Think all chocolate chip cookies are the same? This easy one-bowl recipe sneaks in four secret ingredients that take the texture and flavour to the next level. You’ll love the crispy edges, chewy middles, and rich, caramelly, and slightly smoky flavour in every single bite. LET’S GO!
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When I have a craving for chocolate chip cookies, there’s no way that past me remembered to take the butter out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Past me kind of sucks that way sometimes. But that’s why past me also came up with this recipe, because it means you can take the butter and eggs straight out of the fridge and start making some delicious and satisfying cookies now. And even though you’re diving into a super easy recipe that dirties the minimum number of dishes possible, you’re absolutely not sacrificing on flavour or texture.
Jump To:
- What Makes These the Best One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- Prefer to Watch Instead of Read?
- The Four Secret Ingredients That Make These Cookies Stand Out
- Tips for Success
- Flavour Combo Ideas
- How to Freeze One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Did You Try This Recipe?
- Ultimate One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies
What Makes These the Best One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- So easy and fast to make. Including the time to brown the butter, you’ll have your cookie dough done in less than 20 minutes.
- No mixer required! This super-easy recipe can be made using equipment you already have. It uses melted butter, so all you need to do is stir the ingredients together.
- You can use butter & eggs straight from the fridge. You have to melt the butter to brown it anyway, so there’s no need to bring the butter to room temperature first. And because you’ll be mixing the rest of the ingredients into the still-warm butter the eggs don’t need to be at room temperature either. My video does mention using a room temperature egg, but honestly you can get away with taking one straight from the fridge. No pre-planning required!
- Browned butter adds a ton of complex caramelly and nutty flavour throughout the cookie. Learn more about how to brown butter here.
- Almost no mess! You can mix up the entire recipe in the same medium pot you browned the butter in. Easy peasy!
- They’re endlessly customizable! Use any combination of mix-ins you like. Keep them a standard choc chip, or toss in some chopped pretzels, Reese’s Pieces, or even potato chips. I love using a mix of milk and dark or semi-sweet chocolate.
- They have a slightly smoky flavour. Once you try these chocolate chip cookies with their hint of smokiness you might never want to go back to regular cookies again.
Prefer to Watch Instead of Read?
The Four Secret Ingredients That Make These Cookies Stand Out
- Glucose helps baked goods stay fresh and moist (sorry) for longer, which means these cookies will stay nice and chewy for days. Not that they’ll last that long! If you can’t find glucose you can sub it out with honey, maple syrup, or agave.
- Powdered milk adds a toasty and caramel flavour to the cookies, as well as contributing to their chewiness.
- Fine coffee grounds enhance the chocolate and balances it perfectly with a little bitterness, without a noticeable coffee taste. Espresso powder will also work, and decaf is fine!
- Liquid smoke adds a subtle smoky note to the cookies. Give it a try, and you’ll be looking for excuses to put a dash of liquid smoke in all of your baking!
Tips for Success
- Chill the dough. It’ll be really soft after you’re done mixing the one-bowl chocolate chip cookies. Not only would it be difficult to scoop, they would spread way too much in the oven if you try scooping and baking right after mixing. Chill it for at least an hour to firm up the butter and make it easy to scoop. You can even “age” the dough for up to 5 days in the fridge to further develop the flavour.
- Use chopped chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips if you can. Chop it roughly into different-sized pieces ranging from chocolate “dust” to big chunks up to 1/2″ (1.2 cm) in size. The chocolate dust will blend right into the dough, while the larger chunks will melt in delicious pools of chocolatey goodness. I like using a mix of milk and dark chocolate.
- Shape the dough balls into little “towers” to prevent them from spreading out too much in the oven. It also helps the cookies achieve that beautiful bakery-style ripple. Leave a few inches of space between each cookie anyway, because they will still spread!
- If you like softer cookies, slightly under-bake them. They’ll continue baking a little bit on the hot baking sheet even after coming out of the oven, so pull them when the edges are set but not yet brown.
Flavour Combo Ideas
These cookies are easy to customize—just swap out the mix-ins for just about anything you like! Here are a few ideas:
- S’mores cookies: Milk chocolate chunks + Cinnamon Graham Crunch cereal + mini marshmallows
- Maple bacon cookies: Dark chocolate mini chips + bacon bits. Swap out the glucose for maple syrup.
- Pumpkin spice latte cookies: Milk chocolate chunks + cinnamon chips. Add 2 tsp. of pumpkin spice blend to the dough.
- Chocolate cherry cookies: Dried cherries + dark chocolate chunks.
- Kitchen Sink cookies: Add a mix of potato chips, chopped pretzels, and chocolate chunks.
- Monster cookies: M&Ms and/or Reese’s Pieces, 2 tablespoons of rolled oats, and chocolate chips.
How to Freeze One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies
The best way to freeze this recipe is to scoop the dough out onto a lined baking sheet. Shape the dough balls into little towers, then cover with plastic wrap or a reusable baking sheet cover like this one. Freeze the dough portions until solid (about 2 hours), then transfer to a ziploc bag and store for up to 3 months. When a choc chip craving hits, arrange the frozen dough towers on a lined baking sheet with a few inches of space between. Bake straight from the freezer and add an extra minute or two to the bake time.
Storage
Thanks to the browned butter, glucose, and milk powder, these cookies will stay nice and chewy for a few days. To help keep them at their best for as long as possible, store them at room temperature in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Use an equal amount of a gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute such as Cup4Cup.
Yes! You can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 5 days, and the flavour will continue to develop and improve in the meantime. Or after chilling the dough in the fridge for at least an hour you can scoop the dough onto a lined baking sheet, shape them into towers, then cover the sheet and freeze until the dough towers are solid. Then transfer them to a Ziploc bag and store for up to 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
Did You Try This Recipe?
I love hearing about it! Let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below.
Ultimate One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Make browned butter: In a small saucepan, heat the 113 g unsalted butter over medium heat. Ideally, you should use a pan made of a light-coloured material such as stainless steel—this makes it a lot easier to see when the butter is done browning. Stirring constantly with a whisk or rubber spatula, keep stirring until the milk solids in the butter turn a toasty brown.
- While the butter is still hot, add 150 g light brown sugar, 40 g granulated sugar and 85 g glucose, maple syrup, or honey , and stir until combined. Some of the fat from the butter may still be separated—that’s OK, it’ll get emulsified when you add the egg in the next step.
- Once the butter and sugar mixture has cooled down a little (to avoid cooking the egg), add the 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and ½ tsp Liquid smoke. Stir until smooth and completely combined. In a separate bowl combine the 180 g all-purpose flour, 25 g powdered milk, ½ tsp kosher salt ,½ tsp baking powder , ¼ tsp baking soda, and 2 tsp espresso powder or fine coffee ground.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the 250 g chocolate into the dough and stir gently, just until evenly distributed.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours, or just until firm enough to scoop. Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough, then roll with your hands into an elongated log-like shape. Stand the cookie “logs” up on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet leaving about 4” between each log.
- Sprinkle a little Sea salt on each cookie and gently press down into the dough without flattening it too much.
- Preheat oven to 375 ˚F (190˚C). Position the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat at least 3” apart. Bake for 8–13 minutes, until spread, and beginning to turn golden brown around the edges. If you like a fudgier and chewier cookie, aim for a lower baking time—if you prefer crisper, bake a little longer.
- Allow to cool 5–10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy immediately, or store at room temperature in an airtight container up to 5 days (not that they'll last that long!)
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