Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies (2024)

Tessa’s Recipe Rundown

Taste: These cookies really have that caramelized butterscotch flavor which is due in part to the sugars, including corn syrup, thoroughly dissolving in the melted butter.
Texture: Just like the title says, thin and crispy! They’re also very slightly chewy and crunchy.
Ease: Super easy, you don’t even have to wait for butter to come to room temperature or use your electric mixer.
Pros: Quick, easy, and satisfies that thin crispy craving.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Yes! Every once in a while, this is the texture I want.

How to Make Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Key Ingredients for CRISPY Cookies!

• Melted butter – To achieve thin and crisp cookies, I’ve discovered that melted butter is really crucial. Melted butter helps the cookies to spread out and become flatter with crisp edges.
• Sugar – Another key trick is using more granulated sugar than brown sugar, which will also help produce flat, chewy, crunchy cookies. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
• Corn syrup – A touch of corn syrup in this dough aids in browning and caramelization, giving the cookies great flavor and browned crunchy bottoms.
• Milk – A splash of milk added to the dough also helps to create flatter cookies by adding more moisture to the dough, so it spreads faster in the oven.
• Baking soda – Make sure your baking soda is FRESH for this recipe. It’s critical to the spread and browning of these cookies which gives them their crispy thin texture. Learn more about baking soda and baking powder here.
• Salt –Not a key ingredient for crispiness but since these crispy cookies contain three kinds of sugar for maximum spread, we want to be sure to balance the sweetness with the salt. I prefer fine sea salt but you can also use table salt. Just don’t use kosher salt because it won’t dissolve and mix in as evenly. Learn about the different types of salt here.

Do I Have to Use Corn Syrup?

If you can’t find corn syrup, you can use golden syrup instead. If you can’t find or don’t want to use either, you can technically leave it out of this recipe. You’ll still have a delicious cookie, but the texture won’t quite be as thin and crispy.

The Most Important Part of This Recipe = Measuring Your Flour Correctly!

Anytime someone tells me they made this Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe and the cookies didn’t come out thin and crispy, I can all but guarantee it was because the flour wasn’t properly measured. It’s ALL too easy to accidentally over-measure your flour by compacting too much into the measuring cup. Here are some flour tips:

• If you’re not already measuring your flour with a digital kitchen scale, or at the very least using the spoon & level method, I highly highly recommend you read my post on How to Measure Flour ASAP.
• Also, make sure you’re using the RIGHT kind of flour. For best results in this recipe, don’t use a high-protein flour like King Arthur.
• This recipe was tested successfully with Gold Medal Bleached All Purpose Flour (blue label).
• Just take a look at what a difference measuring your flour correctly can make:

Tips for Baking Crispy Cookies:

1. Don’t overmix the cookie dough. We really want to avoid activating webs of gluten in this recipe. That’s why you should avoid a high-protein flour. But you should also avoid over-mixing the dough (which is really more like a thick batter in consistency). Stir in the dry ingredients until JUST combined.
2. Use the correct baking pans. If possible, avoid baking these cookies on nonstick or greased cookie sheets. Use unlined light-colored metal baking pans lined with parchment paper. The dark nonstick finish of some pans can enhance browning and even cause cookies to burn on the bottom, especially in this particular recipe. Nonstick cooking spray can increase spreading while cookies bake in the oven, which we don’t want in this particular recipe since the dough will spread enough on its own.
3. Make sure your oven temperature is accurate. An oven thermometer is the best way to do this. If you’re unsure, at the very least preheat your oven for an extra 10 minutes before baking anything. If your oven isn’t properly preheated or if it tends to run cold, you won’t get crispy cookies. Learn more about ovens here.
4. Bake time: I’ve had success with baking these Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies in my oven for about 12 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through for ultra-crispy cookie edges.

How to Shape Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

A spring-loaded cookie scoop makes quick and easy work of portioning out the cookie dough. Especially because this dough is more wet and sticky than others. Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon or medium-sized cookie scoop. Spray the inside of the scoop with nonstick cooking spray if you find your dough is sticking.

How to Store Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are definitely best served soon after baking, as that’s when they’ll be the crispiest. They will soften slightly the longer they’re stored. That’s why I recommend freezing this dough, so you can have perfectly thin & crispy cookies at a moment’s notice! You can also re-crisp by reheating the baked cookies in a 350°F oven for a few minutes.

How to Freeze Cookie Dough Instructions

I love to scoop out and freeze balls of cookie dough to bake whenever I crave cookies! Check out this post on how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen. These cookies will bake up thin and crispy straight from the freezer! But to ensure that distinct texture, you may want to defrost the dough first.