This is STILL one of my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. I call them Carla Rollins Chocolate Chip Cookies, because the original recipe from Epicurious is credited chef Carla Rollins. So thank you, CR, wherever you are.
What’s interesting is that this is one of those recipes some people just can’t make. If you look at the reviews, you’ll see 5 stars and 1 star. So something about them is difficult for some people, and I’d sure like to know what. Maybe they couldn’t handle the idea of cracking an egg and measuring out 2 tablespoons?
If you follow the directions, the cookies should come out crispy on the outside, soft inside, and scraggly with lots of bubbles. They are also very big, as you can see here…..flat but sturdy.
Here’s the close-up. When I melt the butter, I brown it in a pot over the stove rather than just microwave it until melted. The browned butter adds extra flavor to the cookie. In this picture, the cookie just came out of the oven so it looks a little underdone. It will cook as it stands.
Over the years I’ve made the Carla Rollins Chocolate Chip Cookies many, many times. How you measure your flour, how you pack your sugar, the brand of butter (European style vs. regular), how much egg you actually end up using and possibly how your oven heats will influence the thickness. Also, you’ll definitely get thinner cookies if you use chunks of chocolate instead of chips.
Shannon
I tried these cookies because they’re one of your top chocolate chip cookie recipes and I’m always looking for a good CCC. I personally thought they were a bit too sweet for my tastes, but everyone else who tasted them thought they were great. I did love the texture and also how huge and sturdy they are. I also love that it calls for melting the butter and you don’t have to chill the dough before baking. This means I don’t have to wait for the butter to come to room temp and I also don’t have to wait for the dough to set-up – very convenient!
genica
this is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. i was so sad when i lost the printed out version of this recipe because I forgot what it was titled, and only remembered the picture. so i spent the last hour looking through your cookie recipes to find it. luckily i was able to find it, so i am going to make cookies tonight.
btw i love your website. its my go to guide for baking! :]
Anna
Hi Sandra,
I sent you a personal email with my list of favorites. Let me know how the Thomas Keller cookies work out for you! I’ve been meaning to re-make those with different chocolate since the first chocolate melted too much for my tastes.
sandra
these were great- i think they definitely are on my top cc cookie list, but i am still in search for the best. what do you think is your ultimate favorite recipe? i think ill try the thomas keller ones next…
Emily
Hi Anna!
That’s what I ended up doing….I cooled it completely and it looked srot of like vanilla pudding! But it worked great! I didn’t want to add it hot because I’ve made some cookies before with melted butter and they spread like crazy…so I figured either it would work better or I would ruin them…and luckily it worked!
I enjoy all your recipes on here. I just discovered your site a couple weeks ago and am still enjoying sifting through the recipes! What do you do with all the cookies and desserts? 🙂
Thanks for your help!,
Emily
Anna
Hi Emily,
I’ve been making these A LOT lately and I get the best results when I let the butter cool completely rather than slightly. So I’ve been cooling it for an hour or so.
Emily
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! 🙂 I tried it and they were wonderful! 🙂 I followed the recipe except I used 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cups walnuts and 3/4 cups pecans. They were very good and even better the 2nd day! 🙂 Thank you!
It says to cool the butter slightly…when you make these how long do you let the butter sit for?
tg
i admire your willingness to use crisco and i know it can improve the texture, but i’m an all-butter kind of baker. which is why i find your gale gand link so marvelously intuitive.
Anna
As far as I know, Crisco invented that recipe. It’s in a bunch of very, very old “brand name recipe” type books. I suspect Gale Gand came along and changed it up with the more popular butter.I haven’t tried the Gale Gand version, though I do sometimes make the Crisco version with butter.
Anonymous
Are these better than alton brown’s chewy cookies? Are they as thick???
Anna
The Toll House cookie’s texture is too uniform throughout. It doesn’t have crispy edges and a soft center, but depending on how long you bake it, is either chewy throughout or crisp-in-an-overcookied-way throughout. People who love this recipe just haven’t tried enough others.As for that malted cookie recipe I have put the link in the index. The version I make is from Crisco. Gale Gand has an all butter version posted on FoodTV. Here is the link.
tg
did you say MALT?you never really got into parsing the gory details on how this cookie differs from the toll house. (or maybe you did and i missed it.) inquiring minds want to know… or me ‘n surcie do, at the very least
Anna
It’s hard to pick a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I think I could call this one my best.The other one I like almost as much (if not more) is the malted chocolate chip cookie recipe.
surcie
So, now I gotta know. . .In your opinion, is there a choc chip cookie recipe that is THE best? Is this one it?
Anna
Surcie and TG, the answer is yes. I like Toll House Cookies quite a bit. They’re just not the best. Which reminds me, have you noticed how each person seems to turn out a slightly different Toll House cookie? People are always making variations. tg, there’s no such comment as an airhead comment, only an airhead answer.Oh, and I need to scribble on cookies more often. I’m glad everyone is impressed with my masterful command of Photoshop.
sandra
Surcie, I’m glad you asked the question about the Toll House cookie recipe because I was wondering the same thing myself…Anna??
tg
wow, i was gonna make the usual airhead comment, but everyone’s asking such thoughtful, intriguing questions that i’m almost ashamed to revert to the usual tomfoolery….pauseok. so: “Herewith”. whoo-hoo. how often do you see a word like “Herewith” in a blog? (the answer is, never.) major brainiac points for cookie madness! meanwhile, luv the little scribblings on the foto
surcie
Sounds delish. And I love how you diagram the cookie.Anna, what’s your opinion of the traditional Nestle Tollhouse cookie recipe? How would you compare the two?
Suzin
Anna,I always learn from you! But I have a question. Youv’e probably covered this before, but when do you use dark brown sugar versus light brown? My mother always used dark for a richer taste. I’m not sure it makes much of a difference.
AK
Love the browned butter idea … you seem to have a pile of ‘little tricks’ that make a difference …
Anonymous
And here I was, thinking I was the only one with this secret recipe (Bon Appetit…circa 2001 maybe?). These cookies ROCK. Thanks for reminding me about them, Anna. I must make them this weekend… perhaps AFTER I get weighed Friday at the monthly OB appt…I’m 5 mos. preggers. As we moms know, lots of cravings means lots of lbs. Ellie
Anna
Hi Ellie,I am so glad to hear you like the recipe too. Back when I first made the cookies (2003, right when the recipe came out) the reviews on Epicurious were pretty disheartening. I couldn’t understand why mine were so good and these other reviewers had bad results. I liked them so much that I just kept on making the recipe and wondered what the deal was with all the bad reviewers and their bad results. Today, I went back and looked at the Epicurious reviews and saw that more and more people have given them high marks….so hooray.