This is my go-to chocolate chunk cookie recipe. These have crisp caramelized edges, are chewy in the middle, are not too sweet, but oh so indulgent, just how I like ’em!
These cookies have caramel sauce as an ingredient, which you make beforehand. You will have way more than you’ll need for the cookies, but leftovers can be kept in the freezer for several months.
You can make these cookies your own by adding in your personal mix-ins. Some ideas are:
- 1/2 heaping cup nuts, chopped (about 60 g)
- 120 g chocolate covered pretzels, chopped
- Any candy bar, chopped
- Brownies, chopped
- Toasted coconut flakes
- Dried fruit, chopped
- Potato chips
- Mini marshmallows
- Caramel candy pieces
If you are using salty mix-ins, omit or reduce the salt in the recipe.
Here are some baker’s tips: Make sure that your butter and egg are at room temperature. You can warm up a cold egg by putting it in a pot of warm water for a few minutes. Use the best chocolate you can find for the chunks. Lindt dark chocolate bars, which are 100 grams, are perfect. If you are using nuts as a mix-in, get some vanilla butternut oil, available on line.
Makes 12 – 20 cookies.
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Ingredients
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats (or just rolled oats)
1 1/8 cups (140 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt OR 1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 cup (113 g) room temperature butter
a little over 1/4 cup, packed (60 g) brown sugar
a little over 1/4 cup (60 g) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons (30 g) thick caramel sauce (recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla butternut oil (optional, see note)
1/4 cup (60 g) Skor bits (or chopped toffee candy)
100 g to 130 g chopped chocolate chunks (see note)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Finely chop the old fashioned oats in a food processor. (You can skip this step if you’re using rolled oats.) Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt (if using). Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the caramel sauce, toffee bits, chocolate chunks, and mix-ins.
- For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful or ice cream scoop worth of dough (40g to 60g) onto sheet, spacing at least 3 inches apart (do not flatten dough), or 6 cookies per sheet. Press reserved chocolate chunks on top of each cookie dough ball. Place in the fridge for at least 20min, then bake just until the edges of the cookies are golden-brown (cookies will flatten), about 15 minutes. Check cookies at 7-minute mark—if cookies are puffing up too much, bang the pan carefully to flatten them. If cookies are spreading into all kinds of weird shapes, use a large round cookie cutter or a spoon to push in the rogue edges. (Optional: place caramel candy pieces on top of cookies once they’re done baking and before they’re cool.)
- Do not attempt to lift the cookies while they’re still hot, because they will be too soft to lift cleanly. Cookies will continue to bake and harden on the cookie sheet as they cool. After cooling them on the baking sheet for about 20 minutes, if they are still too soft to pick up, place them back in the oven to bake another 5 minutes.
Making caramel sauce is easy, but you need a good pot with a heavy bottom that heats evenly. If you are not sure, add some white corn syrup, which keeps it from crystallizing.
Ingredients for caramel sauce
3/4 cup (150 g) white sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 big dollop white corn syrup (optional, see note)
scant 1/2 cup (100 g) heavy cream, warm
Directions
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons of water in a small or medium pot. Stir until all the sugar is wet. Don’t worry if you accidentally add more water, extra water will just make it take a little longer to caramelize.
- Cook on medium-high until amber coloured. Once the mixture starts bubbling, do not stir it but you can swirl it gently or rotate the pot if you’re seeing that it’s not heating evenly. (Stirring the mixture can make it crystalize which you don’t want.) Watch carefully as it can go from light amber to burnt in a few seconds.
- Immediately add the warm cream. The mixture will steam and bubble up so be careful! Use a long-handled spoon or spatula to mix until smooth. If the cooled caramel is too liquid-y, continue to cook it until it’s thick.