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Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies!  These cookies are nice and golden on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Loaded up with tons of melted chocolate. The best part is the size. These cookies are thick and hearty!

Super thick chocolate chip cookie being picked up by a hand off a cooling wire rack.


 

My favorite thing about cookies, is possibly the dough. Which means these Texas sized cookies that remain soft and gooey in the center even when baked are my favorite thing ever! These cookies check all the boxes! 

  • Thick! 
  • Chewy
  • Buttery
  • Soft and gooey
  • Loaded with chocolate

How do you make thick cookies?

There’s several tricks and tips involved in this recipe that help to create the ultimate thick chocolate chip cookie.

  1. Use more Brown Sugar: We’re using mostly brown sugar instead of white. The light brown sugar creates a thicker, softer, and chewier cookie than using mostly white sugar.
  2. Baking Powder: We’re also using baking powder in these cookies instead of baking soda. Baking soda can help create crisper cookies, but we’re going for thick and soft.
  3. How you handle the dough: After we make the chocolate chip cookie dough, we’re also going to be careful about how we handle it. Don’t squish the dough! 
Step by step how to make thick cookies.

Handle the dough gently

To make the cookies, gently separate the dough into 6 pieces, but don’t form the dough into a ball shape. Most cookie recipes have you compress the dough and form a ball, or form it higher to help with the shape while baking.

But with this dough, we want to loosely form it into a shape, but don’t compress it. We want to keep the dough light and airy.

Chocolate chip cookie dough in a glass bowl.

Important Tips

  • The best dough will form if you use a hand mixer or stand mixer. This will allow you to throughly cream the butter and sugars.
  • If using a mixer, the dough might seem a bit crumbly. Moist, but not completely sticking together in a solid mound. This is ok. It’s due to the amount of flour in the recipe. This is another thing that makes the cookies so thick. Use your hands to mix the chocolate chips in all the way and you will see the dough come together.
  • Again, don’t squish the dough together. Keep it nice and airy. Form it just enough to make the cookie shape.
Balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet.

Can I make these cookies smaller?

This recipe is designed to create LARGE Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies. The best I can describe would be close to Levain Bakery. The recipe is designed to make 6 cookies.

However! This same dough can be used to make smaller size cookies, and they will still puff up thick when baking as long as you follow the instructions. Keep in mind that does change the serving size and nutrition information provided.

Other cookie recipes:

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Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

4.99 from 736 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 16 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Total: 56 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Serene
Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies!  These cookies are nice and golden on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. Loaded up with tons of melted chocolate. The best part is the size. These cookies are thick and hearty!
Super thick chocolate chip cookie being picked up by a hand off a cooling wire rack.

Ingredients  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans can be omitted

Instructions 

  • Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugars. Using a hand or stand mixer cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.
  • Add in the large egg, vanilla and mix until combined.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined. The dough might seem to be in crumbles as mentioned above.
  • Pour in the chocolate chips and pecans (if using) and use your hands to mix them in. This will bring the dough together. Be gentle though. We don’t want to compact the dough too much. We want to keep it as airy as possible.
  • Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Gently form into cookie form. Place on the baking sheet.
  • Chill the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 during this time.
  • Bake the cookies for about 16-18 minutes. The outside will be golden brown.
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling. The cookies need to cool prior to serving. They are best at room temperature.

Video

Equipment

Notes

Make ahead tip: You can make the cookie dough and keep it chilled in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months sealed in a freezer bag.
Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months, freeze them on a baking sheet first for a few hours, then add to a freezer bag to store. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Recipe initially posted on May 23, 2018. Updated on March 6, 2020 with new images and new video. Only recipe change was a reduction in the amount of vanilla extract. Original photo of recipe below! My chocolate chips melted so much better in that batch!

A hand holding a split open thick chocolate chip cookie with melted chocolate chips.

Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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265 Comments

  3. I made these, but instead of doing 6 big cookies I made smaller ones and they were mini thick chocolate chip cookies!! Loved them and loved the smaller size for portion control.

    Reply

      1. I got 9 outta this recipe and used parchment……omgoodness…so soft and sweet..i also used 70% dark chunks. I will definitely make again thanks.

      1. Cook at the same temperature, but baking time will vary based on the size of the cookie. I would start checking them sooner than the time listed. When the outside is starting to look golden, they should be done baking.

  4. Thank you for this great recipe I can’t wait to try it.
    Quick questions…how do you determine what the calorie count is? Also I notice that the chips seem so intact even after mixing into the dough and then final 🙂 would an ice cream scoop do too much compressing?
    tia

    Reply

    1. Hi Ava! I use myfitnesspal to calculate the calories. I put in all the ingredients and then since this recipe is designed for making 6 cookies, just divided it by half. It’s an estimate of course and can vary based on the particular brands and ingredients that you’re using in your own home. And for the cookie scoop, I don’t use a cookie scoop for this recipe. I always use my hands just to ensure that I’m keeping the dough as loose as possible.

      Reply

    2. Hi, I love this cookie recipe but my cookies are dry after they cool down. I’ve tried making this recipe 3 times. First time exactly followed your instructions. Weighed everything from my digital scale. Second time I tried making them smaller (80g)and reduced the time and baked for 12minutes
      Still they were dry after couple of hours. 3rd time I used less flour (110g,I made half a batch) and 20g more butter. And I meted the butter and used then they baked flat. Tasted amazing with the moist gooey inside but they were flat. I dont know what else I should do?

      Reply

      1. I’m not sure what you mean by they are dry. Over time the middle will set more. After baking the centers are definitely gooey. As they sit, the centers will become more like a regular cookie I suppose, not as gooey, but still tender. Melting the butter definitely won’t help, we need cold butter for this recipe. I do want to point out that I have had several people who I have worked with on this recipe who have used a different size egg. Make sure you are using large size eggs to ensure the dough doesn’t become too crumbly.

    1. The outside is crisp, just enough that you can hold them without them falling apart basically. The inside is soft. They stay soft when cooled also.

      Reply

  9. These cookies were simple, delicious, and I liked the smaller recipe size. I followed the recipe (w/o pecans) and they stayed pretty thick and were good! They stuck to the pan, which rarely happens with cookies, but aside from that we really enjoyed them!

    Reply

    1. Sarah I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies! Glad they turned out. As far as the sticking, every time I’ve made them I used a silicone baking mat, and I never had any issues with sticking. I’m wondering what method you used? Parchment paper? Or a baking spray on the pan?

      Reply