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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.
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.
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
My family loves the cookies more when they are crispier ! Thank you so much for the recipe. Loved it !
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. :).
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.
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!
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 🙂
The key is to NOT store in an airtight container. Cover the container loosely with foil instead. The Crispiness is just like the day you baked them.
I’m actually a chewy chocolate chip cookie fan and hard cookie fan and love these too, chocolate chip cookie crisps! Yay, thank you!
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.
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.