Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my family’s favorite cookies. I think this was the first thing I baked with my son. This recipe is from one of my friends when I was an exchange student in the US decades ago. My problem is that some of the ingredients you use in the recipe, were unavailable here in Europe. So, by trial and error, I finally cracked the recipe and made the same kind of Chocolate Chip Cookies she baked in the US. Crispu outside but soft inside. Yum!

There are a couple of things that you should take into consideration when baking Chocolate Chip Cookies to ensure perfect results. The first one is to chill the dough. Chilling the cookie dough is so important in this recipe! Chilling the dough is mandatory here unless you want the cookies to spread into a massive cookie puddle. It allows the ingredients to settle together after the mixing stage, but most importantly, cold dough results in thicker cookies. Cover the cookie dough and chill for at least 2–3 hours and up to 3–4 days. After chilling, the dough is quite solid, so let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes (to soften it up slightly) before shaping. When I made the dough, I formed “sausages” and wrapped them in plastic wrap. This way, you just need to cut pieces from the dough and bake. No rolling or scooping is needed.

Key Ingredients for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

The cookie dough is made from your standard cookie ingredients: flour, leavener, salt, sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. The ratios and temperature of those ingredients make this recipe stand out from the rest.

Melted butter: Melted butter produces the chewiest cookies. It can, however, make your baked cookies greasy, so I made sure there is enough flour to counteract that. And using melted butter is also the reason you don’t need a mixer to make these cookies,

More brown sugar than white sugar: The brown sugar promises an extra soft and chewy baked cookie. It also gives color for the cookie. White granulated sugar is still necessary, though. It’s dry and helps the cookies spread; a little bit of spread is good.

Cornstarch: Why? Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra-soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies.
Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds richness and soft tenderness and binds the dough. You will need 1 egg + 1 egg yolk at room temperature.

Because of the melted butter, the dough will be soft, and the chocolate chips may not stick. Just keep stirring it; I promise it will come together. Because of the melted butter and extra egg yolk, the slick dough doesn’t even look like normal cookie dough! Trust the process…

Ingredients

• 5 dl all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cornstarch/potato starch
• ½ tsp salt
• 170 g unsalted butter, melted & cooled 5 minutes
• 1,5 dl muscovado sugar
• 1 dl g granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + extra egg yolk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 225 g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (I found really good quality chunks from Aldi)

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain.
3. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin.
4. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft and thick and appear greasy.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
6. Separate the dough into two equal parts. Form two “sausages” about 5-6 cm in diameter and wrap them in plastic wrap for chilling in the fridge. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight for less spreading but chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2–3 hours. You can keep the dough chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days
7. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
9. Cut the dough into 3 cm thick slices. Place the slices on the baking sheet. If one slice crumbles, bring it back to form. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place 8–9 slices of dough on each cookie sheet.
10. Bake the cookies for 6-7 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. This is optional and only for looks. After 10 minutes of cooling on the baking sheets, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
    Cookies stay fresh at room temperature for up to 1 week.