Today we’re making GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies! These gourmet cookies have soft and chewy interiors, slightly crisp golden brown exteriors, and are absolutely loaded with chocolate! Oh, and did I mention they’re huge!? Almost 6″ in diameter!
Really Really BIG Chocolate Chip Cookies
Do these photos make my cookies look big?
No, really, I feel like they just don’t do justice to the size of these massive, thick & chewy, bakery-esque cookies! Each one is made with half a cup of cookie dough and loaded with three different types of semisweet chocolate chips. I think those chocolate chips might be part of the problem here, actually. Some of the chips in the pictures are actually jumbo chips (I used Ghirardelli), so maybe the cookie isn’t looking as big in comparison to the giant chips??
Whatever the reason, you should know that these are BIG, Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies! Like, half a foot in diameter big. And while they may not be my “worst” (best) chocolate chip cookies, they’re still incredible in terms of flavor and texture, and I think you’re going to love them just as much.
When I started testing these giant cookies, I realized that making them wasn’t as simple as just scooping larger portions of my favorite cookie dough and baking for a longer time. Too many of my trial versions ended up with raw centers and rock hard edges, and when I dropped my oven temperature they just ended up spreading all over the pan like a sad rendition of my chocolate chip cookie bars.
Ultimately what worked with this recipe was reducing the amount of baking powder and baking soda that I typically like to use when making cookies and increasing the amount of cornstarch.
It’s no secret that I love baking with cornstarch. It helps to hold the cookie together and keeps it from spreading without drying it out or making it crumbly (which would happen if you opted to simply add more flour instead). Here it plays a critical roll in making the cookie soft at the center while still providing us with a dough that bakes evenly in the oven. See why it’s one of my favorite secret ingredients in the kitchen?
Tips for Making Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
- You can use a half-cup measuring cup to measure out your dough, but I like to use a cookie scoop with a release lever. You’ll need a heaping scoop to get to ½ cup, but this is the easiest way I’ve found to portion the dough.
- Roll the dough between your palms for a smooth ball. This is the best way to get uniform, round cookies with rounded edges. It also might sound super obvious but for years I struggled with amoeba-like cookies because I just plopped them right on the cookie sheet.
- This cookie dough needs to be chilled for 30 minutes but you may chill it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Keep in mind that if you chill it for longer than an hour, the dough will get very hard and difficult to scoop, so you’ll have to let it sit out at room temperature before you’ll be able to scoop it. I personally recommend that if you don’t want to bake your cookies right away, chill the dough for 30 minutes, scoop the dough as indicated, then wrap each cookie dough ball up in plastic wrap or in a ziploc bag and store that way. Saves you a lot of wrestling with the dough later on!
- Never place cookie dough on a hot baking sheet, it will cause the dough to begin to melt/cook prematurely, resulting in cookies that spread way too much.
- One of my favorite tricks for pretty, picture-worthy cookies? Reserve a handful of chocolate chips and once your cookies have finished baking gently nestle additional chips into the tops of the cookies. This must be done 1-2 minutes after coming out of the oven.
- Let these cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. The centers should still be a bit underdone when they come out of the oven, and allowing them to cool completely allows them to finish baking all the way through. Plus, they’ll be to fragile to handle while they are hot!
If you’ve been following my other cookie recipes, you’re probably familiar with a lot of these tips, but they’re definitely worth repeating!
Enjoy!
More Great Cookie Recipes!
Let’s bake together! Be sure to check out my video at the bottom of the recipe where I’ll show you exactly how I make these GIANT Chocolate Chip Cookies in my own kitchen! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 150 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar¹ firmly packed
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips -- I recommend using ½ cup each of mini regular, and jumbo semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine melted/cooled butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl and stir well.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar¹, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoons salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.1 ½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips -- I recommend using ½ cup each of mini
- Cover cookie dough with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- About 15 minutes before dough is finished chilling, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper².
- Once dough has chilled and oven has preheated, remove cookie dough from fridge and scoop ½ cup (yes, cup!) of dough and roll into a round ball.
- Place cookie dough on prepared baking sheets, spacing several inches apart.
- Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake 14-16 minutes or until edges are beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing and enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Tonya
Possibly the best chocolate chip cookies we have made! Perfect addition to our football playoff menu!! We added a little sea salt as a topper while they were on the cooling rack. DELICIOUS!!! Thanks so much for the recipe. Big hit with every one.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for giving them a try, Tonya! Love the sea salt addition 😋
Lena
Hi Sam, I’m making these for the first time for a fundraising donation and was wondering if I can just triple the recipe as is to make a bigger batch?
Sam Merritt
Sure thing! Enjoy! 🙂
Elizabeth
Sam,
I have 2 granddaughters in the UK.
One of them loves Chocolate Chip, The other loves my White Chocolate chips with dried cranberries.
Will this recipe work to substitute the Whire Chocolate and Cranberries ?
How can I package these to stay fresh and not possibly not break in transit?
Thank you so much and I am excited to try this recipe. 😊
Sam
Hi Elizabeth! You could swap in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. I’m not much a shipping expert, but I would likely just stack them in an air tight container not giving them a lot of room to move around. Enjoy! 🙂
Aimee
Amazing cookies. I made this for the first time 2 nights ago and I plan on making them apart of our rotation. They absolutely need to cool completely, the texture absolutely changes when they’ve cooled completely.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you enjoyed them, Aimee! 🩷
Katie
Hi Sam! If I refrigerate the dough in balls overnight, should I let them warm up a little on the counter before baking, or just bake them a couple extra minutes? Can’t wait to try this recipe! You are my go to for cookie recipes!
Sam
Hi Katie! You will be able to bake them right from the refrigerator. It would likely just take an extra minute. 🙂
Dottie
I love love love your cookie recipe I will use it from now on. I hate to say this but its better than my Grand mothers. but it’s so true. Thank you so much
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you loved the cookies so much, Dottie! Thanks for the sweet review 🥰
Lance
I made these for my daughter to take to her friends Christmas Party. They are quite possibly the best cookie I’ve ever had.I weighed the flour, sugars, and choc chips. I took my dog on a trail walk while waiting for the mixture to cool(very important step). I used a 1/3 cup to scoop and measure. Rounded then slightly flattened into a hockey puck shape. Awesome cookie. Thanks.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Lance! Thanks for using our recipe 🩷
Junia
These were so good! My only thing is that the dough was SUPER crumbly, making it really tricky to make the dough balls. But once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy. However, the cookies were super tall after I baked them, and not at all like the ones in the cookie. They were super gooey, and that’s how I like the,.
Sam
Hi Junia! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! It sounds like you may have had too much flour if your dough was crumbly and they didn’t spread out. Did you weigh your flour?
Gina
what if i only have extra large eggs?
Sam
Hi Gina! That should work here. 🙂
Lynn
Can these be made with Gluten free flour? I’ve never added cornstarch to my cookies, I’m going to just try it!
Sam
Hi Lynn! Unfortunately I can’t say for sure how gluten free flour will work here. I have never tried it If you do I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Savannah
These have become my go-to cookie for all things. They are absolutely the best cookies my friends, family, and I have ever had—with the perfect ratio of a gooey chocolatey center to a crispy and buttery cookie base. I bring these to all my gatherings now. My favorite way to eat them recently is making them into giant ice cream sandwiches. Thanks for the best-ever cookie Sam!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Savannah! 🙂
A. Mahoney
Question – I would like to make these for a bake sale and place them in individual self-sealing bags. Approximately how big are these cookies?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
They are almost 6″ in diameter 😊
Sarah Sartin
mine are staying very tall and round and not becoming 6″ diameter did I add too much of something? they still look and taste wonderful
Sam
Hi Sarah! Did you weigh your flour? If they don’t spread there may be too much flour in the dough. 🙁
Samantha Wilson
These are so good. I only measured out 1/4 cup balls of dough and smashed them to 1-inch thick patties, and they were perfect at 12 mins. Your recipe is *chef’s kiss* perfect. I added peanut butter chips with mini chocolate chips and we loved them. <3
Zumy
can we freeze rest of the dough balls to bake later? i only want to make two giant cookies..
Sam
That will work just fine. 🙂
Ana
Is it okay if I don’t use cornstarch?
Sam
Hi Ana! The cornstarch helps with the softness of the cookie, but you can replace it with some flour if you’d like. 🙂
Jess
Made these and they came out fantastic. I halved the recipe and made 4 giant cookies. After the 16 minutes the sides were golden but center still too undercooked so I put them back in the turned off and slightly cooled down oven for 2-3 min longer. They turned out chewy on the edges and nice and soft and chocolatey center. A big hit!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how they turned out for you, Jess! 🩷
Dani
Hi Sam, just wondering if you’ve trialed this recipe without the baking powder, and if not – whether you think doing this would result in a thinner cookie with more spread?
Sam
Hi Dani! I would not recommend omitting the baking powder. It helps the cookies rise up and out so you may end up with a cooked ball of dough.
Samantha
i may have measured something a bit weong cause my dough was very dry, they didnt flatten much in the oven so the cooking process was long but nonetheless EXTREMELY tasty. Added mini eggs to some
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Samantha! Unfortunately it sounds like you may have over-measured your flour 🙁 We’re glad they still tasted great though!
Samantha Wilson
You might have missed that it takes two sticks of butter like I did at first. I for some reason only had one stick, and it was so dry so I looked at the recipe and realized it called for 1 cup or two sticks. xD Much better after adding the second stick.
Darlene
Sam, These are delicious! Without a doubt, they are one of the best chocolate chip cookies around! I make them with a smaller scoop and they are a nice size.and so yummy! Sam, you have recipes that can be trusted to turn out the best if one follows your ingredients and suggestions to the letter! I am so glad I found your website and I have shared, not only your website, but many recipes I have tried! I love using sour cream for moistness in my breads and muffins and you seem to as well! Needless to say, I have made much more of your recipes than just these cookies and have loved them all!
I await the publication of your cookbook of your recipes, I will be first in line to buy it! 🥰
Sam
Thank you so much, Darlene! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! I am working on it. It’s just taking a bit longer than anticipated. 🙂