I can’t really explain to you how much I love cookies. It’s just this feeling that exists deep inside my soul. Wouldn’t you agree that a good chocolate chip cookie recipe is all you really need sometimes? It solves a crisis, cures a bad day and certainly warms your house with a golden, sweet chocolate aroma like no other.
Really though, how would you describe the smell of a chocolate chip cookie baking? I can’t. My only thoughts are that I’d like to bottle it up and inhale the sweetness whenever it’s deemed necessary.
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Today’s recipe just happens to be for all of my AK readers who have a cookie infatuation as strong as mine. You all were with me for my weekly cookie recipe a few years ago, and then my beloved brown butter phase. But we all know that brown butter takes time, and sometimes we just don’t have that (or patience!) to watch butter turn into brown little bits.
But good news! Today’s cookie is quick, absolutely epic, and FULL of ooey-gooey chocolate puddles that melt in your mouth.
Let’s talk ingredients to make these chocolate chunk cookies:
I used a few special ingredients, and that’s of course what makes this cookie unique. They have:
- melted butter
- a touch of molasses
- a mix of brown sugar and coconut sugar
- vanilla beans and
- extra vanilla extract.
The outsides crisp up beautifully while the middle of the cookie stays soft and sweet. My goodness are they amazing with a sprinkle of sea salt too!
Make these this weekend! They’re perfect for a sweet treat after a long week or a great cookie to share with family and friends as a gift of your love. And yes, they are indeed absolutely epic.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below or tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see your creations! xo!
More delicious cookie recipes you’ll love:
Salted Brown Butter Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat
Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Chocolate Dipped Brown Butter Tahini Cookies
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Absolutely Epic Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or sub brown sugar)
- 2 teaspoons molasses or pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 1 large egg
- 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 oz your favorite high-quality chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add butter to a medium saucepan and place over low heat, stirring butter frequently until it completely melts. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Next transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Add in dark brown sugar, coconut sugar and egg; beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 min. Add in molasses, vanilla bean and vanilla and mix again for about 30 seconds.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix again until well combined and a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chunks with a wooden spoon.
- Roll dough into 2 inch balls and place on a large baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until edges begin to turn slightly golden brown.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle cookies with a little bit of coarse sea salt. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes 14 cookies.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen
Photography by: Sarah Fennel // Broma Bakery
This recipe hits the spot! And these pictures … SO GOOD!
Can you suggest a GF flour alternative Thx
Perfection!
Oh my, these are the ultimate chocolate chunk cookies! Perfection! Love how the chocolate is melting on top. It’s calling my name 🙂
I love the way the chocolate chips just ooooooooze out of the cookies! It looks so tantalizing!
Oh my gosh! THE SHINY OOZY CHOCOLATE!! 😀 Delicious! I can definitely get on board with THESE!
i love that you used really flavorful sugars (and that means more chew, yay!!), and that there’s chopped chocolate (that’s my favorite way to incorporate chocolate into a chocolate chip/chunk cookie).
I love the special ingredients in this – you’re right, truly unique! The melted chocolate in these cookies is calling my name 😀
Omg yum!!
These look thick and chewy, just like I like ’em, and holy melting chocolate deliciousness!
Epic indeed! Look at all that sweet chocolate!
you mean, a good chocolate chip recipe is all you need most of the time! these look absolutely heavenly!!!
Totally with you – these look completely epic! Love the idea of using molasses in the cookies, and that gooey chocolate looks insaaane. <3
So what” your favorite chocolate bar for this recipe?
Ghirardelli chcoolate bars (60% or 72%) are really wonderful!
These are outrageously good!
These are absolutely gorgeous…it’s Sunday, and my first batch is in the oven right now. Can’t wait to taste the results, 100% they’re going to be well worth it.
I just made these tonight but I subbed out mini pb cups in place of the chocolate chunks. OH MY GOODNESS are they delicious!! I’ll be surprised it they make it past tomorrow 😉
I’m obsessed with the idea of adding PB cups.
Well…these were a MUST make ! And they were insanely yummy ! I agree…Ghirardelli chocolate bars are the best, I used the semi sweet.
The only sad news…. they last about 4 hours at my house : (
Time for another batch…thanks so much for a home run with my son !
So so happy you liked them! 🙂
You know how they say some food is really too pretty to eat…This came THIIIIIIIS close.
yummy!
but..any subs for molasses?
maple syrup? honey? yacon syrup?
many thnx! 🙂
You could try maple syrup, but I haven’t tested it that way. Your best bet is to use molasses!
I have a challenge for you – what is a fellow chocolate chip cookie addict to do with no oven? Any ideas?
Eggless cookie dough balls?!
I’ve made these twice now and they are unreal! The first time I followed the recipe exactly and they were amazing. The second time I didn’t have the vanilla pod or as many chocolate chips on hand, so I doubled the vanilla extract and used what chips I had… and they were still sooooo good! I’m not a baker by any means so it’s great to have found such an awesome, foolproof recipe. Thank you!
Thanks for writing to me Kelli! Love that these cookies have worked so well for you xo!
What is coconut sugar?
These are without a doubt the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever made/tasted. It’s just a shame that vanilla bean is so expensive!! It cost me $16 for 2 pods to make a double batch.
Oh no, that’s too bad! Have you ever tried ordering online? This vanilla bean powder would probably last you a very long time: http://amzn.to/1PHl052
Seriously these are the best cookies I have ever tasted!!!! Wow!!! Delisious!! Thank you Monique!!
Like chocolate. I also like cookie! Thanks your post!
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These are without a doubt the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever made/tasted.
I have made these amazing cookies several times and each time at least one person states to me that it is the BEST chocolate chip cookies they have ever had! I absolutely agree with them! Thank you for your EPIC cookie recipe! BTW- I am making a double batch tonight because they never last too long!
Roll dough into 2 inch balls and place on a large baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Really?
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(y), How long does this cake take?
Another good recipe 🙂 Thanks for share and now I am waiting for the next recipe 🙂
HSC Result 2017
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Delicious cookies! Just make them and my family love it! I substitute molasses with honey in the recipe!😋😋
Perfect! So glad everyone loves them 🙂
I was craving chocolate chip cookes and I new immediately where to go. Ambitious Kitchen did not disappoint! There are so good and the molasses adds a unique flavour. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great. I put them in the fridge while I pre-heated the over to help with spreading.
Amazing! So happy you found these. The perfect treat!
These are now my favorite cookies EVER! I did try first with just brown sugar and maple syrup, but I tried a second (and a third) time using coconut sugar and molasses and it makes them extra tasty, it’s worth it ! I also used a tip from another of your recipes and mixed dark and milk chocolate drops and it’s delicious! They are at their best a little underdone and fresh out of the oven, so I freeze the dough into balls and cook them one at a time 🙂 9-10 mins when frozen instead of 8 works for me. The only thing is they do not flatten out as the picture, they stay very chubby and I’m not sure what I’m doing differently, still delicious! Thanks for all your delicious recipes!
Perfect! So glad you love them. Feel free to flatten the dough a tiny bit before baking 🙂
Just made these for the first time tonight and they were so quick to make but sooo delicious. Will definitely be my go to cookie recipe from now on. I’ll definitely swap out the dark chocolate for milk next time though as I prefer the taste of milk chocolate.
Love it! Such a great treat.
These are fantastic! I love to add about 1/2 cup salted pistachios to the batter, then sprinkle flaked sea salt on the tops before baking. Outstanding!
Love that! Sounds amazing.
I am always on the hunt for an easy and good chocolate chip cookie recipe – these are SO good, my new fav!
So glad you enjoyed!
These look amazing 🤩
Could I brown the butter since it’s already melted?
Thank you!
(Merry early Christmas!)
-Allie
Absolutely! Just be sure to cool it to room temp before adding it to the dough. Merry early Christmas to you, too!
Epic is the word! Soft centers, crispy edges. The browned butter and molasses are the true tastemakers here. I subbed 1 tsp of Trader Joe’s vanilla bean paste for the seeds. Used 1/3 mini Chocolate chips and 2oz chopped Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate bar, with a few dark chocolate chips pressed into the warm cookie tops. Pinch of kosher salt. I got 12 cookies with a #20 cookie scoop. 11 minutes to perfection! They really are professional looking cookies and taste so EPIC!
Thanks Monique!
Perfect! So glad you loved these!
These are very decent cookies, not epid lol I’ve made them twice and I like the ingredients and ease but the texture is very fluffy and after a day crumbly. If you prefer a chewier cookie these are not it. That said still very tasty esp hot out of the oven. Great basic recipe but not anything amazing.
The flavor of the cookies is the best I’ve ever tasted. The brown butter is amazing. However, the cookies would not get done in the center.
I made them again, adding more flour as someone had suggested. Same issue. I cooked them for 30 minutes, the second time. Gooey Center.
I would love to be able to get the texture right. Can someone help me?
So strange! I might suggest double-checking your oven temp? Have you had any other issues with baking recently? Do the outsides of the cookies bake well?
Can I use all coco sugar instead of brown sugar?
I think that should work – let me know if you give it a try!