The Chocolate Chip Combo Your Cookies Are Missing

Few treats are as timeless as the classic chocolate chip cookie. But even classic recipes have room for a twist. Some common cookie-making mistakes involve not chilling the dough or using low-quality butter, but there's an easy way to upgrade your cookies that's surprisingly simple: add more than just chocolate chips. You can have fun with unexpected chocolate chip cookie ingredients like chili crisp, but what we're suggesting is much simpler: more chocolate!

Yes, the chocolate chunk vs chocolate chip debate ends here — just combine them. Duh! Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape. That gives you small, defined bits of chocolate throughout the cookie, which can help with structure and bite. Chunks, on the other hand, tend to get nice and melty, creating ribbons or pockets of chocolate throughout the dough. Using both means you get varied textures and so much more chocolate flavor without having to mess with the rest of the recipe.

You don't need extra ingredients or a recipe overhaul. Simply mix chocolate chunks and chips into your cookie dough, bake, and enjoy something a little more indulgent with a lot more chocolatey goodness. There are just a few tips and tricks to get the cookies right. 

We firmly believe that there's no such thing as too much chocolate ... but in the case of these cookies, too much can be sort of disastrous, especially when your mix-ins start to crowd out the actual dough. Add too many, and your cookies spread thin or bake unevenly. We'd recommend taking your chocolate chip cookie recipe and following the amount called for, but just divide that up into chips and chunks. Ideally, the amount of chocolate shouldn't be more than about a third of the dough.

There are more methods to ensure the cookie holds up to the weight of the chocolate, while still having the chocolate be front-and-center. You should always chill your dough before baking (no matter how excited you are) to prevent excess spreading. Good things take time! Using room-temperature melted butter is another tip to achieve chewy cookies that don't spread too much. Of course, after you've taken the time to perfect your cookie dough, you might not want the chocolate to totally overwhelm every bite. So, play around with ratios until you find one that suits your preferences.

Once you nail that ratio, feel free to experiment. Pair semisweet chips with dark chocolate chunks for balance, or use white chocolate chunks with milk chocolate chips to go super sweet. Pair chocolate chunks with butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips for richness and uniqueness — heck, chop up some Reese's and use those in place of chunks!