Bake

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 12, 2018
4
19 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • Makes 35 cookies
Author Notes

Excerpted with permission from Dorie Greenspan's Everyday Dorie:

I can’t imagine a time when I won’t be creating new chocolate chip cookies. This latest addition to my collection is chewy and a bit crunchy on the edges. That it’s got oatmeal is almost a secret—there’s not much, it’s not really visible and until the cookie’s a day old, its taste is in the background—but it’s part of what makes the chewiness so winning.

I’ve kept the sugar to a minimum—less sugar means more chocolate flavor. If you want to increase it, though, I’ve given you options, but I’d suggest that you make a choice: Increase either the granulated or the brown sugar—don’t up both of them at the same time. The one absolute in this cookie is the chocolate: Use good chocolate and chop it yourself. Chips will work, but they won’t give you great flavor, they won’t melt into the cookie the way chopped chocolate does and they won’t give you the tweedy look that you get when you chop chocolate and then include the “dust.” —Dorie Greenspan

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: Dorie Greenspan's Secret Ingredient for the Chewiest Chocolate Chip Cookies —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 1 2/3 cups (227 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (80 grams) rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup to 1 cup (150 to 200 grams) sugar (see headnote)
  • 1/2 cup to 3⁄4 cup (100 to 150 grams) packed light brown sugar (see headnote)
  • 1 teaspoon fleur de sel or 3⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks; 7 ounces; 198 grams) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
  • 3/4 pound (340 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into irregular bits
Directions
  1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  2. Whisk together the flour, oats and baking soda.
  3. Working in a large bowl with a flexible spatula, stir together both sugars, the salt and cinnamon, if you’re using it. Drop in the eggs one at a time and beat with the spatula to blend, then stir in the vanilla. Pour in the melted butter—do this in two or three additions—and stir until you have a smooth, shiny mixture. Add the flour and oats all at once and stir gently until they’re almost incorporated. Add the chocolate bits and stir until the dry ingredients are fully blended into the dough. (You can wrap the dough and refrigerate it for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 2 months.)
  4. Portion out the dough using a medium cookie scoop (one with a capacity of 11⁄2 tablespoons), or use rounded tablespoons of dough, and place about 2 inches apart on the sheets—these are spreaders.
  5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheets from front to back and top to bottom, until the cookies are golden and somewhat firm around the edges but still soft in the center — they’ll set as they cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheets for about 3 minutes before carefully transferring them to racks to cool to just warm or room temperature.
  6. Repeat with the remaining dough, always using a cool baking sheet.
  7. STORING: The cookies can be kept at room temperature for about 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
  8. WORKING AHEAD: The dough can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’d like, freeze scoops of dough and then bake directly from the freezer, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.

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With the publication her 14th book, Baking with Dorie, New York Times bestselling author Dorie Greenspan marks her thirtieth anniversary as a cookbook author. She has won five James Beard Awards for her cookbooks and journalism and was inducted into the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. A columnist for the New York Times Magazine and the author of the xoxoDorie newsletter on Bulletin, Dorie was recently awarded an Order of Agricultural Merit from the French government for her outstanding writing on the foods of that country. She lives in New York City, Westbrook, Connecticut, and Paris. You can find Dorie on Instagram, Facebook, Bulletin and her website,

16 Reviews

Michael K. February 2, 2022
A few years later but thought I would weigh in. I don't know why people are having issues with these, I have made hundreds of chocolate chip cookie recipes and this one quickly went to the top! I scoop and then chill the dough and put them in the oven while still cold and get the perfect cookie. It has a nice crispy outer ring and a chewy center .. best of both worlds. I do use European butter so the butter taste is actually REALLY present. I also do a 50/50 on the sugar and def add the cinnamon. Its a small amount but just gives them enough to set them apart from all the others. And go crazy with the mix-ins, I'm currently baking up some white chocolate cashew cookies! Delicious!
Ting July 28, 2020
Just made them and they are awesome! I even reduced the white sugar by one tablespoon short according to the recipe. Used lemon zest instead of cinnamon. Used ghee rather than butter. The cookie turned out soft and light. Perfect sweet but definitely not bland. I will make them again.
Jana H. June 1, 2020
MAN i wanted to love these. I adore Dorie!! but they were very, very not good. Looked nothing like the photo, and they were exactly what I don't like- cakey and dry--absolutely agree with the tester who said 'bland'. I particularly love chewy cookies and these weren't. The only thing I can think is that the under-sugaring contributed to the lack of chew.
caroberts77 April 6, 2020
I thought these were really great cookies. I liked how they were a bit crispy and caramelized on the edges, but were still soft in the middle. I browned the butter instead of just melting it and definitely put the cinnamon in. Only other change I made was to use dark chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate, just what I had on hand. I think next time I might up the oatmeal a tad, really like the flavor it added and would like a bit more oat texture.
Ann M. December 2, 2019
I have made these cookies twice now and they are awesome! It will now be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I used both semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate which worked perfectly. I am going to try the recipe again with malden salt sprinkled on top.
MSinMS October 13, 2019
Very good cookies, with a perfect moisture balance. I was a little skeptical about the oats, for no reason. Went with the brown sugar higher/ white sugar less, perfect sweetness. Dollar Tree sells a dark chocolate bar from Poland, perfect for this recipe. The only ”issue” I had, and it is probably just me, was that some cookies didn’t run much at all and some ran to twice the diameter. They were all still very tasty regardless. This is my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Ellen L. February 22, 2019
Made these cookies with my niece who also loves to bake. Using what I had on hand, we used 1/3 bittersweet chocolate (chopped) and 2/3 semisweet chocolate chips. We chilled the dough overnight, so the cookies did not spread excessively. Since I don't have a 1.5 tbsp scoop, we used a 2 tbsp scoop and leveled the dough, and still came out with 40+ cookies. After baking and tasting the 1st batch that came out of the oven, we sprinkled some flaked sea salt to the rest before they baked and these were better. Next time we would use more bittersweet chocolate (bars only, as the recipe suggests) and increase the amount of brown sugar, as we did the minimum amount for white and brown indicated in the recipe. We think these are quite tasty and a nice change from other chocolate chip cookie or oatmeal chip cookies.
Sadie February 12, 2019
I'm not a novice when it comes to cookies. I've tested more than 1,000 cookie recipes and about 300 of them were chocolate chip. Unfortunately, these were one of the most disappointing cookies, chocolate chip or otherwise, that I've made so far. I followed the recipe with no substitutions, using the weight measures. I used the lesser amount of granulated sugar (150 grams) and the greater amount of brown sugar (150 grams). The cookies aren't cloyingly sweet, which I liked, but the flavor is underwhelming despite the copious amount of chopped chocolate. They lacked the rich buttery taste that most people love about a chocolate chip cookie. The texture is more soft and gummy than chewy. I scooped the dough in 1/4 cup measures so my cookies took a bit longer to bake than the recipe indicated. They were set and brown on the edges, but still looked underbaked in the center when I took them out of the oven. This recipe is a no repeat for me. They got a thumbs-down from everyone who tried them.
chefrockyrd February 12, 2019
Thanks Sadie, I thought there was something wrong with me. But I guess there is a Schmata for every Tuchus.

I still love Dorie and have made many wonderful recipes of hers. And will continue to buy her books and cook/bake from them.
oconengr November 4, 2019
Perhaps your problem lies with the fact that you used 1/4 cup measurements for your cookies. That is 2.67 times what the recipe calls for. Even though you baked them for longer you would also need to lower the temperature. Or maybe just followed the recipe?
Sadie November 4, 2019
I followed the recipe as far as the ingredients are concerned. The size of the cookie would have no bearing on the underwhelming flavor, which was the biggest issue. The texture was ok. They just weren't anything special when compared with the other chocolate chip cookie recipes I've tested.
chefrockyrd February 4, 2019
Thank you for another chocolate chip recipe.
I made these yesterday and although they had a good taste we did not like the texture. Maybe it was the humidity? They were just soft no matter how long they were baked. We like a crunchier cookie. Tried leaving them out overnight to stale and that did not help either.
Gave them to my neighbor that loved them. They don't bake so anything homemade is good. Will go back to an old crunchy cookie recipe.
oconengr November 4, 2019
The recipe clearly states that these are chewy cookies and not crunchy cookies. I think you baked the wrong cookies.
Chewy101 January 28, 2019
Best chocolate cookie chip recipe ever. This is my go to recipe and always rave reviews. I only use bittersweet chocolate since I don't like overly sweet cookies. I also use the lower measurement of both sugars. Thanks for the recipe.
Helen L. December 6, 2018
This is my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe! Dorie's description is right on! I used Guittard chocolate 3, 2oz bars (2 semisweet bars and 1 bittersweet) chopped and added the "dust." I also went heavier on the brown sugar 1 cup and lighter on the white sugar and added a little bit more flour 1 and 3/4 c. I didn't chill but scooped into round balls and baked on a silpat. No spreading and just perfect!
Amanda N. November 29, 2018
I made these cookies and they are so yummy. For the second batch I browned the butter for a flavor boost. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Do remember to chill the cookie dough balls before baking to prevent excessive spreading.
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