Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Flat cookies are one of the most common frustrations for home bakers. In her 2018 cookbook, Joanna Gaines shares an approach that helps address this problem by reducing the amount of butter in the dough.

This Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe uses just 8 tablespoons of butter for every 2 cups of brown sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar helps retain moisture, keeping the cookies soft, while the baking soda reacts with the sugar’s acidity to help the centers rise slightly.

The dough doesn’t require chilling, so you can transfer it directly from the mixing bowl to the baking sheet. Small clumps of butter remain in the dough and melt later during baking, helping create the cookies’ signature craggy tops.

Using too much butter or working with overly warm dough can cause cookies to spread before they have time to set. Keeping the butter quantity balanced and following the recipe’s mixing instructions helps the cookies hold their shape and bake up with a soft, textured center.

Who Should Skip This Cookie and Who Should Bake It First

Anyone tempted to taste the raw dough should remember that it contains raw eggs and flour, both of which can carry harmful bacteria. Guests who avoid dairy or gluten will also need an alternative recipe, as this one uses butter and wheat flour.

Some bakers on Reddit and Pinterest question whether one stick of butter can deliver a rich flavor when paired with 2½ cups of flour. Their concern is understandable. This cookie gets most of its character from brown sugar, with caramel and molasses notes taking center stage while the butter flavor stays in the background.

If you prefer thin, lacy cookies with a pronounced buttery taste, a classic Toll House cookie recipe may be a better choice. However, this recipe is ideal if you enjoy thick cookies and want a dough that doesn’t require chilling.

Ingredients for Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams): Flour builds the frame that holds 2 cups of sugar inside one thick cookie. King Arthur unbleached is my pick. Spoon it into the cup and level it with a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour, and the dough turns dry and cakey. Weigh it when you can.

1 heaping teaspoon baking soda: It reacts with the acid in brown sugar and releases gas, so the center rises a little and stays soft. Arm & Hammer works, but check the date on the box. Heap it gently, with no extra shake. One batch made with a very full spoon tasted faintly metallic. Press out any lumps against the bowl.

½ teaspoon sea salt: Salt sharpens the molasses in the sugar, so the dough reads as caramel rather than plain sweet. Morton fine sea salt dissolves into the dough without leaving salty pockets. Coarse flakes do not spread as evenly. Crush them with the back of a spoon first.

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature: This is the only fat in the dough, so it sets how far the cookies spread. Land O’Lakes is what my store carries. Soft means a finger leaves a dent without sinking in.

Salted butter works well in place of unsalted butter when you cut the sea salt to a scant ¼ teaspoon. Cut the stick into pieces and let it sit for 35 minutes.

2 cups packed light brown sugar (400 grams): Molasses in the sugar holds moisture, which gives the cookie its chewy center. C&H Pure Cane is the bag in my pantry. Pack it into the cup until it holds its shape when tipped out.

Dark brown sugar works well when you want a deeper caramel note, and the dough turns a shade darker. Break up hard lumps with a fork.

2 large eggs: Eggs bind the dough and add the water that turns to steam in the oven. Eggland’s Best is what I buy. Cold eggs firm up the butter and leave streaks in the bowl. Sit them in a cup of warm tap water for 10 minutes first. A large egg weighs about 50 grams without the shell.

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract: Vanilla softens the sharp edge of molasses and makes the dough smell like a bakery counter. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon is my go-to. Vanilla bean paste goes in at the same amount and adds tiny black flecks. Imitation vanilla also works, though it carries less aroma. Store the bottle away from the stove.

1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips: Chips hold their shape in the oven, so you get distinct pockets of chocolate instead of one melted layer. Ghirardelli is my brand. Joanna’s tip says to add or cut ½ cup to suit your mood. My sweet spot is 1 3⁄4 cups plus a handful of chopped dark bars. Chopped chunks melt into wide pools, while chips stay round.

Required Kitchen Equipment

1. Stand mixer: paddle attachment, handheld works
2. Half-sheet baking pan: rimmed and light-colored
3. Parchment paper: stops sticking
4. Medium mixing bowl: holds the dry mix
5. Whisk: spreads soda evenly
6. Wire cooling rack: ends bottom steaming
7. Rubber spatula: scrapes the bowl bottom

How to Make Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Heat the Oven and Line the Pan: Set a rack in the center and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper. My oven runs 12 degrees cool, so a hanging oven thermometer told me when it was truly ready.

2. Whisk the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and sea salt for 20 seconds. Set the bowl aside. No pale streaks of soda should show in the flour.

3. Cream the Butter and Sugar: In the stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium-high for 2½ minutes. Stop once to scrape the bowl. The mix looks like wet sand, not fluffy frosting. Hard flecks of butter mean it was too cold, so rest the bowl for 10 minutes and beat again.

4. Add the Eggs and Vanilla: Add both eggs and beat until blended, about 30 seconds. Pour in the vanilla and beat 15 seconds more. The mix turns glossy and loose, close to thick caramel sauce.

5. Mix In the Flour: Turn the mixer off and add the flour mixture. Mix on medium until no dry flour shows. Then run it on high for a few seconds to pull the dough together. Pea-size streaks of butter may still show. Leave them alone.

6. Stir In the Chocolate Chips: Add the chips and beat on high for about 5 seconds. Stop right away, then scrape the bottom of the bowl once with a spatula. Past 5 seconds, the paddle starts to chop the chips into dark flecks.

7. Scoop and Bake: Drop large spoonfuls of dough, about 33 grams each, on the pan, 2 inches apart. Do not flatten them. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. At 10 minutes, my first pan showed set edges and shiny, soft centers. They firm up while cooling.

8. Cool and Repeat: Let the cookies rest on the pan for 1 minute. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. A spatula should slide under each cookie without bending it.

Chef Special Tips for Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Greasy Edges and Thin Centers: The butter was too soft. Chill the scooped dough on the tray for 10 minutes, then bake.

2. Dry, Cakey Cookies: Packed flour is the cause. Weigh out 300 grams, or fluff the flour before spooning it in.

3. One Side Browns Faster: Your oven has a hot spot. Turn the pan 180 degrees at the 5-minute mark.

4. Dark, Hard Bottoms: Dark pans absorb more heat. Switch to a light aluminum sheet or stack a second pan underneath.

5. Second Tray Spreads Wide: A hot pan melts the butter early. Rinse the pan under cold water, dry it, and reline it before scooping.

How I Customize These Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dark Chocolate Chunk: Swap the chips for 1½ cups of chopped 70 percent bar. The pieces melt into wide pools, so each bite pairs bitter chocolate with the sweet molasses dough. I bake these for coffee with friends.

Toasted Pecan: Fold in ¾ cup pecans, toasted 7 minutes at 350°F. Their oils add a buttery crunch against the chewy middle. I pack these in a tin for neighbors.

Espresso: Whisk a scant teaspoon of instant espresso powder into the flour. It deepens the roasted notes in the chocolate without adding a coffee flavor. These suit a late dinner.

Flaky Salt Top: Press a pinch of Maldon flakes onto each scoop before baking. The crystals stay crunchy and cut the sugar. I bring these to bake sales.

Tart Cherry: Stir in ½ cup chopped dried tart cherries with the chips. Their acid brightens the brown sugar. A pot of black tea goes well alongside.

What I Serve With Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cold whole milk is the classic partner. Its fat coats the tongue between bites, so the sweetness of 2 cups of brown sugar never piles up.

Iced cold brew is my afternoon pick. Its bitterness balances the molasses in the dough. Black tea works the same way, since tannins cut through sugar. A bowl of sliced strawberries adds the acid the brown sugar lacks.

For ice cream sandwiches, press a scoop of vanilla bean between two cooled cookies and freeze for 30 minutes. The sugar in the dough keeps the cookies from freezing rock hard.

How I Store Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies

Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. Wait until they are fully cool before closing the lid. Trapped steam turns the tops soft and sticky.

A tin or glass jar with a tight lid works best. Layer the cookies between sheets of parchment so melted chocolate does not glue them together. Zip bags work too, but squeeze out the air first, since extra air dries the edges.

By day three, the cookies start to firm up as moisture drifts out of the dough. Slip half a slice of sandwich bread into the jar. The bread gives up its moisture to the cookies. Replace it once it turns hard.

Skip the refrigerator. Cold, dry air pulls moisture from the dough and dulls the chocolate. To revive a firm cookie, microwave it for 8 seconds, then wait a minute before biting.

Joanna Gaines Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe FAQs

1. Can I freeze the dough?

Yes. Scoop the dough onto a tray, freeze the balls solid, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F and add about 1 minute.

2. How long can the dough rest in the fridge?

Up to 3 days in a covered bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before scooping, since cold dough is hard to portion.

3. Can I cut the recipe in half?

Yes. Use 1 egg, 4 tablespoons of butter, and half of everything else, including the heaping teaspoon of soda. Bake the same 10 to 11 minutes.

4. Can I double the batch?

Yes, in a 5-quart mixer bowl. Mix the flour in on low and stir the chips in by hand with a spatula. That keeps flour from flying and the chips whole.

5. Is the raw dough safe to taste?

No. It holds raw eggs and untreated flour. Bake one test cookie instead, which takes only 11 minutes and shows how your oven is behaving.

6. What scoop size gives the right cookie?

A medium cookie scoop, about 1½ to 2 tablespoons, lands near 33 grams. That yields 36 cookies, and 12 fit on a half-sheet pan with 2 inches between each.

7. Can I bake two trays at once?

Yes. Use two racks, then swap and turn the pans at the 6-minute mark. Expect to add a minute or two to the bake.

8. Why does the dough look dry and chunky?

That is how this dough looks. Only 8 tablespoons of butter coat 2½ cups of flour, so it clumps. Leave out any added milk, which would make the cookies spread.

9. How long until the cookies set after baking?

About 10 minutes on the rack. The centers finish setting, and the melted chips firm up enough to hold their shape when you bite.

My older cookie recipes often spread into thin discs or came out pale and puffy. None delivered the tall, rounded shape I had in mind. This recipe finally gave me the results I wanted.

David ate four cookies before the second tray had finished cooling. By Tuesday, the cookie jar was empty again, and I already had half a bag of chocolate chips ready for another batch.