The Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies from The King Arthur Cookie Companion are delicious. They’re supposed to be crunchy, but whether or not they live up to their name depends on a few things.
Over the years I’ve made Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies with mixed results (always good — but sometimes crunchier than others). Here are some tips to help make the cookies crunchy:
- Do not use an insulated cookie sheet, but rather a heavy duty cookie sheet or a rimmed baking sheet.
- Use the shortening because shortening helps give cookies a crunchy texture.
- If you are not using a scale, make sure to really pack your brown sugar. More sugar means more crunch, so if you don’t pack the brown sugar you won’t be using enough.
- If your cookies aren’t crunchy the first time, try reducing the temperature by 25 degrees and baking for a longer time. Lower and slower usually gives you crunchier cookies because the edges and insides bake at an even pace and you don’t have to pull the cookies out too soon.
A Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies Update!
If you are not so much in the mood for crunchy cookies but rather a good semi-chewy cookie, here’s another King Arthur recipe from their website. It’s similar to the Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies, but calls for a bit less sugar and is baked at a higher temperature. They also throw in some almond extract, which I tried but wasn’t crazy about.
Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies should turn out crunchy. To enhance the texture, add some nuts.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, room temp (114 grams)
- 1/2 cup shortening regular or butter flavored (96 grams)
- 1 cup light brown sugar VERY firmly packed (230 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider or white vinegar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour all purpose (260 grams)
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Do not grease.
- Cream butter, shortening and both sugars with an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla, salt and vinegar.
- Beat in egg, scraping sides of bowl and mixing well, then add baking soda and beat so that it is well distributed. Stir in the flour. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets. Bake for 10-14 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Anna
Hi Emz,
Thanks for the review! Mine were a bit chewy in the center at first, then hardened up a bit.
Emz
I forgot to mention that the cookies (after a bit of cooling) do come out crunchy all over. I ate the cookie right after I took it out of the oven, hence my initial reaction. Sorry for misleading!
Emz
Sorry for the late comment but I just tried this recipe and it is excellent! The outer edges are crispy and the inner circle is chewy. You don’t taste any vinegar at all! This is my kind of cookie 🙂
I stumbled upon your site this past week Anna and I love it! Thanks for posting numerous recipes, I can’t wait to try them all!
Randi
Have you bought the new Martha Stewart Holiday baking magazine? It has some great looking cookie’s in there.
mozartkugel
Anna, maybe because Austrian people loves to buy things from America, or with American names … ? I don’t mind about the names of the cookies, but the taste is not so bad … 🙂
Anna
Joe, I think I put a tiny little bit more egg in than I should have, that’s the only thing reason I can think of for them not being crunchy all over. Mozart, that’s pretty funny that they call them “American Cookies”. I am envisioning a cookie with red, white and blue chips. You probably know this,but Chocolate Chip Cookies were invented by an American woman named Ruth Wakefield who ran the Toll House in MA.
Mozartkugel
I think these are sold as “American Cookies” in Austrian supermarkets.
Joe
I think these are the ones I made a couple weeks ago – mine came out crunchy all over. Not sure what the difference was! I couldn’t really taste any vinegar, but from what I’ve read it is there to retard the development of gluten while mixing and cuts the sweetness. No idea myself!