not shortening. Butter prevents the formation of gluten, which results in a more tender cookie but also a cookie that spreads more. The more butter you use, the more the cookies will spread.
- Use all brown sugar. For an extra chewy cookie use all brown sugar in the recipe instead of part white. In this recipe, I used equal amounts of both but when I make a thicker cookie, I will use more brown than white. We’ll discuss that later. If you ever use brown sugar, use light brown. If you use all dark brown sugar, it will start to give the cookies a molasses taste.
- Add one extra egg yolk. If your recipe calls for 2 eggs, use 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Egg whites dry out quickly when they are baked, stealing some of the moisture from the cookies.
- Bake at a lower temperature. The lower the temperature, the longer it takes for the cookies to bake, therefore giving them more time to spread.
- Don’t overbake. Remove the cookies from the oven as soon as they are golden brown around the edges. The centers will still be doughy looking. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. They will continue baking for a few minutes on the hot cookie sheet.
- Add some cornstarch to the dry ingredients. Cornstarch makes cookies more soft and tender, and you can’t have chewy without tender…can you?
- Roll the cookies in balls of the same size so they will all get done at the same time.
- Once the cookies have cooled, transfer them to a wire cooling rack until they are set. Once they’re set, place them in an airtight container with waxed paper between the layers. Also, lay the cookies completely flat. Thin and chewy cookies break easily.
Don’t forget the milk!!
PrintThin & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 12 Minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Cookies
Description
These buttery chewy cookies will have you drooling just looking at them, and wait until you smell them in the oven. Thin, chewy and buttery heaven!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (see note below*)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 bag, bittersweet chocolate chips, good quality such as Ghirardelli, or you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees after step 5.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, cornstarch and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a hand mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until the butter is very light and creamy, about one minute.
- Add the sugars and mix on high speed until all of the sugar is dissolved and there are no lumps remaining in the brown sugar, about one minute.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed just long enough to combine about 30 seconds.
- Add one cup of the flour, and mix just until almost incorporated, no more. Add the second cup of flour and mix until the flour is about halfway incorporated. Stop mixer and add the chocolate chips and mix on medium speed until the flour is incorporated and stop the mixer. Do not over mix.
- Place the bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Using a large cookie/ice cream scoop, (see note below**) place scoops of dough on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. The parchment paper will help the cookies from spreading too thin. They will already be thin, trust me.
- Bake until cookies are browned around the edges but still slightly doughy looking in the centers. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet. They will finish baking on the cookie sheet. Once they are cooled, transfer them to a wire rack until they are completely cooled and set before stacking them or placing them in a container.
- Store cookies in an airtight container with waxed paper between the layers. Cookies should stay fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Notes
*Either aerate the flour by running a fork through it several times before measuring or use the spoon & level technique by spooning the flour into your measuring cup, then leveling it off with a knife.
**If you’re not sure what size your cookie/ice cream scoop is, fill it with water. If it holds 2 1/2 tablespoons of water it is a large scoop. This size will make 20 cookies.
Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze in layers with cookies flat, using waxed paper between the layers and place in an airtight container.
Keywords: cookies, chocolate chip, thin, chewy,
Amazing! Thank you for the wonderful recipe! Be blessed
★★★★★
You are so welcome Dina! I’m so glad you liked them! 🙂
These are the best! This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I use now! Thank you!
Hi Sherry, I’m SO glad you like them. Happy cookie baking! 🙂
Hi! I just tried making these and followed the recipe and instructions to a tee but the cookies were more doughy and crumbly instead of thin and chewy. What did I do wrong? Baked at 375 for 9 min.
Only thing I did differently was the dough chilled overnight – is that too long?
Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
For this recipe, you should really try to refrigerate for a few minutes. You want these cookies to spread and be thin and chewy. Were your cookies thin or on the thicker side? Also, if you don’t spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with the edge of a knife, you might unknowingly be using too much flour. This will make the cookies dry and crumbly.
Thank you! maybe that was the problem, overnight refrigeration! I will try again.
Yes, for measuring I made sure everything was exact and leveled off.
They were on the thicker side, with a sandy texture, not thin and chewy.
I also do have a cookie baking curse so it is probably just me haha!
LOL! I’m sure they’ll turn out better next time. 🙂
Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it was delicious 🙂 The only thing that went wrong is that my cookies have never came out flat no matter what recipe I use, and unfortunately yours was no exception. I made sure to airate the flour, refridgerate the dough for the correct amount of time, and do all the other cookie tips everyone mentions. Do you have an idea of what could be wrong? I’m startng to think I have a cookie curse or something haha
Hi Vivian,
No, you’re not cursed. Lol. Your oven temperature might be different than mine. All ovens seem to be different. I suggest not refrigerating the dough next time. They will spread more. Maybe your oven runs extra hot. Also, try reducing your oven temp by 25 degrees. This gives them more time to spread. Refrigerating the dough for a few minutes works for me, but my oven might not run as hot as yours. Good luck, and let me know how they turn out next time! 🙂
Cindy
How can I cut this recipe (x1) in half? I only have a stick of butter at the moment. Would cutting everything in half and just put in 1 whole egg VS 1 whole and a yolk be okay?
Hi Anna,
Yes, you can cut it in half and omit the extra yolk. Happy baking!!
Cindy
Made this with Kerrygold European butter and it turned out perfect. But when I switched butters, Costco organic butter, and omitted the yolk, it did not turn out flat. The cookie was thick and cakey but still crisp.
Do you know why the change? Was it the extra yolk missing? Or was it the butter change? Kerrygold is a more fatty butter vs the regular stick butters. Please help! I’d prefer to use the less expensive butter for baking rather the more expensive kind.
I think you needed an extra yolk not omit the yolk
These came out PERFECT! I think next time I’ll add some nuts to them. My new go to recipe!
★★★★★
Hands down the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made. I used 1 cup light brown sugar and 1/3 cup of white sugar and they were PERFECT. In my oven I baked for about what ended up being 11 mins (following your guidelines about brown edges). This is now my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Definitely making these next year for our friends annual cookie party. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Hi Erika, I’m so glad they were a hit! Happy baking! 🙂
This is the best cookie recipe I’ve ever tried! ! Everyone loved it.
Hi Nancy, Yay, I’m glad they were a hit! 🙂
Followed the recipe to a “T” ended up with crumbly dough as well and had to add another egg which made them thick and cakey.
Hi Jennifer, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out. These cookies should never be thick or cakey. Did you “spoon & level” measure the flour? This makes a big difference. Flour gets compacted when it sits in a container or bag and if you use too much, the cookie dough will be dry and crumbly. This cookie dough doesn’t get refrigerated either…you want them to spread. I hope you will try them again. They really are a great cookie.
What is the equivalent of your sticks of butter to grams? I’ve been looking it up all over the internet but it varies. Thanks! Looking forward to making these soon.
Hi Violeta, This recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter. One stick of butter is 1/2 cup or 4 ounces or 113.398 grams.
These were just what I was looking for. So chewy and soft, not cakey like other recipes. So good! I’ll be saving this recipe as my go to.
★★★★★
These quickly became my family’s favorite choc chip cookies. Great recipe! Thank you #flatchocchipcookiesrule
Hi Mandy, You’re sol welcome! Happy baking! 🙂
My oven runs hot so I put them in at 325 degrees for 11 minutes. My boys loved them. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Stephanie, Yay! I’m glad they liked them!
I followed the recipe and my cookies came out fluffy. My husband loves the thin cookies, but I can not seem to make them like that.
Hi Dee, Did your cookies spread? Make sure you’re using room temperature butter. Also, if you over-measure the flour, the cookies will spread less. If your cookies still aren’t spreading, try baking them without refrigerating, and on an unlined cookie sheet. I hope this helps.