3 Surprising Pro Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

updated May 1, 2019
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(Image credit: Izy Hossack)

What’s going on your holiday cookie plate this year? Chocolate chip cookies might not be on your Christmas cookie list, but let’s face it — they’re (almost) everyone’s favorite. Whether you’re baking them for a potluck or a party, the perfect chocolate chip cookie will always win out.

We talked to a professional baker to discover how she makes the best chewy, gooey chocolate chip cookies ever, and her three tips may surprise you.

(Image credit: Leela Cyd)

Last year we visited Jen Musty, the baker extraordinaire behind San Francisco’s Batter Bakery. Jen gave us quite a few tips for making better cookies of all sorts, but in honor of holiday cookie season, let’s take a closer look at the classic.

Jen Musty’s 3 Pro Tips for Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leela describes Jen’s chocolate chip cookies as chewy on the inside, crusty on the outside, with big discs of quality chocolate, and a touch of Maldon sea salt, oh yeah. Sounds good to me! Here’s how she does it.

1. Use high-gluten flour.

Jen swears by a high-gluten flour to give the chew and crust she’s so famous for in her remarkably good chocolate chip cookies.

2. Size matters: Try 4 ounces.

Size is also important for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Jen says that a measuring scoop of about 4 ounces makes a large, indulgent cookie with a great balance between chew, loft, and craggy-crusty edges (it’s the little things, right?).

3. Age the dough.

Lastly on this chocolate chip topic, ageing the dough a day or two in the fridge (no freezing) yields more complex flavor in the final cookie.

(Image credit: Hugh Forte)

Chocolate Chip Cookies, 7 Ways

Ready to make a batch? Here are a few to try, from the traditional to the slightly less so.