Bust out your cookie sheet, because these thin crispy chocolate chip cookies are a must bake! These cookies bake up golden brown and smell like heaven! Super thin and delightfully crisp, these are one of our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes!
Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Are you a chewy chocolate chip cookie kind of a person? Or a thin and crisp chocolate chip cookie kind of a person?
Personally, I’m all for both! Variety is the spice of life, right?! But I’ll admit, my love for thin crispy cookies came late in life. Actually, it wasn’t until this year I really discovered them. But once I did, it was love at first bite.
And my husband loves them, too. I don’t want to admit how many we can eat in one sitting! I don’t know if it’s because they’re thinner than regular cookies, but I can eat like 3 within minutes.
Like many, we first fell in love with this variety of cookie thanks to Tate’s Bakery! Their packaged cookies are sold basically everywhere here in NY. And it’s all too easy to swipe up a package – or 3 – to enjoy at home.
But as much as I love those cookies, I was dying to create a homemade version. Ones that were very similar, but a little more buttery and flavorful. I also wanted just the slightest chew in the center. And after about a million and one fails, I finally did it! These are my dream cookie.
They’re so buttery… and sweet… and crispy! They’re paper thin and only get crispier as they cool. And they make a TON of cookies, making them a great recipe to bust out during the holiday season! AKA cookie sharing season.
Thin and Crispy Cookies in 3 steps:
- Preheat the oven: Unlike most of my cookie recipes that call for a higher temperature of 375, these cookies will bake in an oven set at 350 degrees (F). While your oven preheats, line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have even more baking sheets, line them! Because this recipe makes a ton of cookies, and you have to let them cool on the baking sheets. So the more the better!
- Make the Cookie Dough: You’ll need an electric mixer for this! Because you’ll need to beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Then you’ll add the eggs and vanilla, and finally the flour, salt, and baking soda. And then the chocolate chips. Be sure to not overmix once you’ve added the flour mixture!
- Drop and Bake: Using a small cookie scoop, drop 1 tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each ball of cookie dough.
They spread A LOT! Then bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The bake time may vary a bit if your oven runs high/low. So keep an eye. Then cool on wire racks for at least 30 minutes before serving! Repeat with all cookie dough.
Tips for Perfectly Thin and Crispy Cookies:
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter, eggs, and even milk are all at room temperature before you begin baking. If the butter is too cold, it won’t spread in the oven. And cold ingredients don’t bond.
- More Granulated Sugar: Resist the temptation to use more brown sugar! The reason I only use a 1/4 cup is because brown sugar has more moisture than white sugar. And in this case, that’s not what we want.
- One Tray at a Time: I know this can be annoying, but I really do find baking one tray at a time ensures the most even bake.
- Keep an Eye on Bake Time: I find my cookies are perfectly brown and crispy at 10 minutes. If you want them EXTRA crispy (as in, absolutely no chew in the middle and very dark brown), I suggest going for 11 or even 12 minutes.
- Rotate the Pan: To ensure these cookies bake evenly, rotate the pan halfway through the baking time. Trust me on this one! Otherwise you’ll end up with a few pale and barely baked cookies, and the others overly baked.
- Don’t Add Extra Chocolate Chips: Because the cookies bake up SO thin, adding too many chocolate chips can be problematic. So definitely stick to the called for amount.
- Add the Salt: All of it! I know 1 teaspoon may sound like a lot, but these cookies are very sweet, and the salt helps balance the flavor out. I actually love adding flaky sea salt on top to add even more flavor contrast!
Can I freeze the Cookie Dough?
You sure can! Just be sure to add a minute or two onto the bake time.
The best way to freeze this cookie dough is to line a large baking sheet with parchment, and then drop rounds of the cookie dough on top. Pop the pan in the freezer and chill until cookie dough balls are solid.
Once they’re frozen solid, place them in a freezer safe baggie for up to 2 months! You can also store the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 5 days. But let it come to room temperature before baking. Remember, we WANT these cookies to spread!
If you love super buttery, lace thin, crispy chocolate chip cookies, you have to try these! So delicious on their own, or with a giant scoop of ice cream on top!
More Incredible Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes:
- Everyday Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Most Wonderful Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Baileys Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thin Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 10 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon milk, at room temperature
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium-speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add in the vanilla and beat smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Beat in the chocolate chips.
- Drop 1 tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2-inches between each cookie for inevitable spreading.
- Bake, one tray at a time, for 10 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before using a thin spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all cookie dough.
The best ever, and I’ve been looking for awhile. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. It’s a keeper and hand me downer.
I just made these cookies and followed exactly. They are tasty but puffy and cake like ♀️
So sorry to hear that! I would watch your flour measurements, as too much flour can cause a cakey cookie.
You might’ve accidentally used baking power instead of baking soda.
I’m actually a chewy chocolate chip cookie fan and hard cookie fan and love these too, chocolate chip cookie crisps! Yay, thank you!
It was nice and crispy last night after I baked them and let them cool. But this morning, after storing them in an airtight container, they became chewy. Any idea why? How should they be stored?
Hi Rina! These are definitely the crispest the day they are baked. Instead of baking them all and storing, if you know you won’t use them all, you can freeze the dough and bake as needed 🙂
Is there any type of semi-sweet chocolate that you recommend for baking these cookies? I’m giving these a go for my Christmas holiday cookie boxes this year.
I like Ghirardelli chocolate chips!
I made these and they were beyond delicious….but spread uncontrollably! I even froze the batter to try and stop the spread. It would’ve been better to do as a tray bake and cut after for me
Odds are good you used too little flour. Volume measures as called for in this recipe are notoriously inaccurate. You should weigh your ingredients (and so should the author), I normally use 130 grams for a cup of flour. If they still spread too much, increase that a bit.
These were amazing. We just made them after looking for a flatter crispier cookie. I took the first batch out of the oven and the family devoured them before they even cooled! Thanks so much. :).
My family loves the cookies more when they are crispier ! Thank you so much for the recipe. Loved it !
yEARS AGO MY CHOC CHIPS CAME OUT THIN AND CRISPY BUT THESE LAST SEVERAL YEARS i HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET THEM THIN ANS CRISPY.. i TRIED TTHIS RECIPIE TODAY AND FOLLOWED THE RECIPIE . tHEY ARE GOOD BUT NOT THIN AND CRISPY. wHAT AM i DOING WRONG, i AM GOING TO FREEZE SOME OF THE DOUGH . aNY SUGGESTIONS AS TO HOW TO MAKE THEM THIN AND CRISPY WHEN i THAW OUT THE REST OF THE DOUGH
If I don’t have UNsalted butter, is there anyway I can use salted butter and delete some of the sea salt or maybe I could do something else, still using salted butter?
I usually use regular salted butter and leave out the salt called for in the recipe.
Made these today following the exact recipe and they came out absolutely gorgeous!! I didn’t have normal milk so I used almond milk instead. The sea salt flakes on top for contrast was the cherry on top =)
I’ve tried many cookie recipes but this is the only one I’ll print out and save it in my heart. Thank you!
Really nice cookies !!!
Happy with this recipe
They came out perfect. My husband loves those gourmet thin crispy cookies, so that’s what I was looking for. This recipe makes a million so I urgently started calling people to take them because we couldn’t be trusted with so many in the house. I mixed all the ingredients by hand and, to be honest, I didn’t use room temperature ingredients (I softened butter in the microwave and the milk and eggs came basically directly from the fridge) but they still cooked perfectly. I definitely had to bake them more like 15 mins to get them nicely brown. But unlike other comments, they stayed crispy the next day as well!
These are really good! They didn’t end up spreading as much as I had hoped & took a couple of minutes longer to brown up than expected. I wonder if it’s because I halved the recipe? Must be something I did wrong since the pictures look incredible and all of the reviews said they turned out very flat! Either way, these are delicious, crispy, buttery chocolate chip cookies! I used to always use the tollhouse recipe but I think these might be my go to from now on, especially if I can get them to turn out right next time haha!
I wish I could update my original review, but this will have to suffice! I had this recipe bookmarked and decided to take another whack at it the other day. This time, they turned out perfectly just like the photos!! I believe my issue the first time was using cold eggs & a little too much flour. Everyone in my family who has tried these has said they’re the best cookies I’ve ever made, and for me they were just as, if not more crispy the next day. Such an easy and impressive recipe, I’m only making these from now on lol! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing. Tastes great but I think I may need to bake for 12 mins, didn’t come out as crispy and didn’t look as great as yours. Also, when waiting for the second batch to cook the cookie dough sits out and when I bake it, it looks drier and cakier looking. Should I freeze in between baking trays?
The cookie recipe is an absolute gem! Not good for my weight though!
Best chocolate chip cookie recipe EVER!!
Tastes a lot like Tates. Thank you for sharing.
These are now my “GO TO” chocolate chip cookie recipe! i have tried so many different recipes, but this one is a keeper, being easier than a lot of my other tries. My husband gets so mad when i tell him that i’m trying a new chocolate chip recipe, because he always loves my latest one, but he even agrees that so far, this is his favorite too!! [ PS: i did add chopped walnuts!]
I made these cookies for Christmas. They are delicious, but mine spread all over the cookie sheet. What can I do to stop this, or what did I do wrong?
Hi Judy. These Cookies should spread a great deal! That’s what makes them so thin and crispy. But if you want to have them less thin, you could chill the batter for a bit beforehand, or try one of my recipes for thick and chewy cookies!
Definitely mine and my husband’s fave cookie recipe– and we have tried A LOT! Thank you for sharing it with the world.
My sister and me have been looking for a choco chip cookies recipe like this one for years. You don’t have an idea of how many cookie batters and cookies we have dumped looking fir these buttery ones. I used salted butter instead of unsalted and still added the 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Mine took 16mn to bake, rotating the the baking sheet after 8mn. Thanks for sharing this delicious cookie recipe.
These are AMAZING!! For anyone needing a gluten free flour substitute, I used King Arthur “Measure for Measure” flour and they turned out perfect!
I just made this yesterday and they are incredible! The sprinkle of salt is just a fabulous touch. I used fancy chocolate chips and it made a big difference. I’ve been led astray in the past by recipes that promised crunch but these babies delivered!
I want to make these cookies, but have a question. In the blog it says to Beale at 375 degrees, but in the recipe it says 350 degrees. Which one should I do? Thanks!
I just made these cookies this week and all I can say is THANK YOU!. I LOVE Tate’s and these are awesome. I made a batch and froze them. I have almost eaten them all in 4 days. Going make a few more batches and add PB since Tate’s doesn’t have those yet.
***2 Thumbs up!***
Ok, so 10 oz of butter? 20 tablespoons? Is that correct?
Yes, 10 oz. of butter. I baked them once with 10 tablespoons by mistake and got thick, cakey cookies. Since most recipes specify butter by the tablespoon or the cup, it’s easy to go wrong here.
Three cookies were the reason I learned to bake. I make them weekly almost. No changes to the recipe at all. Thank you so much. I appreciate you and I love these cookies
These are definitely my kind of cookies! 😀
Super crispy and goes well with a glass of milk!
Thanks for the epic recipe!
Best recipe I’ve tasted so far! Delicious. Crispy on the outside, soft and moisture on the inside. I didn’t have all purpose flour so I used cake & pastry flour instead. Also, I added pecans (my favorite add on to anything with chocolate chips!). Will definitely make over and over. Thank you for this tasty creation:)
Hi, these were delicious but my cookie dough is not brown. It’s very pale but I don’t want to add more brown sugar. Wonder if I added too much of something.
Thanks!
Just made these, AMAZING!!! I halved the recipe, if you want to do the same:
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter (which is 5 oz)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 light brown sugar, lightly packed (2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1.5 teaspoons milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Perfect ! Followed recipe exactly. Best thin, crisp buttery cookies yet.
Looks fantastic! Will a chopped choc bar work?
Hi, maybe’s last week and they came out exactly as pictured. They were delicious and just the right amount of Crisp and chew.
Today I made them, following exactly the same recipe but this time they came out more cake like. They domed in the center and the edges were much darker brown. Any insights into what may have happened? The only thing I can think of that changed was I ran out of parchment paper and bought unbleached parchment paper.
Could these be made as a slice and bake from the freezer? Or is it better to freeze it in balls?
My edges came out flat
OMG THESE ARE DELICIOUS! I love that they make so many especially for giving them away for the holiday season.
OMG loved these cookies! So great how many they make as well especially for giving them away for holiday season.
These are awesome. Follow the recipe exact. How and when do you add the salt flakes? Before or after cooking, cooling.
Absolutely love this recipe! I made one slight change using brown butter and still love this recipe either way.
Im making your recipe today. it says milk in the ingredients but not in the instructions.. am I missing it? skipping the milk but would like to know when I should have added? ThanksMelissa
My family thinks I’m a baking goddess. The most delicious chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Love the thin, crisp but chewiness at the same time! Thank you for this recipe, it will be a staple!
My boyfriend wanted me to make his grandmas thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies that she used to store in a Folgers coffee tin. I used this recipe and they came out amazing. We absolutely loved them.
These were amazing. My new favourite cookie!
Best chocolate chip cookies EVER
These really do come out crisp. Thank you – my family is happy!
I was curious about the 1T of milk. I usually add a T of milk only to dissolve the soda in, so then it mixes through more evenly with no chance of a soda lump. Is that the reason for the milk here? Thanks.
I love the crispy-ness of these! How can I make them as lemon cookies? All white sugar and lemon extract instead of vanilla? Could this work?
If you are publishing your recipe internationally, please, I beg, give metric measurements as well as cups! I would love to make these but transcribing to metric way too bothersome, The world uses metric!
Hi can you give recepie in grams.. thanks
Too bad I can’t add the photo I took. These are perfect for thin super crisp cookie lovers. Almost a brittle meets cookie recipe. I took these to my meeting and they were adored. A room full of 12 steppers can’t be wrong 😀
I’m known for my baking and now this is my new CCC recipe for sure.
Love this so much! Thank you for letting know these were such a hit… and your new ccc recipe! I’m honored.
Thanks for this amazing recipe! I have made these SOOOOOO many times now, because they are INSANE! You will get invited back to any party you bring these to! Half of the recipe makes about 23 cookies. Here is the halved recipe, with the ingredient amounts IN the directions (I don’t like cross referencing, gives me a headache!) If you’re thinking of making these, just do it! Thanks again, so much, for this incredible recipe!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the 1 cup flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 10 Tablespoons butter and 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cup lightly packed light brown sugar on medium-speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
4. Add in the 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat smooth. Add the one egg, beating well. Beat in the 1 ½ teaspoons milk.
5. On low speed, add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Beat in the chocolate chips.
6. Drop 1 tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2-inches between each cookie for inevitable spreading.
7. Bake, one tray at a time, for 10 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking.
cook 6 minutes, then swivel cookie sheet, cook 6 more minutes.
8. Let cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before using a thin spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all cookie dough.
I can’t wait to try these. I am addicted to the Kodiak Thin and Cprisy cookies and want something similar to makenat home. Kodiak has five grams protein. I wonder how to successfully get that result. Any ideas?
Hi Carla! Unfortunately I don’t! But let me know if your experiment 🙂
Hi. I’ve made these cookies multiple times and they are AMAZING. I am now baking at a higher altitude and wanted to know if there are any adjustments I need to make. Thank you.
Can you use sugar substitutes for this recipe ?
These cookies are so good! I love the crispy texture.
I’m so glad I tried this recipe! (I’ve tried many.) They are dangerous…lol! I read someone saying they tasted chewy after storing so I froze many cookie balls. I’m glad I did since I can’t stop eating, but the extras I did store are still crispy! Yum! Thank you! I can stop looking for thin crispy cookies now.
Leave out the milk and add another tablespoon of butter. Perfect! These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I usually add a heaping cup of walnuts. Pecans just soften the finished cookie, so avoid them.
This recipe is everything! I can finally make and eat thin, crispy chocolate chip cookies. I played around with the size & crunchiness of the cookies and they’re flexible and equally as delicious.
Best chocolate chip cookie recipe EVER ! I halved the recipe because my family wouldn’t finish 3 dozen cookies before they go bad. We are also eggless vegetarians so I just didn’t add the eggs and substituted them with the littlest splash of apple cider vinegar when it called to add the eggs. They turned out amazing ! Super thin and crispy. I am going to make them again and just leave out the eggs as a whole (no substitute) because I don’t even see a need for a rising agent if they are supposed to be thin and crispy ! Thank you so much for this delectable recipe !
This recipe is incredible! I can finally stop trying new chocolate chip cookie recipes. Exactly what I was looking for – truly thin and crispy with a little chew in the middle. The only thing I changed was a little less chocolate chips (personal preference). I do wish this recipe was in grams though, but I saved my measurements below:
280 g flour
10 oz butter (2.5 sticks)
274 g granulated sugar
48 g brown sugar
274 g choc chips (1.5 cups)
These took about 12 min for me. It was important to use room temp ingredients and turn half way I thought.