New York City has Levain Bakery and their oversized cookies, Seattle has the Met Market’s “The Cookie”, and now all of you can have something even better at home…these Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are the best of both worlds, crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.  And giant doesn’t quite begin to describe the size of these cookies.  They are 5 ounces of pure cookie heaven…two kinds of chocolate, with some special ingredients that keep them soft for days!

Here’s how they’re made:

Chocolate

Start by chopping 4 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. The combination of chopped bittersweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips give you layers of chocolate and a depth of flavor that can’t be beat!

Don’t leave the little shavings of chocoalte behind, they will melt into the dough leaving behind layer after layer of chocolate.

Flour

Another important part of this recipe is using both cake flour and all purpose flour.  Even though they look similar, they have very different textures and purposes.  Cake flour will add softness and all purpose flour will add structure to the cookies. I also add a tiny bit of cornstarch to the dough for extra softness.

Don’t Overmix the Dough

Combine the dough ingredients just until combined.  You don’t want to overmix the dough or it will develop gluten in the flour and make the cookies tough like a loaf of bread instead of soft and chewy like a cookie!  The batter should be soft and gooey, like the inside of your cookie will become…

Forming Giant Cookies

Usually I use a cookie scoop to form my cookies, but that’s not going to work here.  I don’t know if they make a scoop big enough – ha!

You can either weigh the dough and portion the cookies out at appoximately 5 ounces each or you can do it my way and plop the dough onto the counter:

Divide the dough into 8 equal-ish pieces:

And form the pieces of dough into a rough cookie balls:

Place 4 pieces of dough on each 1/2 sheet pan (I warned you that these are BIG cookies).  Normally you could put about 12 cookies on a 1/2 sheet pan, but not this time!

And bake until set.

The outsides will be crunchy, the insides will be soft and gooey, and you will think you have died and gone to cookie heaven.  I mean, look at that texture!!

Freezer Instructions

This dough freezes very well, so if you don’t think you can eat the cookies all at once.  Shape the dough into balls and place them close together on a cookie sheet. But instead of placing the dough in the oven, place it in the freezer for a few hours until it’s frozen solid.  Next, place the balls of dough into a freezer bag and when the urge hits, bake as directed!  Easy!

Gifts for Friends and Neighbors

I made this batch for my daughter’s basketball team.  Since last November they’ve had 30+ games, and had at least that many practices.  I figured if anyone deserves a giant cookie, it’s these hardworking girls!

And do you know who else deserves one? You do!

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup salted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semi sweet Chocolate Chips (I like Ghirardelli brand)
1 (4 oz) bar bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Sea Salt for sprinkling over finished cookies, optional

Preheat oven to 410 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until thoroughly combined. Add cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and flours. Mix until just combined to avoid over-mixing. Stir in chocolate chips and chocolate chunks and mix until just combined

Either weigh and portion the dough into roughly 8, 5-ounce balls. Or cut the dough into 8 roughly equal pieces (see pictures for more detailed instruction). Shape into rough balls for baking.

Place 4 cookies on a greased half sheet pan and let bake for 9-12 minutes, or until golden on top. Careful not to over bake the cookies. You will want the centers set, but still very soft (see pictures above). Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes until you can easily transfer them. If you try to move them sooner, they will likely fall apart. You’re counting on the residual heat from the pan and oven to gently finish the baking for you. Enjoy them warm with a large glass of milk or store covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days.

FREEZER: The individually portioned balls of dough can be frozen and stored in the freezer bags for later. Bake straight from the freezer, for 9-12 minutes. Watching for doneness after 9 minutes.