Faster than calling for a cookie delivery, this Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe gives you 5 warm, gooey, giant chocolate chip cookies in no time at all.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Irresistible Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies: Bake Your Own Bakery-Style Masterpiece at Home
Craving the ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience? Imagine biting into a warm, gooey, generously sized cookie, rich with melting chocolate and a perfectly soft center. This isn’t just a dream – it’s what you’ll achieve with our incredible Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Forget expensive delivery or long waits; these homemade behemoths are ready faster than you can say “cookie craving,” bringing bakery-quality indulgence right to your kitchen.
This recipe is part two of a culinary adventure, inspired by a delightful day exploring the vibrant food scene in my home state of Utah. You can catch the first part of this journey and discover other must-try places to eat here. What stood out most during my birthday feast wasn’t a cake, but rather the burgeoning trend of gourmet cookie bakeries – a phenomenon that’s taking Utah by storm.
The Rise of Gourmet Cookie Bakeries and the Allure of Homemade
Are gourmet cookie bakeries making waves where you live? Here in Utah, it feels like they’re popping up on every corner, much like cupcake bakeries did years ago. And honestly, I’m not complaining one bit! There’s something undeniably comforting and utterly satisfying about a freshly baked cookie, especially when many of these local businesses offer warm cookie delivery straight to your doorstep. The sheer convenience of having hot, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip cookies arrive when you least expect them is pure bliss. This rising trend highlights a universal love for a classic treat, and it certainly ignited a passion in me to recreate that experience.
My birthday celebration, where I opted for a specialized cookie delivery over a traditional cake, was nothing short of magical. Those cookies were so incredibly delicious, delivering on every promise of warmth and gooey perfection, that I immediately knew I had to find a way to replicate that magic at home. The goal? To perfect a homemade giant chocolate chip cookie recipe that could rival the best bakeries, be made in less time than it takes for delivery, and be significantly more budget-friendly. This personal quest led me to develop and refine the very recipe you’re about to discover – a recipe that brings the gourmet cookie experience right into your kitchen without the wait or the hefty price tag.
Why This Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Will Become Your Favorite
This isn’t just another cookie recipe; it’s a game-changer for anyone who loves big, soft, and impossibly gooey chocolate chip cookies. Our recipe is meticulously designed for maximum impact with minimal fuss. These “babies,” as I affectionately call them, are truly giant, offering a satisfying bite every single time. Imagine a cookie so tender it practically melts in your mouth, generously studded with luscious pockets of rich, melted chocolate. Serve them warm, straight from the oven, and you’ll understand what cookie heaven truly means. They’re not just cookies; they’re an experience.
What truly sets this particular recipe apart? Its remarkable speed and undeniable simplicity. You won’t be held hostage by the clock, waiting endlessly for butter to soften to room temperature, nor will you have the patience-testing step of chilling the cookie dough for hours. This means you can go from an intense chocolate chip cookie craving to indulging in a warm, freshly baked masterpiece in record time. It’s an easy giant chocolate chip cookie recipe that consistently delivers on exceptional taste, irresistible texture, and unparalleled convenience, making it almost dangerously good to have on hand for those inevitable, urgent cookie emergencies!
Baking Perfection: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
Creating these magnificent, bakery-style cookies is surprisingly straightforward, making it an achievable feat even for novice bakers. If you’ve ever made standard chocolate chip cookies before, you’ll find the basic steps familiar, but we’ll dive into the specific nuances and expert tips that elevate these into truly giant and utterly delectable treats.
- Step 1: Creaming Butter and Sugars – The Foundation of Flavor and Texture. Begin by combining your unique “halfway melted” butter (we’ll explain this crucial technique in our tips section!) with both granulated sugar and light brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. This isn’t just about mixing; it’s about incorporating air. Beat them together on medium speed until the mixture transforms into a light, fluffy, and pale yellow consistency. This crucial creaming process is what creates pockets of air, ensuring your baked cookies will have that desirable soft, airy texture that is characteristic of a truly exceptional cookie.
- Step 2: Incorporating Wet Ingredients – Just Enough is Key. Next, gently beat in the vanilla extract, ensuring it’s evenly distributed for that classic comforting aroma. Then, add a single large egg. At this stage, it’s vital not to overmix. Beat the dough just until these wet ingredients are fully combined into the butter-sugar mixture. Overmixing after the egg is incorporated can unfortunately lead to the development of too much gluten, which results in tougher, chewier cookies – and for a soft, giant cookie, we’re aiming for ultimate tenderness!
- Step 3: Adding Dry Ingredients – Achieving the Perfect Dough Consistency. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: all-purpose flour (or bread flour for a chewier cookie, a customization we’ll explore in detail), cornstarch to guarantee an incredibly tender crumb, baking powder for the perfect lift, and a touch of salt to balance the sweetness and enhance all the flavors. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are just combined. The dough should begin to pull away cleanly from the sides of your mixer bowl and feel slightly firm but pliable. *This ideal consistency is paramount to preventing your giant cookies from spreading excessively thin during baking, maintaining their impressive size and thickness. Don’t be afraid to add an extra tablespoon or two of flour if the dough still feels excessively sticky.
- Step 4: Chocolate Chunks and Forming Your Cookies – The Grand Finale. Once your dough reaches the perfect consistency, it’s time for the star of the show: the luscious chocolate chunks. Gently fold them into the dough by hand until they are evenly distributed throughout. We highly recommend using chunks over standard chips for a more satisfying melt and incredible, molten pockets of chocolate in every bite. Divide the dough into five generous, equal portions. Each portion should be roughly 1/2 cup in volume. To ensure that signature bakery-style thickness and beautiful height, gently shape each portion into a ball, making it slightly taller than it is wide. Place these impressive dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet, ensuring they are spaced far apart as they will spread significantly during baking.
- Step 5: Baking and Cooling – Patience Pays Off. Bake these beauties in your preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and appear set, but the centers still look delightfully soft and slightly underdone. This slight underbaking is the secret to achieving those coveted gooey centers. The magic truly happens during the cooling process. Once baked, remove the baking sheet from the oven, but resist the urge to move the cookies immediately. Allow them to rest and cool on the hot baking sheet for another 15 minutes. This crucial resting period allows them to continue baking gently from the residual heat and firm up without becoming brittle. Trying to move them too soon will likely result in them falling apart – and nobody wants to lose a giant, gooey cookie! After resting, carefully transfer the warm, gooey cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, or, if you can’t wait, serve them immediately for the ultimate warm cookie experience!
Expert Tips for Crafting the Perfect Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie
While the recipe is straightforward, a few expert tips can elevate your giant cookies from great to absolutely legendary. These insights are born from countless batches and ensure you achieve that coveted bakery-style perfection every single time you bake. Pay close attention to these details for truly outstanding results!
- The Secret to Butter: Halfway Melted Magic. This is perhaps the most crucial tip for our giant cookie recipe, setting it apart from many traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes. You don’t want fully solid, cold butter, which can lead to dense cookies, nor do you want entirely liquid, melted butter, which often results in thin, crispy cookies. The ideal consistency is “halfway melted.” This means some butter will be liquid, but you’ll still have noticeable solid pieces remaining. This unique butter state contributes significantly to the perfect spread, chewiness, and overall richness of these large cookies, preventing them from becoming flat or dense. It’s a subtle difference in preparation that yields dramatically superior results in texture and flavor!
- Flour Power: Finding the Ideal Dough Consistency. The precise amount of flour can be a bit variable depending on environmental factors like humidity, and even how you pack your flour when measuring. Too little flour, and your cookies will spread excessively thin, becoming flat and overly crispy (definitely not what we want for a thick, giant, gooey cookie!). Conversely, too much flour will make the dough stiff, causing the cookies to stay in tight, dense balls that fail to achieve that desirable wide spread. The key is to add flour gradually, observing the dough’s texture. Continue adding flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the dough begins to pull away cleanly from the sides of your mixer bowl as it’s being mixed. This indicates the perfect balance, ensuring your cookies spread just enough to be wonderfully large and thick without losing their delightful structure. Don’t be afraid to add an extra tablespoon or two beyond the stated amount if your dough feels overly sticky.
- Chocolate Chunks vs. Chips: A Matter of Melting Pockets. While many commercial cookie bakeries might opt for standard chocolate chips due to cost or convenience, I strongly advocate for using high-quality chocolate chunks in these giant cookies. You absolutely *could* use chips, and they would still be delicious, but when you’re dealing with a cookie of this impressive size, chocolate chunks create magnificent, molten pockets of chocolate throughout the cookie. These larger pieces melt more generously and irregularly, providing a more intense and luxurious chocolate experience with every bite. The uneven distribution and substantial size of the chunks also adds to the rustic, homemade charm that defines a truly exceptional giant cookie, making each bite an adventure.
Unlocking the Perfect Texture: Soft, Chewy, or Somewhere in Between?
Cookie texture is a deeply personal preference, and thankfully, you have the power to customize these giant chocolate chip cookies to your exact liking. Whether you dream of ultra-soft centers that melt in your mouth or prefer a delightful chewiness with subtly crispy edges, a simple flour swap is your secret weapon. This tip is truly a game-changer for achieving your ideal cookie experience, allowing you to tailor your bake to perfection:
- For Irresistibly Soft Cookies: Stick with All-Purpose Flour. If your heart desires a cookie that is truly melt-in-your-mouth soft and tender throughout, all-purpose flour is your go-to ingredient. Its moderate protein content creates a delicate gluten structure during mixing and baking, resulting in a wonderfully tender crumb that is the hallmark of a truly soft and fluffy cookie. This is the choice for classic, pillowy chocolate chip cookies.
- For Delightfully Chewy Cookies with Crispy Edges: Embrace Bread Flour. For those who love a cookie with a bit more bite – a satisfyingly chewy interior complemented by subtly crispy edges – bread flour is the unexpected answer. I admit, I was quite skeptical at first, but the difference it makes is truly remarkable! Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which means it develops more gluten during the mixing process. This increased gluten contributes significantly to that satisfying chewiness and helps create those desirable slightly crisp edges without making the cookie dry or hard. Don’t hesitate to experiment with both types of flour to discover your ultimate giant cookie preference and revolutionize your baking!
Watch How to Bake Your Own Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies!
For our visual learners and hands-on bakers, sometimes seeing is believing! Watch the comprehensive video above to get a clear, step-by-step demonstration of each crucial stage in making these incredible cookies. From preparing the unique “halfway melted” butter to forming those magnificent giant cookie balls, and understanding the perfect baking cues, this video is an excellent companion to the written instructions, ensuring your baking process is smooth, confident, and ultimately successful. You’ll be a giant cookie master in no time!
Explore More Delicious Cookie Recipes
If you’ve fallen in love with these giant cookies and are eager for more baking adventures, be sure to explore some of our other cherished cookie recipes. Whether you’re in the mood for festive flavors, unique textures, or simply another classic, there’s always a perfect cookie waiting for every occasion!
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- XL Red Velvet Cookie Recipe
- Whoopie Pies
- Mrs. Sigg’s Snickerdoodles
- Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Oatmeal Toffee Cookies
Essential Tools for Baking Your Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
Having the right equipment can significantly enhance your baking experience and ensure consistent, professional-level results. These are the tools I rely on to make these giant cookies a breeze to prepare:
- Stand Mixer: Your Indispensable Baking Companion. I highly recommend using a KitchenAid Mixer for this recipe. While it’s certainly possible to mix the dough by hand with a sturdy spoon and a lot of elbow grease, a stand mixer significantly simplifies the process, especially when creaming butter and sugar to that perfect light and fluffy consistency and ensuring all ingredients are thoroughly combined without overworking the dough. It saves time and effort, making baking even more enjoyable.
- Silpat Liner: The Secret to Non-Stick Baking and Even Browning. To prevent your delicious giant cookies from sticking to the baking sheet and to ensure consistently even baking and beautiful golden bottoms, I always bake them on a Silpat liner. Unlike greased cookie sheets, which can sometimes leave a greasy residue or cause uneven browning in spots, a Silpat provides a consistently non-stick surface and excellent heat distribution. This results in beautifully golden, perfectly cooked, and easily removable cookies every single time, making cleanup a breeze too!
LOOKING FOR MORE DELICIOUS AND FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to our free recipe newsletter to get new family-friendly recipes delivered straight to your inbox each week! Join our growing community of food lovers and find even more culinary inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Pin
Faster than calling for a cookie delivery, this Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe gives you 5 warm, gooey, giant chocolate chip cookies in no time at all.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks (high quality recommended)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (160ºC). Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
- Cut the unsalted butter into 1 tablespoon sized pieces and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 45 seconds. The butter should not be completely melted; you want it mostly melted but still with some solid pieces. This “halfway melted” state is key for the cookie’s texture. (Refer to the video if you need a visual guide of the ideal butter consistency.)1/2 cup unsalted butter
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a large bowl and a hand mixer, if preferred), combine the halfway melted butter with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is very well combined, light, and fluffy, typically 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract until just incorporated. Add the large egg and beat only until it’s fully combined with the mixture, being careful not to overmix.1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl. Beat on low speed until all ingredients are just combined and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the mixer bowl. *If the dough is still excessively sticky and won’t easily form a ball, add more flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Do not overmix once the flour is added.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Gently fold in the chocolate chunks by hand until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Avoid overmixing once the chocolate is added to maintain its texture.1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks
- Divide the cookie dough into 5 equal portions; each portion should be approximately 1/2 cup in volume. Gently form each portion into a ball, making them slightly taller than they are wide. This shaping helps them achieve that thick, bakery-style look during baking. Place the formed cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, ensuring they are spaced far apart as they will spread significantly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown but the centers still appear delightfully soft and slightly underdone. This slight underbaking is crucial for achieving gooey cookies.
- Once baked, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Resist the urge to move the cookies immediately. Let them cool on the hot baking sheet for approximately 15 minutes. This crucial resting period allows them to set up properly and prevents them from falling apart when transferred. After resting, carefully transfer the warm, gooey cookies to a wire rack to cool further, or serve them immediately for the ultimate warm cookie experience!
Video Tutorial
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only. Various brands and specific products can alter the nutritional counts. Any nutritional information should therefore be used only as a general guideline and not as a substitute for professional dietary advice.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 465kcal (23%),
Carbohydrates: 67g (22%),
Protein: 5g (10%),
Fat: 20g (31%),
Saturated Fat: 12g (75%),
Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g,
Trans Fat: 0g,
Cholesterol: 86mg (29%),
Sodium: 140mg (6%),
Fiber: 1g (4%),
Sugar: 40g (44%)