Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Chocolate chip cookies recipe

Last updated on January 3rd, 2020 at 04:18 pm

Do you like the idea of gooey dark chocolate in a soft cookie? You’re in the right place, this is the only chocolate chunk cookies recipe you’ll ever need! The luscious texture and taste you love in a super fancy bakery can be effortlessly made in your kitchen.

Hi guys!

How is your month going so far? It is going by very quick I feel. It was just last weekend we had a getaway. We were there to drop my in-laws at the airport and we stayed an extra day at Cochin. We stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel by Marriott Hotels, which was soo tastefully decorated. (Head over to my Instagram stories for pictures). I almost didn’t want to leave.

Normally, I get post-vacation blues. This time though, definitely nahh! week away actually felt like we were missing out on the beautiful weather back home. It is either drizzling or completely out here, must have been a week since I saw clear sky. Honestly, I am the happiest when it rains, I am suddenly in the mood to do all the chores that I hate. I don’t know how but I get things done; I even read a book or two.

Currently, I’m reading this book about Hygge (listed above).

It is written by an author who actually owns Happiness research Institute, how cool is that? It’s an amazing book which explains what Hygge is and how the Danes are the happiest people on the Earth. Originally it seemed to have come into their lives as a coping way to live in the cold and rain. Did you know that it rains 170 days per year over there? Thats like half a year and the remaining days supposedly aren’t bright and shiny either. Gradually they’ve applied this Hygge to all aspects of living. Now, everyone wants to hygge.

As I read through the book in the balcony of our apartment, while it was raining outside I thought this is what Hygge is to me. In a reverse way, it rains maybe for a few weeks or even days in my state of India. And when it does, everything is so wonderful, green and cold. There’s nothing better than monsoon season in tropical country.

There I was, taking in what little I understood about Hygge and I couldn’t help but crave a mug of hot chocolate and a simple chocolate chunk cookie. I can make hot chocolate but it’s not easy to get a cookie out here, not the good quality cookies anyway. The Subway’s cookies are good but that’s still a 40 km away; and I had a craving. Luckily I had bars of chocolate ready to go and I decided to make them and enjoy the Hygge feeling that was going on.

Chocolate chunk cookies:

These cookies are filled with good quality dark chocolate which melts in your mouth. These cookies are made with brown sugar and so they’re soft and crispy.

When I was living inside the “well”, roughly around 15 years back, I probably would have stared down at these words. Dark chocolate? Cookies?!?! Brown sugar?!!!!!Whaaat is it? And soft biscuits you say? Biscuits are hard and crunchy, the only kind we ever knew. And then when I grew up, behold!

If you’re among the people, like me, who grew up oblivious to these words, I feel you. There was an entire world of good stuff out there and we were only used to the, well, food (nonetheless tasty I’ll add). But man, isn’t there is so much to explore? Come to think of it, no wonder there are so many foodies around these days. We were all living inside a well.

See also: Super easy and failproof Blondie recipe made with white chocolate chips

What’s special about this cookie recipe?

Honestly I’ve tried making a couple of chocolate chip cookies, yet this one is my most favourite. The chocolate chips that we get in India are not designed to melt. And because of this, I prefer chocolate chunk cookies over chocolate chip cookies these days. And even if the chocolate chips are intended to melt, they’re made of chocolate compound. Which is very different from chocolate couverture i.e. actual chocolate.

Since couverture isn’t that easily available. I went with Cadbury bournville dark chocolates. These cookies of Thalia Ho are really popular for its molten chocolate puddles. She suggests using a method called “pan banging method”, invented by Sarah Keifer. It is basically banging your cookie pan to get a beautiful texture and melt the chocolate from inside out.

How to make these beauties:

This recipe yields 10 large chocolate chunk cookies; by large I mean the size of a tall man’s palm. Enough to fill your tummy and good enough for a delicious snack. So let’s make it shall we?

The original recipe calls for 200g of chocolate. I find it too much of chocolate to cookie dough ratio at times. Nevertheless it yields delicious chocolate puddles. I’ve opted to go with a slightly lesser quantity of chocolate, I use 160g of chocolate, this gives me a good balance of cookie dough and chocolate ratio. Chop the chocolate into uneven bits ranging from 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Set it aside.

Add 180g of all purpose flour to a dry mixing bowl. Along with it, add 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and a heaped 1/4 tsp salt. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly with a wire whish or a food processor. This ensures even distribution of salt.

Cream the butter and the sugar. Add the sugar and the butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk using an electric mixer. The mixture initially resembles wet sand, but it eventually comes together.

Related posts:

1. How to make quick and easy Blondies?

2. How to make simple one-pot South Indian mutton curry?

3. How to make super quick one-pot mushroom Briyani?

Next add the egg and mix till it is incorporated. Pour in the vanilla extract and mix it again. This will take a moment.

See also: The best ever Banana bread recipe loaded with walnuts!!

Last but not the least, add the dry ingredients and mix using a spatula. Fold and mix till it is absorbed into the wet ingredients. Finally, add the chocolate and cover the bowl with it’s lid or cling wrap.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. You can chill it for a maximum of 8 hours. But you can freeze the dough for upto a month.

Baking the cookies:

Remove the dough from the fridge. Measure out 60 g dough balls. Line the cookie tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper or silpat. If using a small cookie tray place only two cookie dough balls, diagonally. This is because the cookie spreads and it needs enough room to do so. Otherwise, the cookies with merge and you’ll have to cut it.

Bake in batches of two. Preheat the oven at 180C for 10 minutes. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edges are golden and crisp. Halfway through the baking time, bang the pan a couple of times. The risen middle will deflate and spread. Wait till the dough rises again and then bang it again. Repeat this every 30 seconds for a total of three times.

Finally, remove from the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes in the same pan. After ten minutes move the cookies with the parchment paper/silpat/ foil gently to a drying rack. Continue with baking the next batch.

Serve the chocolate chunk cookies warm!

Shop for items used in this recipe:

Recipe Courtesy: Adapted from Thalia Ho’s famous cookies. Which also uses Sarah Keiffer’s pan banging method.

Notes:

1. You can use parchment paper or silpat or aluminium foil to line the cookies. 
2. PAN BANGING:  At about 8 minutes or when the cookie dough balls are risen and puffed up, lift the cookie tray a few inches inside the oven and drop it down. Alternatively, you can remove the oven out of the oven and drop in on the counter a couple of times. You can see them deflating in the center and spreading around the edges. Repeat this every 30 seconds for three times. This encourages the chocolate to melt from within. 
3. Alternatively, you can always flatten the cookie dough balls before putting into the oven. It tastes just as awesome.
4. These are large cookies, the size of a palm. So a small sheet pan can hold only about two cookies placed diagonally. Reduce the size of the cookie ball if you have a small oven and if you want smaller cookies.
5. STORING cookie dough: Cookie dough can be frozen for upto a month. Thaw before baking.
6. STORING cookies: store the baked cookies the fridge for a week and freeze for upto a month. Thaw and warm before serving.
7. CHILLING: You can chill for a minimum 30 minutes or a maximum of 8 hours before baking.

Enjoy!

Enjoyed this recipe? Show some love by sharing it with your friends. Tried this recipe? Tag me with @gingerskillet on Instagram!! 

More recipes for you!