Thin-and-Crisp Chocolate-Chip Cookies

By Amanda Hesser

Updated January 14, 2026

  • Craig Lee for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(714)
Comments
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Chocolate-chip cookies tend to spark the kind of tense debate usually reserved for topics like religion and politics. Opinions on various brands abound, but an excellent recipe is the key to baked good paradise. This recipe, one of three that were extensively tested, is for a golden brown emblem of cookie engineering. Note that in this crisp version the ingredients include milk and light corn syrup, and the balls of dough are quite small. This version also calls for what might seem like a lot of salt, but one tablespoon is correct. Be sure to use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and if you use Morton's, reduce the amount by about half. (Make the chewy and gooey versions to compare.)

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Ingredients

Yield:Makes 24 cookies

  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

  • 14 tablespoons butter, melted

  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar

  • ½ cup sugar

  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons milk

  • 1 ½ cups chopped bittersweet chocolate (peasize pieces and shavings)

  • 2 cups chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

25 grams carbs; 18 milligrams cholesterol; 249 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 117 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 16 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

  2. Step 2

    In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter, sugars and corn syrup for about 3 minutes. Stir in the vanilla, then the milk. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend just until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate and walnuts. Chill the dough for at least an hour.

  3. Step 3

    Roll 2-tablespoon lumps of dough into balls, then place on the baking sheet and flatten to ¼ inch-thick disks spaced 2 inches apart. Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges are dark golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
714 user ratings
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Comments

Sarah Cole

Are you sure the thin and crispy chocolate chips cookies ask for 1 TBSP of salt? Made them and they were terrible...too salty.

Randy

Tests show Diamond Crystal is 50% as salty as Morton's; actually 50% of the sodium content. It is due to the shape of the crystals. Diamond Crystal uses a proprietary process that makes pyramid shaped crystals which mean there is more air in a measure of their salt. Morton's process yields flat crystals which stack more compactly. Some of us would also argue there is a more complex flavor in the Diamond Crystal. If all you have is Morton's just use half as much as is specified.

Megan

I don't think the 24 hours of refrigeration is necessary. Scoop the cookies and place them on a cookie sheet. Then put them in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. Cookies turned out great.

Move Salt Note to More Prominent Location in Recipe

The title says it all really. This important note about salt should really be moved to a more prominent section of the recipe like to ingredients list. Its very frustrating that its buried and very easy to miss. I made playdough not cookies.

TheDodos

I have made this and it's really good, just make sure to make small balls before putting them in the oven because if not then they will stick together, also I suggest to bake them for around 17 min because my first time I made them I over baked them and it turned out dry and a bit hard, I though 25 min was good😅. So make the dough balls small when about to put them in and bake them around 17 min (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

Franklin

Why does it say to preheat the oven and then let the dough chill for an hour!? Seems like a waste to me

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