These are the best Chocolate Chunk Cookies ever! Crisp edges and chewy centers filled with big chunks of dark chocolate. A perfect sweet treat everyone needs to try!
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Why We Love These Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- An easy drop cookie recipe that requires no chilling.
- Cookies have chewy centers and perfect crisp edges.
- Full of decadent dark chocolate chunks!
- Cookie dough balls freeze great.
- Baked cookies freeze perfect too!
- A sweet treat everyone loves packed in their lunches.
Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- White Sugar
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Dark Chocolate Chunks
Substitution Suggestions
- Salted Butter: You can use unsalted butter. I suggest adding an extra ½ teaspoon of salt if you do.
- Brown Sugar: I like using light brown sugar in most of my cookie recipes. Make sure to pack it! If you only have dark brown sugar, it will work.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Pure extracts are the best to use. Imitation extracts can leave an unwanted after taste in your baked goods.
- Whole Wheat Flour: You can substitute unbleached all purpose flour if you prefer not to use the whole wheat flour. However, if you have never tried cookies with whole wheat flour I suggest trying it first. You will be amazed by the extra little flavor the whole wheat flour gives to the cookies. I really like using a blend of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour in some of my cookies. It gives great flavor!
- Dark Chocolate Chunks: Feel free to use your favorite chocolate. If you can't find dark chocolate chunks in a bag, you can use dark chocolate bars and chop them up.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- First off, gather all your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350°F, and line at least 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Start by creaming the softened salted butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or large mixing bowl with hand mixer. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. This takes 2-3 minutes and the longer the better. Doing this is creating air in the dough which makes the texture of the cookie perfect!
- Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Once they are completely incorporated, add the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Mix just until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Using a medium size scoop or 2 tablespoons, place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies on center rack for 13-15 minutes. I lean more towards the 13 and 14 minute mark for the perfect cookie.
Pro Tip: Once the cookies come out of the oven use a biscuit cutter, circle cookie cutter or a glass and gently go around the cookie to create perfect round cookies.
- Let the cookies cool for 2 minutes on the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Finally, enjoy these cookies! Eat em warm, dunk em in milk, make ice cream sandwiches with them, or just sit and savor each bite. They truly are one of the best cookies out there!
Storing Cookies
Storing: Store the cooled chocolate chunk cookies in an air tight container. Keep them in a cool dry place and they'll last at least a week, if not longer. If you notice the cookies starting to get a little dry, add a piece of bread to the container with the cookies. It will add moisture back into the cookies.
Freezing: These cookies freeze well! Place the baked and cooled cookies in a freezer safe air tight container in single layers, between pieces of wax paper. Label, date and freeze. Cookies will last 3-4 months in the freezer.
Thawing: When you are ready to enjoy the cookies, simply let them thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
Freezing Cookie Dough: To freeze the cookie dough: place cookie dough balls on a parchment lined sheet pan. Then freeze the dough for at least an hour or more. Once frozen, place the frozen dough balls in a freezer safe air tight container or zip top bag. I like to freeze them between layers of wax paper. Label, date and keep frozen until ready to use.
Baking Frozen Cookie Dough: To bake the frozen cookie dough, place dough scoops on parchment lined cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Then bake frozen dough at 350°F and increasing bake time to 12-14 minutes or until edges are just starting to turn golden brown and the centers no longer look wet. Bake time will vary on how cold your cookies are when placed in the oven. Cool cookies on pan for 2 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Gather all the ingredients and chop the chocolate bars, if using, before you start preparing cookie dough. It is so much easier to bake when all the ingredients are ready. There is also less room for error, like forgetting an essential ingredient. I'm not saying I've done this, however, I am speaking from experience!
- Read the recipe from start to finish before you start. Again, I am speaking from experience.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It helps the dough come together better, and also helps with even baking.
- Always fluff your flour and then spoon and level it to measure. Doing this will prevent too much flour being added and ultimately making the cookies too dry and crumbly. To fluff your flour, just scoop it and dump it a few times and then measure it out, or give it a fluff using a whisk.
- Use a cookie scoop to get the same size cookies, that way they will all bake evenly. I like to use the Pampered Chef medium size scoop which is equal to about 2 tablespoons.
- If using cookie sheets more than once during baking, make sure the cookie sheet is completely cooled before adding scoops of cookie dough on it.
- For best results don't over bake the cookies. Over baking will cause the cookies to be more crunchy and crumbly. The center should look set and not glossy and edges just barely golden brown.
- To create perfect round cookies use a biscuit cutter, circle cookie cutter or a glass and gently go around the cookies immediately once removed from oven.
FAQs
Absolutely! Any cookie recipe that calls for chocolate chips can be replaced with chocolate chunks.
Chocolate chips don't melt as much in cookies like the chocolate chunks do. Chocolate chunks or chopped chocolate bars usually have more cocoa butter in them which means they will melt faster than chocolate chips. The centers of the cookies are more gooey when using chocolate chunks.
The best way to chop a chocolate bar into chunks is to your bread knife or another serrated knife. The bread knife helps cut straight down through the chocolate rather than sliding or shaving with a straight edge knife.
Using dark chocolate chunks that contain at least 60% cocoa are the best because they help balance out the sugars in the cookies resulting in the best flavor.
More Yummy Cookie Recipes:
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 oz dark chocolate chunks , or dark chocolate bars chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line at least 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream together the softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar in stand might with paddle attachment or large mixing bowl with hand mixer until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add dry ingredients: all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the dark chocolate chunks.
- Use a medium size cookie scoop or a 2 tablespoons and place cookie dough scoops 2 inches apart on lined cookie sheets.
- Bake cookies 10-12 minutes until the edges are just golden brown and centers are set.
- Let cookies cool on pan for 2 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Esme Slabbert says
WOW, all that lovely chocolate, this is awesome and looking so tempting.
Caught some amazing links at Sweet Little Bluebird, don’t miss it!
Here are my latest contributions: Gourmet Donuts and Hot Cross Buns with Cranberries. Let’s stay connected!
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