Serves
12
large cookies

Intro

These are the cookies I come back to when I want that proper bakery feel — thick, with a soft, slightly underbaked middle and edges that hold. The trick isn’t a secret ingredient; it’s a rest in the fridge so they bake up tall instead of spreading thin, and being generous with the chips. It’s one base dough I make two ways:white chocolate chip, andmilk chocolate chip — the two batches on the rack in the photo. No nuts, so they’re an easy one to share around.

At a glance

  • Makes: 12 large cookies(base yield for the scaler)
  • Prep: 20 min ·Chill: 30 min ·Bake: 11 min ·Total: ~1 hr
  • Difficulty: Easy–moderate
  • Pillar: The Bake → Signature Bakes
  • Themes (dietary): contains gluten, dairy, egg ·nut-free

Ingredients

  • 230g unsalted butter, softened(2 sticks + 1 tbsp)
  • 200g light brown soft sugar(1 cup packed)
  • 100g caster sugar(½ cup)
  • 2 medium eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 410g plain flour(3¼ cups)
  • 1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 300g chocolate chips — usewhite chocolate for a white-choc batch, ormilk chocolate for a milk-choc batch(or split the dough and do half of each)

Method

  1. Cream the butter and both sugars together for 1–2 minutes until just combined and lighter — you’re not trying to whip in loads of air, or they’ll spread.
  2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
  3. Whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together, then fold into the butter mixture untilalmost no flour streaks remain.
  4. Tip in your chocolate chips and fold through — the dough will be firm.
  5. Scoop into 12 large balls (about 100g each). Chill for at least 30 minutes — this is what gives you height.
  6. Heat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6 / 400°F. Line two trays with baking paper.
  7. Bake, well spaced, for 10–12 minutes until the edges are set and golden but the centres still look a touch soft.
  8. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes to finish setting, then move to a rack.

Allergens & swaps

  • Contains: wheat/gluten, milk, egg.Nut-free as written — a good one for the nut-free theme page.(Check your chocolate’s packaging for “may contain” nut warnings if you’re baking for an allergy.)
  • Dairy-free/vegan: use a block-style plant butter, a dairy-free chocolate, and a flax egg (2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water) — the texture is a little softer.

Baker’s notes

The fridge rest is doing the real work here — it’s what gives you height instead of spread. Underbake slightly; carryover heat on the tray finishes them.