This recipe is truly the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! A few tricks like 2 types of flour and aging the dough make a huge difference. Perfect in every way!

These famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies took over Nestles Tollhouse as our family’s favorite cookies. Whether it’s their huge size, fabulous chewy texture, or delicious caramel undertones, Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best you’ll ever taste!

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white plate.

Why You Must Make

  • My husband offered to buy me a larger stand mixer so I could make these more often! He adores these cookies.
  • After his first couple of cookies, he declared this as the best chocolate chip cookie recipe he’s tasted. My knitting friends who taste-tested them agreed!
  • These are BIG cookies, packed with chocolate. The method and ingredients are a bit unorthodox, but the results are outstanding.

How to Make

Recipe Secrets:

  • First, there is an unusual combination of bread flour and cake flour instead of ordinary all-purpose flour.
  • Also, these are filled with loads of chocolate, but not just ordinary chocolate chips, although those will work in a pinch. But choclate discs or feves (affiliate link). I find a Guittard version at Sur la Table or Williams-Sonoma.
  • Then there’s the overnight (or longer) chilling of the dough. Up to 3 days is recommended, but at least overnight.
NYT Choc chip cookie ingredients with labels on a metal sheet pan.

Ingredient Notes

Note that the above amounts reflect making half of a batch of this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

  • Kitchen Staples – Butter, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda
  • Eggs – Have at room temperature for easier incorporation. Use large eggs.
  • Cake Flour – Has less gluten making more tender results.
  • Bread Flour – Has more gluten for
  • Salt – Amount will vary depending on if you use salted or unsalted butter.
  • Baking Powder – You need both baking soda and baking powder. Baking powder usually expires before you use it all, so make sure yours is fresh. You can check by putting a spoonful in a cup with very hot water. It should bubble vigorously when you add the baking powder. If it doesn’t, purchase a new tin before making the dough.
  • Real Vanilla Extract – I used the Nielsen-Massey brand, but any real vanilla extract will work. Just make sure your label does not say artificially flavored or it won’t have that amazing true vanilla flavor.
  • 60-percent chocolate semisweet or bittersweet chocolate wafers (also known as disks or feves) or chocolate chips (morsels) – You will need 2 pounds, but this recipe is easily cut in half if desired. Chocolate disks or baking wafers were used in the NYT recipe, but you can use chocolate chips instead. I find the wafers at Sur la Table and Williams-Sonoma.

What People Are Saying

This recipe is the best one I have found anywhere. I’ve made these several times and I get request from friends to make them and bring to events. It’s a unique recipe using bread/cake flour and I think the 48/72 hours in the refrigerator brings the flavor up on the cookies. Great recipe!

Something magical happens during that time. I’m sure there’s a food chemist out there that could give the rationale, but just trust me. They’re worth the wait!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in a white bowl.

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Butter (room temperature), Sugar, Brown Sugar, Eggs (room temperature), Baking Soda
  • Salt – I up the amount from 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon if I use unsalted butter.
  • Cake Flour – Should be in the Baking Aisle. If not, see how to make your own cake flour in the recipe tips below. I use King Arthur brand for both the cake and bread flour.
  •  Baking Powder – Like baking soda, this helps the cookies to rise. But it has a much shorter shelf life than baking soda. Make sure you check the expiration date and replace if needed. To test, put a spoonful in a cup of hot water. It should bubble vigorously if it’s still active. If it doesn’t, buy a new can.
  •  Vanilla Extract – Make sure it’s real vanilla extract, not artificially flavored. I use the Nielsen-Massey brand.
  • 2 pounds of Chocolate Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate Disks or Feves – You may use semisweet chocolate chips if you can’t find the feves. Guittard (affiliate link) makes a version and I’ve found them at Sur la Table and Williams Sonoma.

NYT Cooking – Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nestles’ Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies sans nuts are the gold standard for chocolate chip cookies in the Berg household. I have tried all the “best” and “ultimate” recipes and none have come close until finding this NYT Cooking Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. There was a huge buzz among foodies when this best chocolate chip cookie recipe first appeared in the Times in 2008.

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies with one broken open on a white square plate.

A pound of butter, cake flour and bread flour, plus 2 pounds of chocolate discs equals perfection. The giant mounds of dough bake into bakery-sized cookies with a superb texture. My youngest couldn’t wait until the cookies were cool before sinking his teeth into the gooey chocolate.

  • When I first started baking these, I used 3 bags of semi-sweet morsels instead of the recommended chocolate disks. I finally found Guittard Chocolate Disks, also known as chocolate feves, depending on the brand.
  • Feel free to use regular chocolate chips if you’re having trouble locating chocolate discs. They’ll still be delicious!
  • Cake flour and bread flour (affiliate links) can be found at most supermarkets. Using a combination of flour types is another reason these are the BEST chocolate chip cookies.
  • PRO-Tip: You can make your own cake flour if you don’t want to make a trip to the market. I used to do this when I was a teenager baking in my parents’ kitchen! For one cup of cake flour, place 1 cup of regular, all-purpose flour in a 1-cup measuring cup. Remove 2 tablespoons and replace that with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
  • Sift this mixture a couple of times and use as directed in your recipe. Double or triple as needed for whatever recipe you’re making that calls for cake flour. Replacing a bit of the all-purpose flour with cornstarch decreases the amount of gluten per cup making it act more like standard cake flour.
  • These homemade chocolate chip cookies had more caramel undertones with the 72-hour chilling time,  but we have trouble being that patient when chocolate is involved! Try for at least overnight. You definitely want to make a batch of the famous Jacques Torres’ Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies!! 

Keys to Making Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:

In review, these are the keys to making these better than Nestles Tollhouse Cookies.

  • PRO-Tip: Use a combination of Bread Flour and Cake Flour (or pastry flour in a pinch–check the note in the recipe card).
  • PRO-Tip: Have your eggs and butter at room temperature for easy incorporation.
  • Use chocolate discs (affiliate link) instead of chocolate chips. A premium brand is key.
  • I’ve also used another favorite chocolate, Sharffen Berger’s Baking Chunks (affiliate link). To die for!!
  • If all you have on hand is regular chocolate chips, those will definitely work.
  • PRO-Tip: Mix the dough with the paddle attachment to minimize air from being whipped into the dough.
  • PRO-Tip: Cover and chill the dough for 72 hours. That’s THREE Days! If you cannot wait, at least chill overnight, but try for longer.
  • Make BIG cookies! I use my largest cookie scoop (affiliate link). That’s ¼ CUP of dough!
  • Do Not Overbake. The centers can look soft, but not raw when you pull them out of the oven. There will be some carryover heat from the cookie sheet until it cools.
Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white plate held by a girl's hands.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Do You Chill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?

Chilling cookie dough allows the flour to hydrate and also minimizes spreading when the cookies are baked.

Why is Regular White Sugar and Brown Sugar Used in Cookie Dough?

Brown sugar helps keep the cookies moist due to the addition of molasses, plus its slightly acidic nature also helps the cookies to rise. Plus, it gives a little color to the cookies that would be rather pale if made with white sugar alone.

Why Do You Use the Paddle Attachment to Mix Cookie Dough?

The whisk attachment will add air to the dough so your cookies may not bake up to be soft and chewy. Using the paddle attachment is more like mixing with a wooden spoon, but without giving your arm muscles a workout!

You May Also Like:

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This recipe was first shared in June 2010. Photos and text were last updated in 2021.

The best chocolate chip cookie recipe photo and text collage
Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Jacques Torres' Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Yield 36 large cookies

Jacques Torres Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies made famous via the NYT.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound butter
  • 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
  • 2 ¼ cups brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour*
  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt (1 tablespoon if using unsalted butter)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 pounds 60-percent chocolate semisweet or bittersweet chocolate disks, feves or morsels

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
  2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both the cake flour and bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla; mix until well combined.
  3. Fold in the chocolate making sure to distribute well.
  4. Cover and refrigerate the dough overnight or for up to 72 hours.
  5. Before baking, bring the dough out of the refrigerator for about an hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 350º. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
  7. Using a 2-ounce scoop (¼ cup) for larger cookies or a medium scoop (1 ½ T) for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
  8. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 18-20 minutes for larger cookies and 12-15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Yields 26-36 larger cookies or 100 smaller cookies. (Or if you're my sister, Katie, it will yield 300 cookies and take you all night to bake!!)

Have your butter and eggs at room temperature for easy incorporation.

Use the paddle attachment, not the whisk to mix the cookie dough. This helps keep them chewy, not cakey.

*If you only have pastry flour, not cake flour, it can be used in a pinch. Note that the percent of protein in these two flours are different and cake flour was used in the original recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 291Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 316mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 3g

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