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What is the secret to chewy chocolate chip cookies?

Who doesn’t like Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Isn’t it funny, but you can walk up to a potluck table and find 4 or 5 plates of chocolate chip cookies, and every one will be completely different from the other. Some are flat, crusty and lumpy with chips. Others are thick and cakey, with chips buried inside. Some have brown edges and lighter middles. And some are just . . . well, some just need help.

Years ago, my partner Dwaine found this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, and he’s made them hundreds and hundreds of times. “The secret is the texture of the butter,” he says. “You do NOT want to melt the butter, or your cookies will go flat. You just want it soft enough to cream together with the sugars.” He usually just leaves the sticks out on the counter for a few hours and that does the trick.

Another trick is knowing what it means to “cream the butter and sugar together.” Here’s a great article and video on knowing when your butter/sugar mixture is “creamed.”

This recipe makes a big batch, so be prepared for the amount of dough you’ll be working with. I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer up until the point I need to add the oatmeal. At that point, I get out my giant plastic bowl I bought at the Dollar Store for just such occasions. I put the oatmeal on the bottom and then pour in the dough from the mixing bowl. With clean hands, I mix in the remaining ingredients. It really works so much better.

This recipe produces a “beefier” cookie, packed with chips, moist and chewy. Your guests will rave about them, I promise.

Print Recipe

Dwaine’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe produces a “beefier” cookie, packed with chips, moist and chewy. Your guests will rave about them, I promise.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Dwaine’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 80 Cookies

Author: Don Herman

Ingredients

2 cups Unsalted Butter Just soft enough to cream together with sugar. DO NOT MELT.
2 cups Sugar 425 g
2 cups Brown Sugar 410 g
4 lg Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
4 cups Flour 530 g
5 cups Oatmeal, Regular or Quick Cooking 425 g
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
24 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 Cups Chopped Nuts Optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Make sure your butter is soft, but not melted. You should be able to press a finger in and leave a dent, but it shouldn’t be so soft you can’t hold it in your hand cleanly.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and oatmeal and set aside. Some people blend the oatmeal to break up the grains, but I’ve found it’s not really necessary, especially if you use the quick oats.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat together. Add the salt, baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
If your mixer is high power, you can slowly add the flour/oatmeal mixture just until it’s blended – I use a dough hook. Or mix it in by hand with a large heavy spoon.
Finally, turn in the chocolate chips and nuts, if you choose to use them. At this stage, it might be easier just to dig your hands right in there and mix it manually. It will be VERY thick. (It was Christmas and I used some candy-coated chips – which is why they are red and green).
Grab a ping-pong ball size piece of dough and roll it just a little and place it on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I use a small ice-cream scoop I found in a thrift store.) The cookies will spread, so leave room.
Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes, or until the edges just start to brown a bit. Experiment and find out how much time it takes to produce the cookie you like.