Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies have been my go-to for as long as I can remember. Growing up, we used to get only plain, vanilla biscuits for the longest time. But once the market opened up and people’s preferences became more varied, we started seeing a lot more ‘fancy’ cookies in the market. One of the first new types was the chocolate chip. It started off as the thinner, crisper variety (the recipe of which shall be up soon), but then also added on the thicker, chewier version. My aunts used to get the chewy chocolate chip cookies from the US as well – those were these super luxury goodies for us back in the day. And so delicious!

On my recent trip to New York, I tried a ton of cookies. Like really a ton. My favourite were from this bakery called Levain. BEST COOKIES EVER! Massive, thick, dense, chewy and full of chocolate in every bite. Heaven!

While these aren’t at that level yet (I promise to try to replicate those), these are pretty much bang on in terms of thick, chewy cookies. I ate way too many in the process of testing, all worth it, I say 😀

 I tested cookie recipes for an entire weekend to get this the way I like it. Brown sugar vs white sugar, baking soda or baking powder+baking soda, Chill or no chill…many experiments were done.

Presenting to you, the easiest, best, most delicious, ‘no one can eat just one’ chocolate chip cookies! 🙂

Just look at that interior – chocolate, dense cookie dough and slightly crisp edges! BEST.

The batter is a very basic cookie dough batter. I’ve gone with more brown sugar to help the cookie stay moist inside. It also helps it spread a little less. Hence, used only baking soda since that works with the acidic nature of brown sugar.

I also recommend chilling the dough for at least 2 hours, if not overnight. This helps the flavours combine better and also helps the cookie spread less when baking. When I made this without chilling, I got a flatter cookie, though equally tasty.

You can shape the cookies using an ice cream scoop for ease. Watching them begin to melt in the oven is quite hypnotic really. I could do that for ages!

These cookies are done when the edges get a little golden brown and a tiny bit soft in the middle. Best to underbake vs overbake!

Once they cool on the pan, they become a little firmer while retaining the chewy texture in the centre. And then you can begin digging in. I promise, you won’t stop at one 🙂