Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Chewy Bakery-Style)

Quick Summary: These chocolate chunk cookies are chewy, bakery-style cookies with crisp edges and soft, gooey centers, loaded with pockets of dark and milk chocolate. Using chopped chocolate chunks instead of chips gives every bite melty puddles of chocolate, and an overnight chill deepens the flavor and keeps the cookies thick.

What are chocolate chunk cookies?

Chocolate chunk cookies are drop cookies made with chopped chocolate chunks instead of uniform chocolate chips. The irregular chunks melt into puddles of chocolate as the cookies bake, giving each bite a different amount of chocolate. This version bakes up thick and chewy, with crisp edges and a soft, gooey center, much like a bakery-style cookie.

What are chocolate chunks?

Chocolate chunks are irregular chocolate pieces. You can make them by chopping bars of chocolate or buy them pre-chunked in the baking departments of supermarkets.

Chocolate chunks vs. chocolate chips

So why use chocolate chunks instead of chips? Here is how the two compare:

• Quality: chocolate chunks are usually chopped from higher-quality baking bars, so they taste more like pure chocolate.
• Ingredients: chocolate chips have more sugar plus stabilizers like soy, which makes them sweeter and waxier and helps them hold their shape.
• How they bake: chips keep their shape and barely spread, while chopped chunks melt into flatter, gooey puddles for a smoother result.
• Every bite: differently sized chunks give you more chocolate in each bite, so your cookies taste more dynamic than ones made with uniform chips.

How to make chocolate chunks

While you can always buy semi-sweet chocolate chunks, you can make them at home. One of the easiest ways is to chop a chocolate bar with a serrated knife. Carefully run the knife down and across to create chunks.

Another way is to place an unwrapped chocolate bar in a plastic bag and freeze for a few minutes. Then break the bar with a rolling pin or the back of the spoon. You will get different-sized chunks, which is what you need.

Why cookie dough should be refrigerated

This chocolate chunk cookie dough recipe requires about 15 hours of refrigeration. This step serves a purpose.

First, chilling the cookie dough controls the spread and thickness of cookies during baking: cold dough results in thicker cookies.

Second, the longer the dough rests in the fridge, the more intense the toffee-like flavor and the deeper the cookies' color will be.

Finally, chilling the cookie dough creates a chewy texture. In conclusion, don't skip the chilling step!

Why you'll love this recipe

1. This one-bowl chocolate chunk cookie recipe is easy to make: you will love simple cookie ingredients and, indeed, the absence of any particular baking technique.
2. These cookies make an ideal snack for any occasion.
3. They are great to bake with the little ones: kids enjoy making cookie dough balls.
4. And they are freezer-friendly! Freezing cookie dough shaped into balls lets you enjoy freshly baked cookies anytime.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

• Butter: use unsalted softened butter. Take it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start.

• Grapeseed oil: this is a flavorless oil used in this recipe. You can replace it with peanut oil if you desire.

• Brown sugar: use golden or dark brown sugar interchangeably. Replace dark sugar with light brown muscovado sugar if you prefer.

• Eggs: the recipe calls for large eggs. To separate the egg white from the yolk, use a chilled egg and an egg separator.

• Baking soda: the recipe calls for a leavening agent called 'baking soda.' Please note, this is not baking powder.

• Flour: Use all-purpose flour to make these cookies.

• Salt: it enhances the flavor of cookies.

• Dark chocolate chunks: Use top-quality dark chocolate such as Valrhona dark chocolate. You can replace chocolate chunks with chocolate chips as long as you keep the same amount of ingredients.

• Milk chocolate chunks: use Lindt milk chocolate to make chunks yourself. You can omit milk chocolate and use only dark chocolate while making these best chocolate chunk cookies.

Equipment

You need only a few basic tools to make these chocolate chunk cookies:

• large mixing bowl
• hand whisk
• rubber spatula
• baking sheet
• parchment paper
• wire rack

How to make chocolate chunk cookies

Step 1. In a large bowl, beat softened butter with a hand whisk. Add brown sugar (photo 1), grapeseed oil, and mix with the whisk (photo 2).

Step 2. Then add half the egg white, egg yolk, and, in order, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a spatula as little as possible (photo 3). Finally, add dark and milk chocolate chunks (photo 4).

Step 3. Cover the bowl with plastic film and refrigerate for 3 hours. Make 1.9 oz (55 g) balls, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with food film, and refrigerate overnight (photo 5).

Step 4. The next day, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Distribute cookie dough balls 3 inches (8 cm) apart and bake for 9 minutes (photo 6).

Step 5. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Expert tips

1. Do not overbake cookies. They bake very fast (about 8 to 9 minutes); so, keep the timer on for the best results. At the end of the baking time, cookies will not look done, but they are done!
2. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Recipe variations

• Different chocolate: swap in white, milk, or bittersweet chocolate chunks, or mix several kinds.
• Baking chips: use white or milk chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or M&M's.
• Nuts: fold in chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts.
• Dried fruit: add dried cherries or apricots, or freeze-dried raspberries or blueberries.

Storing & freezing

Store baked chocolate chunk cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

To freeze the dough, shape it into balls, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months; bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the time.

You can also freeze baked cookies once they cool completely by freezing them in a single layer before stacking them in a container for up to 3 months, then thaw at room temperature.

Recipe FAQ

Can you freeze chocolate chunk cookie dough?
Yes. Freeze the shaped dough balls in a zip-top bag or airtight container for up to two months, and bake them straight from frozen, adding one to two minutes to the baking time.

Why did my cookies spread and flatten?
Common causes include too much or expired baking soda, overmixing the dough, skipping the chill time, or an oven that runs hot. Use fresh baking soda, mix as little as possible, respect the chilling step, and check your oven with a thermometer.

How do you store chocolate chunk cookies?
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Can you freeze baked chocolate chunk cookies?
Yes, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to one month. For the best texture, though, freeze the dough balls instead and bake them fresh when you want them.

Why do you chill the dough overnight?
Chilling controls the spread so the cookies bake up thick, deepens the toffee-like flavor and color, and gives the cookies their chewy texture. Do not skip it.

How many calories are in one cookie?
Each cookie has about 146 calories, based on a batch of 10 cookies. The exact amount depends on the size and the chocolate you use.

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from the Facebook Page of Philippe Conticini. It was originally published on March 24, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.