Soft chocolate chip cookies with a doughy texture in the middle and a frosting-like taste.
I’m gonna tell you a story. Once upon a time, my sister’s friend created a chocolate chip cookie like no other. They are fully baked cookies, but still have that slightly gritty sugar texture of raw cookie dough in the center. Naturally, I requested the recipe to learn how these babies were made. Unfortunately, my sister’s friend refuses to share the secret because she gets a kick out everyone trying to figure out her magic trick.
Anyways, I’m intent on recreating the recipe for myself. I’ve been working on the recipe for 2 months now, and I’ve made around 10 batches of cookies. I’m pretty sure my study group thinks that I am only capable of making chocolate chip cookies.
While I haven’t unlocked the magical cookie dough cookie recipe, I did create another amazing cookie that is a new favorite along with my classic Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. I think I like this cookie better than the elusive cookie dough cookie… however, I refuse to be beaten by a cookie, so I will continue my quest to recreate it.
Keep the mixer in the cabinet for these cookies because you can stir everything easily by hand! Unfortunately, you will need to chill the dough for about an hour to keep the cookies from flattening out during baking. They will look slightly raw when you pull them out of the oven and that is why they still have a soft, doughy texture when they’re cool.
These cookies defy all cookie logic in that they actually taste better the next day rather than warm out of the oven. The first time I made these, I tasted them while they were still warm and I thought they were a complete failure. I showed up at my sister’s apartment the next day with a huge bag of them, and she said “They must not be good because this is more than I usually get!” I decided that they deserved a second chance … mostly because I didn’t have any other chocolate in my pantry … and low and behold the doughy texture in the middle is amazing once they have cooled down and set.
These cookies don’t have eggs in them but use milk instead which is what creates their unique texture and flavor. Eggs provide a few functions to your typical cookie: they help your cookies set and form a crumb structure, they provide subtle flavor, and they add color. Thus the lack of eggs keeps the cookies slightly doughy and dense in the middle. Without the eggs to create any competing flavor, the vanilla has the stage all to itself to really shine through and create an almost frosting-like flavor. And finally without the egg, the cookie will be paler in color. It’s a deliciously unique flavor for a chocolate chip cookie and one that’ll have you devouring the entire batch of cookies.
One final suggestion to up your chocolate chip cookie game is using bittersweet chocolate. Semisweet chocolate chips are the traditional chocolate to use, but bittersweet chocolate provides a darker and richer flavor which is a nice contrast to the sugary cookie. I really like Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips because they’re a hybrid between chocolate chips and chocolate discs making them the perfect size to distribute in the cookie. They are slightly more expensive than Nestle chocolate chips but are so worth the extra couple of bucks and still a whole lot cheaper than chocolate discs.
Enjoy!
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1¾ cup bittersweet (or semisweet) chocolate chips
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, melted butter, and milk with a whisk until the mixture is consistent.
- Add in the vanilla.
- Stir in the dry ingredients with a spatula.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into balls about 1-2 Tablespoons big and stagger them on the lined cookie sheet. I put about 8 on each tray.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. The bottoms will just be turning golden brown and the tops will still look slightly underdone. If you leave them in until they look completely done, they'll lose their doughy texture in the middle.
- Let cool on the pan for 2 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container.*
I haven't tasted them past day 6 because they're usually gone by then!
Hey, these cookies look like the real thing! I’m gonna have to try the recipe! BTW great pictures!
Thank you!
Hi Kaitlyn,
I made these, but halved the recipe, and used “light butter” instead, just to see if it “worked.” It did, and I think they’re outstanding. They’re like a baked version of unbaked cookie dough, which doesn’t even make sense. My significant other didn’t like them, but he dislikes cookie dough. My younger sister and her husband loved them! I was hoping you could think up how to make a similar recipe for a chocolate cookie dough–with the addition of cocoa powder. Just an idea…
Thanks for the fun recipe,
Lauren
Hi Lauren! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! And good to know that light butter works as well!
I was actually working on a chocolate version yesterday and they turned out delicious! I hope to have a recipe up before the holiday, but if you’re feeling impatient to make them I’ll leave my notes here!
It’s the exact same recipe but with these three alterations:
1. Use 2 1/4 cups flour instead of 3 cups.
2. Add in 1 1/3 cups unsweetened natural cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
3. Increase the granulated sugar to 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup.
I also added in 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract for a little holiday twist!
Hi Kaitlyn,
Thanks so much for your response! And, wow! How neat that you created a chocolate version. I will certainly try that after making my way thought this batch. I really enjoy your website. Congratulations!
Kindly,
Lauren
I’m so glad you like my website! Let me know how the chocolate ones turn out!