American chocolate chip cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a bowl, beat the soft butter with the brown sugar and caster sugar for 2 minutes until creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix just until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix gently, just until no flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Shape balls of about 50 g and place them on a tray lined with baking paper, 5 cm apart, without flattening them.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centre is still soft. Leave for 10 minutes on the tray, then move to a rack. Bake the second batch the same way.
Notes
Golden crispy edges, a soft melting centre and big chunks of chocolate in every bite: here is our chocolate chip cookies recipe, the real American one. These chocolate chip cookies are easy to get right and far better than shop-bought: proper homemade cookies, thick and generous, like the ones from a New York bakery.
Chocolate chip cookies, an American invention
The chocolate chip cookie was born in the United States in the 1930s, at an inn in Massachusetts run by Ruth Wakefield. She had the idea of adding pieces of chocolate to a butter cookie dough, thinking they would melt. They kept their shape, and the chocolate chip cookie became America’s favourite cookie. Today it is enjoyed as an afternoon snack with a big glass of cold milk, in school lunchboxes or still warm from the oven.
The real American cookie recipe
The real American cookie recipe uses only a few ingredients: butter, two sugars, an egg, flour, baking soda and chocolate. Brown sugar is essential: rich in molasses, it keeps moisture in and gives the caramel flavour and tender texture. White sugar brings the crispy edges. Baking soda makes the dough puff up slightly and then fall, which creates the typical little cracks. Use dark chocolate with 50 to 60% cocoa, as chips or chopped with a knife for nice shards.
Chewy and crispy cookie recipe
The secret of a chewy and crispy cookie recipe is the contrast between a crunchy edge and an almost melting centre. Three steps make the difference. Do not overwork the dough once the flour is in, so you do not develop the gluten. Chill it: the butter firms up, the cookies spread less and stay thick. Finally, take them out of the oven when the centre still looks a little raw: they finish baking on the hot tray.
Quick and easy chocolate chip cookies
In a hurry? These quick and easy chocolate chip cookies take 10 minutes to make, without a mixer, using a wooden spoon. If you cannot wait, you can skip the chilling: the cookies will be a little flatter and crispier, but just as good. A time-saving tip: shape all the balls at once and freeze the ones you do not bake, so next time you will have fresh cookies in minutes.
Cookie baking time
The cookie baking time is the key to success. Allow 9 to 11 minutes at 180 °C, conventional heat, for 50 g balls. At 9 minutes they are very chewy; at 11 minutes, crispier. The edges should be golden and the centre still pale and shiny. If you wait until the centre looks done, they will harden as they cool. With a fan oven, lower to 170 °C and check from 8 minutes.
Thermomix cookies
Thermomix cookies are ready in no time. Put the soft butter, brown sugar and caster sugar in the bowl and mix for 30 seconds on speed 4. Add the egg and vanilla, 10 seconds on speed 4. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix for 20 seconds on reverse speed 3. Add the chips and mix for 10 seconds on reverse speed 2. Chill, then bake as in the recipe.
Double chocolate chip cookies
For double chocolate chip cookies, replace 30 g of flour with 30 g of unsweetened cocoa powder and add 100 g of white or milk chocolate chips on top of the dark ones. The dough is darker, so it is harder to see when they are done: trust the timer and take them out at 10 minutes. Lovers of intense chocolate will also enjoy our kladdkaka, the gooey Swedish cake, or Brazilian brigadeiros.
Pecan chocolate chip cookies
Pecan chocolate chip cookies are a great American classic. Replace 50 g of chips with 80 g of roughly chopped pecans, toasted for 5 minutes in a dry pan: they become crunchier and more fragrant. A pinch of cinnamon in the dough goes very well with pecans. You can swap the pecans for walnuts or hazelnuts.
Butter-free cookies
For butter-free cookies, replace the 125 g of butter with 100 g of melted refined coconut oil, or with 110 g of peanut or almond butter. With oil the dough is softer, so chilling becomes essential. With nut butter the cookies are denser, with a delicious toasted flavour. Halve the salt if your nut butter is already salted.
Eggless cookies
Eggless cookies work very well. Replace the egg with 50 g of apple sauce, half a mashed banana or 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water. Milk alone does not replace the egg: it does not have the same binding power. The cookies are a little softer and spread slightly more, which is why chilling helps.
Vegan chocolate chip cookies
For vegan chocolate chip cookies, combine both tips: coconut oil or plant-based margarine instead of butter, flaxseed or apple sauce instead of the egg. Check that your dark chocolate chips are milk-free, which is often the case with chocolate above 60% cocoa. The result is surprisingly close to the classic recipe.
Storing cookie dough
For storing cookie dough, keep it well wrapped in the fridge for 3 days: it even gains flavour. You can also freeze the shaped balls for up to 3 months and bake them straight from frozen, adding 2 minutes to the baking time. Baked cookies keep for 5 days in an airtight tin. To soften them again, put a slice of sandwich bread in the tin.
Cookie calories
As for cookie calories, count about 220 kcal per 50 g cookie, for 16 cookies. These are indulgent treats, rich in butter, sugar and chocolate, to enjoy with pleasure but in moderation. To make them a little lighter, shape 30 g balls (about 130 kcal each), reduce the caster sugar by 25 g and use 70% dark chocolate.
Cookies, krumkake or stroopwafels?
Every country has its favourite biscuits. In Norway, krumkake are thin wafers rolled into cones at Christmas, and in the Netherlands, stroopwafels hide a caramel filling between two wafers. The American cookie bets everything on butter, brown sugar and chocolate. To flavour your cookie doughs, our spice guide will give you more ideas.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my cookies spread too much?
The butter was too soft or melted, the dough was not chilled or the tray was still hot. Use butter that is just soft, chill the dough for 30 minutes and always place the balls on a cold tray.
Should you flatten cookie dough balls?
No. Place the balls on the tray as they are: they spread on their own while baking and keep a thicker, chewier centre. For perfectly round cookies, reshape them with an upturned glass as soon as they come out of the oven.
