I have been searching for my trademark chocolate chip cookie recipe for years.
My dad had his favorite recipe, which he made dozens upon dozens of times for our family when we were growing up. His mom, my grandma, had her favorite recipe, which she actually called “chip chocolates” and always served to her grandkids frozen and hard as rocks (so good!). But I always thought it would be fun to have a recipe that was all my own.
So this past week when my sister was in town and we were cooking up a storm, I decided to experiment with a new recipe to serve as a little “treat” after our hours of cooking. Sarah was a little skeptical as she mixed up the dough. But once we pulled these babies out of the oven and took those first warm, soft, chewy, and chocolate-y bites, she said — and I quote — “these might just be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had”.
Agreed.
And it’s all thanks to that magical ingredient that we now know and love: coconut oil.
I have actually had coconut oil chocolate chip cookies on my “must-try” list since holiday baking season. But somehow I didn’t get around to it until this past week. Once we made that first chewy, delicious batch, though, you’d better believe I made a second batch two days later. I mean, a food blogger’s gotta test those recipes, right?
Sure enough, these were just as amazing on Round #2. As I’m pretty sure they will be when I make them again on round #22. And #222.
To be sure, this is in part thanks to a few cookie tips I have learned over the years, like adding cornstarch for extra chewy-ness, and using a good brown/white sugar ratio, and chilling the dough balls in the fridge before baking. (That last step is a definite “must” when using coconut oil, since it is not as solid as butter or shortening at room temp. And it takes at least an hour, so plan in advance!)
But I have to say that the extra flavor note of the sweet coconut was my favorite part! To be sure, the coconut flavor in these is super subtle. I had a few friends try these, and they couldn’t even taste it. But what everyone agreed was that the coconut oil brought out a little extra sweetness in these cookies. And also made them wonderfully chewy and thick. And well, just crazy good.
The ingredients for them were standard, with the exception of coconut oil in place of any other fats.
Just whip up the dough…
…then create your big dough balls. (I used a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, and shaped them slightly tall so that they wouldn’t spread as much when cooking.) Then cover the sheet with plastic wrap and chill them in the fridge for an hour or two until firm.
Then pop them in the oven….
…and this will be the result.
They’re big. They’re perfectly flavorful. They are overflowing with chocolate chips. And good grief, are they GOOD.
I’m pretty sure you should make a batch right now just to see for yourself. ;)
Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: About 12 cookies 1x
Description
These coconut oil chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy, soft, chocolate-y, and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the softened coconut oil, sugars, egg, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Fold in (stir in) the chocolate chips by hand until just combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop (equivalent to 3 tablespoons) or a spoon to shape the dough into balls, and place them on a large plate. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough balls for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chilled dough balls at least 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Or a baking sheet that has been covered with a Silpat, or greased with cooking spray.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just set. The centers may look slightly undercooked. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 3-4 months.
Notes
Adapted from Leelalicious.
I want to try these but can I leave the cornstarch out or is there a substitute that I can use? I love using coconut oil in my baking.
The cornstarch helps hold these together and make them nice and chewy. Unfortunately, I don’t know of another substitute that works as well. Sorry about that. :(
These are sooooo good!! I needed a recipe to use up some coconut oil and wanted to make chocolate chip cookies….your recipe was the first one that popped up. I substituted flax meal/water for the eggs. Also–I missed the part about chilling them for two hours (not so much missed but didn’t catch it until the end and didn’t have time to chill them) and they turned out perfectly anyway! I decided to double the recipe and am so glad I did. They’re delicious! Thank you!
I made these today and I have to say that they are amazing! Some of the best cookies I’ve ever made. It was my first time cooking with coconut oil and they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Ali,
I tried this recipe yesterday and followed it to a t, but the cookies came out really flat. I am not new to baking, but new to coconut oil. Any tips to make my cookies puffy next time? (as far as the flat cookies, i crumbled them up and plan on throwing them into some homemade fudge)
thanks!
Hi Christine!
If your cookies are flat, you might try popping the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking (to be absolutely sure that the coconut oil firms up before baking). Also be sure that your baking soda is fresh and not expired. Otherwise, I’m not sure — different brands of coconut oil could perform differently, or humidity can also be a factor. Hope they’re puffier next time! :)
Just started buying coconut oil and was looking for recipes to incorporate it in. Found these and they are the best cookies I’ve ever made! Just about to make batch number 2 because the 20 that were made yesterday are all gone! Mmmmmmm
Okay, I’m trying these next week. I never heard of the cornstarch trick, but I am excited to try it!
Yay! And the cornstarch trick really works! :)
Just made these, and wow! The turned out just like the picture and taste amazing. While the great taste and texture are the most important reasons to love this recipe, there are more! I used one bowl and mixed by hand because my stand mixer stuff was in the dishwasher and I didn’t feel like using a hand mixer. The dough came together easily even so, though I did finish incorporating the flour with my hands. Also, I got 15 cookies that fit perfectly on one large cookie sheet. One bowl, one cookie sheet, great results. Love it! FYI I used trader joes coconut oil and used a silpat.
My dough turned out crumbly, as I see some others have mentioned, and I was having a hard time getting it to stick together. I just slowly added water until I was satisfied with the consistency and they came out perfectly! I didn’t notice any coconut flavor in these, but it may be because I use coconut oil often and am used to the flavor. I found the texture of these cookies to be much more pleasing than traditional made-with-butter cookies! Crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, not too greasy or rich. This is definitely my new go to when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! We have a dairy allergy in the family, and your recipe finally reminded my kids of those chocolate chip cookies I used to make with butter. I did use dairy-free choc chips, and they were awesome!
I just made these, and they are so delicious! Great recipe thanks Allie :)