Tender, Chewy, & Craggy Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

About These Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

I am always looking for new and exciting twists to chocolate chip cookie recipes, so behold: these chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar! This recipe comes from famed pastry chef Melissa Weller (who previously baked at Bouchon Bakery, Per Se, Sullivan Street Bakery, and Roberta’s Pizza) and her latest cookbook, A Good Bake: The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Breads at Home.

According to Melissa, the powdered sugar in the recipe gives the cookies their distinct, bumpy texture and makes the cookies extra tender and chewy. Why? Powdered sugar (also known as confectioners’ sugar) contains cornstarch. The cornstarch absorbs moisture from the rest of the ingredients, making an extra tender and chewy cookie. Cool, right? The cookies also have a mix of both dark and milk chocolate, giving the cookies a homey, nostalgic flavor.

Why You Should Make Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

Here are all the reasons to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar:

This chocolate chip cookie with powdered sugar recipe is adapted from a critically-acclaimed cookbook from a famed pastry chef.

These cookies come from A Good Bake: The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cookies, Pies, and Breads at Home, the latest cookbook from famed pastry chef Melissa Weller. Melissa received a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Baker in 2016. She’s also worked at some of my favorite New York City bakeries and restaurants, including Bouchon Bakery, Per Se, Sadelle’s, Sullivan Street Bakery, and Roberta’s.

Although Melissa is famous for bread and sweet pastries like babka, I was excited to try her take on the classic chocolate chip cookies!

Despite making bakery-style cookies, the recipe comes together quickly and easily.

Although the recipe makes picture-perfect bakery-style cookies, it comes together really easily. Making the cookie dough and assembling the cookies takes about 20 minutes. The hardest part is waiting for them to be ready—you need to chill the dough overnight in the fridge for the best results!

Chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar store well.

Because of the powdered sugar, these cookies stay chewy and delicious for several days after baking. And if you don’t want to bake a batch of 16 cookies all at once, you’re in luck! The chocolate chip cookie dough freezes beautifully for future batches. I’ve included instructions on how to freeze the chocolate chip cookie dough in the post below.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar, here’s everything you need for the recipe:

Shopping List for Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the exact ingredient amounts and quantities:

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• kosher salt
• large eggs
• pure vanilla extract
• unsalted butter
• dark brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• confectioners’ sugar
• dark chocolate (between 60% to 70% cacao), from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar
• milk chocolate (between 30% to 40% cacao), from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar
• flaky salt

And let’s talk about some of the recipe’s main ingredients and potential substitutions:

All-Purpose Flour

You need 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar.

Does a 1-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour work in these chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar?

I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I rarely bake with those types of flour replacements because they’re expensive and my household is fortunate not to have any gluten restrictions. However, if you replace the flour in this recipe with any gluten-free alternatives, please leave a comment so I can update this post accordingly!

Kosher Salt

You need ½ teaspoon kosher salt to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar.

Why You Should Use Kosher Salt When Baking

I like to use kosher salt (as opposed to table salt) when baking. Its larger crystals make it difficult to confuse with granulated sugar. However, not all kosher salts are created equal. Some kosher salts have smaller granules than others, which will result in saltier tasting baked goods.

For consistency, I recommend sticking to one brand, and one brand only: Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It’s the only brand of salt I use when I develop recipes for Hummingbird High. Why? Diamond Crystal kosher salt is one of the few 100% pure salts in the grocery store. Other brands have additives that can add unexpected flavors to your desserts.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Is Morton’s Coarse kosher salt okay?

Yes, with reservations. Morton’s Coarse kosher salt granules are much smaller, denser, and crunchier than Diamond Crystal. According to this Food52 article, the two are different shapes and sizes because of how they’re made. Morton’s is made by flattening salt granules into large thin flakes by pressing them through high-pressure rollers, whereas Diamond Crystal is formed by a patented method in which “upside-down pyramids [are] stacked one over the next to form a crystal.” You can even see a visualization of the different sizes in this Cook’s Illustrated article.

Okay, but what does that mean, exactly? 1 teaspoon of Morton’s will taste saltier than 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal. Wild, right? So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, the results will come out saltier. In fact, sometimes they will come out TOO salty. So if you’re using Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, reduce the salt in the recipe by half.

Want to learn more about Diamond Crystal versus Morton’s Coarse kosher salt? Definitely check out the Food52 and Cook’s Illustrated articles I linked to above, as well as this Taste article.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal OR Morton’s Coarse kosher salt. Can I just use table salt?

Yes, with reservations. If you use table salt, you’ll need to reduce the recipe’s salt quantity by half.

If you read my little essay about Diamond Crystal and Morton’s, you learned that Diamond Crystal kosher salt granules are larger than Morton’s kosher salt granules. The same principle applies to table salt versus kosher salt. Table salt granules are much smaller than kosher salt granules. As a result, 1 teaspoon of table salt tastes much saltier than 1 teaspoon of kosher salt… simply because it can hold more granules! Wild, right?

So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use table salt instead of kosher salt, the results will come out saltier. If you’re using table salt instead of kosher salt, I recommend reducing the salt in the recipe by half. 

Dark Brown Sugar

You need ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar.

Light versus Dark Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is granulated white sugar with a touch of molasses to give it its signature color and flavor. Because brown sugar contains molasses, it adds more moisture baked goods than granulated sugar otherwise would.

Brown sugar is available in two varieties: light or dark. Dark brown sugar is my personal preference; because it contains more molasses, I find it to be more flavorful. It’s also what Melissa recommends in her book for these cookies. However, you can use either in these cookies without altering their flavor too much.

Dark Chocolate

You need 4 ounces (113 grams) dark chocolate from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar to make chocolate chip cookies without powdered sugar.

Dark Chocolate versus Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate

In the United States, there’s no official benchmark for the “bittersweet” and “semisweet” chocolate designations. It’s up to manufacturers to determine how much cocoa to use, and percentages will vary greatly from brand to brand. Technically, both bittersweet and semisweet chocolate are considered dark chocolate… but you never know. Because of this, I advise you to ignore these bars and stick with a dark chocolate that lists its cocoa percentage.

Wait, what are chocolate fèves? Are they the same thing as chocolate baking discs and wafers?

Chocolate fèves are a fancy pastry school term for a flat, bean-shaped disc of chocolate. When baked in a cookie recipe, the fèves don’t hold their shape (similar to how chocolate chips typically do) and instead melt into puddles. These puddles give your cookies thin layers of chocolate throughout every bite. The most prominent maker of chocolate fèves is one of my favorite chocolate makers, Valrhona Chocolate. 

Unfortunately, as much as I love Valrhona chocolate, their chocolate fèves can be hard to find at your average grocery store. I typically buy Valrhona products online at Amazon, King Arthur Baking Company, or Valrhona’s online store. But if you don’t want to buy online, rest assured that other chocolate makers make similar products. Notably, Guittard Chocolate Company makes chocolate wafers. These wafers are similar to fèves, but more circular in shape. I’ve seen Guittard chocolate wafers at select Safeway, Target, and Whole Foods stores.

Do I really need to use fèves?

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from my blog, it’s this: don’t skimp on chocolate! Most grocery store brands—even the ones that offer products specifically made for baking—contain all sorts of additives like paraffin wax and palm oil. These ingredients compromise the flavor and texture of your results. I’ve stopped using chocolate chips in 90 percent of my recipes, and my baked goods have tasted so much better as a result. 

What dark chocolate did you use to make these chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar?

For the dark chocolate component in these cookies, I used Valrhona Caraïbe fèves, which 66% cacao. In general, for this recipe, I recommend using a dark chocolate that is between 62% and 73% cacao (though I simplified that to 60% and 70% in the ingredients list).

What other chocolate do you recommend besides fèves?

If you can’t find fèves, I also recommend Guittard Chocolate Wafers (which are more readily available in most major supermarkets). If you’re on a budget, I recommend chopping up a Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar or Ghirradelli baking chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips. Chop up the chocolate into fairly large ½- to 1-inch chunks. Doing so helps give you big chocolate puddles throughout the cookie!

Milk Chocolate

You need 4 ounces (113 grams) milk chocolate from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar to make chocolate chip cookies without powdered sugar.

What milk chocolate did you use to make these chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar?

For the milk chocolate component in these cookies, I used Guittard Milk Chocolate Wafers, which 38% cacao. In general, for this recipe, I recommend using a dark chocolate that is between 30% and 40% cacao.

How To Make The Recipe

Here are the basic steps to make chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar:

First, make the chocolate chip cookie dough.

1. First, prep your ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar. (Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes)
   Prep for this chocolate chip cookie recipe is easy! All you need to do is measure out the ingredients beforehand, and make sure the butter and eggs are at the right temperature. That’s it! If you’re using whole fèves like I recommended, there’s no need to chop them up beforehand. As a result, your prep time will only be about 5 minutes. However, if you’re chopping up chocolate for the recipe, your prep time will be 10 minutes.
   
   
2. Then, make the chocolate chip cookie dough. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   The dough comes together really quickly! First, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Then, whisk the large egg, egg yolk, and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup. Next, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add the egg and vanilla in three parts. Finally, add the dry ingredients and chocolate. That’s it!
   
   
3. Next, assemble the chocolate chip cookies for chilling. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   The fastest and easiest way to make picture-perfect cookies is to invest in a cookie dough scoop. These handy tools scoop the dough into dough balls that bake into perfect cookie circles every time. In general, I use a 3-Tablespoon or 4-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to make my cookie recipes. Doing so makes perfect 3- to 3.5-inch wide cookies.

Then, chill the chocolate chip cookie dough.

1. Chill the chocolate chip cookie dough. (Chill Time: Overnight)
   Melissa instructs you to chill the cookie dough overnight. Why? There’s research that states that “resting” your cookie dough by chilling or freezing will lead to more delicious cookies. Why? The extra time in the freezer/refrigerator allows the flour and sugar to absorb more flavors from the other ingredients in the dough. The resulting cookies have subtle butterscotch, caramel, and toffee flavors in them. So for little to no extra effort on your part, you end up with better cookies. Pretty amazing, right?

Finally, bake the chocolate chip cookies.

1. Assemble the chocolate chip cookies for baking. (Work Time: <5 minutes)
   After the cookies have chilled overnight, it’s time to bake them! I like to thaw the chilled cookie dough slightly by leaving them out on the counter as you preheat the oven. Thawing them slightly helps with the next step—before baking, Melissa instructs you to flatten each cookie dough ball with the palm of your hand. This works best if the cookie dough isn’t rock solid.
   
   
2. Bake the chocolate chip cookies. (Bake Time: 16 minutes)
   The chocolate chip cookies need 16 to 18 minutes in the oven. When done, the edges should be set. However, the centers will still look a little soft. That’s normal! In fact, that’s the secret to a perfect cookie with a chewy center.

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

FAQ: Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar Recipe Results

I’m way too impatient to wait for my cookies. Do I really have to chill them overnight?

No, in a pinch, you don’t have to chill them overnight. Although Melissa recommends chilling them for at least 2 hours before baking, I baked one right away because I wanted a cookie. It turned out fine, but the ones that were chilled overnight were definitely better!

If you decide to bake the dough without chilling it first, I recommend baking for a shorter amount of time (start checking for doneness at 12 minutes). I also don’t recommend flattening them like I instruct you to do so in the recipe; the dough will stick to your palms!

Help! My cookies came out too puffy. They didn’t sink after baking and don’t look flat like yours. What did I do wrong?

Okay, there are several things that could be responsible for overly puffy cookies:

You didn’t measure the ingredients properly.

I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating: if you used cup measures as opposed to weight measures, there’s a larger chance your cookies will come out puffy. 

There’s a LOT of variation in how people use measuring cups. Somebody who scoops ingredients into a measuring cup and packs it down as they go will have a cup that has way more ingredients than somebody who simply scoops the flour into a cup and levels it off as its filled. This is why bakers love measuring by weight with a digital scale instead—it’s much more reliable and completely eliminates any inconsistencies!

While these variations aren’t a big deal for many recipes, they can be a big deal for cookies. Specifically: if you pack a heavy cup of flour, your cookies will come out too puffy. They won’t fall and sink in the same way as mine did.

So to fill a measuring cup properly, you need to first set the measuring cup on a flat, level surface like your kitchen counter. Spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup until it forms a small mound within the cup. Use a butter knife or bench scraper to level off the mound so that the ingredient is flush with the top edges of the measuring cup.

Finally, if you’re measuring a dry ingredient that has a tendency to clump or get packed down (like flour, confectioners’ sugar, or cocoa powder), give it a quick whisk in its container first. Then, scoop the ingredient into the measuring cup as I described.

You deliberately (or accidentally!) reduced the sugar in the recipe.

Many people often deliberately reduce the sugar in baking recipes for health reasons, or for fear of the recipe being “too sweet.” But the fact is that sugar is in baking recipes for reasons beyond flavor and sweetness! In baking, sugar helps baked good spread evenly and consistently. It also adds moisture and color to the baked goods. If you went this route, it’s likely that your cookies will stay puffy and taste drier than mine.

But how do you accidentally reduce the sugar in the recipe? Similar to how you accidentally use too much flour in a recipe—by failing to use measuring cups and spoons properly. Read my instructions in the question above on how to scoop and fill a measuring cup the right way.

You used chocolate chips instead of fèves or chopped chocolate.

Chocolate chips are made with stabilizers like more cocoa solids and paraffin wax (yes, the kind of wax candles are made out of) to ensure that they keep their shape when baked. They tend to stay 3-dimensional, leading to a puffy cookie that doesn’t fall flat.

You are baking chilled cookie dough but didn’t thaw the dough slightly beforehand.

In the FAQ section below, I give you options to freeze your cookie dough for baking later. However, note that you’ll need to thaw the cookie dough slightly when baking from frozen.

What does that mean? Simply set the cookie dough out on a lined sheet pan (the same one you’re planning on baking the cookies on!) as the oven preheats. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes for most ovens to preheat. The 10 to 15 minutes out at room temperature will allow the cookie dough to thaw slightly and bake up nicely in the oven. If you skip this thaw, your cookies will come out puffy!

Help! I made these chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar but they don’t look like your cookies. My chocolate stayed mostly in tact. They didn’t melt and pool throughout the cookie like yours did. What did I do wrong?

First things first: did you use chocolate chips? If you did, they’re the likely culprit.

I mentioned earlier that chocolate chips are made with stabilizers like more cocoa solids and paraffin wax to ensure that they keep their shape when baked. They won’t melt and pool into puddles like chopped chocolate bars. That’s why I always recommend using chopped chocolate if you’re looking for a picture-perfect, Instagram-ready cookie!

However, if you did use chopped chocolate, it’s likely that you chopped your chocolate up too finely. You want to keep the pieces fairly big—think: ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. Bigger pieces will get more melty and molten!

FAQ: Storing Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

How To Store Chocolate Chip Cookies With Powdered Sugar

After baking, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar?

You can freeze chocolate chip cookies with powdered sugar in the following ways:

1. Freeze the UNBAKED chocolate chip cookie dough.
   Follow the recipe instructions to make the cookie dough and scoop them out into cookie dough balls. Place the cookie dough balls in a small sheet pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 1 year.
   
   To bake the frozen cookie dough balls, follow the recipe instructions to preheat the oven. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey.
   
   
2. Freeze the BAKED chocolate chip cookies.
   Individually wrap any leftover chocolate chip cookies in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. The aluminum foil will prevent the cookies from absorbing any other flavors or odors in the freezer. When ready to serve, transfer to the refrigerator to chill overnight. Rewarm in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes before serving.

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• The Easiest Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
• The Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, Elevated
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