Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This chocolate chunk cookie recipe delivers the ultimate cookie—chewy with perfectly crisp edges and gooey chunks of chocolate in every bite!
I’ve been baking chocolate chip cookies since the fifth grade, and the classic Nestlé Toll House recipe still holds up. I’ve tried making improvements—resting the dough overnight, browning the butter, and swapping flours—but the extra effort rarely makes a noticeable difference. That said, the Toll House recipe has its flaws (sorry, Toll House!). As written, the cookies often turn out too flat.
To make the cookies more foolproof, I use a bit less sugar, more flour, and always chill the dough. This chocolate chunk cookie recipe is a slightly upgraded version, featuring two types of chocolate chunks instead of basic chocolate chips. Tender, puffy, and fudgy with perfectly crisp edges, they truly are the ultimate cookies!
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Butter: Softened butter creates a tender, chewy texture and slightly puffy cookies; it also adds richness.
- Granulated Sugar & Dark Brown Sugar: Together, they add sweetness, moisture, and a hint of molasses flavor, helping the cookies develop a crisp edge and chewy center.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the sweetness and adds depth to the cookie’s flavor.
- Large Eggs: Give the cookies structure and moisture.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and develop a lovely golden color.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the cookie’s base and structure. I highly recommend King Arthur All-Purpose Flour for this recipe—it’s high in protein and gluten and helps the cookies hold their shape.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: Adds gooey pockets of intense chocolate flavor.
- Milk Chocolate: Balances the bittersweet chocolate with a creamy sweetness and smooth texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a hand-held or stand mixer.
Beat until light, fluffy, and cafe au lait-colored. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined.
Add the flour and both chocolates.
Mix on low speed until the flour is completely blended and the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the dough in 1.5-tablespoon balls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft and pale in the center. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; freeze for longer storage.
You May Also Like
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This chocolate chunk cookie recipe delivers the ultimate cookie—chewy with perfectly crisp edges and gooey chunks of chocolate in every bite!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (packed) dark brown sugar (fine to substitute light)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ cups all purpose flour, spooned and leveled (preferably King Arthur flour - see note)
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate, best quality such as Ghriardelli, roughly chopped
- 2 oz milk chocolate, best quality such as Ghirardelli, finely chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars for 3 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and cafe au lait-colored (use high speed on a hand mixer and medium speed on a stand mixer). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl. Add the salt and baking soda and beat briefly until evenly combined. Add the flour and both chocolates, and mix on low speed until the flour is completely blended and the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or scrape the dough into an airtight container and let rest in the refrigerator until firm, a few hours. (Alternatively, if you don't want to wait, form the dough into balls on the baking sheet as instructed below and chill in the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set a rack in the middle position. Line a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drop the dough in firmly packed 1.5-tablespoon balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. (I use a #40/1.5-T cookie scoop with a wire trigger.) Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until golden around the edges but still soft and pale in the center. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Note: Some readers have had issues with the cookies being flat. This can happen as a result of using a "softer" flour. I highly recommend King Arthur All Purpose Flour for this recipe -- it's high in protein and gluten, and helps cookies hold their shape.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll the dough into balls, let set on a baking sheet in the freezer, then place in a sealable bag and press out as much air as possible. Bake as needed directly from the freezer. (Allow 1 to 2 minutes longer in the oven.) The baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container separating layers with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Before serving, remove the cookies from the container and let them come to room temperature.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 143
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Sugar: 12g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 76mg
- Cholesterol: 24mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi Jenn! I only have chocolate chips – how much would you suggest I use in this recipe? thank you!!!
Hi Elisha, I’d use 8 ounces (by weight, not volume). Hope you enjoy!
made these and they are the best ever. thank you for the tip using king arthur flour, it works, my cookies have been flat and these were puffy and chewy. i did just use chocolate chips since i have a huge bag from costco but am anxious to make with the different chocolate you recommend.
i want to make these but i have a huge bag of chocolate chips, can they be substituted for the chocolate
Sure, Diana, that should be fine. Enjoy!
Can I add coconut to this recipe?
Sure!
Very good, love the intense chocolate hit from pieces instead of chips. I used some espresso flavored chocolate bars (Trader Joe’s) that were a little too bitter as candy, but excellent in the cookies. Used dark instead of milk chocolate too (it’s what I had, also by TJ). Will try with the ones in the recipe next time.
These are very good. Last year I used a #40 scoop and bittersweet chocolate chunks and milk chocolate chips. The chips did not melt, though the cookies were still good.
This year I wanted a few more cookies so I used a #50 scoop. I baked them for 12 minutes and got 51 cookies about 2 1/2 inches wide. Maybe that is flatter than other people like them but they are great IMO. This year I used a 4 oz bar of semisweet and a 3 1/2 oz bar of milk chocolate, both chopped up, and they are super yummy!
I’ve made the recipe two times and found it to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever tried. I have tried many. Thank you for sharing your recipes.