The Fluffiest Chocolate Chip Cookies for Santa

The best part of the holiday season is a big toss up between homemade eggnog and endless Christmas cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite.

This Christmas, my goal was to recreate a master chocolate chip cookie baker’s recipe. If you aren’t familiar with the Devine family and their cookie skills, I’ll give you the commonly unwanted backstory. They bake the best fluffy melt in your mouth cookies I have ever tasted, but there is no secret ingredient. They’ve given the cookie recipe out to friends hundreds of times, but rarely does anyone get it right. Mostly people’s recipes turn out on the chewy/crunchy side – delicious but not the goal.

I tried to make the Devine recipe a few different ways, and I finally got close enough to share a solid recipe with instructions for you!

Should You Melt the Butter?

No, but it should be cold and slightly soft. Some people like to use melted butter, but your cookies will be flat. Mel’s Kitchen Cafe took on The Great Cookie Experiment to research and experiment with the varying degrees of butter temperature and how it changes the shape of the cookie.

The cookie texture to aim for with this recipe is a soft middle that tastes almost like cookie dough, so your butter should be similar to the texture in the middle photo. The butter should be soft but not too melted. When I baked this recipe, my butter was in the stage between slightly melted but cold.I used an 8 oz block of butter and thawed it for about 40 seconds.

To Chill or Not To Chill The Dough

The question of chilling the dough was huge for me. The night I made this batch of cookies, I was rushing to make a dinner reservation. I had 20 minutes on the clock before I had to leave, so I needed to decide if I should throw the cookies in the oven or chill them in the refrigerator to make them after dinner.

With a little research, I found that the key to baking the fluffy chocolate chip cookies is to NOT chill the dough. You see, if you chill the dough for 30 minutes, the fat consolidates and your cookie will turn out on the chewy side. King Arthur has a very thorough blog about the effects of chilling the dough after certain periods of time, I’d recommend reading it if you’re curious.

For the fluffiest cookie, as soon as you mix in the chocolate chips, start plopping the dough onto a parchment paper and quickly throw them in the oven.

To Scoop Or To Ball The Dough

To be honest, I cannot find enough evidence to back this theory up. From the time I was a wee bébé baking Nestle House Chocolate Chip Cookies with my mom, I always rolled each ball of dough. I got some ooey gooey bites, but they didn’t turn out fluffy.

When my friend shared her recipe with me, she was very strict on the no rolling instruction. She said to use an ice cream scooper and evenly plop the dough onto the pan. Why does this make a difference? The biggest difference here is that using an ice cream scooper avoids overworking the dough, which can happen if you use your sweaty warm hands and spend too much time balling it up. Overworking the dough is a common cookie baking mistake, and it can result in flat crunchy cookies.

Another reason to use an ice cream scooper is that you’re guaranteed to have perfectly even cookie sizes. When your cookies are all the same size, you can make sure they are all evenly baked at the same times.

Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients

• 8 oz cold to room temperature salted sweet cream butter (I used Kerrygold; also the butter was frozen and thawed but still very cold)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 
• 3/4 cup sugar (I like to use organic cane sugar)
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 1/4 cups flour (I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (If you like more chocolate chips, add them to the top after scooping the cookie onto the pan)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar. Then add in vanilla and egg quickly beat until incorporated (20 seconds).
3. In separate bowl whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. Then mix into wet ingredients until combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough! Too much air will make chewy cookies. 
4. Slowly stir in chocolate chips
5. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Use your ice cream scooper to plop dough onto the parchment paper. Add a few more chocolate chips to the dough if there aren’t many chips on the top side. Add the cookie pan to the middle of the oven and watch.
6. Do not open the oven. Once the cookie starts to brown a little, take them out. 8 – 10 minutes depending on your oven. The centers will be soft, allow them 5 – 10 minutes to cool. Then enjoy!

Print Recipe

Fluffy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Dessert – American

By Tori Mason – Serves: 20 cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 10 minutes – Total Time: 20 minutes

This fluffy chocolate chip cookie recipe is so quick and easy, it's perfect for a last minute dessert for a party or any time of the year. Be warned... it's impossible to eat just one.

Ingredients

• 8 oz cold to room temperature salted sweet cream butter (I used Kerrygold; butter should be cold but soft to touch)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3/4 cup sugar (I like to use organic cane sugar)
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour (I used King Arthur's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (If you like more chocolate chips, add them to the top after scooping the cookie onto the pan)

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2

Mix butter, sugar, brown sugar. Then add in vanilla and egg quickly beat until incorporated (20 seconds).

3

In separate bowl whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. Then mix into wet ingredients until combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough! Too much air will make chewy cookies.

4

Slowly stir in chocolate chips

5

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Use your ice cream scooper to plop dough onto the parchment paper. Add a few more chocolate chips to the dough if there aren't many chips on the top side. Add the cookie pan to the middle of the oven and watch.

6

Do not open the oven. Once the cookie starts to brown a little, take them out. 8 - 10 minutes depending on your oven. The centers will be soft, allow them 5 - 10 minutes to cool. Then enjoy!

Notes

I used gluten free flour which sometimes has a more dense texture. Oven times may change, so make sure to watch the cookies. At about 8 minutes if they look slightly brown, they're done. You don't want to cook them for too long, or you'll miss out on the soft center. Do not chill the dough; the cookie will have a more chewy flavor. Bake the cookies as soon as the dough is ready. Use an ice cream scooper to plop the cookies and avoid overworking the dough.