Even soft chocolate chip cookie lovers will reach for these crispy chocolate chip cookies. Crackly and buttery, you’ll love the satisfying crunch you get in every bite. They’re so irresistible that it’s almost impossible to eat just one.
Crispy vs. Chewy: The Different Types of Chocolate Chip Cookies
All chocolate chip cookies—whether they’re soft, chewy, or crispy—are made from the same ingredients. It is the ratio of ingredients and a few simple modifications that create the textural differences. Let’s take a look at some of our chocolate chip cookie recipes and how the proportion of ingredients can make or break your cookie. (Literally!)
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies: Creamed butter, cornstarch, and a higher ratio of brown sugar to white work together to achieve this cookie’s perfect melt-in-your-mouth softness.
- Chewy chocolate chip cookies: Melted butter, an extra egg yolk, and more brown sugar than white sugar will help you bake a supremely chewy cookie. The melted butter is the secret to this dense, indulgent treat.
- Crispy-edged chocolate chip cookies from Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook (page 26): Milk plus a higher ratio of white sugar to brown help create the spread needed for a crispier cookie. The creamed butter and sugar create a soft and light center. These are the perfect blend of soft, chewy, and crispy. Definitely a favorite around here.
Tell Me About These Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Texture: For that pleasing buttery CRUNCH when you take a bite, let the cookies cool completely. The longer the cookies cool, the crispier they will be. I suggest using a cooling rack if you have one. It circulates air to the bottoms of cookies and, as a result, cools them quicker and more evenly.
- Flavor: Crispy chocolate chip cookie fans will love the rich, buttery flavor contrasted with sweet chocolate chips in every bite.
- Ease: This quick and easy recipe makes a lot of cookies in a short amount of time. Perfect for no-fuss bakers who want big flavor without a big mess.
- Time: Unlike many cookie doughs, chilling isn’t required (see Note), so this recipe comes together in minutes. Here are all of our cookie recipes without dough chilling.
Recipe Testing Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies: What Works & What Doesn’t
Chocolate chip cookies can turn out differently depending on a few different factors, particularly the proportion of ingredients. Every ingredient has a job to do. That’s cookie science! The good news is that as long as you know which type of cookie you want, you can learn how to make it successfully each and every time. Here are the secrets to making a crispy chocolate chip cookie:
- Melted butter. Creaming butter and sugar together, like you do for most cake recipes, aerates the cookie dough, creating a softer, fluffier cookie. Since we crave a crispy cookie here, we’re using melted butter instead. Melted butter = a chewy and dense center.
- Sugars. Since brown sugar is soft, we want to use more white sugar for a crispy cookie.
- Milk. Just like melted butter, milk helps the cookies spread in the oven which produces crispier edges.
- Honey. This natural sweetener crisps and melts in the oven, creating a crackly top on your cookie. If you don’t have honey, you can substitute light corn syrup instead.
- Egg yolk. One egg yolk adds richness and structure but leave out the egg white. Why? Egg whites fluff up when beaten or whisked. We want to avoid the fluff in this crispy cookie
- Smaller cookies, hotter oven. Roll the cookies smaller and bake at a higher temperature so the whole cookie crisps up perfectly.
To Chill or Not to Chill?
It’s entirely up to you—baker’s choice! The first time I made these cookies, I chilled the cookie dough for my usual 2 hours, and the cookies had a lovely crisp edge with a chewy center. They were delicious but tasted like my soft chocolate chip cookies. I wanted something different: a thinner cookie with an overall crunch so I continued testing the recipe. Here’s what I discovered:
- No chilling: For thin and mega-crispy cookies, skip chilling the dough entirely.
- Chill for 1 hour: For cookies that are a little thicker, have a little chew and a lot of crisp, chill the dough for 1 hour.
- Chill for 2+ hours: For thicker cookies with less crisp, chill the dough for 2 hours or longer.
I appreciate that this cookie recipe works all 3 ways.
More Cookie Recipes
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crisp Molasses Cookies
- Sugar Cookies
For a gluten free cookie, try my flourless almond butter chocolate chip cookies or flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies. The latter are chock full of chocolate chips, too!
Print
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: 32-36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Crispy chocolate chip cookies with a satisfying crunch. With their crackly tops, crisp buttery edges, and overflow of chocolate chips, I have a feeling even soft chocolate chip cookie fans will get a kick out of these.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup (100g)Â granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (43g)Â honey or light corn syrup
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml)Â milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- See step 4. If not chilling the cookie dough, preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix everything together until completely combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. (You can use a mixer for this step if needed.) Dough will be soft.
- For thin and crisp cookies, do not chill the cookie dough and proceed with step 5. For slightly thicker and crisp cookies, cover and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour then preheat the oven. For slightly thicker cookies with soft centers and crisp edges, cover and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours then preheat the oven.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, 1 scant Tablespoon of dough per cookie, and arrange 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until browned on top and around the sides.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies crisp up as they cool.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cookies stay fresh lightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature, preheat the oven, then continue with step 5. Keep in mind that cookies are the thinnest and crispiest when baked right away. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
If I want to double the recipe, is it just straight double all ingredients, and is it ok to combine chips and mm’s?
Hi Edwin, correct, you can double all ingredients and use a combination of chocolate chips and M&Ms.
The best cookies I ever made, this recipe is definitely outrageous!!!’
Chocolate chip cookies like the olden days.. Just FYI, I used Miyokos plant based butter, and since I don’t use eggs or milks, I substituted 2 Tbs. applesauce for both, and they turned out perfectly!
So basically I veganized the recipe except for the chocolate chips.
Ok how do you do it??? Every recipe I have tried from your website is sooooooo good!!!!
Girl, the cookies are good. Again, your recipes are technically perfect.
Great recipe! It made me realize I was going for more of a soft cookie with crispy edges though. This is more of what I expect buying cookies from the grocery store. I froze leftovers and they were great when thawed too.