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.
CatB
I found a large, unused cookie/food portion scoop at our business and decided to try my hand at the popular huge cookies. There is a franchised store and we don’t care for them, so copycats weren’t going to work. Found your recipe and decided to try. I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening, Ghirardelli 60% chips and the scoop made 6 huge (1/2lb) cookies. I baked them for 15 minutes and added 3 more minutes. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!! Chewy, crumbly, not undercooked, thick cookies. They were about 5″ diameter when done, and everyone loved them! So glad to find this greatness. Also- never made cookies with added cornstarch. I’m a fan!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Katie
Will this recipe work for a cookie cake?
Sam
Hi Katie! I think it could work, but I would recommend my cookie cake instead. 🙂
Bette
i loved making these cookies, they are our favorite. My granddaughter requests them every time my cookie display case gets half full. She doesnt want us to run out. Theae are one of my favorite cookies because of there size., and for sure the taste. Plese keep the cookie recepies coming, i really enjoy making them, and i love the videos as well. i only follow your cookie recipes, as they come out perfect every time.
Francine Brozek
This recipe Definitely works beautifully for a cookie cake. I’ve done it 3x’s.
Sandra Dinkins
Absolutely delish recipe! I added walnuts and 1/2 c mini chocolate chips and 1 cup milk chocolate chips. I made 6 jumbo and one tray regular size. Both out of this world!
Kenzie
Hi! The first time I made these cookies they turned out amazing!!! But the second time I made them they were soooo flat. I tried to remake them and they turned out flat again as well. I’m properly measuring my flour.
I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong.
Sam
Hi Kenzie! Is the butter really warm when you add the sugars? If so this will cause your cookies to spread. If this is not the case, you can try chilling them a little bit longer. 🙂
Rain
Hi, I made your cookies, but i have just one question. When the cookies were in the oven at 350°, they did not flatten out but stayed decently tall. I used king Arthur flour and measured it from the grams. I also made the dough at night and put it in the fridge, then made them the following morning, i let the dough soften a bit before making them. Do you know why they stayed so tall even when I measured the flour exactly?
P.S. I read a comment where you said, too much flour can cause them to stay tall.
Sam
Hi Rain! I’m so sorry to hear this! If your flour was weighed the only thing I can think of here is that the chilling caused the issue. 🙁
Mary
I followed the recipe exactly. The cookies came out golden brown on the outside but not done on the inside. I baked them for the 14 minutes and still not cooked. If I left in longer they would have been too dark on the outside. Maybe too many chips??
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this, Mary! It sounds like your oven may be running a little bit hotter than it says. Did you let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet? Leaving them on the baking sheet will help them finish baking. 🙂
Aubrey
Made these for my husband and they lasted about 24 hours. Can almond flour be used in place of regular flour for my gluten free pals?
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Aubrey! I do not believe almond flour would work but I think a 1:1 gluten free flour could quite likely work here. I hope that helps!
Penny
Hi,
How long will cookies stay fresh once baked?
How long will the cookie dough last in the fridge or freezer if made ahead of time?
I made a batch of these and just delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you like the cookies Penny! They will taste best if enjoyed within 5-7 days of baking. Make sure you store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Chilling instructions (including how long the dough is good for in the fridge) can be found within the post, and freezing instructions can be found in our how to freeze cookie dough post. Hope that helps!
Penny
So I made the dough and wrapped each ball individually with cling wrap and then in a freezer proof bag, I did this a week ago and baked a few today to test it out. I did not thaw the cookie balls, baked at 350F for 20 mins but the inside looked raw so baked for an additional 2mins. Seems good but the cookies are not as big as I thought they’d be (1/2 cup of dough) I’m wondering if these cookies can be baked and then frozen instead? Any suggestions?
Sam
You shouldn’t have any issues baking and then freezing these cookies. 🙂
Lisa
I love the big cookies.
The best they ever came out for me though was when I didn’t chill them. They don’t cook on the inside when I do.
Melissa
I’m making these for our middle school teachers for teacher appreciation week. I’ve made two batches so far, I HAD to test one and they are delicious!!! Mine hardly flattened out at all, they are about 1 1/2″ tall after cooling. I followed your recipe. Should I try a bit less flour? Sometimes my ovens run hotter, so I started with 12 minutes then added one more until the edges were brown. This really is a delicious cookie, thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! The most common cause of this is too much flour in the dough 🙁 How are you measuring yours? It can be very easy to overmeasure flour, unfortunately. We hope the teachers loved them regardless!
Melissa
For flour, I scoop and level the cup off. I deliver the cookies Thursday, I know they will love them!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the reply Melissa! Scooping and leveling your flour is very likely the reason for your thick cookies. This method packs the flour in and can add significantly more flour than needed. We talk about the best ways to measure flour in our how to measure flour post, if you’d like to check that out 😊
Melissa
I read your flour measuring tips – followed the flour weight exactly and now they are perfect! The ones that came out like tall cookie pies, we’ll keep for ourselves! Still so yummy!! Thanks for your help!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yay!! I’m so happy it was helpful. Enjoy! 🥰
Caroline
I confess. I played a little fast and loose with this excellent recipe and it turned out lovely. I’d like to make this my go-to recipe for regular choc chip cookies, but I am not sure if it will translate.
I browned the butter, like you do in another recipe (and boy, it was tasty). But because I knew that would remove a little more moisture, I added something I thought could help: molasses.
Did you ever try that as a possibility for your “worst” cookies?
My only qualm was the texture. They were just slightly drier than brownie-like. Any ideas on how to make a tall, browned butter and molasses regular cookie that isn’t too dry?
(And also I was just really excited to tell you about the molasses 😁)
Sam
This sounds like a fun experiment! I’d have to play around a little bit to know exactly how to keep them from being exactly like you described, could they have just needed a tad less time in the oven? I prefer to remove most of my cookies when they still appear a little underdone in the center, this keeps them softer. Not sure if that would solve it, but that would be an easy thing to check 🙂
Kristen Smith
My daughter’s wedding is next month. She just informed me she didn’t want just “regular” chocolate chip cookies but Giant ones. I tried one other recipe before yours and I don’t have to go any further. Will be making 9 cookies a night for the next 2 weeks. So glad I ran across this recipe!
Sam
That’s a lot of cookies! Congratulations to your daughter and I hope all of the guests love the cookies! 🙂
Melissa Hypes
I made these tonight my husband just informed me that they were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made now I didn’t make them into giant ones I used a medium sized cookie scoop. They did remain a little tall, but still spread. They were absolutely perfect. This is a keeper recipe. Thank you.!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy the cookies were a hit, Melissa! ❤️
Audrey Jones
These cookies are delicious! Truly giant in size, great flavor and texture. I love them, and will be baking them again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you loved them, Audrey! Thanks for the review 😊
Bry
Can you stuff these cookies ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Bry! We haven’t tried it, but we think it could work. 🙂
Kelsie
I followed the recipe exactly and these are so good! THANK YOU for sharing!
Carmen
I have never made a cookie using melted butter. Why melt, cool, butter and refrigerate dough instead of using softened butter? Just wondering?
Sam
Hi Carmen! I prefer it this way because it results chewier, more flavorful cookie. Melting the butter allows it to coat everything better and give it an all around better taste. 🙂
Misty
These turned out so beautifully & tasted great! Definitely will be a go to recipe! The mini chocolate chips made these so cute!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you enjoyed the cookies, Misty! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤️
Meghan Elliott
Great chocolate chip cookie recipe! I followed it using the weights, which is super helpful. At first I was worried they wouldn’t spread but eventually they started to towards the end of baking. I did tap the cookie sheet on the counter when I took them out to get them to spread a little more. My dough wasn’t as sticky as you said yours was in the video. Do you think leaving some flour out or adding a pinch more baking soda would help them spread better? Flavor is amazing though!!
Sam
Hi Meghan! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! It sounds like there may have been a touch too much flour in the dough, but I’m glad they still turned out. 🙂
Meghan Elliott
Remade these with 3/4 tsp of baking soda instead of 1/2 tsp and they came out looking just like yours!!!! I’m wondering if my environmental conditions are a little different than yours and affected my baking. Either way, they were amazing. Gave some to a friend and she said they were the best cookies she’s had in her life 🙌🏼.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad they turned out the second time around ❤️
Joanne
No flattening just a big fat ‘meh’ cookie. I put a little less flour in them because it was already too dry. Im at a high altitude so I should have had to add more flour. I added milk to the dough after the first batch, to help them flatten a bit – those turned out better but the dough was reeeaally sticky. I ended up baking them for only 11-12minutes or they got too hard.
Sam
Hmm, the milk probably made them more cakey and less likely to spread, honestly. Sounds like quite a few things were changed which I suspect would account for the unusual results.
Joanne
Quite a few things were changed? Where did you get that from? I added 2 tbsp of milk….the dough was dry and I didn’t add the whole amount of flour. That may have something to do with altitude.
If you add loads of chocolate chips you probably wouldn’t notice that the dough is blahsay. I like a tasty cookie dough. This isn’t it.
Sam
Hi Joanne! Per your comment you did not add all the flour and added milk. This shouldn’t be a bland cookie. If the dough was as dry as you describe and the taste was bland (and you can see the dough isn’t dry in the video, even after chilling, and that it does spread) it does unfortunately sound like something went wrong in the kitchen. Since I’m not in the kitchen with you I can only go based off of the information you give me and am trying to troubleshoot since you didn’t get typical results. I want you to get good results and am trying my best to help figure out what went wrong 🙂
I’d first check if the flour was accidentally over-measured or the sugar was accidentally under-measured or some of it was missed. These would be my best guesses and the most likely reasons for a dry dough and bland cookie (adding milk wouldn’t help the case either, unfortunately, but I think something went awry before this step). I’m biased, but I make these a lot and the flavor certainly doesn’t ride on the chocolate chips. To be fair, your attitude may be an issue here as well, as my recipes aren’t tested or designed for high altitude I really can’t advise on this, so that could be the wild card here, if you try again you could try using 2 full eggs instead of just 1 egg + yolk and see if that helps. I hope it does!
Cory
After reading this baker’s remarks about a meh cookie just made want to bake these for sure! Lol I’ll be back with my results!
Kay
Do you have a recipe for 6” sugar cookies, 6” oatmeal raisin cookies and 6” peanut butter cookies?
Sam
Hi Kay! Unfortunately I do not. 🙁