Harry's Roadhouse Chocolate Chunk Cookies is a recipe recommended by a friend who loves the desserts at Harry's Roadhouse in Santa Fe. While Harry's coconut cream pie is her favorite, she she says their chocolate chunk cookies are also exceptional.
Along with being convenient and not requiring any specialty flours or extended dough chilling time, Harry's Roadhouse Chocolate Chunk Cookies are tasty, soft, dense (not cakey) and loaded with chocolate; or at least mine were. The Harry’s recipe I originally had uses 12 oz of chunks per 4 cups of flour, but I increased the chocolate to about 18 oz.
Less Butter
You might also notice that this recipe calls for less butter than most. The Toll House recipe has 2 ¼ cups of flour and a full cup of butter. This one has 4 cups of flour and one cup of butter, plus extra eggs and sugar so you get a fairly sturdy, not-too-fatty dough that can hold lots of good quality chocolate without getting overly greasy. Just be sure to measure your flour with a light hand or weigh it, as these could easily bake up too dry.
Tender Cookies
I've made a lot of giant cookies since posting this recipe, but this one is still special. All of the eggs make the texture tender, so if you serve the giant cookie with ice cream on top, it will yield to a fork. They'd also be great for ice cream sandwiches or just a base for an ice cream sundae.
For richer, crumblier cookies with a similar appearance, consider Eric's Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Top Chef Pastry.
Recipe
Harry's Roadhouse Copycats
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (500 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 oz salted butter, softened (228 grams)
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar, very tightly packed (310 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 18 oz good quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F if you plan to bake immediately, or skip if you want to chill the dough.
- Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- In bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars and beat until light. Reduce speed to low and beat in the eggs and vanilla. When incorporated, add the dry ingredients in two parts, beating on low speed with the paddle attachment.
- When flour is incorporated, stir in the chocolate chunks. Chill dough OR scoop by quarter cups to get 24 mounds. I actually like to chill my dough after make the mounds, but that’s not necessary.
- Bake on an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet on center rack for about 14 minutes or until the cookies start to looks set.
- Remove from oven and drop cookie sheet on the counter (or just tap it) to deflate cookies a little. Return to oven and bake for another 2-3 minutes or until the cookies are brown around the edges and appear set. Let cool for 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
Anna says
Hi Meg,
Thanks for posting the review. Glad you liked the cookies and thought they had enough chocolate :).
Meg says
Made these today and I thought they were fabulous! Great texture and thickness. Used the extra chocolate just like you. Honestly I think 12 oz. would not have been enough! Thanks for sharing this recipe. They are a new favorite!
Paula B. says
Oh my, I've been wanting to go to Santa Fe but I didn't know that a great c.c.cookie might await me. These look like the cookies that I used to get at David's Cookies before they left the Ocean State. I'll be trying these! (First time visit to your blog, love the recipes, thanks!)
Jen says
I love that you used more chocolate than the recipe calls for. It sounds like something I would do. I also love the idea of the big 1/4 cup size. I think I'll make this cookie next time I'm in the mood for chocolate chip!
Jan says
Hey Anna;
I just stumbled on the previous post waaaaay at the bottom. Guess I should get my eyes checked. Thanks again!
Anna says
Hi Amalia,
Thanks for stopping by! I used Scharffen Berger semi-sweet.
Amalia says
Mmmmm I am always in search of a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. These look amazing. What brand of chocolate did you use?
KAnn says
Oh, I will have to look for these when I am in Santa Fe in May! We always go to Harrry's and their homemade desserts are to die for....I have to have my Coconut Cream pie every visit. You have just reminded me to pull my Harry's Roadhouse Cookbook out tonight! I am making batter for whole wheat pancakes in the morning but now I am thinking of trying a new cc cookie recipe this weekend, as well. Love the blog as always, Anna. Hoping to visit the Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe when I visit my sister and family in Houston...really love her latest Pastry Queen Entertains.
Anna says
Thanks Jan! I'm still plugging away at it. It's busier, but i think things will be easier to find.
Jan says
Love your new look!
Rice Kernel says
Thanks for your reply, Anna. I will definitely try your version - there's always extra Cheerios to use up! As a side note, all was not lost. I froze the "bad" batch and, oddly enough, they aren't too bad straight from the freezer - the staleness is replaced by a bit of chew!
Thanks again and I look forward to more great recipes to try. Have a great weekend.
Anna says
Rice Kernel, I just posted a comment on your blog. Yes, leaving out 1/4 cup of peanut butter would alter the recipe. It acts as a binder and adds needed fat. Also, I'm fairly religious about making sure my 1 cup of flour = 4.5 oz. If it was a humid day or your flour was packed into the cup, you could have used too much flour as well. Those Cheerio cookies are really good when made with the peanut butter and the correct amount of flour.
Anyway, I'm sorry yours didn't turn out. I have recipe failures all the time and it's irritating even when I didn't follow the recipe exactly.
Cheerio Recipe is here...
https://www.cookiemadness.net/2007/08/cheerio-cookies-no-waittheyre-good/
Katrina says
Love a good ccc! I just got a nice package of SB chocolate in the mail today. Won it on a blog. Can't wait to start using it.
vanillasugarblog says
you used the good chocolate!
Fallon says
This cookie sounds amazing. More chocolate the better!
Gloria says
Wow! That is some big chocolate in that cookie! Like the "everything is big in TX!" Do you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie? I've only made the tollhouse.
Rice Kernel says
I should have mentioned in my last comment that I didn't use Fuzz's recipe - I came across another cheerio cookie recipe before I saw yours. (And the other was sans pb.) So I was wondering maybe peanut butter is the key???
Rice Kernel says
I could use one now!
On a related cookie note... I tried cheerio cookies (but didn't add the peanut butter because a friend I was baking for has a son allergic to nuts). They didn't work for me (very crumbly and the cheerios themselves were stale) as I sadly blogged about today. Is the addition of peanut butter critical in Fuzz's recipe?
Thanks for your lovely posts.
Anna says
Helena, don't make me say it. Everything's big in Texas.
Louise, I think that one chunk just melted a lot. It wasn't really as big as it appears in the photo, though I do use fairly large chunks of chocolate sometimes.
Louise says
It looks like you used huge chunks of chocolate.
Helena says
1/4 cup is just about the right size for chocolate chip (or chunk) cookies 😀