Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Loaded with chocolate chips and optional walnuts for the nut lovers, these jumbo cookies have a gooey center when fresh and hot, and a soft thick center when cooled. Inspired from the famous Levain Bakery and Crumbl cookie stores spreading wide, these cookies will save you quite a few dollars and taste just as good (or better!).
A chocolate chip cookie for every occasion
After just having my first baby, I learned quickly there were 3 very important priorities in my time at home – snuggles, a solid nap routine, and most definitely COOKIES. I once made FOUR different batches of cookies in a single day in search for a favorite cookie recipe. After lots of testing and tweaking – our family landed on our favorite…this recipe!
To be fair, there are lots of different styles of chocolate chip cookies out there. Soft and chewy, thin and crispy, thick and cake-like, etc. I absolutely think there are different cookies for different occasions. Some work better for ice cream sandwiches, some work better for a glass of milk. So where does this recipe fall?
In focusing on the jumbo bakery style cookies, I wanted something soft and gooey when warm, but that set up nice and soft when set. Not too cake-like and not overly chewy. Just a classic cookie in between.
Cookie sizes
There’s a lot of different approaches and sizes for this recipe. We make different sizes depending on the occasion.
6oz JUMBO Cookies: This is the size of Levain or Crumbl cookies – impressive enough on their own to make perfect gifts. I like to put a single cookie in a cellophane, bag, tie it with a cute ribbon, and ta-dah. It’s the perfect gift. When I go big like this, I bake at a slightly higher temperature (400 F) and makes sure I add the full amount of adders (make sure you add 3 cups whether its chips or nuts) to make sure the cookie stays full and doesn’t spread too thin). This amount will yield 8 cookies from this recipe.
LARGE Gourmet Cookies: I love using this 4 tbsp scoop for cookies. It’s the perfect size for a large cookie that’s not over bearing. (This scoop is also my go-to for scooping muffins. It fits the perfect amount in a muffin tin that eliminates the transferring mess). I bake these at 350 F or 375 F if you are at really high altitude. Using this size will yield about 20 large cookies. I use this size the most.
Small CLASSIC Cookies: Your classic cookie scoop size! Great to feed a crowd. I bake these at 350 F and this size will yield a batch of about 36 cookies.
Tips for the perfect cookie
A great recipe makes a big difference, but just as important as a great recipe are the tips to make it successful. Here are a few things I’ve learned in making sure the outcome is what I’m hoping for in a cookie:
1. AMOUNT OF FLOUR: This is the most critical tip in making cookies, I believe. The tricky thing about this is that altitude and even your brand of flour can make a big difference. I always weigh my flour and I live in higher altitude. Packing or scooping your flour will result in potentially over-adding which can be a more cake-like cookie. Adding not enough will result in a super spread out cookie pancake. Weigh your flour, but also pay attention to the touch of the dough. Should feel a bit sticky without being too wet.
2. CHILLING DOUGH: While I’ve found it’s not necessary for this recipe, chilling dough never hurts. It not only provides a richer, deeper flavor, but it can help prevent your cookies from spreading. I always pre-scoop my dough, then chill the formed dough balls in the fridge or freezer. Let it sit out for a couple minutes, then bake! Dough can last in the fridge for up to one week and in the freezer for up to 6 months.
3. BAKE TIME: I bake my cookies until they look like they’re just barely done, but then I keep them on the pan out of the oven for 5 minutes to let them finish cooking. I’ve found a big difference in how the cookies remain soft. So don’t over-bake!
4. ADDERS: You’ll see this recipe calls for nuts. If you’re not a nut lover, no problem. But you will want to add additional chocolate chips instead. Adders help hold the dough together, so if you don’t add enough, that contributes to more spreading. You can also get creative and add other things like butterscotch chips, m&m’s, etc.
5. TWEAK SHAPE AFTER BAKING: Ever get a little lopsided cookie where one corner is a bit more spread? We all have. IMMEDIATELY after taking the cookies out of the oven, take a spatula and gently push in the edges to reshape. It works so well when the cookies are fresh and hot and I love keeping that professional round shape.
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If you make this recipe, make sure you tag @loskitchenco on Instagram and leave a comment below! You can also save for later by clicking the ‘Pin Recipe’ button on the recipe card. Happy baking!
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ (150 g) brown sugar
- ½ (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs cold
- 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled or weighed
- 3 tbsp (22 g) corn starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional*)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F for jumbo cookies, 375° F for 4 tbsp large cookies, or 350℉ for small cookies.
- Place butter and sugars into a stand mixer and blend well until butter and sugars are fully incorporated, and light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and eggs one at a time until blended well with the sugar-butter mixture.
- Add remaining dry ingredients, except for chocolate chips and nuts. Mix on low until the two are just combined. You don't want to over mix this portion. Over mixing can cause flat cookies.
- Add chocolate chips and walnuts* and pulse gently until mixed in.
- For jumbo cookies, weigh out dough balls to be about 6oz each (about ¾ cup per ball), or use my favorite 4 tbsp scoop, or classic cookie size. For jumbo, place 4 on a sheet. For 4 tbsp, place 6 on a sheet. For 2 tbsp classic size, place 12 on a sheet.I typically do no not usually NEED to chill mine, but chilling does ensure that it holds a great thick shape and enriches flavor.
- Bake for about 8-12 minutes depending on size. Let the cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- These will stay fresh in an airtight container for several days. These also freeze great. Let cool completely, then put them in an airtight bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the preformed dough balls as well for an easy way to have fresh hot cookies to pull out whenever!
These cookies are AMAZING! So easy, and SO good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. ????
Yay! So glad you love them! They are a favorite for us too!
I was hesitant about these, as I prefer a fluffy soft cookie to a thick, heavy cookie. I don’t exactly know how she did it, but this had the flavor and satisfaction of a bakery cookie, but the texture was still soft and leaned into my liking somehow. I’m converted. Delicious!
We made these today with leftover candy from our neighbors for beggars night. And homemade caramels leftover from caramel apples Earlier this week. White and semi sweet chips, m&m’s, snickers, Milky Way, 3 musketeers, and caramels. So. Yummy!
That sounds delicious Arriel! Fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! Just wondering if I need to change cooking time or temperature if I’m cooking frozen cooking balls you suggested! Thank you!
No need to change temperature – they will just need a few more minutes! I often leave them out a bit before just popping them in straight frozen, especially if they’re larger. There’s just more of a contrast between a more done outside and a doughy inside if you pop them in frozen, so if you like that then go for it! 🙂 Otherwise just let them sit out a bit before cooking and plan to bake a couple minutes longer because they’ll still be colder. Just start watching them after 10 minutes. Hopefully that helps. Happy baking!
I’m in love with this recipe. I was little skeptical cuz usually all of the recipes I made cookies come super flat. I made this cookies last week and oh my god! Amazing, my family loves them so much. I’m
Looking forward to make the star bread and some other recipes.
If using cake flour instead of AP flour and corn starch, how much would you use? I have a bunch cake flour in my pantry I want to use up.
Great question Deanna! To substitute in cake flour, use 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup cake flour in this recipe. Then omit 2 TB of the corn starch (so just adding 1 TB). Happy baking!
Thank you so much!
These are some huge cookies but SO GOOD. I’ve made them a few times and they’ve come out perfect every time. My family loves them! Lo’s recipes never fail me.
How many ounces do you make your smaller cookies?
I make them about 2 oz, a standard size cookie scoop. A medium sized cookie would be about 4tbsp. I love that size too! Nice and generous, without being ginormous 🙂
Just curious is anyone has tried making these with margarine (like earth balance sticks)? I am dairy free for my nursing baby, but need delicious cookies in my life!
I haven’t personally, Crystal! But shortening also is usually a pretty safe alternative!