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This is the best crispy chocolate chip cookie recipe. After multiple attempts and countless batches of cookies, I’ve finally found the winning combination for the ultimate, crunchy chocolate chip cookie and you’re going to LOVE them!
BEST Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have spent years trying to find the perfect recipe for crispy chocolate chip cookies so, trust me when I say that this is seriously the best crunchy chocolate chip cookie recipe. All it took were several attemps and a little bit of cookie science.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- I have tested this recipe extensively so you know they’ll work
- I have special ingredient tweaks to make them turn out flat and crunchy
- These chocolate chip cookies are SO crunchy!
- They’re even better than Tate’s cookies – I promise.
Ingredients Needed
- Cornstarch: When I was testing my cookbook I realized adding a bit of cornstarch can help with making a crunchy cookie. America’s Test Kitchen uses cake flour, but we all know I forget to buy that, so a combination of all-purpose flour and cornstarch are one trick.
- Baking soda: this leavener helps with spread, so I have a little more than my regular cookie recipe.
- Butter: As usual, I used melted butter. But since these are supposed to spread there is no chill time!
- Sugar: I used both granulated sugar and light brown sugar for these cookies.
- Egg yolk: this is the another secret trick to getting the ultimate crunchy cookie. I left the egg white out so there would be less structure to the cookie, allowing them to flatten in the oven.
- Nonfat milk: or any milk but if you want to achieve the best crispy chocolate chip cookies, use nonfat milk. It helps mix our dry ingredients together without adding too much creamy fat from the milk, which in turn keeps the cookie batter dry for a crumbly cookie.
- Chocolate chips: I think mini chocolate chips work best in flat cookies. That way there is chocolate in every bite!
How to make crispy chocolate chip cookies
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and line your prepared baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Mix your dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Add flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine then set aside.
- Stir melted butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract and stir together until evenly combined.
- Mix your dry ingredients with wet ingredients.
- Stir in your mini chocolate chips.
- Scoop cookie dough balls onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving space between each cookie ball for room to spread.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until they’re a rich golden brown all over the top and not glossy.
- Cool at room temperature or at least 10 minutes before removing it from the cookie sheet. Cookies will get crunchy as they cool.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- Dough will be soft when scooping, but should not flatten on the cookie sheet. If dough is too soft, allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping cookies.
- Mini chocolate chips allow the cookies to flatten correctly and ensure that you’ll have chocolate in every bite. I don’t recommend regular-sized chocolate chips in this recipe, but you can chop up baking chocolate if you can’t find mini chips.
- You can use any fat content milk or nondairy milk, but a higher fat content might change the texture a little bit, but it shouldn’t be noticeable.
Freezing Cookie Dough
- You can freeze cookie dough balls but allow them to thaw and come to room temperature before baking.
- Freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. They’re good even from the freezer!
FAQs
What makes crispy chocolate chip cookies?
To achieve a crispy and crunchy cookie, add cornstarch and use nonfat milk. Doing so thickens up the batter, and keeps the cookie dough dry.
How to store crispy chocolate chip cookies?
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can you freeze chocolate chip cookie dough?
Yes. You can freeze your chocolate chip cookie dough balls in a sealed bag. Once you’re ready to bake them, allow your dough balls to thaw out for about an hour at room temp and they’re ready to drop in the oven!
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are your classic chocolate chip cookies but with an extra crunch and a delicious taste!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (155g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons nonfat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (160g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Place flour in a medium size bowl. Add cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine then set aside.
- Stir melted butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls onto prepared cookie sheets, 3 inches apart.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until they’re a rich golden brown all over the top and not glossy.
- Let cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet. Cookies will get crunchy as they cool.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months.
- You can freeze cookie dough balls but allow them to thaw and come to room
temperature before baking. - Dough will be soft when scooping, but should not flatten on the cookie sheet. If dough is too soft, allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before scooping cookies.
- Mini chocolate chips allow the cookies to flatten correctly and ensure that you’ll have
chocolate in every bite. I don’t recommend regular-sized chocolate chips in this recipe, but you can chop up baking chocolate if you can’t find mini chips. - You can use any fat content milk or nondairy milk, but a higher fat content might change the texture a little bit, but it shouldn’t be noticeable.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 137IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
This is the easiest recipe to make & so yummy. I baked mine 375° for 10 min & they were done. They were very crispy after baking but the next day they tasted more chewy.
I really enjoyed participating in this baking challenge.
Thanks for sharing!😊
Made the recipe exactly, and used an oven thermometer to verify the temp. I found that even 16 minutes was too long – the cookies got way too dark. So I shortened the bake time to about 13 mins, and they were perfect! I didn’t want to stop eating them! I normally prefer a chewy ccc, but these were delicious! The mini chocolate chips were definitely the right choice as you get the chocolate in every bite. I will 100% make them again…and again!
My spread flat. They didn’t look anything like the cookies in the pics. Not sure what I did wrong.
What kind of butter did you use (brand)?
These cookies turned out so delicious and crunchy. The recipe was so easy. I didn’t have non-fat milk, only whole milk. It didn’t seem to make a difference as you said. Thank you, Dorothy, for another great recipe!
So glad you liked them!!
When I used my 1 tbsp cookie scoop I ended up with 36 cookies instead of 26. So my cookies were done baking at 8-9 min since they were a bit smaller. I couldn’t bake my cookies any longer or they would have burned. They were dark brown at the edges and the bottoms. I didn’t have nonfat milk so I added 1 tbsp of soymilk and 1 tbsp of water. I subbed with water since the cookies were not supposed to have too much fat in them. I chopped up regular chocolate chips because I didn’t have mini chocolate chips. My cookies weren’t crispy but I think my substitutions affected the texture of the cookies. My cookies were soft in the middle with crispy edges. They still tasted good. Next time I would try this recipe w/nonfat milk.
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