Thick, soft, and chewy classic chocolate chip cookies reminiscent of hearty bakery-style cookies! Roll in chopped chocolate before baking to achieve the signature chocolate puddles!
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Why I Love These Bakery-Style Cookies
- Thick & hearty: the addition of bread flour gives these cookies a thicker, heartier texture. They remind me of a Panera cookie, maybe even more so than my copycat panera chocolate chip cookies (aka. I feel like Panera cookies vary so much per location...sometimes they're thick & hearty and sometimes they're unbaked & gooey).
- Sweet & salty: I love using either all dark chocolate or a mix of semi-sweet & milk chocolate chips to give them that signature bakery flavor.
- Perfect for gifting: While I love a small cookie every now and then, I love making larger bakery-style cookies when I'm giving them away (#CrumblDupe). I used a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop for this recipe but you could make them smaller for more cookies.
Ingredient Notes
This is just an overview, click here to jump down to the full recipe card for the recipe amounts and condensed recipe instructions.
- Unsalted butter: I always bake with unsalted butter but if you use salted, just omit the added salt.
- Bread flour: Due to having a higher protein content, using bread flour in these cookies gives them a thicker, chewier, and heartier texture. If you don't want to us it, you can use only all-purpose flour (they'll just be less chewy).
- Salt: This dough does have a generous amount of salt, so if you use salted butter or a salty type of chocolate, I suggest omitting or cutting back the salt.
- Chocolate chips or bars: I love using either all dark chocolate or a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips for these but you can use any type of chocolate you want! Using a real chocolate bar vs. chocolate chip will give you those melted chocolate puddles that you often see in bakery-style cookies.
Make it gluten-free! Use your favorite gluten-free flour to make this gluten-free! My favorite brand is Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
How to Make Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies:
This is just an overview showing step-by-step photos, click here to jump down to full recipe card with exact instructions.
Step 1: Chop Chocolate
To achieve that signature bakery look, you want to chop half the chocolate to put inside the dough and then also reserve some to roll each ball into. While chocolate chips work fine for this, using a real chocolate bar will give you those signature chocolate puddles.
If using chocolate chips, you can pulse these in a food processor to slightly break up (you don't want all powder) or you can simply use a large knife and a cutting board.
Tip: I love Trader Joe's "Pound" $5 chocolate bars...they're massive, delicious and melt so well for cookies!
Step 2: Mix Dough
For this recipe, it's important to use softened butter and cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes so that you have a smooth (not grainy) texture after they're baked.
Tip: If your butter is straight from the fridge, place the butter stick upright in the microwave (i.e. don't lay it down) and microwave for 10 seconds.
Step 3: Scoop & Roll Into Chocolate
Scoop and roll dough into 4-tablespoon-sized balls, roll into chopped chocolate, then gently flatten into a thick disc.
Tip: Rolling the dough into real chopped chocolate bars will give you the most picture-perfect chocolate puddles.
Step 4: Bake
Bake on a parchment-lined baking tray for 10-12 minutes for soft cookies (they will look underbaked when you take them out), or 12-14 minutes for crunchier cookies.
For perfect circles, use a bowl or cup to wiggle the cookies into a perfect circle immediately after they come out of the oven.
Tip: If you like a softer cookie, you want to take them out before you see brown on the edges. The cookies will continue to bake on the hot pan as they cool.
Tips & Variations
- Cut the batch in half! This is a larger recipe that makes 14-16 large bakery-style cookies but you can easily split this recipe in half.
- Make chewy or crunchy: If you like a softer, gooey cookie take your cookies out around 10-12 minutes while they still look underbaked. Bake for 12-14 minutes for a crunchier cookie.
- Use real chocolate bars: As opposed to chocolate chips that are meant to maintain their shape, using chopped chocolate bars in and on top of the cookie dough gives it those signature chocolate puddles. I love buying the $5 "pound chocolate bars" from Trader Joe's (both the milk & dark chocolate ones are amazing!).
Frequently Asked Questions:
While the bread flour is what gives these a bakery-style thickness & texture, you can substitute it out for all-purpose flour.
My favorite grocery-store brand is Ghiradelli or Costco brand but you can use your favorite chocolate chip or chocolate bar for these. For the perfect, affordable chocolate bar, I highly suggest Trader Joe's $5 "pound" milk or dark chocolate bars.
For this recipe, I used a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop and bake for a couple of extra minutes.
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Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature (or place in bowl of lukewarm water for 10 minutes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chocolate chips I used half semi-sweet & half milk chocolate (chopping actual chocolate bars will make them look more like bakery cookies & help them flatten more vs. be puffy)
Topping (optional):
- ½ cup chocolate chips or bars, finely chopped
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to cream softened unsalted butter (1 cup, 2 sticks), light brown sugar (1 cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup) for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.Beating it this long is crucial for this recipe!
- Add the eggs (2 large) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything can combine.
- Add in baking soda (1½ teaspoon) and salt (1 teaspoon) and mix for another 5-10 seconds until combined.
- Lastly, add bread flour (2 cups) and all-purpose flour (1 cup) and mix on medium until combined.
- Mix in chocolate chips and chopped chocolate (2 cups total).
- Scoop dough into 4-tablespoon sized scoops (I use this stainless steel cookie scoop!), roll into balls, roll into finely chopped chocolate, then gently flatten each dough ball into a ½" thick disc; this will help them spread instead of be puffy. Place on parchment-lined, light-colored metal baking sheet.Pro tip: for a bakery style look, roll each dough ball in some extra chopped chocolate chips or chocolate bars (so that you're rolling in the chocolate shards/dust).
- Bake at 350°F for 11-13 minutes. Do not overbake. The centers may look a bit wet but will continue to bake on the hot pan, allowing them to firm up without overbaking and becoming too crunchy.If the cookies are puffed up a bit, tap the pan on the counter a few times (immediately after they come out of the oven) to help them deflate into a thinner cookie.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Tomma Marcincuk says
This is probably the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've made! I love the mix of all purpose and bread flour. This recipe is a must make!
Melissa says
So happy to hear you loved it, Tomma! :)
Stacie says
We made them with just regular chocolate chips because that’s what I had on had. They were delicious!
Melissa says
Glad to hear you loved the recipe, Stacie! Thank you so much for leaving a review!