3 Surprising Pro Tips for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSenior Vice President of Content at AT Media
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and former Editor-in-Chief of The Kitchn. She is the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning, The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
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.