These thick chocolate chip cookies are generously loaded with melty semi-sweet chocolate chips, with crisp edges and a soft, gooey center. They come together in one bowl with no chilling required, and bake up giant, bakery-style, in under 30 minutes.
If you’ve ever bitten into a chocolate chip cookie from a bakery and wondered how they get them so soft and perfect, I’ve got you. These super thick giant chocolate chip cookies are exactly that. No fancy equipment needed! Just a few pantry staples and one bowl.
I Love These Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
I find myself frequenting those fancy bakeries just saw I can indulge in those thick, chunky, giant cookies. You know, the ones that you end up paying more than $6 per cookie but they are so satisfying it makes you feel like you jus tasted heaven.
I was determine to make recreate that magically feeling by making my own homemade bakery-style thick chocolate chip cookies. So I set out on a mission.
After much trial and error, I found that the trick here is this simple ingredient called cornstarch. What it does to the cookies:
- Tenderizes the Texture: By diluting the protein in all-purpose flour, it prevents tough gluten strands from forming, creating a softer, pillowy, or melt-in-your-mouth crumb.
- Prevents spreading: It binds with liquids in the dough and acts as a mild thickener, helping cookies keep their height and shape instead of flattening out in the oven.
- Enhances Softness & Chew: It helps cookies retain moisture so they stay soft and fresh longer
Here’s the best part. There’s no special equipment required, it uses only one bow, and you don’t even have to chill the dough. If you can cream butter and sugar, you can make these.
Whenever I’m having a bad day, I’ve started the bad habit of baking and indulging in a warm batch of thick chocolate chip cookies…and let me just say, some of those problems do temporary go away… 🤣
Ingredients
- Brown sugar: Adds moisture and that deep, molasses-y sweetness that keeps these cookies soft and chewy.
- Granulated sugar: Balances out the brown sugar and helps the edges crisp up nicely.
- Unsalted butter: Make sure it’s properly softened so it creams up light and fluffy – this is what gives the cookies their tender texture.
- Egg: Binds everything together and adds richness.
- Baking soda: The leavener here – it helps the cookies rise just enough while still staying thick (see the note below on this).
- Cornstarch: The real secret weapon. It’s what gives these cookies that soft, bakery-style thickness instead of a thin, spread-out cookie.
- Salt: Balances all the sweetness so the cookies don’t taste one-note.
- Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and rounds out the flavor. Use the good stuff, not the fake kind. 😉
- All-purpose flour: The base of the dough. Spoon and level it rather than scooping straight from the bag, so you don’t end up with dry, dense cookies.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips: Go generous here – these are meant to be loaded with chocolate. Chocolate chunks work beautifully too if you want extra melty pockets.
- Salt flakes: A finishing touch. Totally optional, but that little hit of salty crunch on top makes a big difference.
How to Make Super Thick Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’m spilling all the secrets to create those gorgeous thick, chewy, soft, giant chocolate chip cookies. Here’s how you make it.
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugars
Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a medium mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar, and softened butter. Cream together until light and fluffy – this usually takes a couple of minutes with a hand mixer.
Step 2: Mix in the wet ingredients
Add the egg, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Mix well until fully combined and smooth.
Step 3: Add the flour
Add half of the flour first and mix until just incorporated, then add the rest.
Mix only until the flour disappears – don’t overmix here, or the cookies can turn out tough instead of tender.
Step 4: Portion the dough
Divide the dough into 6 large balls, each weighing ~5 ounces.
This is what gives these cookies their signature thick, bakery-style size, so resist the urge to make them smaller (If you really want smaller cookies, try my Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies instead!).
Step 5: Shape and space the cookies
Place the dough balls on a baking sheet (you can line with parchment paper if you want to reduce cleanup), spacing them evenly apart.
Gently press down on each one to flatten it slightly into more of a classic cookie shape.
Step 6: Bake
Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are set. The centers will look a little underdone – that’s exactly what you want for that soft, gooey middle.
Step 7: Finish and cool
Remove from the oven and sprinkle lightly with salt flakes while the cookies are still warm.
Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes (they’re fragile straight out of the oven) before moving them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
I highly recommend serving them warm whole the chocolate chips and center are still soft and gooey. They truly taste like heaven on Earth…
P/S: These are the kind of cookies that disappear fast, so I’d plan on making a double batch if you’re sharing (or, no judgment, even if you’re not).
Variations and Substitutions
- Chocolate swap: Try dark chocolate chunks, milk chocolate chips, or a mix of two or three kinds for more variety in every bite.
- Add nuts: Fold in chopped walnuts or pecans along with the chocolate chips for some crunch.
- Browned butter: Brown the butter first, then let it cool slightly before creaming, for a deeper, nuttier flavor.
- Smaller cookies: Prefer a more manageable size? Divide the dough into 12 balls instead of 6, and start checking for doneness a couple minutes early.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
Make ahead: You can portion the dough into balls and refrigerate them, covered, before baking – just let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes if the dough firms up too much to press flat.
Storage: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days. They’re best within the first day or two, when the centers are at their gooiest.
Freezer: These dough balls freeze really well. Freeze them on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding a couple extra minutes to the bake time.
Reheating: A few seconds in the microwave brings back that fresh-baked, gooey-center magic.
Tips and Tricks
- Room temperature butter: Make sure your butter is properly softened, not melted, so it creams up light and fluffy instead of greasy.
- Don’t overmix the flour: Mix just until the flour disappears into the dough – overmixing develops the gluten and can make the cookies tough.
- Chill if your kitchen’s warm: If your dough feels soft or your kitchen runs hot, a quick 15-20 minutes in the fridge before baking helps the cookies hold their thick shape.
- Save a few chips for the top: Press a few extra chocolate chips onto the tops of the dough balls before baking for that bakery-display look.
- Watch the edges, not the center: Pull these when the edges are set and just barely golden – the centers should still look a little underdone.
- Let them rest on the pan: These cookies are very soft right out of the oven and can fall apart if you move them too soon. A few minutes on the pan firms them up.
- Salt while warm: Sprinkle the salt flakes on right when the cookies come out of the oven so they stick to the surface. You might have to press them into the dough a bit so they stay.
- Use parchment paper: It keeps the bottoms from over-browning and makes cleanup a breeze.
- Space them out: These cookies don’t spread a ton, but give them enough room on the pan so the edges bake evenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
This usually comes down to butter that’s too warm or melted, not enough flour, or skipping the cornstarch – all of these let the dough spread out too much before it sets.
Yes! You can portion the dough and refrigerate it, or freeze the dough balls for longer storage.
Definitely. Freeze the shaped dough balls on a tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes.
Cornstarch helps keep the cookies thick and gives them a soft, tender texture instead of a crisp, flat one.
Absolutely. Chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips all work well here.
Nope – a hand mixer or even a sturdy whisk and some elbow grease will get the job done.
The most common cause is butter that’s too soft or warm, or dough that hasn’t had a chance to firm up. Popping the dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before baking can help.
Yes, just divide the dough into more, smaller portions and reduce the bake time by a couple of minutes.
They’re best within the first day or two, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Yes, this recipe doubles easily – just make sure you have enough space to spread out the extra dough balls on your pan(s).
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
More Cookie Recipes
If you’re on a cookie kick, you’ll want to try these too:
- Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Caramel White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies
- Gooey Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
Thick & Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add brown sugar, white sugar, and butter. Cream until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add half of the flour. Fully incorporate. Then add the remaining flour. Mix to fully incorporate making sure not to over mix.
- Divide into 6 large balls of dough. Each cookie will weigh about 5 ounces.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Space dough balls evenly on the pan. Slightly press on the dough ball to make a more of a cookie shape.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until the sides are set.
- Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with salt flakes.
- Cool for a few minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- Serve and enjoy!
