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Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with brown butter, a combination of brown sugar and white sugar, and semi-sweet chunks and chips. A perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie!
I have come to a realization in my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie…everyone has different taste buds. Some may love the thin crispy while someone else may prefer a thick and cakey.
Let’s take my family for example. My sister-in-law, Laura, despises cakey cookies (right there with you) and prefers a thin chewy cookie. My Mom loves a thick chewy cookie with nuts. My brother Ryan prefers one with very little chocolate so the cookie flavor comes through. I have created enough chocolate chip cookie recipes to please the masses! Scroll down to find all of my recipes on Modern Honey.
This is precisely the reason I test out SO many chocolate chip cookie recipes. I have been obsessed with figuring out the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, so for all of you that love a thin chewy chocolate chip cookie, this recipe is for you. But don’t worry this isn’t a recipe that produces super flat cookies with chocolate chip mountains. They aren’t that flat!
So how do you make these Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies? It all starts in the saucepan. Brown butter adds a ridiculous amount of rich toffee flavor to these cookies and is definitely the secret to making killer chocolate chip cookies. The key is to cook the butter until it is a nice warm amber color.
The key is to not brown the butter for too long or precious liquids will evaporate and you will lose some of the moisture. I suggest watching it like a hawk and removing it from the heat earlier than you may think to make sure you don’t end up with puffy cookies.
It is imperative to remove the butter from the heat and let it slightly cool, just to room temperature, before adding the rest of the ingredients (specifically the eggs). After the butter is slightly cooled, it is added to the mixing bowl and creamed with the remaining ingredients.
I love to use a mixture of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks. My favorite chocolate chips are Ghirardelli, Guittard, and Trader Joe’s. If I can find Callebaut chocolate chips at Restaurant Depot, then I love to mix those in too.
If you have read my blog for more than two seconds, you know how I feel about Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bar. It is a GAME CHANGER. It is so good in the chocolate chip cookie dough because it melts just enough to make the cookies rich and chocolatey. A big bar lasts forever too!
Of course, it is important to chill your dough. I know it is hard to be that patient when all you want is COOKIES. But you need to give it that precious time to do its thing. Cookie dough just gets better with time (as long as it is tightly wrapped in the refrigerator). Give it at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. If you can wait longer, do it! You will end up with an even better cookie. I promise you that.
Since we are discussing chocolate chip cookies, let’s chat about all of my recipes on Modern Honey. Let me know which one is your favorite! Find all of the popular recipes below. I am also sharing my favorite cookie baking tools….those that I couldn’t live without.
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Copycat Cookies — the most unique chocolate chip cookie, using different methods to create a thick chewy cookie without being cakey. I am sharing all of the secrets, tips, and tricks to make this perfect cookie. I worked for months perfecting this chocolate chip cookie recipe and it was my very first post on Modern Honey. Before I even started this blog, I had a lawyer offer to patent this recipe after trying out the cookies. This is a Modern Honey favorite cookie! There is good reason why Levain Bakery is the number one bakery in New York City. I am saving you a trip because you can make them at home!
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies — a traditional, fool-proof chocolate chip cookie recipe. This is my go-to recipe is if I want to make a classic chocolate chip cookie.
I Want to Marry You Cookies — this cookie recipe won the Cooking Channel’s Perfect 3 Contest to find the nation’s most perfect cookie. I filmed a segment for the show, “The Perfect 3” in Food Network Studios in NYC. It became the number 1 recipe on cookingchannel.com in 2012. This recipe is made in a saucepan (no mixer required) and has a touch of oats, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. It’s a winner!
MJ’s Top Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies — this is the recipe that started my brown butter love affair. This chocolate chip cookie recipe is made in one saucepan (no mixer required) and creates a toffee flavored chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Doubletree Hotel Copycat Chocolate Chip Cookies — people visit Doubletree hotels just to get their hands on their ultra-popular chocolate chip nut cookies. This recipe has a few secrets to set it apart from the rest. The result is a chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — this is a super easy recipe since the cookie dough is baked in one pan. People go crazy for these ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie bars. It’s no wonder they are a favorite!
100K Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies — the combination of malted milk powder and milk chocolate chips make this a sweet and chewy chocolate chip cookie. If you love sweet malt, you will love these cookies!
My Favorite Cookie Baking Tools:
Baker’s Half Cookie Sheets — I prefer a light colored baking sheet as it ensures the cookies bake evenly on the top and the bottom. Dark colored baking sheets turn the bottoms too brown very quickly.
Silicone Baking Sheets — these are such a genius invention. This makes cleanup a breeze and the cookies remove so easily. Click HERE for an inexpensive version. Click HERE for the original Silpat version.
Nylon Turner — this ensures the cookies come off of the cookie sheets perfectly.
Spatula Set — these are imperative to use to remove the cookie dough from the sides of the bowl.
Cookie Scoop — this creates uniform, perfectly shaped cookies every single time.
Cooling Racks — this helps for the cookies to cool and stops the cookies to continue to cook on hot baking sheets.
Kitchenaid Mixer — my favorite mixer. This is a very well-used machine in my home! I can’t imagine baking without it.
Here is the recipe for Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
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Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Full Recipe:
- 1 1/2 cups Butter (3 cubes, melted in a saucepan)
- 1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Cake or Pastry Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chunks (chopped from bar)
Small Half Recipe:
- 3/4 cup Butter (melted in saucepan)
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Cake or Pastry Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
- 1/4 cup Chocolate Chunks (cut from chocolate bar)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until butter starts to turn a warm amber color and gives off a nutty aroma. Watch it carefully and don't allow it to get too brown as the liquids will start to evaporate (see NOTES below). Pour the butter into a mixing bowl, cover, and let cool in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
- Once it is cooled, add brown sugar and sugar and cream for 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add eggs one at a time (if making the full recipe), mixing after each addition. Add vanilla and mix.
- Stir in cake or pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined. The total flour amount added will equal 3 cups for the large batch.
- Add chocolate chips and chocolate chunks and mix.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 - 30 minutes. 24 -48 hours is ideal. In order to the cookies to spread, let the cookie dough come to room temperature after it has been chilled. If it stays cold, it may hold its shape.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Scoop the cookie dough onto prepared baking pans. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, 9 -11 minutes for medium-sized cookies or 11-13 minutes for larger cookies.
- *Recipe adapted from G Bakes Recipe
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy Baking, my friends! Come say “hello” on my instagram @modern_honey. xo
These cookies are absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Seriously, they are just perfect.
Is the butter salted or unsalted, the brown sugar light brown or dark brown, and is the brown sugar packed firmly or not?
I just took these cookies out of the oven and they’re puffy and not flat . The only thing I did different from the recipe was I used apf only. What happened?
Hi Tammy! Thank you for trying my recipe. It could be that the dough was too cold. If it is straight out of the refrigerator, it will hold its shape longer than if the dough was at room temperature. I would suggest bringing it to room temp for about 20-30 minutes before placing in the oven.
Another thought could be that some of the liquid evaporated from the butter. If the butter is browned too long, the waters from the butter can evaporate and leave you with a more crumbly dough which wouldn’t spread as much. I hope that helps solve the mystery. Thanks!
In the directions for this recipe it’s says, “2. Once butter is cooled add brown sugar and sugar and cream.” When you say “cream” you mean combine the butter and sugars til it’s a creamy texture right? Not add cream (liquid). Wanted to make sure.
Hi Brittany! You got it! It just means the verb “to cream” which means to mix until it is creamed together. I hope that helps!
hiya, i just made a huge batch of these to satisfy a cookie craving but sadly my cookies didn’t spread at all! i was hoping for some thin crispy cookies but my cookie dough didn’t thin out in the oven and remained bolus-like so i ended up with thick cookies. they were delicious, but i was disappointed by how thick they were. do you reckon i went wrong somewhere? i tried flattening the dough a little before baking but that just resulted in the cookie keeping its shape throughout baking 🙁
Hi Claire! Thank you for trying my recipe. It could be that the dough was too cold. If it is straight out of the refrigerator, it will hold its shape longer than if the dough was at room temperature. I would suggest bringing it to room temp for about 20-30 minutes before placing in the oven.
Another thought could be that some of the liquid evaporated from the butter. If the butter is browned too long, the waters from the butter can evaporate and leave you with a more crumbly dough which wouldn’t spread as much. I hope that helps solve the mystery. Thanks!
Damn. I NEVER write reviews but I had to. I’m stuck quarantined at home and I have been on the hunt for the perfect crispy/chewy CCC’s. After 4 different recipes I fell upon this one and I’m absolutely in LOVE. Everyone in my house loves it. It’s turned out perfectly crispy on the outside but chewy and warm on the inside. The brown butter definitely made it stand out too! Thank you for this recipe!
How many cookies does the full batch make and how far apart do you put them on the cookie sheet.
Hi Linda! It depends on how large you make the cookies but it makes about 16-24. I don’t overcrowd my cookies and only put about 8 per cookie sheet. I hope that helps! Have a great night.
Hi Linda, I actually have a clarification. The small batch makes about 16 and the large batch makes about 24-30. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much- these cookies are perfect!
Love to hear it! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment, Eliie!
Finally a cookie that spreads out like the shop bought ones. Would probably reduce the salt on my next batch a bit but yum ????
Yay! I love to hear it. I love the buttery chocolate goodness of these cookies. Thank you for trying the recipe!
can I substitute the butter for anything?
Hi Rachel! I haven’t tried margarine with this recipe but you can try it. I wouldn’t brown it for very long since it has a higher water content and could make the dough crumbly. I would suggest just melting it for a short time. I hope that helps!
Followed the directions minus using cake flour and the batter is super crumbly. It looks like any normal cookie batter but when trying to scoop out the batter it crumbles. Is it lacking moisture ?
Hi Jacki! It sounds as if some of the liquid evaporated from the butter while cooking. This happens when it is browned for too long. Since some of the liquid is gone, it can create a crumbly dough. I hope that helps solve the mystery. Thank you for trying my recipe!