Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Big, bakery style chocolate chunk cookies with thin, crispy edges, chewy middles. Bits and chunks of chocolate in every bite, plus a secret ingredient that makes them extra delicious.
I once created a very popular and beloved chocolate chip cookie and I still make those frequently but also… I have a penchant for buying chocolate chip cookies from any local bakery (esp when my home stash is gone). My excuse is that they are an opportunity to learn (through eating =) ), but I also just love certain ones for qualities that are missing in my own.
Whole Foods and a local cafe both make really great, very similar, chocolate chunk cookies. They’re about twice the size of my palm, have crispy edges, use quality chocolate and then… there’s something about the cookie itself which makes it taste so… good. In the WF’ case, I first thought it was the ‘sweet cream’ , but I quickly realized that’s just marketing talk for, well, butter. I knew it wasn’t the brown butter that was setting them apart because we’ve all done that. The local cafe’s is very, very similar but doesn’t do brown butter. I examined the ingredients listed on both to figure this out, got nowhere, made some other cookies based on this popular recipe, knew it wasn’t what I was after, then experimented with what I thought the bakeries were doing differently. And… magic (eventually, lol).
What’s the difference between a regular chocolate chip cookie and a bakery style chocolate chip cookie?
First, they are bigger! The texture almost always has some crispiness to it, especially at the sides. Sometimes throughout the whole cookie but usually you get some chew in the center. There’s always a mix of brown and granulated sugar just like in the original ccc – that’s for sure.
They claim ‘sweet cream butter’ but I’m betting that’s code for butter with a high butterfat percentage. Hey, I do that too! Happy to keep that in the recipe. Second, they distribute their chocolate well and with minimal effort (I mean this has to be the case, right? Who is chopping that much chocolate?). So instead of getting out my chef’s knife and attacking a big chocolate bar, I went for a mix of valrhona feves and mini chocolate chips which give the same effect. I also figure those guys aren’t out there separating dozens of eggs so I went with a whole but added an extra yolk, to keep my cookie middles nice and chewy. A whole egg would also ensure I’d get more spread so I’d get those crispy edges.
The other thing is, and this is really where it clicked for me in my (20?) recipe tests, I believe they often use bread flour not all purpose. Ok, I can’t actually know this for sure, but I did analyze the flour ingredients and noted it was more similar to my bread flour’s ingredients than my AP’s. It also makes sense that these bakeries, pounding out hundreds of loaves a day would use the same flour for their cookies right? So we’re doing that too.
What’s the secret ingredient to bakery style chocolate chunk cookies?
The last thing is, milk powder – which is listed on the ingredients of one of the cookies and which I tried early on but it didn’t work as well until I combined it with the right ratio of butter and with the bread flour. Milk powder adds a wonderful toasted taste to the cookies which enhances the ‘caramel’ like flavor of the dough. And with it, I got that perfect-I-thought-I’d-never-be-able-to-get-this-at-home cookie.
So the answer is all of the above: big, bakery cookies use butter with a high butterfat percentage, bread flour (or so I bet), valrhona feves, and round it all out with milk powder to hone in on that quintessential taste. I think I cracked the code, I’m so excited for you to make these!
Recipe Ingredients
Butter: European style butter with at least 82% butterfat (83% is even better). It should be softened but it’s fine if it isn’t, you’ll just cream it longer with the sugar. Unsalted is preferable.
Sugar: Both granulated sugar and brown, I use light brown but dark should be fine as well.
Flour: Bread flour. This flour will give the cookie the right texture and the right amount of spread.
Milk powder: Dehydrated milk or nonfat dry milk powder. You’ll find this in the baking aisle. You can also use malted milk powder.
Chocolate: Use what you like in terms of percentage of cocoa solids (45-55% is semi-sweet, anything lower is milk chocolate, anything higher is considered dark chocolate) but try to find a mix of larger chunks and smaller chips so you get chocolate in every bite and a big puddle in some.
Leavening: Both baking soda and powder; the former helps the cookie spread well the latter ensures the middle puffs up and bakes.
Salt & Vanilla: Fine sea salt (not table salt!) and a good quality pure vanilla extract.
How to make Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cream the butter & sugar
First step in any chocolate chip cookie recipe is to cream together the butter and sugar. Some recipes will give you time cues (2-5 minutes) but I always prefer to go by visuals.
Depending on how soft the butter is, the creaming can happen quickly or take some time. The goal is not to just have them blended, but to pump in a ton of air bubbles which will fluff out the butter and begin to break down the sugar granules.
Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer begin creaming. Once the sugars and butter are blended, keep going – scraping down as needed. See the difference between the lighter, fluffier creamed butter & sugar and the darker parts which aren’t yet creamed on the spatula below? This is why we scrape and keep mixing.
Once the mixture is 3-4 shades lighter than when you started – it’s done creaming.
Next the egg and yolk – again be patient while this mixes. Let it get fluffy and scrape down with a rubber spatula to ensure you aren’t leaving any bits of dough out.
Add dry ingredients
The milk powder (our magic ingredient) and bread flour will go in and you’ll turn the mixer on to just combine. We don’t want to develop any gluten so avoid over-mixing the flour.
Now the chocolate! Here I’m using some extra large chips I found and some mini chips. This combination works really well together (and I’m a huge advocate of chopping a chocolate bar).
Chill the dough
And once the chocolate is folded in, you’re gonna set the dough in an airtight container and transfer it to the fridge. At the very least overnight but you can leave it there up to 48 hours and it should be good.
Once the dough has had time to develop, it’s absolutely amazing flavor, we’ll pull it out and scoop it. If it’s too hard to scoop you can let it come to room temperature first.
I like using a cookie scoop so all my cookies will be exactly the same size and bake evenly.
Leave enough space between them (at least a 2 inch diameter) because these will spread:
And then… well magic! Let them cool on the pan a bit before eating , those chocolate puddles can make these difficult to lift in one piece.
FAQ on Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Why does the cookie dough need to chill overnight?
I don’t ask you to do this often, but for these you must. First, as you may already know, chocolate chip cookie dough often benefits from an overnight rest to develop flavor. But there’s other reasons for it here too: the bread flour and the milk powder need to be absorbed by the liquid in the dough so they can give us that wonderful chewy texture.
What percentage of butterfat do I need?
83% butterfat. In the US, mostly you’ll find butter made with 80% butterfat. European brands usually do 82 or 83% which is what we want here. Butterfat has more, well fat, in it so the butter will be softer, more yellow in color, melt quicker and will yield a richer taste to the cookie.
What is milk powder and where do I find it?
It’s evaporated milk, and you’ll usually find it in the baking aisle. No substitutes for the milk powder.
What brand of chocolate chunks should I use?
I used whole food’s mini chocolate chips and valrhona’s semi-sweet feves (they have quite a few, choose your favorite). You could also use a good quality regular sized chocolate chip if you prefer.
Can I make these ahead of time?
This dough needs an overnight chill but it can keep for 48 hours in the fridge before baking. If you want cookies on the ready anytime, once the dough has had its rest, scoop it and flash freeze on a plate then store it in an airtight container. You’ll want to bring it to room temperature before baking or to add a few more minutes to the total bake time.
Recipe for Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Here’s a link to the cookie scoop I used for these cookies (it scoops 3.25 tablespoons).
Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g butter european unsalted and softened
- 210 g brown sugar 1 cup
- 113 g granulated sugar ½ cup
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg and 1 yolk
- 250 g bread flour
- 2 tablespoons non-fat dry milk powder
- 300 g chocolate chips mix of mini and feves
Method
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars, salt and vanilla. Add the baking powder and soda. Beat about 5 minutes, scraping down as needed. When the mix is a few shades lighter than when you started it’s well creamed.
- Add the egg and yolk and beat for another 3 minutes, scraping down as needed. Add the flour and milk powder and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and set in the fridge overnight or for up to 48 hours.
- Remove the dough from the fridge a few hours before you plan to bake so it’s soft & easier to portion. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two greased cookie sheets with parchment paper and scoop out 3 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie (these are intended to be quite large). Make sure you only do 6 per pan as they spread.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, they should be a bit golden on the edges and not look wet in the center. They will ‘fall’ just a bit when they come out and make pretty wrinkles. Store in an airtight container.
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Can I use whole milk power?
Yep!
Hi! I’m hoping to make these as a skillet cookie or cookie ‘cake’ for a friend’s birthday and wondered if you had any advice on altering the recipe for that application?
Hi Tess, sounds like a chocolate chip cookie lover’s dream birthday cake! I’d go for a 12 inch skillet, bake it at 350 F until the edges are golden brown and the center doesn’t look ‘wet’; about 25 minutes. This is based off of looking at a few “skillet cookie” recipes and finding one that had similar quantities as this dough of mine.
These are, hands down, the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever baked or eaten. I’ve used this recipe, replacing my old one I’m famous for, for the last couple of years. I really want to make some for my coworker who has celiac disease but I’m afraid gluten-free bread flour will ruin it. Do you happen to have a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe as good as this one?
Hi Maggie! So happy to hear you love these 😀 I have two gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes but they are different than this in texture and flavor because of the ‘flour’ difference: oat flour chocolate chip cookies and these almond flour based cccs. If you didn’t want to try those but wanted to stick to this recipe you could try swapping in a gluten free bread flour.
Actually we do separate dozens of eggs! That’s always a mindless task to do at the end of a shift. The whites go to meringues or macarons, and we have to find something to do with all the yolks. 🙂
This recipe is officially my go-to for chocolate chip cookies. I even replaced Claire Saffitz’s recipe with this one, it’s that good.
I add 100 grams of toasted pecans and use three kinds of chocolate (valrhona milk, valrhona dulcey, and guittard dark discs). I chop the valrhona feves but leave the guittard discs whole because they melt beautifully.
Reserve some chocolate bits to stick to the tops of your cookies as decoration after they’ve been portioned. This takes them an extra mile!
I tend to triple this recipe in my 7qt Kitchenaid and then freeze dough portioned and decorated on parchment for “whenever”. Give this recipe a try, and if you’re serious at all about getting bakes right, use a scale!!
Please for the love of God can you list ingredients in the other metric system as well – as you just might have readers from the United States try to make your recipe. Not everyone has time to convert and hope the conversions are correct; nor does everyone have a scale on hand to weigh flour.
made these yesterday, just cooked a batch tonight. flavor is ok, but the texture is like cake or muffins. I even put some of them back in the oven to cook longer to try to improve and at least get a crispy edge, but didn’t work. not a win for me!
Hi Robin, that is quite odd, I’ve never had that happen with these before. Sorry to hear it, they should definitely have had a crispy edge. I’m wondering if something went awry in the recipe; how did you measure the flour and what temperature was the butter when it was creamed?
Wow! I just pulled a tray of these from the oven and immediately devoured 2. These are really decadent. The edges have just the right amount of crunch and the interiors are soft and gooey. I followed the recipe exactly as show, with the exception of adding some toasted pecans. Delish!
I will definitely be making these again, but in the meantime I have portioned out some of the dough balls in freezer bags so I can just pop them in the oven and have fresh-baked cookies the next time friends or family pop in for a visit.
Thanks for sharing your recipe and making the rest of us happy 🙂
Hi, my cookies did not flatten out like yours did. Can you help me diagnose? I used room temp everything. This is my first time baking with bread flour and I noticed my finished dough was fairly dry and flaky. I made sure not to over mix. My scoops were about golf ball size and the dough was only a few minutes out of the fridge when I put them on the pan and in the oven. Does the dough need to be room temp before baking? Would love any tips on how to improve 🙂 thanks so much!
Hi Mark! It doesn’t need to be room temp! A couple of questions – did you use european style butter? And how did you measure the flour? Usually when cookies don’t spread it’s a case of there being too much flour (caused by packing in the cup rather than sprinkling it in and leveling). The wrong kind of butter can contribute too.
I’m a chocolate chip cookie lover and this is my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I have found that half the amount of chocolate the recipe calls for is perfect for me and my husband. I make this every other week, portion out the cookie dough, freeze them, and then have fresh cookies nearly everyday ????
I tried a new recipe recently and did enjoy it but then I went back to these because the dough is so good.
hi 🙂 how many cookies does the recipe yield?
about 12 big cookies!
These were a hit! I used malted milk powder because that’s what I had on hand and it gave it a nice additional layer of depth. Will make these again for sure.
Sam! This cookie is EVERYTHING! I’m done looking! Had 2 go-to’s for years but always trying new ones. Hands down it’s everything you said it was! THANK YOU!!
These are absolutely incredible! The perfect caramel crispy edges with a chewy and soft center! Balanced and perfectly salty! Will make again and again.
Hoping you can help an old girl out- might you be so kind and convert your measurements from grams to US measurements for this cookie recipe? I’m afraid I won’t get convert them exact & mess it up. Thx so much!!
These look delicious! I always love the addition of chocolate chips in a cookie. These are on my list to try. Thanks!
So good! These cookies are properly named because I did get that “bakery” flavor the moment I bit into it. The cookies are thinner than others that I’ve made, but don’t worry! They were not overdone or crisp on the inside. They have a nice crispness on the outside and a good gooey chewy texture on the inside.
that’s awesome to hear Lexy! That’s eactly the texture I get on mine 😀
I *may* be addicted to this cookie recipe. 10 out of 10 two thumbs up, would definitely recommend!!
What kind of bread flour? Or what brand?
I use King Arthur’s
Thank you for this recipe! I am excited to try it. This might be a dumb question (or two) but how many sticks (or cups) of butter is 150g? I tried to convert to cups without much luck and I really want to get it right. I can’t find Valrhona chocolate that would be delivered soon enough so I’m rolling with Ghirardelli. will update comment after making the recipe.
It’s about 2/3 cup but if you have a scale to measure by weight that would be best!
I am so surprised your blog is not more popular because you have the best recipes I have ever experienced on a blog. I usually do a lot of tweaks on other recipe blogs but your recipes and suggestions are always spot on. I am a little happy because I can gate keep the recipes but oh my goodness, you are a genius.
Evan, thank you so much for the comment! Lately, I’ve been spending a lot more time testing and re-testing before I publish, and wondering if it’s made a difference to readers, so this comment truly made my day.
Would malted milk powder work well in this recipe?
Yes!
HANDS DOWN THE BEST CCC RECIPE ON THE INTERNET!!! This is my go to cc cookie recipe. Seriously make them they will not disappoint.
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe!
This is now my absolute FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie recipe!! It tastes exactly like the ones you get at a bakery. I gave one to my mom and she immediately had a recovered memory of taking me to get chocolate chip cookies from this little bakery right by the dance studio I went to when I was three years old! Nostalgic heaven!
Oh my that’s the sweetest – I can’t believe the cookie triggered that! Thank you for sharing that Megan
Please disregard my last comment! I doubled checked the ingredient list and didn’t see brown sugar. But I see it now. Oops lol can’t wait to try these
You wrote that you use light brown sugar and regular sugar, in the directions you wrote sugars and butter. But in the ingredient list with measurements you only wrote granulated. Does brown sugar not go in this?
It was sooooo good but I added more flour after the first time because they were really thin. We finish the cookies in a couple of days because of how good they are
Shaina, were they as pictured thin or overly so? And what kind/brand of flour did you use? Sometimes knowing this can help me figure out what it is that made them different.
Delicious! The second time I made these, I swapped 1/3 of the chocolate for pistachios (for texture / color) and they were still a hit 🙂
As luck would have it, I’m in the process of making a pistachio cookie recipe ;p
Literally, the best chocolate chip cookie ever. Let it sit the 48 hrs bc it is so worth it ❤️
AH KATE, thank you for this! 😀
I have a question on milk “powder”. I was thinking a carnation dry milk but then it said evaporated milk which is liquid in a can. Please advise which to use. Thank you!!
Hi Jan, definitely not liquid. Carnation dry milk would be the right choice (I used Bob’s Red Mill).
AMAZING!
I’m just wondering how much milk powder you added – you mention it in the post, but I don’t see it in the ingredient list in the recipe.
Thanks Erin, fixed now.