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Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 21 by Donna Leave a Comment

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If you love moist chewy chocolate chip cookies as much as I do, this recipe will make you happy. It hits those notes that we chewy cookie lovers enjoy: a little crispiness, a lotta moist heft, a touch of cinnamon, plus a salty accent … mmm mmm. Lord have mercy on my sweet tooth!

stack of chewy chocolate chip cookies with glass of milk

I developed this recipe decades ago after tiring of all the wan, lackluster chocolate chip cookie recipes I had previously tried.

The addition of an extra egg, plus ground oatmeal (more on that below!) creates a lot of body and the dark brown sugar lends a molasses-y sweetness that most recipes lack. The cinnamon and nuts expand the flavor profile even more. I have baked them more than a hundred times.

Some cookie mixing tips

A Word About the Creaming Technique

Creaming is a culinary term that means to whip sugar and fat together until it’s light and fluffy, creating an emulsion. This job is best done with a stand mixer. It then incorporates air into the emulsion of the sugar and fat and makes your baked goods smoother and lighter.

Brown sugars with butter in bowl of stand mixer.

I have started with butter and shortening that have been whipped together. In this example, light and dark brown sugars are added and it is ready to be creamed.

Sugars and butter just combined in mixer

In the photo above, those ingredients have simply been mixed together until combined.

Sugars and butter creamed in mixer bowl

But here we have a big difference! These same ingredients have now been whipped on medium to high speed for at least 1 minute. Bingo! Properly creamed fat and sugars. Now you can go ahead and add your eggs and vanilla extract.

Why do recipes call for adding eggs one at a time?

Adding eggs one at a time might seem silly, but there are good reasons for it.

Firstly, you don’t want the sheer volume of the added eggs to overwhelm the volume of your lovely creamed fat and sugars. That would break the emulsion.

Secondly, you’ll ensure you have complete incorporation of your eggs without wayward clumps of egg white (you want your eggs to be properly “denatured” = complete blending of the white and yolk.)

If more than one egg goes in at a time it’s certainly not a disaster, just proceed as normal. Also, if you notice your batter separating at this point and looking curdled, it’s likely because your eggs were cold and it broke that emulsion you created while creaming.

Just keep going, it will work itself out and your cookies will still be yummy. The flavoring extracts you add can also give a curdled appearance.

Grinding up oats?? Oh yes.

The grinding of oats into powder in this recipe is unusual, but adds a lot of flavor and structure. It helps give a chewy heft as well as delighting your taste buds. The oatmeal flavor is very subtle but really fantastic.

ground oatmeal in food processor

No worries about shopping for oat flour or powdered oatmeal, you can whip it up in under a minute or two with the oats you likely have in your pantry. To make it, simply place 2 cups of old-fashioned or quick oats in a food processor (or blender) and whiz until it becomes finely ground.

As with any cookie, combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add to the batter in stages. Mix only until the ingredients are incorporated. Over mixing will yield tough cookies.

I add my nuts and chocolate chips to the dough in the mixer and incorporate them gently. You can also stir them in by hand. Be sure to scrape the bowl for any missed bits at the bottom!

portioned chewy chocolate chip cookie dough on cookie sheet

A scoop makes short work of panning your cookie dough. If you don’t have one, two spoons do the job. Don’t crowd them on the sheet, give them some room so the oven’s hot air can easily circulate around them and they have room to spread.

I prefer cookies that are soft and chewy, so I under bake mine just a little. If you check them and think they might need just another minute, that’s when I remove mine.

Let them cool on the sheets a minute or two to firm up. They’ll also continue to cook a little bit on the hot sheet pan. Cool on a wire rack (or even on several layers of newspaper laid on the counter, works great!)

If you like, zing up the flavor by sprinkling the cookies – hot from the oven – with a little kosher salt. Makes all the flavors pop on your taste buds!

Chewy chocolate chip Cookies on a baking sheet

This cookie dough is especially versatile:

  • You can make the dough and bake it immediately … OR …
  • You can chill the dough for up to 48 hours then bake … OR …
  • You can freeze individual dough portions to bake at another time
  • The baked cookies freeze beautifully
cookies on a plate

Make somebody’s day today (maybe your own!) and bake up some Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Want another yummy chocolate cookie recipe? Try my Fudgy Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hefty, moist, chewy and chocolatey.  Perfect.
Keyword: chocolate chip cookies
Servings: 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups oats, old-fashioned or quick
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, (plus more for sprinkling, optional)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup roughly chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans)
  • 24 ounces chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.  Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Place the oats in a food processor or blender and whiz until it is ground to a fine powder. 
  • In a bowl, whisk together the powdered oats, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. (Then chop the nuts in the food processor.)
  • In a stand mixer, cream the butter, shortening, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar until light and fluffy.
  • To the mixer bowl, add the eggs, beating in one at a time.  Add the vanilla.  Scrape down the bowl and incorporate the ingredients thoroughly.
  • Pour in the flour mixture in thirds, gently beating after each addition until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.
  • Add the chocolate and nuts to the mixer bowl and stir.
  • Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form dough into 1 1/2" mounds.  Place 2" apart on greased or parchment paper lined  baking sheets, 9-12 cookies per sheet. (Bake only one or two sheets in the oven at a time.)
  • Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden, but centers are soft.  Cool on baking sheets a minute or two.  Sprinkle with some kosher salt if desired. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Enjoy!

Notes

  • Use any chocolate that you like.  I prefer a mixture of chocolate chunks and dark chocolate morsels.
  • Don’t substitute coconut oil for the butter or shortening; it will yield a dry texture.
  • Using only butter will make the cookies spread significantly more.
  • If you’d like a soft, chewy cookie, underbake them a smidge.  When you check them and think they’re almost done and need just another minute, that’s when to take them out for soft gooey cookies. Let them cool and firm up on the sheet pan for a minute or so. 
  • Parchment-lined baking sheets will yield the best results. If not using parchment, grease the cookie sheets.

Filed Under: Baking, Cookies

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Hello and welcome!  I’m Donna, a classically trained chef whose first culinary love is cooking for my family and second is helping you cook for yours. Let’s make something tasty together!

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