Karen Gordon: The perfect recipe for big, thick cookies that are chewy, soft and a little gooey in the middle

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If you like big, thick cookies that are slightly crisp around the edges, and are chewy, soft and a little gooey in the middle, then this is the cookie recipe for you. This recipe produces large, 150-gram cookies that have the perfect flavour combination of chocolate, butter, and brown sugar.

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This recipe follows a traditional chocolate, chocolate chip cookie but with the addition of peanut butter chips giving you hints of peanut butter with each bite. When eaten warm, the middle is soft, chewy, and slight gooey with the chocolate chips being almost oozy. However, once cooled, the chips firm up.

There are a few secrets to creating these big baseball-size cookies.

First, you need very cold, cubed butter. To prevent the dough from spreading in the oven, the butter must be hard and cold to start. To ensure that they are cold, I weigh out the butter, cut them into cubes, place them in a bowl and then place them in the freezer for about five to 10 minutes before starting my dough.

Second, the dough cannot be overmixed. To preserve its soft and chewy middle, I recommend mixing the dough until it comes together. Once the dough starts to clump, stop the machine. Do not mix any further.

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Third, to keep the cookies’ thick, tall shape, you’ll need to freeze the dough overnight before baking. If waiting overnight for cookies isn’t possible, then freezing them for four hours is the minimum.

Finally, to get that crisp exterior, these cookies are best baked in a convection oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. While it may appear that the temperature is too high to be baking cookies, rest assured, the high temperature helps crisp up the outside of the cookie while keeping the middle soft and chewy.

While these cookies are best eaten the same day they’re made, they will still be yummy the next day, if stored in an airtight container. Since they are best eaten warm, to reheat them, I recommend that you toast them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. I prefer this method over microwaving. The reason is, the oven method will re-crisp the outside of the cookies, and gradually soften the middle giving you that soft, chewy centre and slightly crunchy outside. Microwaving the cookie will only soften the middle, hence toasting, will produce a far superior second-day cookie.

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If peanut butter isn’t your thing, you can substitute the peanut butter chips for all chocolate chips. Similarly, if you prefer milk or white chocolate chip, feel free to substitute them in place of the dark variety. However, note that using milk or white chocolate chips will produce a slightly sweeter cookie. Since the ratio of flour, sugar and butter is crucial to the structure of the cookie, it is not recommended that you decrease the amount of sugar if using milk or white chocolate chip.

Big and Thick Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Makes about 9-10 cookies

4-1/4 cup (510g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (118g) unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbs (15g) cornstarch

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup (227g) very cold unsalted butter, cubed

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1-1/2 cup (324g) brown sugar

2/3 cup (113g) dark chocolate chips

2/3 cup (113g) peanut butter chips

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In a stand mixer outfitted with a paddle attachment, add the cold cubed butter and brown sugar. Mix on low speed for two minutes until the butter is somewhat broken up and coated with brown sugar.

Add the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Mix on low for about 30 seconds until well distributed.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles very large coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, add the eggs and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Add the egg mixture and mix on medium low speed until the dough comes together. You will still be able to see pieces of butter in the dough. That’s exactly what you want. Do not over mix.

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Using a kitchen scale, weigh out 150g of dough and roll into a ball. Place the ball on a parchment lined cookie tray. Repeat for the rest of the dough.

Transfer the cookie tray into the freezer and freeze the dough overnight.

When ready to bake, move the oven rack to the middle position. Place a parchment lined cookie sheet into the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit on the convection setting. If your oven does not have a convection setting, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the oven is preheated, without removing the baking sheet from the oven, using a pair of tongs, transfer 6 frozen cookies directly from the freezer into the oven. Place cookies three inches apart.

Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until the cookies are set around the edges. The cookies will look underdone but, they will continue cooking as they sit on the tray. Do not overbake.

Remove the cookie tray from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 20 minutes. Do not move the cookies or they will fall apart.

Once 20 minutes has passed, transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool for another 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a tall glass of cold milk! Enjoy!

Karen Gordon is a Food Blogger from North Vancouver who shares her recipe creations online at karentology.com and on Instagram at @karen.t.ology