Featured Comment:
“Ummm, okay- this recipe is from heaven. Thank you!” ~Nikki
If you love Tate’s thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies you’re absolutely going to flip for this recipe. The cookies bake up super crisp and buttery, it’s nearly impossible to eat just one!
thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies are a new favorite
What’s your chocolate chip cookie style? Do you love them soft and plush, or are you a classic chocolate chip fan all the way? I think if most of us are honest we’d take them any which way, although thin and crispy is on my radar ever since I casually grabbed a bag of Tate’s last week at the supermarket. Thin and crispy cookies rock! They’re so light you (almost) don’t feel guilty downing an extra one or two. I’m so glad I nailed this recipe because mine are even better than the commercial variety.
“These might be the best chocolate chip cookies I have made. They also look exactly like the Tate’s cookies. I’m in cookie heaven. Just sayin’!“
Marsha
what makes a cookie thin and crispy?
Most of the time, I’m going for a nice chew factor in my cookies, like my Favorite Chewy Ginger Cookies or my Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies. But here the goal is crispy all the way through. How to achieve that? The basic answer is that thin crispy cookies have a higher proportion of butter and sugar than regular cookies. This allows them to spread out while baking and develop that crunchy texture. They get even crispier as they cool.
If you google thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies you should immediately switch to ‘image’ search, because that’s where you’ll be able to distinguish the winners from the losers. Pass on anything that looks pale or ‘puffed’. Follow the cookies that look flat, golden, and slightly wrinkly around the edges (like these!) That signals the real deal.
ingredients you’ll need
The ingredient list will look familiar because it’s basically the same for most chocolate chip cookies. The difference here will be in the proportions.
- butter
- sugar, both granulated and brown
- flour
- egg
- chocolate chips
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
tips for baking Tate’s style crispy chocolate chip cookies
Since this recipe is all about achieving a very specific texture, the details count. Here are my most important tips for success…
- Be precise, don’t be tempted to mess with the ingredients or amounts. The ratio of butter and sugar to the rest of the ingredients is what makes for a cookie that spreads in the oven to a thin, crisp texture.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper so these cookies don’t get stuck to your pan.
- Keep to the written size for these cookies (about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough). It may seems like a fairly small amount of dough, but they’ll spread quite a bit in the oven, achieving the perfect thin and crispy result. If you use more dough they will take longer to cook and you will get a chewier cookie ~ still good, but not what we’re going for here.
- Give the cookies space on the baking sheet, they need plenty of room to spread. I could only fit 5-6 cookies at a time on my pan.
- I bake these one pan at a time, which helps the cookies bake evenly.
- Cookies are notoriously finicky, so be sure your oven is at the correct temperature, most of ours are not properly calibrated, so get an inexpensive oven thermometer to be sure.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before attempting to move them, they will be very soft when they are first out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.
- Wait until the cookies are fully cool before packaging them. These cookies keep their ‘crisp’ well, but be sure to let them cool completely before storing away.
- If you want to make the dough ahead, be sure to let it come to room temperature before baking. If the dough is chilled it won’t spread as well.
so which is better, Tate’s or my cookies?
I have the utmost respect for Tate’s, and in fact our ingredient lists are exactly the same. But if you love to bake, these homemade cookies make sense on a few different levels. First, even though I don’t have the mental energy right now to calculate the details, it is more economical to make a fresh batch of these cookies than to buy 12 for around $6. Second, the flavor of homemade cookies always trumps store-bought, no matter how good they are. And once you’ve mastered the recipe, you can have them any time you want, and you can customize them in all sorts of ways. I’m planning to tackle Tate’s coconut crisps next 🙂
let’s fill that cookie jar
- Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
- Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Favorite Chewy Ginger Cookies
- Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Acorn Meringue Cookies!
- Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
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Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Video
Equipment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, soft butter is important for these cookies to spread properly. See my post on How to Bring Cold ingredients to Room Temperature for tips.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed.
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, measure your flour carefully as too much flour will result in chewier cookies. First fluff your flour, then scoop it into your measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Note: the parchment paper is important for preventing sticking, and getting the right texture in these cookies. Don't substitute silicone mats.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with electric beaters, cream together the butter and sugars until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour to the bowl in two batches, mixing after each addition just until everything is combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly once more to incorporate them evenly.
- Scoop the cookie dough into balls a little more than 1 tablespoon, and roll them into a ball. Space them evenly on your cookie sheet, leaving about 2-3 inches between each cookie to allow for spreading in the oven.
- Bake for about 14-15 minutes until the cookies are a rich golden brown.
- Allow to partially cool on the baking sheet, they will be very soft when they come out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool. Then transfer to a baking rack to completely cool.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
I’ve made this recipe twice now and I’m honestly HOOKED. This recipe is easy to follow and the final products are delicious.
I’ve been searching for a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for YEARS…this is it! Perfect crispness and that kick of cinnamon puts it over the edge! I was hesitant to use it so my first attempt was half as much cinnamon as you recommend and it was so good! My baker friend came over and tried one and couldn’t ID the cinnamon flavor…only that it had an extra kick that was perfecting the cookie! Lol So my next batch had the full amount and was wonderful…even better! I’m THRILLED to have found your recipe!
Yay Cathy, try the other versions next, the double chocolate is amazing!
While the cookies were thin and crisp I found them way too sweet. I used gram weights so I know all the ingredients were measured correctly. I even rechecked the recipe to make sure that I wrote everything down correctly. I will admit that sweetness is subjective but I do like “sweet” but this was unenjoyably sweet. To be honest I threw out the rest of the unmade cookie dough. Maybe I will try again and cut the sugar substantially.
these cooked perfectly and turned out just the way I expected them to!
Happy Holidays!
These are PERFECT! They’re actually better than Tate’s, and they are WAY easier (but just as delicious) as another really finicky and difficult recipe I’ve made before. I used the weight measurements because it’s easier and more replicable than volume measurements; this recipe is spot on with the gram weights! I also doubled it because I needed a lot for a party. The fact that the dough doesn’t require a rest in the fridge is such a time saving bonus! Thank you for this magic!!
This recipe was easy and delicious! I make it time and time again.
I am looking forward to making these cookies! I do have a question though. Can I substitute dark brown sugar for the light brown sugar in the recipe?
The cookies will still be good, but they won’t be quite as thin and crisp as written because the dark brown sugar contains molasses which means more moisture and ‘chew’ to the cookies.
I’ve tried 15 chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is now my favorite! Nice job!
These cookies came out too cakey and spread out too much. Just the opposite of what I wanted.
I’ve made these cookies countless times without any issues, and I can’t be sure what happened in your case without more info, but feel free to email me and we can troubleshoot!
Truly the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe! My husband even loves them without chocolate chips which is just sort of brown sugar cookies, I guess. So half regular and half no chocolate at our house but both ways bake up so tasty and crisp.