# Anyone have a recipe for fudgy, dense, restaurant-style chocolate chip cookies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879 "2020-07-30T23:02:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/1 "2020-07-30T23:02:58Z")
You know how restaurants and bakeries serve chocolate chip cookies that are not only soft, but really dense and fudgy? Even more so than good old-fashioned Toll House straight out of the oven. Does anyone know if it’s possible to replicate this at home? I’ve tried a few different recipes I’ve found on the internet that purport to mimic that type of cookie, but they’ve all been disappointing. Is there just something about commercial ovens, or have I just not found the right recipe yet? Anyone have one? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/2 "2020-07-30T23:58:12Z")
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have found after a half century of searching is: [Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - NYT Cooking](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014826-quintessential-chocolate-chip-cookies). Using the blend of the 2 different flours is important as is chilling the dough before baking (keeps the cookies from spreading too thin so the centers stay moist and dense). A professional stand mixer like a KitchenAid is needed or you will burn out a lesser mixer motor-the dough is stiff. Worth it. Won over my SIL with this recipe-they are the only cc cookies he will eat. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/3 "2020-07-31T01:58:31Z")
Main thing is don’t overbake them. They’ll continue to harden after they cool down. Try underbaking a bit and see how you like it. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/4 "2020-07-31T02:14:09Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Main thing is don’t overbake them. They’ll continue to harden after they cool down. Try underbaking a bit and see how you like it. This. I used to make “Monster Cookies” (Monster=size) which are kinda like Otis Spunkmeyer (oats, rice krispies, shredded coconut, walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips). When you take them out, you have to wait a couple minutes before removing from the baking sheet. They aren’t ready to hold together if you pull them too fast. Later: crunchewy texture. I can’t find a recipe on line…mine don’t include peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/5 "2020-07-31T02:18:03Z")
In college I worked in a restaurant/bakery where we baked and sold these really high-quality cookies. As I remember, part of what made them so good was the high quality of the chocolate, much better than Nestle Toll House chips. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/6 "2020-07-31T04:32:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In college I worked in a restaurant/bakery where we baked and sold these really high-quality cookies. As I remember, part of what made them so good was the high quality of the chocolate, much better than Nestle Toll House chips.  Great point about using good chocolate. I prefer chunks to chips because of the bigger hits of melted chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/7 "2020-07-31T16:30:06Z")
I have always used Alton Brown’s ‘Chewy’ Chocolate chip cookies, and they haven’t done wrong by me. > **[The Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe | Alton Brown](https://altonbrown.com/recipes/the-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/)** > > The Chewy is Alton Brown's recipe hack for perfectly soft, gooey, and cake-like chocolate chip cookies — just like Toll House, but better. I do think the greater amount of brown sugar and the addition of bread flour is the key thing here. And he makes the same point that others have made, that the quality of the chocolate can make a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/8 "2020-07-31T17:22:18Z")
Flour type (cake vs all-purpose vs bread, white vs wheat vs whole) does make a difference; although you can substitute, they’re not exactly equivalent. Alas, I can’t find bread flour these days. Some recipes have way too much sugar in them. The sugar makes the cookies crispier. I prefer reducing the sugar to very minimal, and then making up the sweetness with the chocolate. Chocolate comes in dark to semi-sweet to milk, with different brands adding different flavors (vanilla or not?). While I like darker chocolates in general, I prefer the cookie to be less sweet which means the chocolate needs to be more sweet. I’m a big fan of Hershey’s milk chocolate because of the sour notes. Cadbury’s rather plain milk chocolate works well in cookies, even if nowhere else. Oh, it’s also worth experimenting with the amount of leavening used. Too little will give you crackers, too much will give you crumbles. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/9 "2020-07-31T17:33:57Z")
While I love milk chocolate (in addition to dark and white), I’ve never been satisfied with it in cookies. There just isn’t enough oomph in the final product. I’d rather just eat it plain. But that’s just my own preference. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/10 "2020-08-01T22:29:22Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > The best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have found after a half century of searching is: [Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe - NYT Cooking](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014826-quintessential-chocolate-chip-cookies). > > Using the blend of the 2 different flours is important as is chilling the dough before baking (keeps the cookies from spreading too thin so the centers stay moist and dense). What 2 different flours are you talking about? That recipe calls for all-purpose flour only. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Main thing is don’t overbake them. They’ll continue to harden after they cool down. Try underbaking a bit and see how you like it. Yeah, I’ve learned that, and realized that that slightly underdone quality is a positive thing, but it’s not the totality of what I’m talking about. I’ve also realized the importance of using silicone baking mats, because baking them directly on a metal surface inevitably yields a browned, crispy bottom. But even using silicone baking mats and slightly underbaking them doesn’t yield the same quality I have in mind. > [@ParallelLines](#): > > I have always used Alton Brown’s ‘Chewy’ Chocolate chip cookies, and they haven’t done wrong by me. > > [The Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe | Alton Brown](https://altonbrown.com/the-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/) > > I do think the greater amount of brown sugar and the addition of bread flour is the key thing here. And he makes the same point that others have made, that the quality of the chocolate can make a big difference. I believe it about the brown sugar and the quality of the chocolate, and I’ll have to try this recipe before passing judgment, but I wouldn’t think bread flour would be what I would want. The kind of cookie I’m talking about isn’t _chewy_ per se. What makes bread flour bread flour is a higher concentration of gluten, which is what gives bread dough that sinewy quality that allows it to hold little carbon dioxide bubbles, which is what allows it to rise. And that’s also what makes bread chewy. The quality I’m talking about is almost the opposite; the cookies I have in mind almost fall apart. If anything I’d think you’d want to use cake flour. > [@Pleonast](#): > > Flour type (cake vs all-purpose vs bread, white vs wheat vs whole) does make a difference; although you can substitute, they’re not exactly equivalent. Alas, I can’t find bread flour these days. Not sure what you mean by “white vs. wheat vs. whole.” AFAIK there are only two kinds of wheat flour: white flour and whole wheat flour. Odd that you can’t find bread flour, though. I regularly make dough for homemade pizza and have never had trouble finding bread flour. Every supermarket around here carries it. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/11 "2020-08-01T23:20:18Z")
Thanks for catching that. Obviously there is more than one NYT CC cookie recipe. This is the one I thought I was sending. The tiny sprinkle of coarse salt on top sounds weird but tastes great (as long as your diet isn’t low sodium-if so, the cookies are still delicious). [https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-new-york-times-chocolate-chip-cookies/](https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-new-york-times-chocolate-chip-cookies/) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/12 "2020-08-01T23:34:08Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > But even using silicone baking mats and slightly underbaking them doesn’t yield the same quality I have in mind. Hmm, when I think “fudgy”, I think “chewy”. I’m not sure what quality you’re looking for in a “fudgy” cookie. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/13 "2020-08-02T00:41:26Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Hmm, when I think “fudgy”, I think “chewy”. I’m not sure what quality you’re looking for in a “fudgy” cookie. I think when it comes to cookies, some people use “chewy” as a synonym for soft." “Chewy” to me means you have to chew it a lot. Clams are chewy. So is hearty bread. Fudge isn’t chewy; it practically melts in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/14 "2020-08-02T00:46:49Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Thanks for catching that. Obviously there is more than one NYT CC cookie recipe. This is the one I thought I was sending. The tiny sprinkle of coarse salt on top sounds weird but tastes great (as long as your diet isn’t low sodium-if so, the cookies are still delicious). > > [https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-new-york-times-chocolate-chip-cookies/](https://www.browneyedbaker.com/the-new-york-times-chocolate-chip-cookies/) Hm, I’m skeptical of using both bread flour and cake flour, since the whole point of bread flour is to have a high gluten concentration, while the purpose of cake flour is to have a low gluten concentration, with all-purpose flour in the middle. So if you use 1 part bread flour and 1 part cake flour, you’ve essentially just created 2 parts all-purpose flour. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/15 "2020-08-02T02:58:14Z")
I think the devil is in the details. I was skeptical at first but I use the recipe and it indeed works. A finer culinary chemist/baker than I will have to explain _why_ it does. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/16 "2020-08-02T04:38:19Z")
Land O Lakes has a chocolate chip cookie recipe on their butter, or you can find it on their website, that makes a nice dense and chewy cookie. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/17 "2020-08-02T15:14:23Z")
Oh my god, I can’t believe all you people prefer underbaked “chewy” cookies over delicious crisp fully cooked ones, with a little bit of that yummy mailiard reaction. My challenge is always to make sure my cookies are baked enough without actually burning them. Because they are best riiiiight before burning. Oh well, no accounting for tastes. On a related note, did anyone else notice that Nestles has changed the recipe of their chocolate chips. They now taste more like giardelli. They now completely lack a “sour” note and they taste… hmm, a little browner, somehow. I suppose most people will like the change, but I’m really disappointed, and will be shopping for new chocolate to put in my cookies. I may start cutting up valhrona into cookie-size bits. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/18 "2020-08-02T16:03:01Z")
Not exactly a hijack, but… I’ve always been more of a brownie person than a cookie person (although chocolate chip cookies are my favorite cookie hands down), and I _Love_ Alton Brown’s brownie recipe. It is hands down, the fudgiest, richest, most dense brownie I can recall. > **[Cocoa Brownies: Reloaded Recipe | Alton Brown](https://altonbrown.com/recipes/cocoa-brownies-reloaded/)** > > Alton Brown's revamped cocoa brownies recipe from Good Eats: Reloaded are everything a chocolate lover could want: rich, fudgy, and decadent. The reason this is NOT a hijack, is that this seems to be closer to what the OP is looking for in terms of melt in your mouth denseness. I suspect that if you eliminated the cocoa powder and tinkered a bit, that you could use this as the cookie base, then add quality chips and portion into individual super rich, fudgy, and dense cookies to meet the OP needs. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/19 "2020-08-02T16:40:02Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Oh my god, I can’t believe all you people prefer underbaked “chewy” cookies over delicious crisp fully cooked ones, with a little bit of that yummy mailiard reaction. My challenge is always to make sure my cookies are baked enough without actually burning them. Because they are best riiiiight before burning. > > Oh well, no accounting for tastes. You can make me cookies any time! At last some one else who knows a good cookie when they make one.🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-a-recipe-for-fudgy-dense-restaurant-style-chocolate-chip-cookies/916879/20 "2020-08-04T19:40:23Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Not sure what you mean by “white vs. wheat vs. whole.” AFAIK there are only two kinds of wheat flour: white flour and whole wheat flour. Odd that you can’t find bread flour, though. I regularly make dough for homemade pizza and have never had trouble finding bread flour. Every supermarket around here carries it. Sorry, whole grain. None of the three stores I rotate among has bread flour. It’s weird what’s not available. There’s currently a sweet relish shortage.