“General-Purpose” Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Written By Victor Edmonds

Yields: ~24 cookies | Prep time: 45 mins | Cook time: 12 mins

The Dry Mix

  • 140g All-purpose flour

  • 140g Bread flour

  • 1 tsp Baking soda

  • ½ tsp Baking powder

  • 1 tsp Kosher salt

The Wet Mix

  • 1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) Unsalted butter

  • 1 cup (200g) Light brown sugar, packed

  • ½ cup (100g) Granulated sugar

  • 2 Large eggs, room temperature

  • 2 tsp Vanilla extract

The Chocolate & Finish

  • 1.5 cups (240g) Chocolate chips (mix of milk & semi-sweet)

  • 100g Dark chocolate bar, roughly chopped into chunks

  • Optional: Flaky sea salt (Maldon) for topping

Directions

1. Brown the Butter Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it foams and turns a deep golden brown with a nutty aroma. Immediately remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl to stop the cooking (or throw an ice cube in there to get the water content back). Let it cool for 10–15 minutes until it is room temperature (or just warm).

2. Whisk the Sugars Whisk both sugars into the cooled butter. It should look creamy and glossy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking vigorously, followed by the vanilla. Tip: Whisk for a full 1–2 minutes here. This aerates the dough and creates that crinkly top.

3. Fold & Combine In a separate bowl, whisk together your flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold the dry mix into the wet mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Time to bust out the spatula. Fold in your chocolate chips and chunks (and whatever else you want - walnuts may be good here too).

4. Chill Cover the dough and place it in the fridge (30min-1 hour+ — whenever it firms up). This allows the flour to fully hydrate and the brown butter flavor to deepen significantly.

5. Scoop & Flatten When ready to bake, scoop the dough into large balls (approx. 2-3 Tbsp). Place them on a lined baking sheet and flatten them slightly with your palm. Note: If you aren't baking them all now, these bake perfectly straight from the freezer. Just roll them up and stick them in a freezer ziploc bag.

6. The Bake Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake for 10–12 minutes. You are looking for golden, crispy edges and a center that is set but still soft. Remove from the oven and top with flaky salt if desired. I like to bake on parchment before moving to a wire rack. I don’t let them sit on the pan, but do you. I don’t think it matters too much.

7. The Broil Without removing the cookies, turn the oven to broil at 500°F. Watch closely. Do NOT step away - this broil will happen within 1-2 minutes before they burn.

8. The Rest Remove cookies when nicely browned on top. Immediately sprinkle generously with flaky/Maldon salt. Rest on sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cookies will firm as they cool (chewy/gooey centers, crisp edges).

Tips for Success

New to baking? Anxiety? All good.

1. Don't fear the Brown Butter Browning butter sounds fancy, but it’s just melting butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids toast.

  • The visual cue: It will foam up loudly, then quiet down. Once the foam subsides, watch for little brown specks at the bottom.

  • The smell test: As soon as it smells like toasted hazelnuts or toffee, it's done. Take it off the heat immediately so it doesn't burn!

2. The "Cold Egg" Problem If you add cold eggs to warm butter, the butter will seize up and look curdled. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge, just place them in a bowl of warm tap water for 5 minutes before cracking them.

3. Why Bread Flour? You might wonder if you really need two types of flour. All-purpose flour gives tenderness, but bread flour has more protein, which creates that professional "chewy" texture. If you only use all-purpose, the cookies will still taste good, but they will be flatter and crispier, so no need to flatten them.

4. The "Broil" Step is your Secret Weapon Most people just bake cookies. You are broiling them. This blasts the top with high heat to caramelize the sugar (creating flavor) while keeping the center gooey. Do not check your phone during this minute! And have your oven mitt ready!

Note: I’ll be posting a mega, gourmet browned butter version for the fancy cats that are addicted to the browned-butter flavor (like me). It uses milk powder to get even more of those browned solids. It is one of those “48-hour” situations, but it’s worth it. Just whip these up to have them. Whip those up for a treat. Coming soon!

Victor Edmonds