Chilling this dough for 36 hours lets flour fully hydrate, turning ordinary cookies into bakery-style giants with crisp edges.
Giant Cookies
Indulge in the ultimate treat with these scrumptiously oversized cookies, baked to perfection from scratch! Packed with rich, melty chocolate chips and a hint of vanilla, these colossal delights are sure to satisfy your sweet cravings. Get ready to impress friends and family with this simple yet irresistible recipe!
Prep
15
min
Cook
13
min
Serves
12
people
Level
beginner
The Story
America's chocolate chip obsession actually traces back to 1938 Massachusetts, when Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn ran out of baker's chocolate and chopped up a Nestle bar instead—accidentally inventing the chip-studded classic that every nation from Japan to Jamaica has since bastardized with local sugars and fats, proving one flustered innkeeper's shortcut became a global culinary export nobody saw coming.
Regional Twist
In Portland, Oregon's bakery scene, chefs swap standard chocolate chips for chunks of local Ecuadorian dark chocolate and toss in smoked sea salt flakes, turning this humble brown sugar cookie into something the Pacific Northwest's coffee-obsessed crowd will happily pair with a flat white.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (114 g)
- 1 egg
🫙Pantry Staples(6)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (188 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 g)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (240 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 1/3 cup white sugar (66.6 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
251
Protein
3g
Carbs
34g
Fat
12g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds.
- 2
Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.
- 3
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix until glossy.
- 4
Add baking soda, flour, and salt, and mix until no dry flour is left.
- 5
Fold in the chocolate chips gently.
- 6
Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- 7
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 13 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is soft.
- 8
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before serving.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Melt butter to exactly 110-115°F (43-46°C) rather than 20 seconds in the microwave, which often overheats it to 140°F+. Cooler butter emulsifies better with sugars and creates less greasing in the dough, resulting in cookies that spread 15-20% less and stay thicker.timing110-115°F vs 140°F+
- ✓Use a 1.5:1 ratio of brown sugar to white sugar (3/4 cup brown to 1/3 cup white) instead of the listed amounts, because brown sugar's 3-4% molasses content adds hygroscopic moisture that keeps giant cookies tender at their thicker centers and prevents them from drying out during the 13-minute bake.ingredient1.5:1 brown:white ratio
- ✓Increase baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon (from 1/2) to ensure complete leavening in a giant cookie's thicker interior—the extra 50% helps CO₂ reach the 1-inch-deep center before the edges set, creating an even crumb structure rather than a dense core.ingredient3/4 teaspoon (vs 1/2)
- ✓Bake at 325°F for 16-18 minutes instead of 350°F for 13 minutes; the lower temperature allows carryover cooking to reach the center (which sits ~2 inches from edges) while the exterior develops structure, preventing gummy centers and burnt edges in giant cookies.timing325°F for 16-18 minutes
- ✓Rest cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes (not 10) to allow residual heat to set proteins and allow Maillard browning to complete; early transfer breaks apart giant cookies' delicate crumb structure before the gluten fully stabilizes.timing15 minutes (vs 10)
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
13
min
Serves
12
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Chilling this dough for 36 hours lets flour fully hydrate, turning ordinary cookies into bakery-style giants with crisp edges.
Giant Cookies
Indulge in the ultimate treat with these scrumptiously oversized cookies, baked to perfection from scratch! Packed with rich, melty chocolate chips and a hint of vanilla, these colossal delights are sure to satisfy your sweet cravings. Get ready to impress friends and family with this simple yet irresistible recipe!
The Story
America's chocolate chip obsession actually traces back to 1938 Massachusetts, when Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn ran out of baker's chocolate and chopped up a Nestle bar instead—accidentally inventing the chip-studded classic that every nation from Japan to Jamaica has since bastardized with local sugars and fats, proving one flustered innkeeper's shortcut became a global culinary export nobody saw coming.
Regional Twist
In Portland, Oregon's bakery scene, chefs swap standard chocolate chips for chunks of local Ecuadorian dark chocolate and toss in smoked sea salt flakes, turning this humble brown sugar cookie into something the Pacific Northwest's coffee-obsessed crowd will happily pair with a flat white.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 12🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (114 g)
- 1 egg
🫙Pantry Staples(6)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (188 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (2.5 ml)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 g)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (240 ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
- 1/3 cup white sugar (66.6 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
251
Protein
3g
Carbs
34g
Fat
12g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds.
- 2
Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in a bowl and mix until smooth.
- 3
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and mix until glossy.
- 4
Add baking soda, flour, and salt, and mix until no dry flour is left.
- 5
Fold in the chocolate chips gently.
- 6
Scoop tablespoon-sized portions onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- 7
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 13 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is soft.
- 8
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before serving.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Melt butter to exactly 110-115°F (43-46°C) rather than 20 seconds in the microwave, which often overheats it to 140°F+. Cooler butter emulsifies better with sugars and creates less greasing in the dough, resulting in cookies that spread 15-20% less and stay thicker.timing110-115°F vs 140°F+
- ✓Use a 1.5:1 ratio of brown sugar to white sugar (3/4 cup brown to 1/3 cup white) instead of the listed amounts, because brown sugar's 3-4% molasses content adds hygroscopic moisture that keeps giant cookies tender at their thicker centers and prevents them from drying out during the 13-minute bake.ingredient1.5:1 brown:white ratio
- ✓Increase baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon (from 1/2) to ensure complete leavening in a giant cookie's thicker interior—the extra 50% helps CO₂ reach the 1-inch-deep center before the edges set, creating an even crumb structure rather than a dense core.ingredient3/4 teaspoon (vs 1/2)
- ✓Bake at 325°F for 16-18 minutes instead of 350°F for 13 minutes; the lower temperature allows carryover cooking to reach the center (which sits ~2 inches from edges) while the exterior develops structure, preventing gummy centers and burnt edges in giant cookies.timing325°F for 16-18 minutes
- ✓Rest cookies on the baking sheet for 15 minutes (not 10) to allow residual heat to set proteins and allow Maillard browning to complete; early transfer breaks apart giant cookies' delicate crumb structure before the gluten fully stabilizes.timing15 minutes (vs 10)