- Prep10 min
- Chill3 hrs
- Bake16–18 min
- Makes8
The choc chip cookie that started it all
This is my classic choc chip cookie recipe, and if you've ever stood in a Brooki queue, you already know it. It's the cookie people lined up for outside our tiny 41 square metre kitchen on Marshall Street in Fortitude Valley, and it's still the recipe we get asked for more than any other.
When I was younger I favoured the sweetness of milk chocolate chips, but with age (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I've grown more fond of dark. So this recipe uses both to find the perfect balance. Use all milk chocolate for a sweeter cookie, or all dark for a richer bittersweetness.
It's straight from my cookbook, Bake with Brooki, and it's written the way we bake: everything in grams, every cookie big. Thick, golden and gooey in the middle. Not a flat, crispy biscuit in sight.
Why this choc chip cookie recipe works
A bakery-style cookie isn't about a secret ingredient. It's a handful of deliberate choices, and this recipe makes every one of them for you.
Two flours, not one. Self-raising flour and a little baking powder push the cookie up rather than out, and plain flour gives it structure and chew. More brown sugar than white. Brown sugar holds onto moisture for a soft, caramel-y middle, while the caster sugar gives you that golden edge. Big cookies. At 150g each, there's enough mass for the outside to set while the centre stays gooey. A small cookie simply can't do that. The chill. Three hours in the fridge firms the butter so the cookie holds its shape, and gives the flour time to hydrate, which makes it taste better too.
At Brooki we never roll our dough into smooth balls. We weigh it, push it together into a tall, rough mound and it goes straight into the fridge. Build up, not out.
Pull them out when the edges are golden and the centre still looks slightly underdone. It will look wrong. Trust it. They keep cooking on the tray as they cool.
Most home ovens run 10 to 20 degrees off. A cheap oven thermometer will tell you the truth in five minutes, and preheat for a full 20 minutes, not the second the light goes off.
The recipe
Makes 8 large cookies, each 150g.
Ingredients
Method
-
1
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed. Add the sugars and beat for a further 3 to 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so all the butter is fully incorporated.
2 min + 3–5 min -
2
Add the egg and beat on low speed until just incorporated.
-
3
Add the self-raising flour, plain flour, salt and baking powder and beat on low speed until just incorporated. The moment the last streak of flour disappears, stop.
-
4
On low speed, add the chocolate chips to combine, or fold them through by hand with a spatula.
-
5
Weigh each cookie dough ball to 150g. Don't roll them smooth: push the dough together into a tall, rough mound. Chill in the fridge before baking, overnight if you can wait.
At least 3 hrs -
6
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with baking paper. Take the dough straight from the fridge and place the balls on the tray at least 2cm apart. Bake until golden on top, with the centre still looking slightly underdone.
16–18 min -
7
Allow to cool on the tray before enjoying. Try not to be impatient: the cookies need this time to keep cooking at room temperature.
10–15 min
Baker's note: weigh everything. A cup of flour can be 30 grams out, and 30 grams is the difference between a thick cookie and a puddle. A kitchen scale is the best $15 you'll ever spend on your baking.
Substitutions
Chocolate: swap freely, just keep the total at 300g. All milk for sweeter, all dark for richer, or chop up a block for bigger melty pools.
Self-raising flour: no self-raising? Here's how to make your own with plain flour and baking powder.
Butter: unsalted is best so you control the salt. If salted is all you have, leave out the pinch of salt.
Brown sugar: light brown is what we use. Dark brown works too and gives a deeper, more caramel flavour.
Troubleshooting
Almost always butter that was too soft, dough that wasn't chilled long enough, or a warm tray. I've gone through every cause in why your cookies turn out flat.
Usually too much flour (measure by weight, not cups) or a few minutes too long in the oven. Pull them while the centre still looks a little underdone.
Give them the full 10 to 15 minutes on the tray first, as they firm up a lot as they cool. If they're still wet once cool, your oven is likely running cold, so check it with an oven thermometer.
They were baked a little too long, or they weren't sealed. Store them in a properly airtight container as soon as they're cool.
How to store choc chip cookies
Baked cookies keep for 5 to 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Want that warm-from-the-oven feeling back? A few minutes in a warm oven does it.
The raw dough freezes beautifully. Freeze the weighed dough balls on a tray until solid, then bag them for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding a few more minutes. Frozen dough spreads less, so it's actually the best way to bake these.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and it's better for it. Chill the dough balls overnight, or freeze them for up to 3 months so you can bake a fresh cookie whenever the craving hits.
Yes. Don't thaw it. Bake straight from the freezer and add a few minutes to the bake time.
Cold dough spreads slowly, so the cookie sets tall instead of running flat. The rest also lets the flour hydrate, which deepens the flavour. Three hours is the minimum. Overnight is even better.
No. A hand mixer works well. Just make sure you still cream the butter and sugars for the full 3 to 5 minutes.
This is the home version from Bake with Brooki, written for a domestic oven. Our in-store cookies are baked fresh every day in our bakeries, so if you'd rather skip the 3-hour chill, order a box.
Rather we baked them?
Classic Choc Chip is baked fresh in our stores every day. Grab a box of six, or find 100 more recipes in Bake with Brooki.
100 recipes. 304 pages. More than 350,000 copies sold worldwide.
- Australia: signed limited edition, direct from Brooki
- United Kingdom: buy on Amazon UK
- United States: buy on Amazon US
Rather learn by watching? Bake with Brooki online baking classes
