The Ultimate Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe: Soft, Chewy & Freezable Delights
Craving classic, homemade chocolate chip cookies but wish you had enough to share with everyone, or better yet, enough to last? Look no further! This ultimate big batch chocolate chip cookie recipe is engineered to deliver an impressive 8 dozen (that’s 96!) soft, thick, and wonderfully chewy cookies, brimming with rich chocolate chips. Whether you’re preparing for a large gathering, a school bake sale, a festive party, or simply want to stock your freezer with irresistible treats, this recipe is your golden ticket to cookie heaven. Imagine having a fresh, warm chocolate chip cookie ready in minutes, any day of the week!
Why Opt for a Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?
There are countless reasons why a substantial quantity of delicious homemade cookies can be a lifesaver. Think bake sales where every treat counts, lively family reunions, holiday parties, or simply ensuring you always have a comforting dessert on hand. This particular recipe ensures you’re never short on these beloved chocolate chip delights. Beyond satisfying a crowd, a big batch recipe is incredibly efficient. You invest your time once and reap the rewards for weeks or months, especially with the included freezing instructions.
The beauty of this recipe extends beyond its sheer quantity. It’s also perfectly suited for making ahead. The dough can be prepared, scooped, and frozen, allowing you to bake fresh, warm cookies on demand. This method transforms the way you approach baking, making it incredibly convenient. When I whip up these scrumptious cookies, I often bake half the dough immediately to enjoy fresh, and then freeze the other half. This approach guarantees an instant treat whenever the craving strikes, and it’s how I’ve illustrated this fantastic recipe for you.
Mastering the Art of Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies: Essential Baking Tips
Achieving that coveted soft, thick, and chewy texture with perfectly golden edges requires a few key techniques and ingredient choices. These tips, refined over years of baking, will elevate your chocolate chip cookies from good to absolutely legendary. Pay close attention to these details, and you’ll be consistently turning out bakery-quality treats.
Top Baking Tips for Unforgettable Cookies:
- Embrace the Blend: Butter and Butter-Flavored Shortening. Real butter provides an unbeatable depth of flavor and contributes to a lovely crisp edge, which is essential for that classic cookie experience. However, for a truly soft, thick, and enduringly chewy cookie – my personal preference – butter alone can sometimes lead to a thinner, crisper result. The magic happens when you combine real butter with butter-flavored shortening. This duo offers the best of both worlds: the rich, authentic taste of butter and the superior softness and less spread that shortening provides, all without the need to chill your cookie dough before baking. It’s a win-win for flavor and texture!
- The Secret Weapon: A Reliable Cookie Scoop. For uniform size, even baking, and those desirable thick centers, a cookie scoop is indispensable. Scooping ensures that each cookie is roughly the same size and shape, leading to consistent baking times and preventing some cookies from being underdone while others are overdone. Furthermore, a good cookie scoop really packs the dough, creating tall mounds that resist spreading too much during baking, resulting in a wonderfully thick cookie. I highly recommend using a 2.75-inch cookie scoop for perfectly sized treats.
- Invest in Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats. Beyond simplifying cleanup, these baking essentials play a crucial role in cookie quality. They prevent sticking entirely, ensuring your cookies slide right off the tray without any breakage. More importantly, they promote even heat distribution, helping the bottoms of your cookies bake perfectly without burning, resulting in a consistently tender crumb. Since discovering the benefits, I truly never bake cookies without my trusty silicone baking mat anymore – it’s an absolute game-changer!
- The Art of Underbaking for Chewy Perfection. This is arguably the most critical tip for achieving perfectly soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies. The secret lies in removing them from the oven *before* they appear fully baked. Look for just a hint of golden color around the edges; the centers should still look slightly soft or even underdone. Cookies continue to bake from the residual heat of the baking sheet after they’re removed. Leave them on the hot pan for a few minutes to set up, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely. This process locks in moisture and prevents them from becoming dry or crumbly.
- Bake One Tray at a Time for Optimal Results (If Time Allows). While not always practical for a big batch, if you have the luxury of time, baking only one pan of cookies at a time on the center rack of your oven yields the very best results. This ensures consistent oven temperature around all cookies, preventing uneven browning or baking. I understand this can be a bit finicky and time-consuming for large quantities, but the difference in quality is truly noticeable. If you must bake multiple trays, rotate them halfway through the baking time for more even results.
Prepare for Future Cravings: Freezing Your Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
One of the greatest advantages of a big batch recipe is the ability to easily prepare cookie dough for future baking. Freezing cookie dough is a fantastic meal prep hack for desserts, ensuring you can whip up fresh, warm cookies with minimal effort whenever the mood strikes. It’s perfect for last-minute guests, a quick after-dinner treat, or when you just need a little something sweet without starting from scratch.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Freezing Cookie Dough:
- Prepare Your Baking Sheet: Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat, parchment paper, or waxed paper. This prevents the dough from sticking and makes transfer easier.
- Scoop the Dough: Using a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop (or your preferred size), scoop the cookie dough into uniform balls. Place these dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet. You can place them relatively close together, but make sure they aren’t touching, as they might freeze together.
- Initial Freeze: Transfer the entire cookie sheet into the freezer for at least one to two hours. This “flash freezing” step is crucial as it hardens the individual dough balls, preventing them from clumping together when stored in a larger container.
- Transfer for Long-Term Storage: Once the cookie dough balls are firm and frozen solid, remove them from the cookie sheet. Place them into freezer bags, a vacuum-sealed bag, or any airtight, freezer-safe container. This protects them from freezer burn and preserves their freshness.
- Label Everything: Don’t forget this vital step! Clearly label your freezer bags or containers with the date the dough was made and basic baking instructions (oven temperature and approximate cook time). This eliminates guesswork when you’re ready to bake and helps you keep track of storage duration.
This frozen cookie dough will remain perfectly good in the freezer for up to three months, ensuring you have a steady supply of homemade treats at your fingertips.
Baking from Frozen: When it’s time to bake your prepped cookies, simply retrieve the desired number of frozen cookie dough balls from the freezer. Place them directly onto a prepared baking sheet and bake as directed in the recipe. You’ll typically need to add an extra 2-3 minutes to the specified bake time to account for the dough being frozen. No need to thaw beforehand!
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Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
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15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
30 minutes
8 dozen
119kcal
Amy D
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter (softened to room temp)
- 1 cup butter flavored shortening
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 ½ cup white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 24 ounce bag chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line your cookie sheets with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats to ensure even baking and easy release.
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In a generously sized mixing bowl, combine the softened salted butter and butter-flavored shortening with both brown sugar (packed) and white sugar. Cream these ingredients together using an electric mixer until the mixture becomes wonderfully light and fluffy, usually 2-3 minutes.
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Crack the eggs into the creamed mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated, ensuring a rich aroma throughout the dough.
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In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough, as this can lead to tough cookies.
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Finally, gently fold in the entire bag of chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
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Using a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop, drop rounded mounds of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Ensure you leave at least 2 inches of space between each cookie to allow for spreading during baking.
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Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. Crucially, remove them from the oven when the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft or underbaked. This ensures a wonderfully soft and chewy interior.
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Once out of the oven, allow the cookies to rest on the hot baking sheets for an additional 3-5 minutes. This carryover cooking helps them set without overbaking. Afterward, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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For maximum freshness, store your cooled chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5-7 days.
Notes
Freezing Instructions for Make-Ahead Convenience:
- Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat, parchment paper, or waxed paper.
- Using a 1.5 Tablespoon cookie scoop, form the cookie dough into uniform balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Ensure there’s a small space between each dough ball to prevent them from freezing together.
- Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least one to two hours, or until the dough balls are solid.
- Once frozen, transfer the individual dough balls into freezer bags or an airtight, freezer-safe container for long-term storage.
- Label your frozen cookie dough with the date and precise baking instructions (oven temperature and cook time) to eliminate any guesswork later.
- This cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, offering incredible flexibility for future baking.
- When you’re ready to bake, simply place the frozen cookie dough balls directly onto a baking sheet and bake as directed in the main recipe, adding approximately 2-3 minutes to the standard bake time. No thawing is necessary!
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Why These Big Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies Will Become Your Go-To Recipe
This recipe isn’t just about making a lot of cookies; it’s about making a lot of *perfect* cookies. The combination of butter and shortening creates a texture that is both rich in flavor and wonderfully soft and chewy. The generous quantity means you’re always prepared for any occasion, from last-minute potlucks to thoughtful homemade gifts. And with the detailed freezing instructions, you gain the unparalleled convenience of having gourmet-quality, fresh-baked cookies available whenever the craving strikes, without the full baking process each time. These aren’t just cookies; they’re a time-saving, crowd-pleasing, freezer-friendly solution for every chocolate chip cookie lover.
Explore More Delicious Cookie Recipes for Every Occasion!
If you’ve enjoyed mastering this big batch chocolate chip cookie recipe, you’ll love diving into these other fantastic cookie creations. Each recipe offers a unique flavor profile and irresistible texture, perfect for expanding your baking repertoire or finding a new family favorite.
- Chewy French Toast Cookies: A breakfast favorite reimagined as a soft, spiced cookie.
- Lemon Cowboy Cookies: A zesty, hearty twist on the classic, packed with oats and bright lemon flavor.
- Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies with M&M’s: A delightful blend of rich peanut butter and colorful chocolate candies.
- Mint Middle Fudge Cookies: Decadent chocolate cookies with a refreshing minty surprise inside.
